Planning Articles

Published Articles written by Chuck Eckenstahler, Craig Hullinger, Beth Ruyle, Jim Prosser, John Delaurentiis, Larry McClellan, Dianne Gormley- Barnes, and Grace Bazylewski.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

 

Articles


Most of the Articles in this Blog have been published in the Illinois Municipal Review Magazine. Feel free to use the copyright information in the articles - just give us your undying gratitude.

Contact Craig Hullinger at CraigHullinger@gmail.com or Chuck Eckenstahler at pctecken@netnitco.net or Beth Ruyle at bethruyle@gmail.com.

Read the Articles on the Illinois Municipal Web Page at



Illinois Municipal Review Magazine, "DO YOU HAVE A SMART GROWTH PLAN?", January 2001. With Larry McClellan

Illinois Municipal Review Magazine, "SMART GROWTH - IT'S MORE THAN AGRICULTURAL PRESERVATION AND URBAN SPRAWL", August 2000. With Beth Ruyle

Illinois Municipal Review Magazine, "IS IT TIME TO UPDATE YOUR ZONING ORDINANCE?", March 2000.

Bar Briefs Kane County Bar Association, "POSITION YOUR PROJECT FOR QUICK MUNICIPAL APPROVAL, February 2001.

Illinois Municipal Review Magazine, "APPROVE THIS REZONING - IT'S THE HIGHEST AND BEST USE", February 2000.

Illinois Municipal Review Magazine, "POSITION YOURSELF FOR MEDIA EXPOSURE", October 1999.

Illinois Municipal Review Magazine, "ADMINISTERING THE ZONING ORDINANCE DO WE HAVE GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE?", August 2000.

Illinois Municipal Review Magazine, "ALIGNING INTERSTATE ROAD INTERESTS, August 2000.

Illinois Municipal Review Magazine, "YOU CAN'T DO THAT - IT'S SPOT ZONING", May 1999.

Illinois Municipal Review Magazine, "DOES COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING WORK?", March 1999.

Illinois Municipal Rev Magazine, "DEFINING ACCESSORY USES - A THREE STEP WORK SHEET", February 1999.

Illinois Municipal Review Magazine, "CONGRATULATIONS: YOU ARE OUR NEWEST PLAN COMMISSIONER. SO NOW WHAT DO YOU DO?", February 1998.

Illinois Municipal Review Magazine, "ZONING LITIGATION - COMMON SENSE RULES TO REDUCE VULNERABILITY", November 1997.

Illinois Municipal Review Magazine, "FACADE IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS: GETTING THE PRIVATE SECTOR INVOLVED IN DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION”, January 2003.
With Dianne Gormely-Barnes AICP




posted by Craig Hullinger AICP City of Peoria  # 6:09 AM
 

The Mayor’s Leadership Role in Economic Development



The Mayor’s Leadership Role in Economic Development
(Published by the Illinois Municipal League)

Making something happen or just let anything happen!

INTRODUCTION

In the “big picture” of community economic development, a Mayor can make things happen! The Mayor is ultimately responsible for the community’s economic development strategy. The Mayor as the chief elected officer of the community must combine public and private interests to complete projects that result in better community - in other words, to implement the community’s economic development strategy.

A community economic development strategy is essentially developed in two ways, - strategically or haphazardly. Too often in small communities, Mayors, staff and other elected officials are too busy reacting to citizen problems and complaints to consider the serious importance of a formal written community economic development strategy.

This article describes how Mayors find themselves trapped into a reactionary haphazard community economic development strategy. The authors advocate that it is the responsibility of the Mayor working with other elected officials and staff to defend against these haphazard traps and provide necessary leadership to facilitate a strategically focused community economic development strategy.

COMMON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY TRAPS

#1 - WHY PLAN, WHEN YOU CAN REACT?

The old adage “why plan, when you can react” especially applies to local government economic development. Today, most Mayors feel overwhelmed with the day-to-day government services that need to be provided with limited and decreasing revenues. Almost every Mayor has at one time or another lamented the difficulty of getting things done. In addition to working full times jobs themselves, they must now face increased citizen demand for services and uncertain revenues.

In times like this it is hard to focus community leadership towards future planning when there are so many daily problems to solve. How can long-term creative ideas for the future seriously be considered when government administration is totally involved in meeting daily service needs?The result is reaction to any ( if there is any) economic development in a haphazard, uncoordinated fashion.


# 2 - ANY ROAD WILL DO WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW WHERE YOU ARE GOING.

The “squeaky wheel fix” is another common trap. This typically occurs when citizens complain loudly. The government then takes action to correct the problem with little, if any, forethought of how it “fits” into the larger scheme of economic development for the community. The result is often disconnected projects having no relationships. They do not set the framework for future economic development projects.


#3 - GIVE ME DEVELOPMENT - ANY DEVELOPMENT THAT INCREASES TAX BASE!

If your community is a “hot growth spot”, the desperation for new tax base may not be as great as older comminutes or communities affected by recent job losses. However, in many communities any development is welcome even if might jeopardize a desired long-term position of the community.Again, the result is often development not related to any plan for the future.


#4 - SIT BACK AND JUST LET IT HAPPEN!

Another strategy may be simply to wait until developers come forward with projects. You then react to their proposals. Like above, the result is often development not related to any plan for the future

WINNING FRIENDS WHILE BUILDING YOUR STRATEGY

To avoid the above traps, you want to influence the long-term economic future of your community. The Mayor must be pro active and facilitate the preparation of a community economic development strategy. This strategy will illustrate the long range vision of the community and identify specific projects necessary to achieve this vision. The Mayor must initiate the community economic development strategy planning process.

An exercise must be completed that identifies specific projects that are necessary to the economic goals of the community. The community must prioritize the projects and determine their cost. The community then builds the priority projects that are financially prudent.

The community does this over a number of years. The priority may be modified because the community faces a major change, but for the most part the community continues its long term vision and funds the next priority and not today’s hot topic.The overall community economic development strategy must be built on the consensus of elected officials, private business interests and the majority of citizens. Mayoral leadership fosters a process that develops a community-wide consensus about projects resulting in implementation of an economic vision.

STEPS IN PREPARING THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

#1 - DEFINE THE COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT VISION OR GOAL

Our experience is that residents and business owners within any community have many ideas about economic and community development improvements needed for the community. The Mayor and community leadership need to hear these ideas at the very beginning of the process.There are a number of ways to solicit these ideas. The most popular process is to hold a community meeting, send out a mail return questionnaire, and/or solicit ideas through a survey undertaken by a professional firm or listed on your web page.

The community meetings works only when it is directed. Our experience is that it is beneficial have a disinterested third party facilitator experienced in community goal setting techniques conduct the meeting.


Another technique is to have a community open house with a number of concepts aired for citizens to see and react to at specific stations. Based on this input the Mayor leads the other elected officials in forming a vision for the overall future for the community. The community then communicates this vision both graphically and in writing. An implementation strategy accompanies this vision which contains creative proposals to improve the community and the process to implement the proposals.


#2 - IDENTIFYING AND PRIORITIZING PROJECTS

The community economic development strategy will include a listing of projects that could enhance the community. We are always faced with the question of how to develop specific projects? Projects that the community must implement are sometimes not the priority of the community, but some regulating body. For instance, improvements may be required by the State before communities can address extensions and enlargements of the municipal water and sewer system.
Others are identified by staff, consultants, business leaders, citizens, other elected officials or bodies and developers that would like to invest in the community.You can simply sit down with theses individuals and identify needed and required projects. Similar processes are needed here as with the development of the overall strategy.

Ultimately the Mayor and elected officials must develop priorities. They must then work with staff to make the plan feasible. They then develop an the implementation schedule of the community economic development plan. The Mayor will serve as the facilitator for its implementation. The Mayor will meet and interact with or direct staff to undertake this role with developers, grant agencies, development approval bodies, other elected officials and the citizens of the community.

CONCLUSIONS

Mayors can make things happen. A Mayor can lead the community economic development strategy that will seek to implement specific actions and projects or react to initiatives brought about by others. It takes vision, leadership, and courage to step out front and lead community economic development. History has proven that
Mayoral leadership, energizing the political and economic leadership of a community, has success in achieving the community’s desired economic development vision


About the Authors



posted by Craig Hullinger AICP City of Peoria  # 6:09 AM
 

Congratulations: You’re Our Newest Plan Commissioner


Congratulations: You’re Our Newest Plan Commissioner.

So Now What Do You Do?

By Charles Eckenstahler and Craig Hullinger

Introduction

Being appointed to a Plan Commission is an honor very few residents of a community ever receive. Where else can you serve your community where you need to have the wisdom of a seasoned judge, the patience of a saint, familiarity with the legalities of land use law, and a personal sense of doing what is right for the common good?

Serving on a Plan Commission is not easy but it can be one of the most rewarding experiences of a person’s life. This article summarizes the basic functions of the Plan Commission and the everyday responsibilities of the Plan Commissioner. Duties Of The Plan Commission A Plan Commission, under Illinois law, is primarily an advisory body to the city council, village board of trustees or county board of commissioners.

The jobs assigned to the Plan Commission are rather few, but significant: · to gather public input and recommend to the legislative body the adoption of a comprehensive Plan for the municipality; · to gather public input and recommend to the legislative body the adoption of a Zoning Ordinance for the municipality; · to review and/or approve new development - more specifically site development plans for specific projects; and · to review and/or approve plats of subdivision.

In many areas of Illinois, planning and zoning programs have a long history. In others, communities are just beginning to develop a comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance. Whether you have been appointed to a new or seasoned Plan Commission, it will involve the same procedures and require a considerable amount of research and preparation.

In Illinois, the Plan Commission prepares the Comprehensive Plan, holds the required public hearings and makes a recommendation to the legislative body regarding its adoption. The zoning ordinance follows a similar process, where the Plan Commission oversees the preparation of the ordinance, holds the required public hearing and recommends its adoption.

