What We're Doing

Valparaiso Puts Forth City Code Update

October 14, 2008
By James D. Wolf Jr. Post-Tribune correspondent

VALPARAISO -- The Unified Development Ordinance -- the plan that will update and replace the city codes that haven't been updated since 1969 -- received its public presentation.

Planning Director Craig Phillips gave the City Council members and residents an overview of the new 500-page code that could dictate how building, developments and home improvements are allowed to happen in the city.

"This is a complete replacement, with a few exceptions of some things newer," Phillips said.

Current sign ordinances, tree replacement/protection standards and building design standards for special areas will remain the same.

And residents will have a chance to speak on it at a public meeting at the City Council's Oct. 27 meeting.

Besides integrating ordinances, the UDO creates new zoning designations based more on character of land and development there and less emphasis on use, Phillips said.

"The zoning districts are based more on what you see on the ground," he said.

The 15 new zoning designations include Urban, which will allow for more dense development and more multi-family, and estate residential, for homes with more land.

There's more protection of natural resources, such as allowing developers to keep woods, possibly in exchange for required amounts of park land.

"We're ... being better stewards of the land," Phillips said.

Part of the new zoning classifications are districts to protect neighborhoods.

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Lane Kendig Presents at 2008 APA Conference in Las Vegas

There are crises in global warming, water, and energy. Sustainable development does very little to address the immense problems of the next 100 years (ex. a one meter rise in sea level). The speakers suggest a series of land use planning strategies that need to begin to be implemented today. This session built on experience in Florida, Texas, Illinois, Maryland, Louisiana, New Jersey, and New Mexico.

Session materials are available for download:
Presentation slides (1.6MB)
Session notes (813 KB)

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In the News . . .

Recent Praise in Plymouth, California

A quote from Dr. Elida A. Malick, a resident of Plymouth, CA regarding our work on the City’s General Plan Update

"It was gratifying to find this consultant’s recommendations formalizing some of the ideas and suggestions offered by the existing residents of Plymouth, and surrounding neighborhoods, at the visioning meetings that have already taken place. Mr. Keast is quite perceptive of the community that it is the collective impact of land use decisions and the esthetic result or character of the community that ultimately determines whether we have successfully balanced growth with the existing community’s desire to remain rural in both appearance and culture."

"Mr. Keast is absolutely correct in his section on Issues and Opportunities where he states that 'Development must, therefore, observe the context of its environs and be designed in a sensitive manner. This sensitivity is essential to preserve visual integrity and positively contribute to the rural, open character of the community.' (emphasis added) This philosophy will go a long way in carrying the Plymouth community towards its goals for the future. Congratulations on what promises to be a sound guiding document containing innovative approaches to achieving balanced growth. Do no let development interests fritter it away into a compromised, toothless piece of paper."

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Ponca City, Oklahoma Kicks Off Comprehensive Plan

The City of Ponca City engaged Kendig Keast Collaborative to guide the Comprehensive Plan process as it builds upon the City’s historical context. Currently, residents enjoy the appearance of the older downtown, along with a remarkable parks and recreation system that substantially bolsters community livability. Nearby lakes and outdoor recreation opportunities are within a short drive of the City so that residents can experience nature as part of their everyday routine. Many pleasant neighborhoods include the iconic, tree-lined streets that typify the northern Oklahoma region. However, the brick roads and oil baron mansions create a historic flavor that residents treasure as everyday reminders of the past.

All these amenities are in close proximity to local jobs and a slightly larger market in Stillwater, including OSU. In recent years, there have been continued reductions in the energy sector, which must spur a diversification of industry to sustain itself economically. Today, Ponca City seeks additional and innovative economic opportunities to be able to keep growing physically and, particularly, economically. Other planning activities will focus on prioritizing transportation improvements and adding diversity to the existing housing supply. Ultimately, this Plan will go beyond previous efforts by emphasizing the implementation measures that are needed to make this dream a reality. Although steeped in history, residents are eager to move forward with their community vision through the realization of this Plan’s agenda of action.

More information from the Ponca City News:
"Session Focus on Housing Issues" (June 19, 2008)
"What is Comprehensive Plan" (June 22, 2008)
"Consultants Wrap Up Stakeholders Meetings" (June 22, 2008)

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Panel: College Station Should
Promote Tourism, Increase Tax Base

The discussion was facilitated by Gary Mitchell of Kendig Keast Collaborative, a Sugar Land consulting firm that contracted with the city to rewrite its comprehensive plan for $93,985. The first phase of the project, which involves public input through focus groups and brainstorming sessions of the advisory panel, is scheduled to be complete in May. A second phase will involve drafting the plan with goals and action items that will go before the City Council for adoption in late 2008. Mitchell said vision statements often are simple "mom-and-apple-pie" ideas, but can provide direction when decision makers get into the details of the comprehensive plan, which guides land use, development and thoroughfare planning.

