Zoning Administrators and Other Planning Adjacent Professions
Zoning administration and enforcement is hard work. In smaller municipalities, the zoning administrator might even serve as the de facto planner, building official, and code enforcement officer. The Michigan Association of Planning recognizes the critical role of the zoning administrator in the planning, zoning, and development review processes and we have developed publications, workshops, and resources specifically for this position. MAP offers customized products to help Zoning Administrators understand their roles, responsibilities, and legal framework, and how they fit into municipal community building.
NEW WEBINAR IN MARCH 2025: Blight: Be Gone!
Many different people are involved with planning and development in a community: elected and appointed officials, inspectors, zoning administrators, planners, and other staff, developers and citizens. While no one ever plans for blight or nuisances, they are a part of a community, too. Learn the difference between blight and nuisances and the legal strategies available to combat them. No matter what your role is, this presentation will provide tools and programs you can use to help eliminate blight.
March 12 | Via Zoom | 3 PM to 4:30 PM | Register Here
A membership with MAP provides you early access to all of MAP's offerings at a discounted price. In addition, members receive the Michigan Planner magazine on a bi-monthly basis that includes topics important and relevant to zoning administrators.
More publications and resources below:
AICP Pin
American Institute of Certified Planners Pin (Vintage style)
Measurements: 3/4" X 1/4"
Material: Gold Tone
Asset Management
This 36 minute long technical presentation includes an overview of the process, tools, and strategies for undertaking asset management and is best for staff or officials who have a basic understanding of CIP’s and asset management. Next steps handout included in the show notes.
Capital Improvements Programs
Provides an overview of a Capital Improvement Program, a checklist for developing and updating a Capital Improvement Program, as well as a template, on how to develop lists, plans, and estimates of time and cost of public structures and projects.
Community Engagement
The companion manual to our Community Engagement workshop. It includes strategies and tools along with worksheets to use for your own engagement strategies.
DDAs and TIFs
Michigan has many different types of authorities that use Tax Increment Financing (TIF). In this 35 minute long presentation, learn the different kinds of authorities available to government under state law; how tax increment financing works; and what projects are eligible.
Environmental Planning
Rain gardens and complete streets are all aspects of environmental planning. This 46-minute deep dive covers the relationship between land use and the natural environment, the importance of environmental planning and current trends. Next step resources included in the show notes.
Ethics and Equity: Lessons for Planners Webinar
Conversations and lectures on the planning codes of ethics (APA Ethics Statement and the AICP Code of Ethics) often focus on specific rules of conduct that govern behaviors and actions. This means we often miss the chance to challenge ourselves to discuss the “aspirational” piece of these codes, particularly in terms of equitable planning. In this interactive session, we’ll discuss the ethics of everyday behavior, administrative discretion, plans and policies, and the APA Equity Policy Guide and its relationship to the codes of ethics.
Christina Anderson, AICP, City of Kalamazoo, MAP Board of Directors, Professional Development Officer
Jill Bahm, AICP, Giffels Webster, MAP Board of Directors
Moderator: Wendy Rampson, AICP, MAP
1 Ethics AICP CM Credit
Form Based Codes
This 52 minute presentation gets to the heart of Form Based Codes, including how they are different from conventional zoning, when a FBC is appropriate, how to incorporate FBC into your community’s codes, and next steps. Next step resources included in the show notes.
Home Occupations Webinar
This 2 hour workshop recorded on December 8, 2021 includes 1 1/2 hours of presentation and then another 1/2 hour of questions and answers with the authors. Registrants for the online webinar receive a PDF of the complete Home Occupation publication, along with PDF and Word versions of the Sample Ordinance language.
Housing Choice, Supply & Affordability
The companion book to our Housing workshop. Curated articles on laws pertaining to housing, NIMBY, planning and zoning for housing, markets and ADUs.
Housing
Housing is an important issue in many communities. This 30-minute primer covers how a community should assess its housing needs and strategies for ensuring those needs are met. State and federal housing laws are also addressed. Next steps handout included in the show notes.
Inclusive Transportation
A Manifesto for Repairing Divided Communities
Transportation planners, engineers, and policymakers in the US face the monumental task of righting the wrongs of their predecessors while charting the course for the next generation. This task requires empathy while pushing against forces in the industry that are resistant to change. How do you change a system that was never designed to be equitable? How do you change a system that continues to divide communities and cede to the automobile?
In Inclusive Transportation: A Manifesto for Repairing Divided Communities, transportation expert Veronica O. Davis shines a light on the inequitable and often destructive practice of transportation planning and engineering. She calls for new thinking and more diverse leadership to create transportation networks that connect people to jobs, education, opportunities, and to each other.
Inclusive Transportation is a vision for change and a new era of transportation planning. Davis explains why centering people in transportation decisions requires a great shift in how transportation planners and engineers are trained, how they communicate, the kind of data they collect, and how they work as professional teams. She examines what “equity” means for a transportation project, which is central to changing how we approach and solve problems to create something safer, better, and more useful for all people.
Davis aims to disrupt the status quo of the transportation industry. She urges transportation professionals to reflect on past injustices and elevate current practice to do the hard work that results in more than an idea and a catchphrase.
Inclusive Transportation is a call to action and a practical approach to reconnecting and shaping communities based on principles of justice and equity.
176 pages
6 x 9
20 photos
Making Good Decisions Together
Companion reference book to the Making Good Decisions Together workshop. Curated resources on roles and responsibilities.
Managing Risk: Making Sound Planning & Zoning Decisions
Reference tool regarding roles and responsibilities, preparation of bylaws and minutes, and applicable statutes.