Once these documents are adopted, the Plan Commission assumes the duty of reviewing development proposals, development site plans and plats of subdivided land. Typically, the review is designed to assure that the proposed development is completed according to regulations and development standards established by the community. The Plan Commission may also decide whether or not certain types of development will be allowed as special uses or planned developments according to specific provisions of the zoning ordinance.

The Plan Commission also functions as the “think-tank” and “community sounding board.” It provides a mechanism to publically introduce new ideas and concepts for a better community for evaluation, approval and implementation by the legislative body. Most often it is an individual commissioner, who researches the idea, presents the idea to the public for comment and then molds the idea into a specific plan for implementation. This process is not for the faint of heart since Plan Commissioners, even when provided professional staff, spend a large amount of personal time in order to be fully informed concerning decisions they will be recommending.

Responsibilities Of A Plan Commissioner Preparation of the Comprehensive Plan (or its amendment), zoning decisions and development review are significant responsibilities for which the lay commissioner must prepare him or herself. The process for becoming an effective Plan Commissioner is not found in any study course but is typically learned “on the job,” in six easy (or not so easy) lessons.

Lesson #1 - Attendance At Every Meeting This is probably the most important lesson. The Plan Commission represents a cross section of the community and each member’s viewpoint is important to the decision making process. When a Commissioner is absent, this portion of the community viewpoint may not be fully represented and the other Commissioners are not provided the valuable insights of the Commissioner. Much of the process of planning and zoning is learned “on the job” and faithful attendance allows the Commissioner to “learn the ropes” more quickly.

Lesson #2 - Study The Plan And Ordinance This is an obvious statement, but one often ignored. Every Commissioner should have an understanding of the major development goals, policies and objectives detailed in the Comprehensive Plan. He/she should have a casual working knowledge of the provisions of the zoning ordinance. Detailed and specific knowledge is not a prerequisite, but the ability to find information within the comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance is necessary to evaluate development proposals and make recommendations. It’s obvious some amount of home work is required to gain a casual working knowledge of the documents.

Lesson #3 - Meeting Preparation It is especially helpful for Commissioners to review those portions of the comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance which have a bearing on the issues being discussed at the meeting. Therefore, Commissioners should read the agenda and any supporting documentation to familiarize themselves with the specific issues to be considered prior to the meeting. Some Commissioners actually write out specific questions they want answered prior to the meeting. This personal preparation time makes the meeting proceed smoothly and efficiently and prevents endlessly long drawn-out meetings where little seems to be accomplished.

Lesson #4 - Tour the Community And Visit The Site Good Plan Commissioners routinely tour the community in order to be familiar with every portion of the community. This helps with the understanding of an applicant’s request and determining the impact of a recommendation made by the Plan Commission. Even if the Commissioner knows the neighborhood, it’s good practice to visit the site of any issue pending before the Plan Commission. It’s important to personally observe the current conditions of the site and the surrounding land uses. This provides an opportunity to personally evaluate and understand what changes a decision will have on the site and its surroundings. It allows the Commissioner to personally view critical site factors which site plans, aerial photograph and other information, provided by the developer and staff, may not show.

Lesson #5 - Prepare Questions And Personal Opinions While “home work” is important, Commissioners should not hastily form final opinions and recommendations before the meeting. Testimony from the applicant, staff reports, comments from the public and comments from fellow Commissioners should be taken into account in forming personal opinions and recommendations. It is important for Commissioners to “speak out” and ask questions to clarify issues. It’s the duty of each Commissioner to express an informed opinion and respond to specific inquires by fellow Commissioners. Many times the deliberations and public hearing procedures have a way of raising the “blood pressure” of participants. Plan Commissioners must remember to treat these situations with understanding, tact and courtesy. Remember reasonable people can, and do, disagree which leads to a fair and open-minded evaluation of the facts surrounding the issue and the issuance of a decision by the Plan Commission which represents the best situation for the community.

Lesson #6 - Training, Training and More Training The one certainty in the planning and zoning process is change. As a result, each Commissioner should be committed to a long-ranged program of continual education. There are a number of excellent publications which can be reviewed. Additionally, universities and planning and zoning professional organizations sponsor seminars which can be attended for education and training. Summary Illinois planning and zoning laws leave final land use decisions in the hands of local citizens. The quality of the decisions and the professionalism of the procedures used to arrive at the decisions are entirely in the hands of the Plan Commissioners themselves. The personal investment of time to become fully knowledgeable about the planning and zoning process and local administrative procedures has a direct relationship to the level of personal satisfaction realized by each Commissioner. What is more important, the better Commissioners understand the duties required of them, the better the quality of the decision the Plan Commission, as a whole, will make. Better decisions will directly influence the quality of the community today and into the future.




posted by Craig Hullinger AICP City of Peoria  # 6:09 AM
 

Defining Accessory Uses A Three-Step Work Sheet



Defining Accessory Uses A Three-Step Work Sheet

By: CHARLES ECKENSTAHLER, ACP and CRAIG H. HULLINGER AICP

Introduction

Complaints about red tape in the processing of zoning requests are frequent. Developers and citizens are frequently frustrated by the time required to process simple requests. Local governments should streamline processes where possible.

Accessory uses are incidental to the principal permitted use in zoning districts. Typical accessory uses include storage sheds in the rear yard of a residential lot. Home occupations are other examples of frequently requested accessory uses. Zoning ordinances often do not include a list of accessory uses. They seldom provide a guide in determining whether a specific proposal should be considered an accessory use.

The determination of whether the application is an accessory use is usually delegated to the Zoning Officer who may or may not be empowered to grant approval. Some ordinances provide that the Zoning Board of Appeals determine accessory uses, some designate the Zoning Enforcement Officer and some are silent on the matter.

This article seeks to establish a three-part test which can be used to determine accessory uses. A worksheet is provided which can be used to guide local government decision making. The article also seeks to streamline the approval process, and reduce time and frustration for applicants and enforcement personnel. An Example Situation

To illustrate a typical situation, consider the following. A local landscaping service has a retail sales and service yard located on a commercially zoned lot abutting the main commercial street in your community. Like a lot of landscaping businesses, it has expanded to do tree trimming, lawn mowing and other home maintenance chores throughout the community. With the expanded business, the service has hired more residents, especially high school and college kids, during the summer months.

With a fleet of vehicles, it was a natural need to have a radio communication system to keep in contact with all the work teams circulating with within the community. Approval of a radio tower as an accessory use was granted to help the successful growth of the business, some time back.

Today, an application for a cellular communication tower designed to replace the approved radio communications tower has been filed. The application states the new tower is an accessory use to the business, because it is needed to communicate over a larger service territory. It will also be leased by a cellular phone company to provide mobile phone communications services.

Defining Customary And Incidental

The critical issue of this situation is defining whether the circumstances, the location of the tower for the use by the landscaping business, is customary and incidental to the landscaping business and secondly, whether the use of the tower as a cellular communications tower is customary and incidental to the landscaping business.

To help answer the question, the following questions can be asked:

1.Is the accessory use to be conducted on the same lot as the principal permitted use? In this situation, the use of the tower for radio communications for the landscaping business is clearly accessory to the landscaping business operations. It can be concluded the use of the tower for cellular communications is not an accessory use because no other cellular business operations are located on the site.

2.Is the proposed accessory use customarily found in connection with the principal permitted use? It is not unusual for a landscaping (or similar business) to have a radio tower for communications purposes and it can be concluded that the tower, when used in this manner, would be considered an accessory use. However, it is more difficult to find a communications tower jointly used by a landscaping business and a cellular communications business. Therefore, it can be concluded that the use of the tower for this purpose, because it is not commonly found and does not have any direct relationship with the landscaping business, would not pass the test as an accessory use incidental to principal use.

3.Is there unity of ownership between the principal and accessory uses? For this question, clearly the ownership of the tower by the landscaping business for their use meets the guidelines and the leasehold interest of the communications company does not. Therefore, the tower would be an accessory use for the landscaping business but not the communications company.

The Decision Use of the three questions provide guidelines for the analysis of this complex situation. Findings of fact gathered from the above analysis include:

1.The location of a radio communications tower for use by the landscaping business is an accessory use of the landscaping business. The tower is located on the same zoning lot as the business, a radio communication system is commonly found in use by other landscaping business and related type businesses and the tower is owned by the business.

2.The use of the tower by a cellular communications company is not an accessory use. The tower is not on the same zoning lot as any principal communication company use, use of a tower for such purposes is not usually located with a landscaping business and the tower is not owned by the cellular communication company.
Therefore, the community would approve the tower for use by the landscaping business but prohibit the use of the tower for use as a cellular communications tower.

A Simple Work Sheet The work sheet, displayed below, can be used to help evaluate accessory use applications and become part of the application file documentation. If answers to all three questions posed in the work sheet are yes, then there is substantiation for the claim that the proposed use is accessory to the principal permitted use.

ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS - PLANNING DEPARTMENT

Village of Sauk Village, Illinois

ACCESSORY USE DETERMINATION WORKSHEET
21701 Torrence Avenue Sauk Village, IL 60411 (708)758-3330 Fax: (708) 758-9044

Zoning Case:_____________________________________________

Date: ___________________________________________________

12/10/98 Commissioner:

___________________________________________

STANDARDS FOR REVIEW STANDARD APPLICABILITY COMMENTS

1. Is the accessory use to be conducted on the same lot as the principal permitted use? Yes No Uncertain

2. Is the proposed accessory use customarily found in connection with the principal permitted use? Yes No Uncertain

3. Is their unity of ownership between the principal and accessory uses? Yes No Uncertain

Conclusion

More and more often plan commissions, zoning boards of appeals and zoning officials will be faced with the question of when to approve an apparent unrelated use as an accessory use on a single zoning lot. Along with the tower example other situations such as storage sheds for hobby (and retail sales) use, living units as part of commercial and industrial businesses, and manufacturing uses as part of a retail sales business have potential to be considered as accessory uses, depending on the construction of the language in the local zoning ordinance. Use of the work sheet allows the analysis of the individual circumstances of each application and uniform application of guidelines to help decision making.



posted by Craig Hullinger AICP City of Peoria  # 6:09 AM
 

Zoning Litigation




Zoning Litigation - Common Sense Rules To Reduce Vulnerability

By CHARLES ECKENSTAHLER AICP and CRAIG HULLINGER AICP

Introduction

The days when municipalities were not subject to litigation over disputed planning and zoning decision are long over. Property owners and developers now often seek judicial action when the decision of the plan commission, city council, village board or county commission is not favorable to their cause. Some developers plan from the start to proceed with litigation as part of the approval strategy.

