Planning and Zoning Academy articles

Michigan Planner: Planning and Zoning Officials Academy

The following articles are excerpts from the Planning and Zoning Officials Academy section of the Michigan Planner. The Planning and Zoning Officials Academy provides local elected and appointed officials with both basic and advanced topics addressing issues unique to the role as local government representative.

"The Community Planning Process" March/April 2010

"Planning is Distinctively Human" Jan/Feb 2010

"Youth Engagement in Planning" Nov/Dec 2009

"Site Plans" Oct 2009

"A Matter of Interpretation" Aug/Sept 2009

"Testing the Practical Difficulty of Non-Use Variances" June/July 2009

"It Sounded So Easy" April/May 2009

"The Political Contexts of ZBA Decisions" March 2009

"Zoning for a Better Community" Feb 2009

"Six Things I Wish I Had Known When I First Became a Planning Commissioner" Jan 2009

"Environmental Justice" Nov/Dec 2008

"Art, Culture, and Planning" Sept/Oct 2008

"What is a Site Plan?" June 2008

"The Michigan Planning Enabling Act (P.A.33): What the Changes Mean to Local Officials" May 2008

"Zoning Enforcement" April 2008

"Being an Effective Planning Commissioner" March 2008

"Exterior Lighting" Feb 2008

"Ethical Principles in Planning" Jan 2008

"Nonconforming Uses of Land" Dec 2007

"Using the Master Plan" Sept 2007

"Updating the Zoning Ordinance" Aug 2007

"Conflict of Interest" July 2007

"Educating the Public" June 2007

"Meeting Minutes" May 2007

"Avoiding Litigation; Handling Angry People" April 2007

"Meeting Management Made Easy" March 2007

"Public Input Techniques" Feb 2007

"Relationship between the Comprehensive Plan and the Zoning Ordinance" Dec 2006

"Conducting Effective Public Meetings" Nov 2006

"How to be a Better Planning Commissioner" June 2006

"The Planning Commissioner as a Judge" April 2006

"Decision Making" Feb 2006

"Educating the Public" Jan 2006