Over the past few months the media has covered stories about several high profile free agent signings and teams handing out big contracts to keep their biggest attractions in town.  The Angels lure Albert Pujols from St. Louis with an offer worth hundreds of millions of dollars, Derrick Rose extends his contract with the Chicago Bulls, Peyton Manning leaves the City of Indianapolis for Denver, Sears recommits to Illinois. Wait what was that last one?  Sears was essentially a free agent, shopping the market for the best offer much the same way that a sports star weighs offers from other teams.  It happens on the big stage, LeBron James “taking his talents to South Beach” and in suburbia; Home Depot moves a quarter mile away on the same commercial corridor, but to a neighboring municipality offering tax abatement.  

As with team owners, municipalities need to weigh the potential benefits and downsides of long-term financial commitments to developers and retailers.  Equally, there are pressures from fans/residents that demand that leadership attract the best players/businesses.

In both worlds, commitments that are performance based are the safest.  When tied to job creation, sales or tax revenue generation there is some level of assurance that both parties have some skin in the game.  If things do not work out as planned, the risk of loss to the municipality is not as great.  However, in a competitive world, nonguaranteed or front loaded contracts and incentives are needed and/or necessary.  In today’s economy, the need for exhaustive due diligence is critical.  Regardless of how attractive that “free agent” may seem, municipalities need to make sure that the project and deal is properly vetted through eligibility studies, market analysis, fiscal or economic impact analysis, detailed review of proformas and other appropriate methods.  In the end, a win for the municipality will be measured in dollars, jobs and collateral development.  A loss will be omnipresent in the form of a partially developed or vacant site providing little or no benefit to the taxpayers.

2012 APA Conference...
They came, they saw, we presented!

Every April the American Planning Association holds its National Conference. This year it's in Los Angeles, and Houseal Lavigne Associates will once again be well represented. Between three presentations and our exhibitor booth, we hope you have a chance to meet up with us. Here's what you need to know:

HLA Attendees

• John Houseal-Principal and co-founder
• Devin Lavigne-Principal and co-founder
• Dab Gardner-Principal Associate
• Brandon Nolin-Senior Associate
• Doug Hammel-Senior Associate
• Nik Davis-Senior Associate

Presentations

AICP Examination Preparation (session registration required)
HLA Presenters: Brandon Nolin and Doug Hammel
Date and Time: Saturday April 14, 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Prepare for the AICP exam with the help of chapter professional development officers who offer tips and focused training in the exam format, content, and topic areas. Learn about the application process and gain insights for success.

Better Graphics, Better Plans
HLA Presenters: John Houseal and Devin Lavigne
Date and Time: Saturday April 14, 9:00-10:15 a.m.

Successful plans inspire and create excitement. To do so, they need more than text and maps. Move beyond the basics and discover how basic design principles - including typography, color palettes, paper and media, and digital file types - can make a plan sparkle. Make your plan easy to use and understand--a necessity these days given enhanced online accessibility.

Fast, Funny, and Passionate Two
HLA Presenter: Dan Gardner
Date and Time: Monday April 16, 5:30-7:00 p.m.

These short, timed, 7-minute presentations take up overlooked topics in planning or delve into a passionate perspective on why planning matters. Hear planners open up about what excites them. Presenters discuss case studies, present personal perspectives, or provide an imaginative insight into planning. HLA's Dan Gardner will present "Where's the Clock Tower? Integrating Economic Development & Planning Initiatives."

HLA Exhibitor Booth
Once again, HLA is an active sponsor of the APA, and will be hosting a booth in the exhibit hall. Come by and get a hands-on look at our ground-breaking web-based SMAP (Social Mapping Application) tool.

In the current economic climate, both the private and public sector are facing difficult challenges of meeting service demands on increasingly limited resources.  It is essential for municipalities and private developers to fully understand the relationships between economic conditions and existing and future development potential.  Ultimately, a market study should illuminate these relationships and be used as a tool to ensure that resources are utilized efficiently over the short- and long-term.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The data and recommendations contained within a market study should vary depending on the scope of the planning effort to which they apply.  For example, a comprehensive plan covers a large geographic area and has a long planning horizon of 15 years or more.  Conversely, a redevelopment concept for an underutilized industrial park would involve recommendations targeted at a much smaller area intended to be implemented as soon as the study and plan have been adopted.  Given the very different nature of these two planning exercises, the approach to the market study must also be just that, very different.