The United States Supreme Court has issued rulings concerning compensation for the regulatory taking of private property in Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council (1992) and Dolan v. City of Tigard (1994). In these complex cases the court held that compensation for the taking of property rights by regulations may be cause for compensation.

As a result, more property owners and developers are using the threat of litigation as a ploy to influence decisions in their favor. They reference the threat of litigation as part of their presentations using it to demand prompt and favorable decisions on zoning matters. This threat, however, is not idle. Zoning and “takings” litigation is on the rise notes Beth Ruyle, Executive Director of the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association. Ruyle administers a self insurance fund covering nineteen local governments in the southern suburbs of Chicago. Ruyle notes, “When we first started our insurance program we didn’t think seriously about zoning and property rights litigation, because none of our members experienced problems with such litigation. Today, we are much more concerned. We have, over the past two years, been involved in several cases. Clearly, the trend for this type of litigation is increasing.”

Six Ingredients For “Bullet Proofing” The Plan and Zoning Process

We recommend that municipalities consider the following six ingredients to avoid litigation:

1. Define The Reasonable Use Of The Subject Property If you have not done so in the recent past, review and update your comprehensive plan, especially the official statements of goals and policies. This portion of the document expresses the desired future land uses for various portions of the community. These statements will form the legal basis for the zoning ordinance. It also demonstrates that the ordinance was not arbitrary or imposed in violation of planning and zoning laws. The goals and policies should tie directly back to state enabling legislation for planning and zoning. This direct linkage makes it easy for the court to follow the logic for the development of the municipal goals and objectives.

2. Update The Zoning Ordinance

It is fairly common for communities to adopt a zoning ordinance and believe that it should never be amended. We recommend that periodically (every few years) a comprehensive review of the ordinance be completed by the plan commission. This process further documents the effort of the municipality to “keep current” the zoning map, change outdated language and to modify specific language to further implement the comprehensive plan.

Your legal counsel is an important part of this process. You and your attorney should carefully review the ordinance to ensure that you are following it and that it is current with state law and recent court rulings. You may also want to engage a professional planner to assist in the update process. This may prove cost effective in avoiding litigation.

Professional assistance can provide you information concerning recent rulings and legislation which may require you to modify some of the current ordinance language. The advisor is most often an “outsider” who can discuss problems and make recommendations without the emotional attachment found in local property owners. Neither will the advisor reflect individual preferences.

It is also good practice to update the zoning ordinance when the comprehensive plan is updated, or immediately following the update of the plan. Ideally, the same individuals should prepare the land use plan maps and zoning maps at the same scale and at the same time. The categories of the land use plan should also correlate to the zoning map categories.

3. Organize Your Decision Making Process

To Rely On Facts Many plan commissions pay little attention to the specific facts of the matter at hand. They often do not formally state why they denied or approved the zoning request. They do not make a formal written report. In making your recommendation or decision on a zoning request, you should carefully consider all relevant information. You should ensure that the rationale for your decisions is documented in writing so that the court will not have to speculate as to why you made your decision. The written “Findings of Fact” should be prepared by your attorney and approved by the commission. You should, of course, reference the land use plan and map, zoning map, the goals and policies of your plan, and the purposes and intent of your zoning code. Topography, flood plain, wetlands, wet soils and prime farmlands are all relevant information. The distance to utilities is also important.

In Illinois, the courts rely heavily on the standards for review of zoning cases enunciated in the LaSalle v. County of Cook (1957) and Sinclair Pipe Line Company v. Richton Park (1960). The first six standards were established in LaSalle V. Cook, while the last two were developed from the Richton Park case. The court uses these standards to evaluate the legitimacy of your decision. It is, therefore, logical to use these standards when developing your decision. The standards are as follows:

1. The existing uses and zoning of nearby property;

2. The extent to which property values are diminished by the particular zoning restrictions;

3. The extend to which the destruction of plaintiffs’ property values promote the health, safety, morals or general welfare of the public;

4. Relative gain to the public compared to hardship imposed upon the individual property owner;

5. The suitability of the subject property for the zoned purposes;

6. The length of time the property has been vacant as zoned, considered in the context of land development in the vicinity;

7. Community need for the proposed land use;

8. The care with which the community had undertaken to plan its land use development.

A misconception is that the land use of the property changes with the change of owners. In most cases zoning matters are tied to the land and any subsequent owners of the property can continue to use the property within the terms and conditions as approved by the municipality. We recommend that you develop a non-emotional, factual evaluation process based on the specific requirements and procedures outlined in the zoning ordinance for every rezoning matter. You must include a motion to approve or deny a rezoning request and reiterate the finding of fact, reasons that the request is inconsistent with the approved municipal plan and the specific reasons that the request is not in the best interest of the municipality. You should write this in proper form and make it available for public inspection.

4. Follow Proper Procedure Within Legitimate Authority

The courts have ruled in favor of developers in a large number of recent cases because the municipality did not follow proper procedure or acted beyond the authority given to them by the zoning ordinance. The public hearing must follow precisely the terms of the ordinance. Failure to do so could result in cancellation of the decision and the necessity to repeat the zoning process. In one (non-Illinois) instance, the municipality caused a delay and the judge ruled the municipality, as a result, caused monetary loss to the developer. The court then required the municipality to pay damages. Acting within the boundary of the zoning ordinance is also important. Issues of appearance, color of the building, and construction materials are not typically regulated under the terms of the zoning ordinance. Nor can you consider the qualifications of the property owner or the developer.

5. Establish Written Record And Document Procedures

From the first meeting with the applicant, written records are important. A short note in the file may be important in the case of litigation. Some communities record or video tape each meeting for their permanent record. Others take written notes on lap top computers which are distributed to all parties. You should request a completed application, with supporting information, for every zoning matter. You should note all conversations and prepare a summary of every meeting. The community then places these into the file. You should also make a record of all phone calls attempted and include this information in the file. The community must also keep a copy of all correspondence and the minutes of each meeting at which it takes action. The community should store these according to the law and until the time limit for litigation expires.

6. Use Consistent Procedures

This last rule is common sense, but is often forgotten. Realize that all prior actions of the municipality are open for inspection and review. Therefore, if you approved an action once, your reasons for that decision become the rationale for someone to ask for a similar consideration. Know the reasons for prior decisions and return to them when granting or denying a request. The community should resolve any questions of doubt before taking action and, if the action is not similar to any previous decision, state the reasons. Listen to supporting and opposing views on the matter before rendering an opinion. You must act in “good faith” and make the decision which is in the best interest of all the residents of the municipality, not just those attending the meeting.

Do not make your decision prior to the public hearing. This is true for both commissioners and staff. A common problem is staff writing reports and making a specific recommendation before the public hearing. This insults the public. It is both poor planning and poor politics. Staff should make recommendations following the public hearing.

Conclusions

The authors developed the six ingredients for successful zoning as a result of their twenty-five plus years of experience in concert with the review of recent litigation. The authors intend that the six ingredients serve as a guide for plan commissioners and their staff to address the growing problems caused by the threats of litigation against municipal decisions in planning and zoning. Ever present diligence is necessary today to ward off both the effective use of threats of litigation and litigation itself.

Knowledge and consistent administration of the planning and zoning functions in a fair impartial manner remain the best means to “bullet proof” your municipality’s planning and zoning functions. Likewise, it remains imperative that the municipality retain the services of a qualified attorney. The attorney should be made available to the planning commission or zoning board of appeals for advice on difficult land use decision. No criteria can replace knowledgeable specific legal advise.



posted by Craig Hullinger AICP City of Peoria  # 6:08 AM

Friday, October 16, 2009

 

Position Your Project For Quick Municipal Approval


 
Position Your Project For Quick Municipal Approval
  
“Recommendations for Applicants Entering The Plan and Zoning Process” 

By CRAIG HULLINGER AICP and CHUCK ECKENSTAHLER AICP 

Introduction 

It is inevitable that proposed new development will meet stiff opposition in the approval process. In the minds of many people, any new development will impact everything from traffic on existing roads to consuming valued open space. Some plan commission meetings resemble open warfare between developers and concerned citizens with the plan commission acting as reluctant referees. 

Neither the applicant nor the plan commissioner wishes to participate in these angry and unproductive meetings. With an understanding that open warfare can erupt at any time, what’s a plan commission to do? Whether it is a new project or a routine decision before the plan commission (or zoning board), we recommend the municipality advise (or preferably require) the applicant to prepare for the public presentation and hearing process. 

It pays for the applicant to be well prepared, and to approach the community with a willingness to compromise. Increasing The Odds For Approval It is a duty of a good municipal planning staff to advise the applicant concerning the preparation of the application and public presentation procedures. These procedures vary from community to community. Both the individual who has never processed a request before and the most experienced developers appreciate this “coaching” because it allows then to prepare and present their request in the “best possible light.” 

This coaching also helps the plan commission, since it informs the applicant of the process of the meeting and the type of information which the plan commission desires to see publically presented. It gives the applicant time to organize a public presentation including expert presentations and display drawings to illustrate important elements of their proposal. 

Below is a list of ten guidelines we give to applicants to help them “increase the odds” of making a winning presentation. 
1.Do Your Homework Too often applicants before the plan commission do not come prepared and “ad-lib” responses to pointed questions put forth by citizens during the public hearing. We recommend to applicants that they attend meetings to see how the process works and to gain an understanding of the type of questions raised by citizens and the members. We urge all applicants to prepare for the meeting and come ready to answer questions. We also suggest that large “display-sized” drawing and maps be prepared and used to illustrate the key points of the applicant’s request. 

