A Primer on the Politics of Plan Implementation
by Bernie Jones
Roundtable Discussion on Plan Adoption & Implementation
with Bernie Jones, Michael Chandler, & Elaine Cogan
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Too often planning commissioners and citizen groups seem to think that once their plans are completed their work is over. Of course, there's always the need to gain formal adoption of the plan from the city council or the county commission, but that's just a little formality, right? And once adopted, "they" will start implementing it, right?
Well, not exactly. The community group or planning commission which takes either formal adoption or subsequent implementation lightly will be sorely disappointed when their plan "dies on the vine" (or to use the tried and true expression, "gathers dust on the shelf").
Adoption and implementation need to be seen not as after-the-planning, optional activities perhaps for someone else, but as integral parts of the planning process for those who drafted the plan. Though politics is often irrational, our chances for success can be maximized by rationally and systematically approaching the politics of plan adoption and implementation.
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