The consultant will take the committee's ideas to a meeting of College Station's planning and zoning commission Thursday and devise a vision that can be voted on by the advisory panel at a future meeting, he said. Advisory committee members - who include real estate developers, college students, professors and a Texas Department of Transportation engineer - talked Wednesday about things they'd like for the city's future, such as more green space, "less ugly strip malls" and a well-connected road system. Some said they want more tourist destinations, a diverse housing stock and safety measures for pedestrians and bicyclists.

After the priorities were set, several ideas were offered for the vision statement. Committee member Andrew Burleson said more than one sentence is needed to define College Station's future. "We have a really broad range of issues that our community cares about," he said. "That's what a comprehensive plan is really about. We need something that's inspiring and tells our story. It's more broad than a single, very complex sentence. What we really need to answer is: What do we want to be?" Another committee member, Charlotte Slack, said she wanted the vision to reflect College Station's commitment to "being green" with its natural surroundings, architecture and site design. David Hart said the vision statement should include the phrase "heart of the Research Valley" or "home of Texas A&M," because that's what defines the community. Committee member Randy Haynes offered a variation of that suggestion. "We know obviously that Texas A&M is here, but what about something like, 'College Station: Where Texas and the world comes to learn'?" he said.

College Station's comprehensive plan was adopted in 1997. Minor updates have been added to sections of the plan over the years, but a rewrite had not been undertaken. A vision statement was not included in the 1997 plan. The committee also reviewed results from more than 1,900 surveys mailed to residents with their utility bills. The number represents about 9 percent of the ratepayers who received a survey in the mail. Traffic congestion, city taxes, utility rates and loss of green space were among the highest concerns listed on the surveys. The results also showed that College Station residents believe their taxpayer money is best spent repairing streets, paying for police, fire and ambulance services and long-range planning.

The priorities of College Station residents have been reiterated since consultants began gathering input late last year, Mitchell said. "Through everything we've done, neighborhoods, traffic and parks are at the top of the list of what I've heard," he said.

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Tangipahoa Landowners Want Control, Protection in Land Plan

Update: Master plan progresses (May 14, 2008)

"It’s referred to as Tangipahoa Parish’s master plan, and the 247-page document is indeed comprehensive. To our parish community, it promises to be much as the Constitution is to our nation. It is a visionary work with flexibility for guiding future development.

As with the Constitution, the forming and writing of the master plan has been a monumental task — born of a grassroots need, made possible through true leadership and shaped by a broad spectrum of public input.

Parish President Gordon Burgess, the Tangipahoa Parish Council and the Comprehensive Planning Steering Committee have played huge roles in the creation of this document. Many others have also taken part in the ongoing process. Without their efforts, Tangipahoa’s future would not be nearly as bright.

The next step is review by the parish planning commissioners. We trust they will listen to the music. It is coming from the farmlands, the woodlands, the residential and the commercial areas of Tangipahoa Parish. It is the call for the master plan — encourage what’s good about the parish and develop even better." (Source: Hammond Star Newspaper Editorial)

Debra Lemoine
Advocate Florida parishes bureau

AMITE -- Balancing the right to do what you want with your land against protecting yourself from your neighbor is what a group of landowners in Tangipahoa Parish said Thursday night they want in a land-use plan. Tangipahoa Parish government has started a year-long process to create a plan for development, which could be a precursor to zoning or similar regulations.

An advisory committee to the Parish Council met Thursday night with Kendig Keast, the planning consultants hired by the parish to develop its land-use plan. During that meeting, the consultants asked the two dozen property owners what they want out of the plan. Those property owners have diverging wants and needs for their land and what they want to see from their neighbors. Some want to keep the rural character of the parish and limit growth.

Others want to grow but do so without harming the quality of life. Larry Wilson, a real estate appraiser from Ponchatoula, said he moved inside the city limits because he was tired of fighting his neighbors. He said there are good and bad points to zoning, and he does not like all of the ordinances and zoning in Ponchatoula. "Boy, it sure beats not knowing what your neighbor is going to do," Wilson said. Gaston Lanaux, a Husser resident and a consultant to the logging industry, said that he does not want so much regulation that a property owner can’t use his or her land to make a living, such as by farming and logging. If a person moves to rural Tangipahoa to look at the pine trees, then he needs to understand that those wide swaths of trees could be logged someday, Lanaux said.