2.Understand the Communities Growth Policies Every community views growth and development differently. Some welcome new development while others are somewhat more particular and support only certain types of new development. 

We recommend applicants take time to review the Comprehensive Plan and discuss their proposal with local officials. These discussions usually identify whether the proposal conforms with the general intent of the 
Comprehensive Plan and “unwritten” desires of the plan commission and community. The closer the proposal conforms to the “written and unwritten” growth policies, the greater likelihood of acceptance of the proposal. Crafting a development proposal which conforms to the intent of the community growth policies, obviously, will receive a more favorable consideration than one which doesn’t. 

3.Identify How the Project Will Benefit The Community 

In the fiscally constrained local governmental financial environment of today, many local governments examine the financial merits of every new development proposal. They assess whether the cost for municipal services and infrastructure will exceed the tax revenue generated by the real estate property, sales and income taxes the community will receive as a result of the new development. We suggest that applicants consider having a cost-benefit analysis completed to test whether the proposed development will pay “its fair share” of costs. In cases where the development does not meet local financial obligations, we encourage the developer to reconsider the type of development proposed or to evaluate the possibility of donations to off-set potential revenue losses. 

4.Go The Extra Mile Attitude Gaining approval of a new development today is often a negotiation process. Developers, realizing that communities do not have to approve a request, spend more money and time in the preparation of the application for approval. We see more attention to the growth policies of the communities being given by the developers and a greater sensitivity to meeting the fiscal needs of the community than in the past. Applicants who are ready to “go this additional mile” are received with enthusiasm and have the greatest chance to secure approvals. 

5.Know Your Legal Position Development is governed by number of local ordinances, state laws and regulations. In addition there can be private restrictions in the form of deed restrictions, easements and “clouded” ownership. Applications sometimes are submitted without completing research of permits and restrictions which may alter the development proposal when discovered. We recommend that property title research be completed and that applications for “curb cuts,” water/sewer connections, storm water systems, floodplain alteration and wetland permits be submitted as needed, as early as possible in the concept development process. This knowledge assures that required permits can be obtained and no legal objection to the development of the proposed concept will be encountered. We also recommend applicants know the rules prescribed by the zoning ordinance for the subject property. This knowledge gives a base line density determination for the property and a measurement tool for any negotiated changes. 

6.Don’t Overlook The Opportunity For Innovation Innovative planning techniques such as traditional neighborhood development, zero lot line development, transit orientated development, cluster development and the like are being discussed as means to achieve smart growth and reduce “urban sprawl.” We encourage developers to recognize that communities are willing to consider innovative development, sometimes of higher density with less development costs, where a carefully crafted development plan fulfill local community development goals. Obviously, in cases where an application supports a desired innovative development concept, the application approval process is likely to be easier. 

7.Be Willing To Scale Back Developers seek to maximize their return on investment in land, often seeking to build the greatest number of housing units (or other buildings) as permitted by the zoning ordinance. We recommend applicants take a “hard look” at the development opportunity in light of the community plan and unwritten development polices before finalizing any concept plan for a specific project. Proposing maximum density of development for a site viewed as a lower density development site by the plan commission, will almost always give rise to lengthy debate and review. 

8.Trade Density For Open Space or Cost Reductions Applicants should recognize the overwhelming desire expressed by citizens for more open space. Innovative design which clusters development allowing greater sized open space areas are viewed positively by most communities. We encourage developers to consider asking for additional density for provision of larger land areas left in open space especially with creative designs which provide access to the open space through the total development. 

9.Listen and Show Respect for Local Officials This is another obvious statement, however, we have found that many times an applicant will bluster in to a community demanding prompt approval due to a “short deadline.” It must be recognized that plan commissioners must deal with residents concerns and need time to review and complete their job. Applicants who rush the process and “push” the decision process without regard for the plan commission members’ time and need for review seriously hinder a respectful dialogue. 

10.Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say We have attended meetings where applicants “promise the world” and conveniently forget the promises once the development is completed. We caution applicants to be honest in their commitments and fulfill their promises. 

Conclusions 

It is important to understand the role of each member participating in the decision process; applicant, plan commission and staff. Not every project, even though that’s what the applicant wants, will pass through the approval process without change. Preparation and understanding is the “key” to achieving an approval supported by all parties of the process. Understanding an applying the about principles provides for a higher chance of success.

Chuck Eckenstahler, AICP, is the owner of Public Consulting Team, a Benton Harbor, Michigan planning consulting firm which has consulted with the Villages of Beecher, Sauk Village Glenwood and Homewood as their consulting planner. 

Craig Harlan Hullinger, AICP, is the President of Planning Development Services. He has served as the Will County Director of Land Use and Planning where he supervised planning, zoning, engineering, and building functions. He is currently working with the Villages of Minooka, Tinley Park, Mokena, Munster, IN and the Eastern Will County Regional Council.
 



posted by Craig Hullinger AICP City of Peoria  # 10:49 PM

Thursday, October 15, 2009

 

Does Comprehensive Planning Work?


 By CHARLES ECKENSTAHLER, AICP and CRAIG HULLINGER, AICP

Introduction

Does our Comprehensive Plan function as it was intended? Does it guide land use decisions? Should it be updated or replaced?

These are common questions frequently raised by elected officials and planning staff. But it was of more recent concern to Bill Ernat, Community Development Director for the Village of Homewood. “ The Board of Trustees, after several months of discussion, authorized the update of our plan last updated in 1986,” said Ernat.

“ The Trustees questioned whether the Plan was effective and worthwhile. They asked if it had helped guide past land use decisions, and was in need of updating.” As the first step in preparing an update to the plan, Ernat wanted to know if officials and village administrators thought that the current plan was valid. He also wanted to know whether the Plan had influenced past and current decision making in the village.

To gather information, the Village Planning Consultant was instructed to survey thirty key officials. Included in the roster were all elected officials; the members of the Plan Commission and the Zoning Board of Appeals; chairmen of several advisory committees and commissions, such as the Economic Development Committee and Appearance Commission; the Park District; as well as village management staff and department heads.

The Survey Data was collected on two primary issues. The first issue was to test whether the current plan (prepared in 1986) was still valid for current use. The second issue questioned the respondees’ familiarity with the plan and whether they personally viewed the document as influential in decision-making. Survey Findings Responses were returned by about one-half of the key village leaders. While the survey was not a true statistical sampling, the results were felt to represent a realistic portrayal of the attitudes of village leadership.

The results of the survey, by question, follow:

Is the current plan valid? 14% said yes, 29% said no and 57% said they didn’t know.

Is the current plan relevant for the future? 14% said yes, 21% said no and 64% said they didn’t know.

Have you read the plan? 14% said yes, 71% said no and 14% had no opinion.

Has the plan provided guidance for decision-making? 36% indicated some and substantial, 14% said little and 50% said none.

What Homewood Officials Realized Village President Richard Hofeld wasn’t surprised with the results of the survey, but a little disappointed. “We take pride in the process of local government decision-making in Homewood,” said Hofeld. “I am happy that more than a third of the respondees indicate the plan influences our decision-making process. What’s more disturbing is the uncertainty of whether the plan is a valid decision-making tool now and in the future. These survey findings really confirm that we made the right decision to update the plan. The process of the update will provide the opportunity for the leadership and all residents to reacquaint themselves with the plan and our development goals for the future.”

Ernat suggests there may be a number of reasons for the survey results, including:

1.Timeliness of the Plan The plan document was more than 10 years old. Many changes had occurred in the community since the plan was last updated. It can be surmised that many of the leaders would view the document as out of date. Many leaders had not bothered reading the document, assuming it was out of date.

2.Personalization and Community Ownership of the Plan Another reason could be the existence of new participants in village planning and governmental administration, many who have specific ideas of what direction future planning should take.

3.Lack of Validity It can be surmised that the content of the plan may be out-of-date, so why bother to read it! What Was Learned From The Survey Process? Ernat states that the village learned from the survey that, “Our plan was no longer an up-to-date document. A plan has a useful shelf life. That time period is different in every community and is based on many factors. Most important is who participates in the process of preparing the plan, what issues are addressed and how the document is amended to remain current. Probably just as important is how the document is promoted by elected and appointed officials as the village tool for decision making.”

The update process of the Homewood Comprehensive Plan included six neighborhood public input sessions, interviews with the key leaders, and a wide variety of discussion sessions with advisory bodies and resident interest groups. The outcome, in addition to the traditional big report, will be an Executive Summary “Brochure Plan” summarizing future development policies. The brochure will include a copy of the Future Land Use Map of the village.

This document will be used to promote the updated Comprehensive Plan as an easily recognized decision making tool for both government and private sector use. What Other Communities Should Know Almost every elected official has heard the advice on how important it is to have a current plan when defending legal challenges to land use decisions in court. However, there are a number of other benefits, including:

1.Elected and appointed officials are more likely to make a concerted effort to use the plan in making land use decisions if they were involved in its development and adoption. Listening to citizens’ input makes elected officials more aware and knowledgeable of the community.

2.The preparation of the plan must include a wide range of interests and the maximum number of participants to assure “ownership” of the plan.

3.The document must be widely distributed in a concise format which is easily read by the general public.

4.Elected officials and community leaders must promote awareness of the Comprehensive Plan and its importance in decision making.

5.Staff should consider use of the Plan for influencing development decisions by distribution of the Plan as a statement of what the community likes and dislikes in terms of new development within the community.

6.Elected officials and staff should always include reference to the Comprehensive Plan in the approval and denial of development actions.

7.Annually, the test of current validity and the need for updating should be considered to retain high visibility, use and public recognition of the Comprehensive Plan as a guide for decision making.

8.When the Board makes a decision that does not comply with the Plan, the Plan should be formally amended so that the Plan remains consistent with that decision.