Long-Term Planning

With regard to long-term planning efforts, the goal of the market study is not to gaze into the proverbial crystal ball and predict exactly how many people, houses, jobs and retailers will come to, or leave, a community.  Rather, in a long-term planning environment, the market study is a tool used to understand the forces that will likely influence long-range policy and decision-making.  These policies are what will, in turn, shape the community's future in the long-term. 

A comprehensive plan should have a comprehensive market study that examines long term changes in a variety of topics such as population, household income, employment patterns, and the competitive retail environment.  These market observations can provide the information needed to formulate polices tailored specifically to address local needs.  For example, policies can be modified to combat undesirable trends such as increasing vacancies in local housing or new policies can be recommended to build upon a community's unique economic strengths.

It's in the Details

The focus of a market study should narrow as planning efforts become more site specific and the planning horizon shortens.  A detailed market study is more action-oriented, informing the user of near term trends that will directly impact viable uses and development potential. 

The client should have more detailed questions they wish to be answered by the detailed market study.  What type and size of retail use is viable in this location?  Would a sit-down restaurant consider locating to one of these parcels?  How many new residential units could be built and occupied within the downtown over the next five years? The market data should be queried with these particular questions and uses in mind.  Moreover, a single study area from which to pull market data should be avoided in favor of several unique market areas that have been defined for each use.    

Shelf Life

Market studies should be updated regularly, but the exact timing depends on a variety of factors such as the pace of change within the study area and the shelf life of the plan itself.  A comprehensive plan within a built out community with limited opportunity for expansion will not likely warrant an update more than every five to ten years.  Most comprehensive plan's have a shelf life of 10 to 20 years, so the plan may need to be updated based on the results of an interim market study update.  On the other hand, a community on the edge of a significant metro area may need to revise its understanding of market conditions every few years to ensure that local policy is dealing sufficiently with changes within the competitive landscape.

A detailed market study relies on detailed analysis of near term trends and should not be relied upon beyond the life of the projections upon which they are based.  Often times a detailed market analysis is performed at the outset of a development program and is not utilized after the project has broken ground.  Detailed market studies for slightly larger study areas, such as a downtown business district, should be revised periodically based on local needs.  For example, a local chamber or economic development corporation that relies on an understanding of current market conditions to formulate marketing strategies should consider updating an existing market analysis every two to three years.

Do-It-Yourself Market Study

Now that you have a decent understanding of how and why a market study should be used, we can discuss the basic components of a market study.    Not everyone needs to develop a 'full-blown' market analysis to answer relatively simple questions they may have about their community or project, so check back soon to find out how to perform a basic Do-It-Yourself Market Study.

The March 2011 issue of Zoning Practice (American Planning Association) was authored by HLA Senior Associate Doug Hammel, and describes some key considerations in drafting effective design guidelines or form-based regulations. This blog posting is a "cheat sheet" version of that article. To obtain a copy of the full article, visit the American Planning Association.

What are design guidelines...or what AREN'T they?
It is important to remember that design guidelines should articulate an attainable product within the given local context. Creating standards based on "ideals" or models imported from other communities can often lead to incongruity with lot conditions, market realities, or the local vision. Within that framework, they can range from adopted regulations (i.e. form-based code), binding based on certain conditions (i.e. incentive-based) or simply advisory but non-binding.

Understand the users and administrators.
Too often, stakeholders want to start the process by debating over the minutia of design. But it is necessary to first think about who will be administering and interpreting the design standards. This will also help determine what kind of end document is necessary and how the standards should be written and illustrated. Will the guidelines be regulatory, incentivized, or advisory? Will municipal planning staff, the Planning Commission, or a Design Review Board determine conformance? To what degree will standards be negotiable? The answers to these and other questions create the nuances necessary to locally implementable standards.

Determine what the guidelines should address.
Guidelines can cover a broad range of topics; private development to public realm, general site planning to architectural details and materials, sustainability, etc. An understanding of local priorities and shortcomings of existing policies can help determine the most appropriate role for design standards. This comes from previous plans, focused visioning, and a "compatibility test" of how zoning regulations align with development goals for a specific area.

