Planetizen Offers Online Training Course for Planning Commissioners

In 2003 when I joined my local neighborhood council's "Planning and Zoning" committee I suggested that we subscribe to Planning Commissioners Journal and get some other related publications. It happens that if you are a member of such a committee, you can join the American Planning Association at the discounted rate for public officials. Massachusetts has an extensive training system for public officials and citizens involved in planning and zoning matters. Plus, there's this website: Neighborhood Planning.

Dallas takes it a step further. The Dallas Public Library's Government Information Center has a subsection called the Urban Information Center with a wide variety of journals, books, and other publications to help involved citizens be more knowledgeable on planning and zoning matters.

(Note that DC's main library has some of the same publications, but it isn't organized very well. I have argued for some time that we need to create such a center in DC. Perhaps it could be part of Washingtoniana or the Historical Society's Kiplinger Library.)

Here's another resource.

From Planetizen:

You've just been appointed to your local planning commission and are now in charge of making important decisions that will guide the shape and future of your community. But you're not a Planner and have no planning experience. What do you do?

Planetizen has teamed with the Planning Commissioners Journal and experienced planning commissioner Ric Stephens to offer a comprehensive online course designed specifically for non-professionals and citizen planners who have been appointed to their local planning commission. This self-paced online course covers the basic planning, knowledge, issues, and trends that will help planning commissioners understand the practice of land use and community planning, and help them to become more efficient in their multiple roles.

PLAN-315: Planning Commissioner Training is a highly practical, informative, and affordable course that provides a comprehensive overview of planning principles and practices, environmental design, project development, and other topics vital to creating a vibrant community. This course offers detailed descriptions of planning concepts, discussions about public participation and the decision-making process, an introduction to land-use and development, and the extensive first-hand experience and knowledge of the course's expert instructor. The Planning Commissioner Training Course is one of Planetizen's online planning courses, accessible through any web browser with an Internet connection 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The Planning Commissioner Training course is the perfect primer for new commission appointees and other public officials who will be making major planning decisions for their cities and communities.

The course provides a definitive overview of what it takes to be a knowledgeable and effective planning commissioner, including coverage of:

- Community planning
- Public meetings, open houses, workshops, and hearings
- Planning practice norms
- The basics of environmental management
- Land use and zoning
- The roles and laws of local, state, and federal governments in planning
- Current trends in community planning

Course instructor Ric Stephens has more than 28 years of experience in master planning, tourism development, and international planning, and has served as a planning commissioner for several cities and counties in Oregon and California since 1990.

This course is produced in collaboration with the Planning Commissioners Journal, a quarterly publication that for more than 15 years has covered a broad range of diverse topics related to the work of planning commissioners and other non-professional citizen planners.

Access to Planetizen's Planning Commissioner Training Course begins at $129 for six months of unlimited access. Twelve-month access packages and group discounts are also available. Click here to read a complete course overview and outline, as well as purchase the course PLAN-315: Planning Commissioner Training.