9.A large, full-color Land Use Plan Map, containing goals and objectives, and principal recommendations should be framed and mounted in the Village Board room.

Conclusion

Village Manager Dave Niemeyer sums up the feelings of elected and appointed officials plus administrative staff this way. “We will ask the same questions about a year after adoption of the Comprehensive Plan Update. I’ll bet the results of the survey will show opposite results. We intend to ask these questions annually, to determine when to update the plan next. Homewood officials have a vision for the future. Our updated Comprehensive Plan will serve its intended purpose.”

Chuck Eckenstahler, AICP, is the owner of Public Consulting Team, a Benton Harbor, MI, planning consulting firm engaged by the Illinois communities of Beecher, Sauk Village and Homewood to serve as their consulting planner.

Craig Harlan Hullinger, AICP, is a governmental planning consultant and President of Planning Development Services. He recently reentered private practice after serving as the Assistant Village Manager for Tinley Park. He also has served as Will County Director of Land Use.



posted by Craig Hullinger AICP City of Peoria  # 2:22 PM

Monday, October 12, 2009

 

Illinois Business District Law

-
Illinois Business District Law (BD) Amended:
New Sales and Hotel/ Motel $$’s are available for Redevelopment
By
Beth Ruyle, Executive Vice President & Director
Ehlers & Associates, Inc.

The Business District is not a new economic development tool in Illinois, but with legislative amendment in 2004, it is a tool worth exploring. Like Tax Increment Financing (TIF), the BD allows communities to pledge tax revenues toward redevelopment in a blighted area. However, unlike TIF, this tool allows communities to increase sales and/or hotel motel tax within the boundaries of the Business District as that revenue. Previously the Business District was used for the powers it provided a community as opposed to a real revenue source to help with development or redevelopment. Now, the BD can generate its own revenues or be used in conjunction with TIF to generate additional revenues for projects.

The Business District also deals only with municipal revenues so there is no concern on the part of the other taxing bodies. If additional property tax dollars are generated, all districts receive the new share of those property taxes.

The Illinois Business District law now authorizes municipalities to levy an additional sales tax of up to 1.00% in .25 increments on retail goods and hotels in a designated commercial area. (Certain sales are exempt as drugs, medicines, handicap/disability equipment, etc.) If you are an Illinois community of any size or population, and you are seeking additional revenue to help finance economic development and redevelopment in your community, you should consider implementing the Illinois Business District law (P.A. 093-1053)

The law requires that a municipality make a formal finding that the area is blighted. The “blight” definition is similar to that of TIF, but not exact. In cases of a BD that overlays a TIF, eligibility of both could be concurrently established.

Other requirements similar to TIF are the “but for” provisions, the requirement of a Redevelopment Plan, a required budget, required contiguity of parcels in the District, and required agreement between the BD plan and the comprehensive plan. The time period of 23 years is also the same as TIF.

The Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) collects the retail tax. The State Treasurer disburses checks for sales taxes to municipalities on or before the 25th day of each calendar month. IDOR retains 2% of the amount for their administrative costs associated with the collection and disbursement of the business district sales tax revenues. You must file your ordinances with IDOR by April and October 1st for July and January 1 collection startups.

The municipality must collect the hotel portion of the tax.

Adoption of the BD is much easier than that of a TIF. The law only requires that the municipality hold a minimum of two public hearings at least one week before designation. However, communities should undertake an information plan for its residents and businesses and seek support of the affected business community prior to the designation of the BD.


Some questions to consider before using this financing tool:

Question 1.

When would a community consider using a Business District?

Answer.
Two possibilities have already been mentioned—when there is opposition by the taxing districts to a TIF that cannot be surmounted or when additional revenues beyond TIF are needed to make the project work. Other times when a BD might apply are when property tax revenues are already committed and cannot be used, when there is agreement from the retail community that they are willing to participate in the renovations of the area or when a hotel project may be the center piece to the development. These and other reasons are rationale to look at this tool.

Question 2.
Will the imposition of an added sales tax for a retail development located in one part of your community and impact existing retail in other parts of the community? Will this tax drive customers away?

Answer:
In other states that use this financing tool, like Missouri, the experience shows that the payment of the added sales tax is not an issue with consumers, particularly if the retailers in the Business District are new to the community, and provide a greater variety of goods and services to customers that they cannot get elsewhere.

Question 3.
Should we create the district so that we include retailers of high cost items?

Answer:
We would advise that you carefully analyze the impacts of imposing the tax on retailers of expensive items and major retail purchases. You may want to begin with a smaller increment of additional sales tax on those types of high- end retail purchases in order to gauge consumer response to the additional tax.

Question 4.
Is there opposition or resistance to these added taxes by existing retailers?

Answer:
Some retailers (most notably Wal-Mart) have opposed the business district taxes. There is no evidence though to prove that these retailers have lost sales revenue as a result of the additional tax.

Question 5.
If we have an existing TIF, can we still get the Business District and will it require any additional documentation?

Answer:
You can set up a Business District with an existing TIF. At this point, you must complete additional documentation because the qualifying criteria for blight differ in the separate Acts. However, this documentation will be much less extensive than the TIF and can use portions of TIF documents as part of the designation. Such items as the plan and the “but for” evidence will be there from the TIF. Documentation of the criteria will be different or modified.

Question 6.
If we have a Business District can we just impose this tax?

Answer:
Only if you have made a formal finding that the area is a blighted area based on the criteria in the Act. You should also assure your plan conforms to the specifications in the Act. Then, you can pass the ordinances imposing the tax (es).

Question 7.
How complicated is it to create a Business District Redevelopment Plan.?

Answer:
Establishing eligibility still carries with it the need to justify the basis for blight in the BD. Likewise, you must establish that “but for” the Business District development or redevelopment will not occur. The plan must document these items and also provide goals and objectives for the BD, a review of the existing Comprehensive Plan to assure conformity, a budget for the project, and a set of powers and, most importantly, the rate of sales tax or hotel/motel tax that will be imposed.

Beth Ruyle is a Financial Advisor in the Ehlers’ Illinois Office. She is the former director of the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association. She has extensive economic development and municipal finance experience. She specializes in development of TIF, BD and Special Assessment/Special Service Area Bonds. She is joined in the Ehlers Illinois office by Financial Advisor Brad Townsend another former municipal manager.

posted by Craig Hullinger AICP City of Peoria  # 11:52 AM
 

Key Financial Strategies

Key Financial Strategies
By
Beth Ruyle
Financial Advisor, Ehlers & Associates

Recognizing that change is inevitable, most communities have undertaken a planning process to view where they are and where they want to be. As a result, most communities in Illinois have comprehensive plans to guide their physical development. However, do these communities have a similar plan to direct their fiscal development? The answer is no. Officials recognize that communities grow and age. They may need new facilities or to replace aging infrastructure. Unfortunately, analyzing only the physical side of the equation does not make a complete and doable vision.

Just as a community needs a comprehensive plan to guide change in the community, it needs a financial plan that provides a framework for good fiscal decision-making. This is not just a budget or a capital improvements program. A financial strategy looks at setting financial goals for the community and the methods to achieve those goals. Both revenues and proposed capital items are parts of a framework that guides the financial decisions of the community. Tying this financial strategic plan to existing financial components and comprehensive planning creates a plan for the community that works.

When a community desires to pursue an action, it will know in advance whether that action is a financial reality. The financial strategy also provides a context in which elected officials understand their options and the implication of their decisions. The impact of competing needs can be fully understood and priorities are realistically set without putting taxpayers at risk. Can you afford to undertake that economic development project? Or, perhaps more importantly, can you not afford to undertake that project?

Communities in other states in the Midwest have embraced this new financial planning tool. For example, The Fitchburg Star, Fitchburg, Wisconsin noted that the process included a well-organized outline of borrowing options and an equally well-organized list of ramifications. The paper then praised the community’s decision to undertake the strategy.

Illinois communities should, likewise, consider this key strategic financial component that includes the following:


Confirm and prioritize community goals;
Review the community’s current financial position;
Develop an inventory of capital needs and program request beyond the traditional Capital Improvement Program;
Develop an inventory of financial resources;
Present options;
Analyze the financial impact of each option;
Prepare an affordable, comprehensive financial plan;
Develop a framework to review future capital projects.


Even the rating agencies have noted that this long-range view of the community’s finances is beneficial. According to both Moodys and Standards and Poor the process assists in the rating process.

Undertaking a “Key Financial Strategies” process is now timely given the positive nature of the economy. Waiting may mean that the community may sacrifice some of its options and, in general, will face less flexibility as it attempts to prepare for the future. Developing a financial strategy will become a necessary tool as communities face the future. Illinois communities should consider this new program quickly to assure that their financial future is sound.


As Printed in the Illinois Municipal League Review, March, 2000


posted by Craig Hullinger AICP City of Peoria  # 11:49 AM
 

Fiscal Impact Review of New Development



Important Questions for a Fiscal Impact Review of New Development

Many communities are facing new development and redevelopment. A common question is what financial impact the development will have on budgets of cities and school districts. Cities and school districts are especially interested in assessing whether a proposed development will provide sufficient revenue to cover its future operating and capital cost both in the short and long-term.


Many municipal officials assume that most new development will pay for itself, Unfortunately, that is not always the case. For a variety of reasons, it is not always easy to predict which developments will cover their cost and which will not. Tax rate limitations and conservative assessing practices have combined to limit the financial upside of new development and re-development.


It is a recommended financial practice for communities to review financial impact of new developments. Many communities are asking developers to provide this information as they submit their plans. However, these analyses may not explore the full costs of development. Having full information can provide important insight and even leverage when negotiating development and annexation agreements.

Cities and School Districts should consider the following questions and responses when evaluating new development and re-development.

1. Why is it important to review the fiscal impacts for a proposed development? Fiscal impact reviews are an essential component to financial planning for communities. Knowing, and preparing for, the capital and operating needs of new developments are keys to successfully managing growth. Without such information and financial plans, communities experiencing growth may find themselves supporting budgets from building permit and impact fees. When the growth subsides, these communities are likely to face financial stress.