Test, test, test!
Block sizes, parcel dimensions, traffic patterns, and several other factors vary between neighborhoods and communities. Design concepts must be tested on actual parcels in order to ensure that 1) what is being asked is possible, and 2) the proposed standards and metrics result in the desired outcome. As many scenarios as possible should be considered; mid-block versus corner lots, alley versus street access, single-story retail versus mixed-use, etc. The result will be standards that are calibrated to local conditions, rather than those inappropriately imposed on existing lots.

Make an engaging and informative document.
Design guidelines can come in different packages, and packaging should be determined by how they are used. If they are advisory, they may use few specific metrics and more illustrations to convey an anticipated outcome of development. If they are regulatory and administered as part of zoning entitlement, they must express clear measures of conformance and be defensible against litigation. If the administrators have no formal training in design, they must clearly convey design elements and metrics and remove undue interpretation. Whatever the case, the balanced use of carefully crafted language, metrics, and graphics is essential. The intent may be sound, but if it is not clearly communicated, the guidelines will go unimplemented.

Coordinate other development regulations and policies.
It is shocking how many communities will undertake the process of drafting design guidelines only to leave in place development regulations that contradict their intent. Something's gotta give. Either the design guidelines must stop short of trying to "fix" characteristics not permitted by zoning, or the zoning regulations must be amended to enable the desired design condition as expressed in the guidelines.  Either way, ending up with contradictory policies results in ineffective guidelines.

To be successful, plans need to inspire and create excitement within a community. To do that, they must be more than just a hundred pages of text with a few obligatory maps.

In the past, a plan would sit on bookshelves in the back offices of City Hall. Today, they are highly visible and accessible, posted online for everyone to see and use. As such, they must be inspirational, easy to use, and easy to understand by everyone in the community.

Our PAS Memo for the Amercian Planning Association presents an overview of some of the trends and issues that are affecting plan making; provides considerations to draft better text; and reviews tips for producing better graphics to help planners improve the maps, charts, illustrations, plans, and documents they produce.

We have been asked by the APA to embargo our article for one month from publication. So for now, the article is only available to PAS subscribers.

Gas stations. They're everywhere. They are as critical a component of infrastructure as schools, parks, and sewer treatment facilities. Their functional and design elements - signage, lighting, site access, etc. - have a profound impact on the character of our most visible corridors. So how can this necessary piece of the puzzle complement, or at least not deter from, local character? Let's look at a few examples.

The Good

This example is from East Lansing, MI. It demonstrates several site and building design characteristics that help it blend in with the commercial corridor, rather than being an eyesore competing for attention:

• The pumping stations are located to the rear of the site with the primary building toward the front corner, bringing vehicular access away from the intersection.
  
• The public sidewalk that is less disrupted by curb cuts (about one-quarter to one-third of the total lot frontage).
  
• Cross-access is provided to the lot to the east, removing the need to enter back into traffic to go next door.
  
• Signage is very low, and the building and front yard landscaping screen the pumping canopy and light.

And despite this design approach, people still find the pumps!

 The Bad Typical

This is an example of a typical Chicago corner gas station. In this instance, the character of the development is more compromised for the sake of the automobile, although the urban setting dictates that the surrounding pedestrian network is maintained.

• The primary building is at the back corner of the site, and the pumps and canopy are front and center.
  
• Curb cuts occupy about two-thirds of the lot frontage, creating several vehicular/pedestrian conflict points (including at the location of a bus stop).
  
• A prominent monument sign is located at the primary corner, with another sign located at the southeast corner of the site.
  
• Alley access is completely unutilized and the glowing lights of the canopy impact adjacent residential development.
  
• Property edge landscaping and fencing provide at least some delineation between vehicular areas and the public sidewalk.
  

As a whole, this development model does the minimum required in terms of the overall functionality and character of the corridor.

 The Ugly

This gas station (location removed to protect the guilty) demonstrates perhaps the worst practices in gas station development:

• The canopy is located almost to the front lot line. This results in one continuous curb cut along the entire front yard.
  