Lane Kendig and Bret Keast and their staff have been meeting with key groups this week to research what people want. During the next several months, they plan to hold at least six town-hall meetings throughout the parish to get ideas from other residents, Keast said. "We have driven around and seen the good, the bad and the ugly," Keast said. "What I want you to do is form my opinion for me." In the meantime, the landowners told the consultants that they would like to see a triage plan to control the parish's rapid growth while the formal plan is being developed. Keast said a short-term plan is in the works but did not elaborate at the meeting.

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Selected for City of Temple, Texas, Comprehensive Plan

With abundant opportunities for citizen participation, the new Comprehensive Plan will provide vision, goals, and policies that will serve as a guide for making decisions about future land use and infrastructure needs through 2025. Key priorities identified by the city include the creation of a Future Land Use Plan and Thoroughfare Plan, which will compliment the existing master plan. Other major elements will consider the fiscal impact of growth, housing and economic development.

Read more about recent Temple, TX events (Temple Area Builders Association newsletter)

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City of Moscow, Idaho, Reviews Economic Development Plan

"Moscow officials hope a recently completed economic development strategic plan will help guide the city to a prosperous future.Moscow’s Administrative Committee reviewed the plan at its Monday meeting, and committee members agreed the plan had interesting ideas for the city.

Moscow used a $50,000 rural development grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to hire consulting firm Kendig Keast Collaborative to write the plan. The city paid Kendig Keast an additional $2,100 to host meetings in February.

A steering committee for the plan reviewed the first four chapters in August. The early chapters analyze the local economy and the state of retail and industrial business in Moscow, suggest ways to enhance existing businesses and add new ones, and focus on what Moscow has to offer businesses and how it could offer more.

The final chapter, unveiled Monday, provides an action plan for the city and local economic development organizations. The plan includes small tasks for city and business leaders, such as updating Web sites like Wikipedia to help market Moscow, establishing more internship programs with local high schools and asking downtown businesses to stay open late once a week." (Source: Moscow-Pullman Daily News Online)

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City of Huntsville Council Approves Comprehensive Plan

Kelly Prew
News Editor

Huntsville City Council dedicated more than an hour of Tuesday night’s meeting to discuss the Huntsville Comprehensive Plan, and at times resembled a church sermon Sunday morning.

“I am absolutely passionate about this plan,” Councilman Mickey Evans thundered to a packed council chambers. “I am going to do what’s right for this community.”

Councilmembers unanimously agreed to enter into a professional services contract with Lane Kendig Inc., for an amount of $153,120 already budgeted for the project.

Citizens expressed concerns in opposition of the comprehensive plan and skepticism about spending money for the research and developmental process.

“We have plenty of plans we have never used,” citizen Jack Wagamon told council during public comments.

He cited Plan 2020 composed a few years ago and an older Planning Information Document from the 1980s. Former mayor Karl Davidson also spoke during public comments and said he supports the plan but doesn’t want council to reinvent the wheel.

“Do we really follow (the plans)? We don’t apply what we know,” Davidson said. “We need to emphasize some of the things we’ve already paid for, but I would ask you to please look at what we have.”

Other councilmembers testified before the vote, all of them commending the project for its key element — the community of Huntsville and public contribution.

“For those people who are skeptical or concerned, I hope they stay that way,” Councilman Mac Woodward said. “That’s what will make it work, and I hope some concern will stimulate the community to take part.”

Councilman Jack Choate cited the transportation plan that recently caused a stir in the community about plans for 16th Street.

“The difference in this plan is that there was not a lot of community involvement for the transportation plan,” he said. “That’s what this whole thing is about.”

Bret Keast, vice-president for LKI, told council and the crowd that public involvement on several levels will be the backbone of a comprehensive plan, and his company will simply aid in putting the plan on paper with as much efficiency and community perspective as possible.

“While councilmembers may come and go, a consistent amount of people will have to keep this going,” Keast said. “We will help identify issues that plague the community and come up with ways to best resolve those issues.”

Evans chairs the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee which has overseen the planning process up to this point. The committee, made up of three councilmembers and two men from the city’s planning and zoning commission, gave a unanimous recommendation to approve the contract Tuesday.

In a workshop held before the regular council meeting, Evans shared what the CPAC has accomplished and how they arrived at the request to bring LKI on board.

“We will begin a full-blown economic development plan in order to figure out who we are and where we are,” Evans said. “We have to have a firm grasp of our capability in the community.”

Evans said citizens from all four city wards will have more than one opportunity to weigh in, voice concerns and take an active role in the development of the plan from here on out. He said the CPAC was committed to providing enough of a reserve to advertise and get the word out about how to become involved and when and where public meetings will commence.

“I don’t want to take any shortcuts to invite this community to participate,” he said.

Evans said the process of developing the comprehensive plan will take from eight to 12 months and will depend on active public participation.

LKI’s role in the comprehensive plan will cost the city $153,120. The 2006 budget earmarked $165,000 for the project.