2. Who should prepare a fiscal impact review? It is best that local government staff or a financial advisory firm working for the local government should perform the review. Many communities rely on information provided by the developer's consultant. This may present problems for the community if those interested in the impacts of the development question that information. It is hard for the community to verify that conclusions are correct if they have not been involved in the development of the fiscal impact data. In many cases, the client requesting the fiscal impact review is the developer and not the local government. It is sometimes difficult to assure objectivity of the fiscal impact review when it is in the best interest of the developer to show a positive fiscal impact for their project.


3. Who pays for the study if the local government staff or financial advisor performs the work? The study will need to be paid for by the local government. Local governments can treat this like any other internal review, such as engineering, where the local government assumes the costs or contracts for the review and becomes the client, yet requires the developer to assume the costs.


4. Don't new developments pay for themselves? No, not always. Tax rates and fees vary greatly because various types of development generate widely different local revenue. As a result, it is difficult to generalize about their financial viability. Typically, specific analysis is needed.


5. If new development pays for new streets and utilities is there any need for additional impact fees? Yes, new development will typically add to the need to eventually expand or build and equip new city halls, police stations, public works facilities, fire stations, parks, libraries and schools. New equipment for police, fire, and public works will need to be financed. Finally, because of the lag between new development and receipt of property taxes and state revenues based on population census data, transition financing is also needed.


6. Is budget or audit information the best source to develop projections for future operating costs? Yes, that is the best place to start. But most local governments have been faced with cutbacks to the point that budgets do not always reflect the true cost of operations. It is critical to identify the real cost to maintain existing services and facilities and adjust projected costs accordingly.


7. What options are available if the development will not support itself financially? There are quite a few options, depending on circumstances. Some options include changing phasing, development type, revising the base plan, conducting special census, and increasing up-front impact fees.


8. When is the best time to prepare a fiscal impact study? The best time is once an initial concept has been presented, but prior to initiating the formal approval process. This allows for adjustments to the plan based on the results of the study. It is much more difficult to make changes once a development concept has been submitted for formal review and approval.


9. Is there really any difference between studies performed by the developer’s consultant and one prepared by a city or their consultant? Yes, some development consultants do not have the municipal background needed to properly evaluate impacts and cost of services. Rarely, does a developer or their consultant have actual municipal operating knowledge. In addition, it is important to recognize that service levels vary from community to community.


10. What type of organization provides Fiscal Impact Review services? These studies are prepared by a variety of sources including cities themselves, planning firms, financial advisory firms and even some universities. Some communities require disclosure of current and recent clients to avoid the appearance of conflict of interest. It is always a good idea to check references as part of the selection process.


James Prosser is a financial advisor and leads Ehlers’ Illinois Office. He has city management experience in f Richfield, MN and in Hazel Crest, Glen Ellyn, IL. Jim has also managed numerous redevelopment and fiscal impact project s for communities.

Beth Ruyle is a financial advisor and is the municipal group leader for the Ehlers’ Illinois Office. She is the former director of the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association. She has extensive economic development and municipal finance experience.





posted by Craig Hullinger AICP City of Peoria  # 11:47 AM

Saturday, October 10, 2009

 

THE ATTORNEY - PLANNER RELATIONSHIP 'KEY' TO GOOD LOCAL ZONING



THE ATTORNEY - PLANNER RELATIONSHIP 'KEY' TO GOOD LOCAL ZONING by Craig Hullinger AICP and Chuck Eckenstahler AICP

INTRODUCTION Planners carry-out day-to-day zoning administration. The municipal attorney normally is involved in the zoning process through review of proposed ordinance language and with enforcement proceeding. A positive working relationship between the planner and attorney is vital to successful zoning administration. This article examines the role of the planner and the municipal attorney in day-to-day administration of the planning and zoning process. YOUR LAWYER - DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT HIM
Municipal planning and zoning have become more complex and legalistic. Gone are the days when the planning commission, zoning board of appeals and elected officials could "kick back" and informally decide what to do about a zoning request. Today the process of making the zoning decision requires strict adherence to procedures. Public notification and decision making is based on compliance with predetermined standards (typically contained in the local zoning ordinance). In almost all cases the planner must be concerned with future litigation. The planner, planning commission, and Board must make decisions that will be upheld in court. Your lawyer is your expert, and an individual that you should rely on to ensure that your decisions will be fair, and will be viewed as fair by the courts.

AND ORDINANCE Decision making by a planning commission and board should be fair and unbiased. If a project is turned down, the reasons for the denial should be clear. The decision should be documented. The public debate should be clearly summarized in the minutes of the Board meeting. The motion to approve or deny should include the reasons for denial. In practice this seldom happens. After an acrimonious debate a board member will often move to deny without summarizing the reasons for denial. This enables the attorney for the developer to speculate as to why the development was denied in a subsequent legal challenge. The public will often vent against a project and offer testimony that is untrue or derogatory at the meeting. The local government must make it clear that they are not making their judgement on unfair or inaccurate testimony. It is important that the municipality explain clearly and factually in writing why the request was denied. Some planners actually write out both motions to recommend approval or denial, with the reasons clearly stated. The reasons for denial or approval are taken directly from the ordinance, or State enabling legislation, or from the Comprehensive Plan.

FINDINGS OF FACT

A formal findings of fact prepared by the planner and attorney and adopted by the Plan Commission and referred to the legislative Board is the best protection against a law suit. The planner and attorney have time to prepare a logical summary of the legitimate reasons for approval or denial of the applicants request. The legislative Board typically adopts the findings a month or two after the denial, with emotion out of the decision making. In practice most towns do not write and adopt a formal findings of fact. Alternately, they develop such a finding for major projects where litigation seems likely.

BE FAIR, OPEN AND HONEST

The developer before the Plan Commission is usually a successful businessman who is often betting his life savings on his project. You must treat him fairly. If the developer is proposing an unpopular project, citizens will speak out strongly against the proposal. At the public hearing the Chairman should keep order, and rule out of order testimony that is not pertinent to the case. The planner has the most contact with the developer. The planner is often advising the developer, but must make sure that the developer understands that the planner is only an advisor to the Plan Commission. The Commission and Board can and will take action that is not consistent with the planners recommendation. The Plan Commission and legislative Board makes decisions. The planner owes both the developer and the Plan Commission his honest and open assessment of the project. When it becomes clear that a Plan Commission will recommend denial of a project the planner should work closely with the attorney to ensure that no procedural errors are made. The attorney and planner must work to ensure that there is no case against the community.

THE COURTS AS A SUPER ZONING BOARD

Most judges do not wish to become a super zoning board. They do not typically overturn a local denial that is based on law and sound judgement. The Courts and the local government should ensure that they have a logical and current Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance. The plan and code should be consistent. The goals and objectives of the plan and the purposes and intent of the zoning ordinance should be consistent. A simple restatement of purposes and intent in the zoning code that is taken directly from the State enabling legislation ensures that at least the purposes of the code are consistent with State enabling legislation.

MAKING SURE THAT YOUR DECISION MATCHES CASE LAW

In Illinois standards were established in the courts in two major cases. These standards will be considered by the courts in evaluating challenges to municipal zoning decisions. The planner and attorney should obviously consider these standards when making zoning decisions, and preferably state so in writing in the findings of fact.

LASALLE NATIONAL BANK v. COUNTY OF COOK (1957) SINCLAIR PIPE LINE COMPANY v. RICHTON PARK (1960)

1. The existing uses and zoning of nearby property.

2. The extent to which property values are diminished by the particular zoning restrictions.

3. The extent to which the destruction of plaintiff's property values promote the health, safety, morals, or general welfare of the public.

4. Relative gain to the public compared to hardship imposed upon the individual property owner.

5. The suitability of the subject property for the zoned purposes.

6. The length of time the property has been vacant as zoned, considered in the context of land development in the vicinity.

7. Community need for the proposed land use.

8. The care with which the community had undertaken to plan its land use development.

A simple written statement with a paragraph explaining how your decision is consistent with these 8 standards is valuable. They form a good framework for your report to the board and your findings of fact. THE TRACK RECORD OF YOUR COMMUNITY Does your community make logical decisions on land use, or are your decisions unreasonable, arbitrary, and capricious? Have your zoning decisions often been overturned by the courts, or are you usually upheld? You must try to make sure that the decisions of your Plan Commission and legislative Board is consistent. Communities often have developers who cause no problems, and other developers that cause major problems. You still must make sure that you treat both developers fairly. YOUR LAWYER IS YOUR PARTNER It is important that your lawyer is your partner in working with your community. His training is different than yours, and he sees things in a different way. You need to work closely with him or her to ensure that you and your community make consistent, logical, and fair decisions based on law.

About the Authors

Chuck Eckenstahler, AICP, is the owner of Public Consulting Team, a Benton Harbor, Michigan planning consulting firm which has consulted with the Villages of Beecher, Sauk Village Glenwood and Homewood as their consulting planner. He holds two Masters' Degrees, one from Governors State University and the other from the University of Notre Dame. He is an active writer, having more than 150 articles published on various economic development, land use planning and real estate development topics. He can be contacted at 219-879-1012, or E-mail at pctecken@netnitco.net.

Craig Harlan Hullinger, AICP, is the President of Planning Development Services. He has served as the Will County Director of Land Use and Planning where he supervised planning, zoning, engineering, and building functions. He is currently working with the Villages of Minooka, Tinley Park, Mokena, Munster, IN, the Eastern Will County Regional Council, and as an expert witness. Craig has a BA Degree in Public Administration and a Master's Degree in Environmental Planning. He can be contacted at 309 966 1616 or E-mail chullinger@gmail.com.

For more information on Chuck or Craig visit our web page at http://www.ruhu12/blogspot.com



posted by Craig Hullinger AICP City of Peoria  # 9:23 PM

Thursday, March 12, 2009

 

PREPARING AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY



PREPARING AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY


IN


TEN EASY STEPS


By

Chuck Eckenstahler and Craig Hullinger


3/6/2009


Introduction

Every local governmental official is now challenged with the need to promote jobs and new investment in their community. The question asked is “How does our community accomplish this task?”


