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Allara Mills-Gutcher, a senior planner with the Bay County Board of Commissioners in Panama City, Florida, reported that her county's land development regulations call for the planning commission to include three members "who have demonstrated an involvement or expertise in the development of land, such as an architect or landscape architect, an engineer, a person in real estate or development or a general contractor; three people who have demonstrated an involvement or expertise in the protection and conservation of the environment ...; and three who do not have ties to either of the above."

Planners from Michigan noted that under their state's Municipal Planning Act, [see §125.33] a planning commission must "represent insofar as is possible different professions or occupations." Another state with specific requirements is Minnesota, which requires that on county planning commissions: "No voting member of the commission shall have received, during the two years prior to appointment, any substantial portion of income from business operations involving the development of land within the county for urban and urban related purposes." MN County Planning Enabling Act §394.30

Who's on Board

Not surprisingly, attorneys are well represented on planning boards (7%). We can't tell you whether that's good or bad , but attorneys can take heart from what we heard from Carolyn Braun, Planning Director for the City of Anoka, Minnesota: "We have four attorneys on our seven member commission. At first I thought it would be an impossible situation. However, the attorneys have various legal backgrounds and bring a reasoned approach to decision-making. As such, the commission as a whole makes well-thought out recommendations."

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