A contingency fund of $19,380 was created from leftover budget moneys and from other budgeted and economic development funds.

The $153,120 will be broken down into eight tasks in planning for the future of the city.

1. The Discovery and Reconnaissance Task ($19,920) will solicit concerns of public officials, organizations, groups and residents to gather and assemble data.
   
   
2. The Community Visioning Task ($15,880) will provide a vision and goals report which will express the shared vision of the citizens and the city, including a description of opportunities, challenges and social and economic changes.
   
   
3. The Land Use Character Task ($19,040) will include land use policies to provide long-term guidance as to the pattern, timing and character of future development and shorter-term zoning decisions.
   
   
4. The Transportation Task ($11,400) will include a transportation report identifying key issues pertaining to the multi-modal transportation system, policies for system development and a plan map reflecting the future transportation network.
   
   
5. The Growth Capacity Task ($15,960) will document the necessary improvement needs, additional building space and public safety services necessary to keep pace with new development.
   
   
6. The Parks and Recreation Task ($10,800) will include an inventory of existing areas and improvements, evaluate gaps and deficiencies and prepare a system plan to create a first-class park and open space system.
   
   
7. The Economic Development Task ($37,500) will be a full and robust report outlining strategies for diversifying the economy. This will include strategies for leveraging both Sam Houston State University and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for economic development. A retail trade area and retail leakage analysis will also be completed along with a review of local economic activities. A marketing plan and implementation also will be provided.
   
   
8. The Implementation Task ($15,080) will divide the recommended actions into programmatic initiatives; regulations, standards and policies; capital improvements; and intergovernmental coordination management. A five-year action plan will be assembled to determine action priorities and the time frames for implementation.

Conference Sessions and Speaking Engagements

3D Planning Tools

Bret presented a session of “3D Planning Tools”, on April 25th at the 2006 National APA Conference in San Antonio, TX. The session illustrated how 3D technology is being used to aid in development design and the approval and decision-making process, from the perspectives of both the public and private sectors. Specific examples were shown where interactive 3D models have been used to evaluate the impacts of development proposals, consider mitigating alternatives, improve outcomes, and expedite development permitting. These examples range from site specific impact studies where modeling was used to draft regulations and performance standards to the visualization of development form and character across entire jurisdictions.

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Combating Monotony, the Too-Big House and Teardowns

Lane spoke at the 2006 National APA Conference in San Antonio, TX in a session entitled, “Combating Monotony, the Too-Big House and Teardowns.” Skyrocketing prices have resulted in teardowns, and out-of-character replacement housing threatens neighborhoods. Meanwhile, low mortgage rates have resulted in housing booms made up of cookie-cutter greenfield subdivisions. Lane will address how to use housing inventories, sales activity, and other data to preserve neighborhood character, while accommodating suitable replacements.

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Selected Publications

Too Big, Boring or Ugly: Planning and Design Tools to Combat Monotony, the Too-big House, and Teardowns
American Planning Association, PAS Report Number 528. December 2004.

“Traffic Sheds, Rural Highway Capacity, and Growth Management”
with Stephen Tocknell, American Planning Association, Planning Advisory Service, Report Number 485, March 1999.

“Computerized Zoning: The Future is Now”
with Brian Blaesser, Land Use Law and Zoning Digest, American Planning Association, April 1996. (Vol.48, No. 4)

“Tomorrow's Planning Tools Today ”
with Marc Mylott, Z Management Ideas, Zucker Systems’ Management Info Services, July 1995, (Issue 31).

“Stop the Insanity!”
Land Use Law and Zoning Digest, American Planning Association, January 1995, (Vol. 47, No.1).

“Pipe Dreams”
Planning, American Planning Association, June 1989.

“Performance Zoning for Sensitive Land in Queen Anne’s County, Maryland”
Urban Land, August 1988. New Standards for Nonresidential Uses
American Planning Association, PAS Report Number 405, 1987.

“Why Consider Fishing in Urban-Suburban Planning”
Urban Fishing Symposium Proceedings, The American Fisheries Society, 1984. “Performance Guaranties”
Land Use Law and Zoning Digest, February 1983, Vol. 35, No.2.

“Developers and Performance Zoning”
Urban Land, January 1982, (Vol. 41, No.1).

“Designer’s Notebook”
Nature Scape, September 1981, January 1982, May 1982.

Performance Zoning
Lane Kendig, et al. Planners Press, Chicago, Illinois,1980.

“Transfer Development Rights”
with Hershel Richman The Urban Lawyer, Summer 1977 Volume 9, Number 3.

Performance Zoning
Bucks County Planning Commission, 1973. Revised and reprinted, 1976.

Meeting Procedures and Liability Issues for Public Officials, Guide to Urban Planning in Texas Communities

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