This question is often answered by chamber of commerce members, government employed professional economic developers, and/or an assembled group of academics. These individuals usually work with a large group of interested individuals offering their opinions of what programs and activities should be undertaken by businesses and government to stimulate the local economy.


The recommendations might include an improved effort to retain existing businesses or an effort to attract new businesses. Tasks could also include developing a business park or improving education to provide more skilled employees. It may also include efforts to improve our neighborhoods and downtown business districts to attract young well-educated adults who wish to live and work in an attractive and exciting community.


The responses differ, typically having as many variations as there are people discussing what should be done. To the lay person preparing the community economic development strategy can be an overwhelming and complex task; being something “best left to the professionals.”


The truth is that strategic economic development planning is rather simple. It is not rocket science. This article seeks to demystify preparation of an economic development strategy, simplifying the process into ten easy tasks. By answering simple, easily understood questions, a group of people can prepare a strategic plan organizing an economic development program for their community.



Question 1 - Who are we?

A simple question! Yes, we know we are a community of, for example, 5,000 people. That’s correct, but what do we know about ourselves? How many people do we have in the workforce and what are their ages? What jobs do they do and how much and what type of education do they have? How many are unemployed or underemployed? How many kids are in school, when will they graduate, how many will go on to college and how many will obtain other advanced technical training?


Many of these questions can be answered by data obtained primarily from the US Census. This information can provide a narrative and quantified description of who we are and who makes up the workforce. It can also identity their education and job skills. According to business site locators, available workforce is one of the top criteria of any firm seeking to expand or locate a new business operation.


Question 2 - What is our economy?

It is usually simple to identify the major employers. This typically includes school district and hospital. The city or county government and a few major businesses are also major employers. They account for a substantial number of jobs located in the community. However, there is a large segment (some estimate 80%) of jobs that are provided by smaller business that often times are overlooked in this simple tabulation and small businesses are the primary generator of new jobs.


Data from the US Census, US Department of Commerce and state employment agency can be useful in providing a narrative and quantified description of the number and type of jobs in the community. This data allows examination of the number of jobs and wage scale of the current jobs in the community. It can also help identify the growth (or decline) of these jobs over time, which is important to know to determine what specific jobs the community currently has and what types of jobs that the community would like to attract.


Question 3 - What are our problems and opportunities?

This is a more difficult question answered by a detached unemotional critical evaluation of “community competitiveness”.


One way to answer this question is to complete what researchers call a “SWOT” analysis. To complete a SWOT analysis, the community lists its economic Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.


The completed list provides information identifying unique opportunities for existing business expansion and opportunities for recruiting new businesses. It also identifies weaknesses and future threats which may discourage business expansion and new business location, which may be remedied by specific community action.


For example, the SWOT analysis might disclose that the workforce has a concentration of skilled computer operated machine tool makers. This workforce can be offered to prospective businesses needing such workers. It may also disclose that the farmland designated for industrial development has no water and sewer and is not “shovel ready” for a business to immediately begin construction.


Question 4 - What are our strengths?

Like a well trained prize fighter, who patiently waits to use his “best punch” to win the fight, an economic development strategy must identify the community’s economic development “best punch”. Completing the SWOT analysis helps identify unique economic strengths that can define the “economic development knock-out punch” for use in the fight to create new employment opportunities in the competitive global environment.


Identifying the “knock out punch” is sometimes easy. It might be a unique geographic location affording superior logistic transportation amenities. Or it might be proximity to a nationally rated university. Or perhaps it might be a young highly educated available workforce. It could be an attractive recreational or small town residential lifestyle that the community offers to new residents. Regardless of the type of strengths identified, analysis of community strengths is necessary to select those specific opportunities that can be used to create new jobs within the community.


Question 5 - What do we want to be - our future vision?

Of the ten questions, this question is the most difficult to answer - what do we want to be?


This question is most often answered by a carefully worded vision statement, prepared by the consensus of interests that places into words a mental image of what the desired future should be. The phrase “Our Future Vision is that our community will be the premier regional location for business investment in 2015” is an example of a vision statement.


This statement tells a big story. It proposes that the community will be the premier location for new business investment when compared surrounding areas. It also provides a means to measure comparative success by measuring economic indicators such as 1) increased jobs, 2) an increase in number of businesses and 3) and an increase in business tax base within the community. It also gives a time period to measure success.


Question 6 - How do we get there?

With an understanding of our strengths, weaknesses and opportunities plus a vision of what the community wants to be in the future, answering this question may become clear. The answers become a list of specific actions that must be completed to either eliminate defined weaknesses, or maximize identified strengths to capitalize on identified opportunities.


For example, the lack of “shovel ready” sites can be remedied by investment in utilities, roads, and governmental approvals necessary to have the site ready for construction immediately upon receipt of a building permit. Another action may be a Tax Increment Financing District or a Business Development District or a Special Service Area to provide incentives for business investment. Other actions may include completion of community appearance projects, securing worker skill training programs for laid-off workers, or conducting a national marketing program to recruit new businesses to locate in the community.


Question 7 - What resources do we have and need?

Every community has resources, typically scattered among a large number of separate organizations. Key to answering this question is identifying these resources and involving them in developing the economic development strategic plan with agreements to “take-on” and fund specific work tasks.


A chart can be prepared listing the specific work task identifying the person or organization that is responsible for the task, when the work is to be completed and how it will be funded. Preparing this chart early in the strategic planning process also identifies work tasks that do not yet have a sponsor or funding.


In our example, a work task to install infrastructure for a “shovel ready site” may be assigned to the city public works department. Obtaining necessary planning and zoning approvals would be a task for the city Planning Department. The City Council could be assigned responsibility to begin city council sponsorship of a TIF district for a future business using tool making machinery equipment. The Community College could be asked to sponsor a workforce retaining effort with the chamber of commerce assigned the task of developing and implementing a marketing program.


The chart may also identify the need to involve other organizations or recommend formation of new entities to carry out specific works tasks. We might need a downtown development organization to sponsor a downtown redevelopment plan or a neighborhood redevelopment organization to sponsor redevelopment programs.


Question 8 - Who is responsible?

The key to successful implementation requires gaining commitments from specific individuals to complete work tasks. This “buy-in” of responsibility is critical to success.


In our model economic development strategy, the Mayor, Public Works Director, City Planner, Economic Development Director, President of the Community College and Chamber of Commerce Director would be named as “responsible parties” and charged with the duty to complete one or more specific work tasks.



Question 9 - How much does it cost?

Undertaking an economic development program costs money, typically more that any single organization has within their budget. Answering this question establishes a budget for each work task and identifies who is to provide the funding for the task.



Question 10 - How do we know when we get there?

In every successful economic development program the progress towards completion of each work task is periodically reported. It gives the opportunity to celebrate success and to modify the tasks if necessary to assure successful accomplishment.


Measurement tools to gage progress are critical. Useful milestones to measure success should be included as part of the Strategic Plan.


Some strategies break the process down into a number of separate categories, such as logistics, health care, energy, agri-business, retail, etc. Other approaches include a much quicker and simpler process, with the development of a on page strategy. This approach can sometimes be used as an interim until a full blown strategy can be developed.


On Line Examples


The following web pages show examples of recent Economic Development Strategies. Each effort is somewhat different, but most of them follow most of the ten items.


One Page http://peoriastrategy.blogspot.com/


Neighborhood http://www.renaissanceparkpeoria.com/


Regional http://www.edc.centralillinois.org/content/about-edc-central-illinois



Conclusion

Preparation of an economic development strategic plan is not an overly complex process and can be accomplished by answering ten questions to define a Vision for an economically improved community. Specific answers lead to identification of weaknesses that need to be remedied. The process also identifies strengths and specific opportunities with can serve as the base for a job expansion and business investment program. It provides a mechanism to identify specific work tasks, determine their cost and assign responsibility for their completion and means to measure incremental progress.


There are numerous resources to help communities prepare economic development strategies, including regional planning organizations and private consultants. While use of outside assistance brings technical skills and greater experience to the process, community representatives are still required to answer all ten questions, develop the vision and work tasks, and accept responsibilities to complete each work task.



About the authors -

Chuck Eckenstahler is 35 year veteran of municipal planning, economic development and real estate consultant serving clients in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, and a past contributor to the Illinois Municipal Review. He teaches economic development subjects in the Graduate School of Business at Purdue North Central, Westville, Indiana and serves on the faculty of the Lowell Stahl Center for Commercial Real Estate Studies at Lewis University, Oakbrook Illinois. He can be contacted at pctecken@comcast.net or by phone at 219-861-2077.


Craig Hullinger AICP has 35 years of experience in economic development, city planning, and transportation planning. He is the Economic Development Director of the City of Peoria, Illinois, and a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and Lamda Alpha. He was formerly Planning Director of Will County. He publishes a number of blogs on Peoria economic development which can be found at http://peoriaed.blogspot.com/ . He can be contacted at Hullingerc@gmail.com or by phone at 309-494-8640.


___________________



Economic Development Strategy Questions

1. Who are we?

2. What makes up our economy?

3. What are our problems and opportunities?

4. What are our strengths?

5. What do we want to be - our future vision?

6. How do we get there?

7. What resources do we have and need?

8. Who is responsible?

9. How much does it cost?

10. How do we know when we get there?


EXAMPLE STRATEGIC PLAN WORK TASK CHART




ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN

Work Tasks

Work Task

Description

Budget

Funding

Source

Responsible Party

Completion

Date

Progress

Measurement

Tool

















Easy to Print Link Below:


http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgp5tpcd_118pjfvkng6&btr=EmailImport


posted by Craig Hullinger AICP City of Peoria  # 12:40 PM

Friday, October 31, 2008

 

SMART GROWTH IT'S MORE THAN AG PRESERVATION


SMART GROWTH IT'S MORE THAN AG PRESERVATION AND STOPPING URBAN SPRAWL By CRAIG HULLINGER AICP, CHUCK ECKENSTAHLER AICP and BETH RUYLE


Introduction


Smart Growth is the latest buzz word in the planning media. During 1999, there were over 100 various ballot initiatives concerning urban sprawl, growth management, open space and smart growth placed before the voters across the United States. Even candidates for the presidency of the United States discuss the concept of offering different federal funding strategies to assist states and local governments to reduce sprawl.


