PCJ Articles

We started publication of the Planning Commissioners Journal in September 1991. Over the years, we’ve published over 500 articles on a wide range of planning-related topics. However, our emphasis has always been on articles that would be of particular interest and value to citizen planners.

While our format has obviously changed as we end print publication and move online to the PlannersWeb, our aim remains the same.

As a PlannersWeb member you’ll immediately have access to the full text of all articles. For our print articles (from 1999 through Spring of 2012), you’ll first find excerpts and then a link to download the full article just as published with its original formatting.

We’ve been fortunate to have many talented individuals write for the PCJ — you’ll find our most frequent “regulars” listed in the menu above under Contributing Writers. We’re pleased that several of them joining us on the PlannersWeb.

Need to locate an article on a particular topic? Either use the search box in the upper right hand corner of the page, or the menu tree above — which groups articles by topic. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, feel free to email us the question: ”did you ever run an article about xxxxxx?” We’ll get back to you ASAP.

You can also browse through the hundreds of articles listed below from newest to oldest (there are 12 articles per page; use the “Older” link to get to the next group of 12)

PCJ Articles

Top 10 Mistakes to Avoid When Holding Public Hearings or Meetings

by Jim Segedy, FAICP, and Lisa Hollingsworth-Segedy, AICP

With our apologies to David Letterman, and in the spirit of helping you avoid the holes in the rocky road of being a planning commissioner, we present the Top Ten Mistakes to Avoid When Holding Public Hearings or Meetings.

PCJ Articles

Preservation Can Be Inspiring — this month (and every month)

by Amy Facca

May is National Historic Preservation Month, a time when people across America celebrate their history, culture, and special places. Sponsored annually by the National Trust for Historic Preservation since 1973, it is designed to raise awareness about the power historic preservation has to protect and enhance our historic communities.

PCJ Articles

On Commitment

by Elaine Cogan

How do we motivate commissioners to realize being on the planning commission requires a “commitment”? The more I thought about it, the more complex the answer seems to be.

PCJ Articles

Dealing with Commissioners Who Have Too Much to Say

by Elaine Cogan

Last month, we discussed how to handle planning commissioners who have little to say. This time, we are writing about the reverse … those who are overly assertive. By their very nature: loud, obstreperous, interruptive, sometimes rude, boisterous, or garrulous, these people are more likely to disrupt your meeting than the quiet ones we wrote of last month.

PCJ Articles

Bringing Commercial Uses Closer to Existing Residential Neighborhoods, Part II

by Wendy Grey, AICP

As a follow up to her previous column on approaches to bringing commercial uses closer to residential neighborhoods, Wendy Grey outlines some basic development standards for neighborhood commercial zoning districts.

PCJ Articles

Bringing Commercial Uses Closer to Existing Residential Neighborhoods, Part I

by Wendy Grey, AICP

Residents in established neighborhoods will often be very concerned about zoning proposals to allow new commercial uses close to their neighborhood. The question planners and planning commissioners must be able to answer is how the creation of a commercial district near a neighborhood will be a positive change.

PCJ Articles

How Planners Plan for Historic Preservation

by Amy Facca

Preservation planner Amy Facca provides an overview of the different kinds of plans used to strengthen local historic preservation efforts.

PCJ Articles

Putting the LID on Your Community’s Stormwater – Part IV

by Jim Segedy, FAICP, and Lisa Hollingsworth-Segedy, AICP

In the fourth installment of their series on low impact development, the Segedys provide an overview of ways communities can start to implement a LID program.

PCJ Articles

Putting the LID on Your Community’s Stormwater – Part III

by Jim Segedy, FAICP, and Lisa Hollingsworth-Segedy, AICP

In the first two installments of this series, we presented basic information about what LID is and how it works. In this piece, we’ll show that LID isn’t simply a stormwater management technique, but a systems approach that provides multiple benefits addressing both public and private sector interests.

PCJ Articles

Dealing with Commissioners Who Have Too Little to Say

by Elaine Cogan

How can a commission chair encourage shy members to speak up? They may be newcomers to the board reluctant to express an opinion; genuinely deep thinkers who need to know all the facts before saying anything; or disinterested or bored individuals.

PCJ Articles

Putting the LID on Your Community’s Stormwater – Part II

by Jim Segedy, FAICP, and Lisa Hollingsworth-Segedy, AICP

Low impact development techniques address precipitation first as a water resource. Many LID techniques focus on capturing stormwater for irrigation use on a site. This not only supports landscaping, but helps recharge groundwater. An overview of some basic LID practices.

PCJ Articles

Putting the LID on Your Community’s Stormwater – Part I

by Jim Segedy, FAICP, and Lisa Hollingsworth-Segedy, AICP

This is the first of a series of articles in which Lisa and Jim will explain the basics of low impact development: how it works, why your community may need it, how LID costs compare to conventional stormwater management, and the type of ordinances that have worked to implement LID in communities around the country.