Holding Effective Public Meetings
What are the most important things a planning commission or planning staff can do in order to hold an effective public meeting or hearing? Results from our survey.
Leadership
What does it take to become a leader on the planning commission and in the community? These articles and postings focus on various aspects of this question.
Continue to older articles & posts — or return to newer ones — where you see the green buttons at the bottom of the page.
Most Recent Articles
The Secrets of Successful Communities – Part 7: Have Strong Leaders and Committed Citizens
Successful communities have strong leaders and committed citizens. It’s true: a small number of committed people can make a big difference in a community.
Top 10 Ways to Make Your Planning Commission More Relevant in Your Community
To avoid being seen as “just part of the system,” here are 10 ways to solidify your planning commission’s relevance.
Dealing with Commissioners Who Have Too Little to Say
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.
Winning a Community Over to New Ideas
In this follow-up to his Fall article, Otis White reports on the impact a Pennsylvania planning commissioner had on his community.
Making a Difference
How much of a difference can one planning commissioner make? Quite a bit, as Otis White explains in this story about a county planning commissioner from Oregon.
Chairing the Planning Commission
A long-time planning commission chair offers her insights on ways to run fair and effective commission meetings and hearings.
What Planners Do
Four planners discuss the role of the professional planner; planning commission-staff relations; what commission chairs can do; pre-meeting workshops; and new commissioner orientation.
And the Consensus Is …
How do you build consensus on your planning board? Elaine Cogan offers some suggestions.
Planning Commissioner Perspectives
Planning commissioners from Virginia, Pennsylvania, Utah, and New York offer their perspectives on what makes for an effective planning board, and on the role of the chairperson.
Community Leadership & the Cincinnati Planning Commission
Planning historian Larry Gerckens takes a look at how the citizens of Cincinnati made planning history ninety years ago.
Finding Community Leaders
Leadership is a key ingredient to strong communities, and can come from expected places and people.
Getting Power by Giving It Away
How a planning commission can strengthen its leadership role by empowering citizens to find solutions to difficult issues.