In Illinois local officials are reviewing their plans to incorporate smart growth land use goals in response to national and statewide attention toward smarter land use planning. Nevertheless, what is smart growth? How will governments determine if their local plans are smart growth oriented? Do we need to make changes so that our plans are smart growth oriented and ,if, so what changes do we need? The intent of this article is to answer these questions.


Smart growth means different things to different people. Some proponents think that any infrastructure improvements, such as new road, especially interstates, in suburban areas promote sprawl, or in their minds "unsmart growth." They believe that we should target federal and state resources to rebuild older central cities, whether or not these cities lack vitality. Obviously, this approach also has opposition.

Some developers feel that smart growth means higher density development on smaller lots, which may provide for greater profits. Others feel that governments should purchase land to save it from development pressures. It becomes open space or could even continue to be farmed. Not since the environmental movement of the 1970's have we seen such a public emphasis on land use and land regulation.

The $10 billion Clinton Administration "Livability Agenda" which calls for the control of urban sprawl through preservation of open space and protection of water supply is only the beginning. The current attention to the issue of urban sprawl and wise management of our resources could result in new legislation and state policies addressing future new development. The concern for preservation of open space and protection of our resources has resulted in new resources and may initiate new legislation and state policies concerning land use controls. Background and a

Definition Smart growth has grown from the anti sprawl development movement. In part, smart growth seeks to prevent leapfrog developments that are not contiguous to existing communities. A primary goal of smart growth is to save our most valuable natural resources and direct new development to areas where infrastructure is already in place, thus saving the expense of building new infrastructure and converting undeveloped land for urban uses.

The State of Maryland has enacted a "Smart Growth and Neighborhood Conservation" initiative, which they intended "to reverse the inefficient and often costly pattern of development that has been the standard in this country for the past half century."

According to the Maryland model, smart growth has three straightforward goals:

To save our most valuable remaining natural resources before they are forever lost;

To support existing communities and neighborhoods by targeting state resources to support development in areas where the infrastructure is already in place (or is planned) to support it; and

To save taxpayers millions of dollars in the unnecessary cost of building the infrastructure required to support sprawl.

Many supporters of smart growth in Illinois identify with the Maryland goals. These goals support logically planned infrastructure and development. Who's Doing What? In Illinois, the smart growth movement is expanding rapidly. Besides supporters of wise infrastructure development, the movement has grown to encompass many diverse groups including open space preservationists, transportation planners, pro growth advocates, economic developers who seek the location of jobs closer to home and citizens seeking additional and higher levels of government services. Each group brings a specific agenda and view concerning the pattern of future land use. In Northern Illinois, a quick inventory of interested groups would include the Metropolitan Chicago Mayors Caucus, the Northern Illinois Planning Commission, the Metropolitan Planning Council, Openlands Project and the State among others.




County and multi-jurisdictional planning bodies will also become involved with smart growth initiatives as needs to plan for both redevelopment within existing communities and for expansion of the urban areas beyond local governmental jurisdictions become necessary. Various research studies and, more recently, policies and recommendations for better land use management have been published by many of these groups. These studies are designed to provide information and simulate local officials to action, recognizing, in Illinois, land use planning and development regulations are administered by local government.




As the collective mayoral voice of municipalities in the Chicago region, the Metropolitan Chicago Mayors Caucus established the following vision and principles related to smart growth: Vision The Chicago metropolitan region will be a place where all residents enjoy a high quality of life characterized by access to jobs, economic opportunity, quality housing, educational opportunity, an effective transportation system, and a safe environment.




The mayors adopted the following principles to support their vision:




1. Regional growth and development policies, programs, and projects should respect local decision making authority.




2. Policies to guide the region's growth and development should be developed by the region.




3. Regional growth and development initiatives should promote balanced economic development throughout the Region.




4. Initiatives to promote the region's growth and development should employ positive incentives, not mandates or penalties.




5. Regional growth and development initiatives should respect personal and economic choice and the diversity of the Region's communities. The most recent Smart Growth Vision was released by the Metropolitan Planning Council in December. "Building Stronger Communities" represents a year long effort to build consensus concerning smart growth for the greater Chicago region and the whole state.




The study identified five goals which embody smart growth;


1. Protect open space,


2. Coordinate transportation with development,


3. Improve water quality,


4. Expand housing for workers, and


5. Coordinate and expand state support to local communities.




Smart Growth Graduates to Sensible or Sustainable Growth Almost daily the local newspaper contains a report about future land development, whether it be titled smart growth, sustainable growth, sensible development or anti sprawl development. Usually the media summarize a state or local effort to achieve one or more of the goals stated above. In Illinois Governor Ryan and the Illinois General Assembly have established the Illinois Growth Task Force to study smart growth and establish state policy and investment guidelines.




Many local governments are reviewing their plans and testing whether their current plans fulfill smart growth standards and provide for sensible and sustainable future development. One such group is the Eastern Will County Regional Council, an intergovernmental agency created for joint planning by the local governments in that area. According to Ken Kramer, Chair of the Council and a Park Forest Trustee, "Eastern Will County is truly a microcosm of the State. In terms of smart growth, we represent older cities as well as fast growing rural communities. We need to improve existing roads. We need new roads built as well as better public transit to job centers.






In the future we will be one of the fastest growing Illinois county and we must consider our need to house this expanding workforce." "The goal of the Smart Growth Strategy for Eastern Will County will be to draw together our local governments to assure we have a land use plan which conserves resources and supports our ability to grow in the future. We also need to increase the number of jobs in our area, to reduce long commute times for our workers." Kramer believes the Eastern Will County Regional Council is a proper vehicle for the study of smart growth since the council represents a group of communities which, while independent, must base their future planning on several common growth and development issues including transportation improvements and location of new employment opportunities.




"Ultimately, the character of Eastern Will County will be shaped by the individual decisions made by each local government. Collective future planning will provide a chance to address quality of life issues, reduction of traffic congestion, increasing available jobs and reducing impact to our schools rather than reacting to new as it happens." Testing The Local Plan For Smart Growth Consistency Local officials should determine whether their community plan is a Smart Growth Plan.




Below is a series of questions which can be used to test as to whether the plan could be considered a Smart Growth Plan.




1. Does the plan provide for increased land for new development adjoining the current developed area?




2. Does the plan call for developing vacant land within the existing pattern of development?




3. Does the plan promote the building or improving of new roads which will expand the pattern of development to vacant or existing agricultural land areas?




4. Does the plan specify land which should be preserved from development?




5. Does the plan require the installation of additional water and sewer lines, using state grants or loans, while current capacity remains unused?




6. Does the plan seek to decrease the average single family home lot size?




7. Does the plan consider more pedestrian pathways within the community including shopping/entertainment areas, schools, government buildings, etc. and have you considered road width and sidewalk requirements in new subdivisions.




8. Does the plan promote coordination of the pattern of land use with abutting neighbors?




9. Does the plan explore mass transportation for workers to reach their places of employment?




10. Does the plan include housing for families employed in jobs located in the community?




Fortunately, there is no correct answer nor wrong answer to these test questions. These questions form the basis for discussion and determination, by local officials, whether their plan meets their definition of smart growth. What to Do with this Information Citizens and the media will call upon individual communities in the next several years to test whether their community plans fulfill requirements for smart growth.




It is possible that coordination with surrounding comminutes will be necessary. It is also possible that coordination with county, regional and state agencies will be required to assure that investment in roads and other infrastructure correspond with state and local established smart growth policies. The long established land use planning rules are beginning to change with increasing demand on local governments to limit urban sprawl, to provide for more open space, to preserve agricultural land, and to lessen the dependance on the auto as the principal means of transportation. A review of the local plan today may identify changes necessary to reach conformance with forthcoming statewide smart growth policies. Careful attention should be given to Illinois Growth Task Force deliberations as the outcomes of the task force may indicate new statewide goals and possibly legislative initiatives which will shape the role of local government planning in the future.




About the Authors




Chuck Eckenstahler, AICP, is the owner of Public Consulting Team, a Benton Harbor, Michigan planning consulting firm engaged by the Villages of Beecher, Sauk Village and Homewood to serve as their consulting planner. He holds two Masters' Degrees, one from Governors State University and the other form the University of Notre Dame. He is an active writer, having more than 100 articles published on various economic development, land use planning and real estate development topics. He can be contacted at 219-879-1012, or E-mail at pctecken@netnitco.net.




Craig Harlan Hullinger, AICP, is the President of Planning Development Services. He has served as the Will County Director of Land Use and Planning where he supervised planning, zoning, engineering, and building functions. He is currently working with the Villages of Minooka, Tinley Park, Mokena, Munster, IN, the Eastern Will County Regional Council, and as an expert witness. Craig has a BA Degree in Public Administration and a Master's Degree in Environmental Planning. He can be contacted at 309 634 5557 or E-mail Craighullinger@gmail.com




Beth Ruyle is a Financial Advisor with Ehlers and Associates. She recently served as the Director of the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association. For over twenty years she lead this thirty eight municipalities in this Council of Governments in the development of plans and programs. At Ehlers and Associates she is undertaking a myriad of projects in fiscal strategic planning, economic development, intergovernmental programs and public finance. Ruyle has her Master Degree in Public Administration from the University of Georgia. Contact Ruyle at 309 966 1616 or at E-mail Bethruyle@gmail.com.


For more information visit our web page at http://www.ruhu.blog.com. .May 2000 / Illinois Municipal Review





posted by Craig Hullinger AICP City of Peoria  # 2:08 PM

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