Master Planning for Tourism
Available online free of charge. Printed, spiral bound copies available for purchase. This 100-plus page guidebook provides practical resources to communities about incorporating tourism into master plans
Master Planning Process
The companion manual to our Master Plan workshop. Reference tool regarding the process, best practices and applicable state statutes.
Nonconformities
Nonconformities can be vexing and how planners have approached them has changed over time. Join MAP for a deep dive into all types of nonconformities. The latest case law on the subject is also covered. Catherine Kaufman, JD, AICP and Michael Bila, JD presenting. Recorded March 2024.
1 Law AICP CM Credit + 0.5 AICP CM Credit
Parking
How can you ensure that parking remains the vital (but supporting) role in your downtown’s present and future? This 26-minute watch on demand presentation explains the past, present, and future of parking, along with case studies from small Michigan cities. Next steps resources included in the show notes.
Planned Unit Development
This 24-minute webinar explains what exactly a PUD or Planned Unit Development is and how communities can leverage this powerful planning tool. If your community is considering adopting or amending its PUD ordinance, this workshop is for you. Next steps handout included in the show notes.
Planning and Zoning Essentials
The companion manual to our most requested training. Provides an overview of Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals duties AND how to make effective decisions.
Planning Commissioner's Toolkit
It provides information in a tabbed, easy-to-use format. It equips new Planning Commissioners with the master plan, zoning ordinance, preparation for a meeting, understanding of development proposals, and much more.
($24 if ordering five or more)
Michigan Signage Guidebook Package
- Sign Guidelines Presentation Pre-Recorded and a Q and A Recorded (over 2 hours of content) | Watch On Demand
- Sign Guidebook, 2nd Edition, Discounted Price. Look for promo code in your registration confirmation
- Michigan Planner magazine. November/ December 2021 issue devoted to Signs
Site Plan Review
The companion manual to our Site Plan Review workshop. Provides explanations on the process and what to look for when conducting a site plan review.
Survive and Thrive
Available online for free. Printed, spiral bound copies available for purchase.Lessons from Michigan Coastal Communities Planning for Resiliency.
Target Market Analysis
Target Market Analysis (TMA) is a powerful tool that can assist communities in planning and zoning. This 50-minute presentation explains the in’s and out’s of TMA, provides an example case study, and gives you next steps.
Utility Basics
A great primer for officials and non-engineering staff, this 48 minute watch on demand presentation explains how utilities-from sewers to electricity and everything in between--work, how they show up on site plans, and what best practices should be utilized going forward with new development. Links to supplemental information included in the show notes.
Woodland Preservation Webinar
Originally recorded in January 2022. For decades, many local ordinances have required preservation of existing trees and planting of new trees to protect the environment and to preserve quality of life in our communities. Two recent court decisions have brought the implementation of those requirements into question. Join MAP Law Committee members, Richard Norton, Emily Palacios, and Mark Wyckoff as they present a tale of two townships and two court cases. Learn how to bolster your natural preservation ordinances from legal challenges. Purchase includes link to recording, as well as links to other resources.
Advanced ZBA: Beyond the Fundamentals
The companion manual to our Advanced ZBA workshop. Curated resources on the Zoning Board of Appeals and case studies.
Zoning Administration Book Only
The companion book to our Zoning Administration workshop. Provides information in a tabbed, easy to use format. Topics include planning, zoning, enforcement, meeting practices, state statutes and model forms, reports and agendas.
Zoning Administration 2.0 Book Only
The companion book to our Zoning Administration 2.0 workshop. Curated articles on adminstration topics such as, new official orientation, administrative approvals, using data, meeting management, and much more.
Zoning Administration 2.0 Webinar
Debuted in 2023, this 2.5 hour workshop is a fast paced, interactive session. The following topics are reviewed: roles, laws other than zoning that affect land use, enforcement, court cases, and trends in zoning. Recorded version available for on demand learning, includes a reference book and links to online activities.
Zoning Administration Webinar
This 4-hour comprehensive program is for administrators in rural, suburban, or urban settings. Interested in a more complete understanding of all facets of zoning administration from legal basis to record-keeping to enforcement? Recorded in two parts, includes a robust reference book.
Zoning Board of Appeals
The companion manual to our Zoning Board of Appeals workshop. It provides information on responsibilities, best meeting practices and case studies.
Zoning Board of Appeals Toolkit
It provides information in a tabbed, easy-to-use format. It equips new ZBA members with the knowledge and skills to execute their duties.
($24 if ordering five or more)
Zoning Ordinance: A to Z
The companion manual to MAP's Zoning Ordinance workshop; covers history of zoning, best practices, processes, and enforcement.
Zoning Reform Toolkit
Available online free of charge. Printed, spiral bound copies available for purchase. The Toolkit lays out the elements of the housing crisis and creating a case for zoning reform as a necessary intervention. Communications strategies for discussing the housing shortage and the necessity of zoning reform to combat it are outlined, along with 15 zoning tools to address housing supply, choice, and affordability.
Zoning Reform: Stories and Studies
A Companion to the Zoning Reform Toolkit
Available online free of charge. Printed, spiral bound copies available for purchase. 100 communities tell the Michigan Association of Planning about the zoning reform tools they’re using. Communities sat down with MAP and talked frankly, seriously, and technically about housing in their communities. We asked them all the same basic questions: Is housing getting built in your community? What does your planning and zoning say about housing? What’s the public conversation like? What other resources are needed? We followed those basic questions with a deep conversation with each city, village, or township.