• Site access is both unclear and unsafe, as newly filled vehicles pull into traffic and arriving vehicles seek an open bay.
  
• The canopy is so prominent that, from the southern approach to the site, the large monument sign is not even visible.
  
• Though there is access to the side street to the north of the site, it is unused because access from the primary arterial is uncontrolled.
  

In this case, there is no consideration for the pedestrian network or the overall character of the corridor.

As planners, we must remain realistic about what can be expected of development. It is probably unreasonable to think that gas stations will ever recreate the character of our intimate town centers. However, a better product can be realized with relatively simple standards for site planning and access, signage, lighting, and landscaping. I mean, if we're going to be paying $5 a gallon, we at least deserve that much!

We often say around our office that "we don't take ourselves seriously, but we take our work seriously" and those of you who know us would agree. When there is work to be done or a deadline upon us we are all business - but we still like to joke and have fun. Every friday morning, Kenny, our door man, greets us with a new issue of "The Onion". It lives on our break room counter for a few days, each of us getting a few good laughs while we wait for our coffee to brew. Occasionally, there is a planning related article that is clipped and circulated. Below are some of our favorites. If you are a bit of  a planning geek and have a sense of humor, enjoy.

1. Obama Replaces Costly High-Speed Rail Plan With High-Speed Bus Plan

Obama Replaces Costly High-Speed Rail Plan With High-Speed Bus Plan

2. Urban Planner Clearly Depressed When She Came Up With Street Names

3. Chicago Out Of Names For Subdivisions

"We have used every tree, body of water, and living thing in the almanac. You don't have to drive all the way out to Kevin Acres to know we need a new naming system." Full Article

4. City Councilman Unearths Magical Zoning Amulet

"With this sigil, the power of zoning comes. Through me, the power of zoning flows! All will behold my power, and I shall bow to no man when designating matter-of-right developments for major retail and office spaces to a maximum lot occupancy of 75 percent for residential use!" Full Article

5. Zoning Committee Meets, Zones A Bunch Of ....[stuff]

"The Norcross City Council zoning committee is celebrating what it described as a "monster" zoning session Monday. "Man, we were zoning $#it left and right. You wouldn't believe the $#it we zoned..." Full Article

6. Alderman Has That Zoning Dream Again

"Pelson said the dream always ends the same way, with him experiencing the sensation of falling out of his office chair into a 60 percent business, 40 percent residential abyss" Full Article 

7. Ten Years Of Life Dedicated To Getting Municipal Pool Not Built

Draper, now 47, began his long battle against the public pool in May 1995, when the former director of public works, Bart Janklow, proposed it. Draper mobilized a coalition of six citizens who opposed the pool due to its expense and the traffic congestion and noise it might create. Full Article

8. Report: 98 Percent Of U.S. Commuters Favor Public Transportation For Others

 "Of the study's 5,200 participants, 44 percent cited faster commutes as the primary reason to expand public transportation, followed closely by shorter lines at the gas station."

"Expanding mass transit isn't just a good idea, it's a necessity," Holland said. "My drive to work is unbelievable. I spend more than two hours stuck in 12 lanes of traffic. It's about time somebody did something to get some of these other cars off the road."  Full Article

9. Urban Planner Stuck in Traffic of Own Design

"According to Rothstein, it was then that the Urban Redevelopment Authority, along with several private urban-planning firms, began the slow process of rethinking the city's roads, parks, and commercial and residential districts. Today, the city's designers are regularly lauded for their elegant, modern buildings and stuck in traffic of their own making for hours at a time." Article Link

Houseal Lavigne Associates is pleased to announce the addition of Doug Hammel, AICP as a Senior Associate. Doug is an experienced city planner and urban designer with a broad background in planning, design, transportation, and development regulation. Doug can be contacted at (312) 372-1008 ext 118, or dhammel@hlplanning.com

Doug Hammel, AICP

Resume at a Glance:

-Over 12 years of professional consulting experience
-Speaker at local, state and national events
-Recently published in March 2011 issue of APA's Zoning Practice
-Planning expertise includes:

• Land use
• Urban design
• Downtown, corridor, and neighborhood planning
• TOD
• Transportation and transit planning
• Design guidelines
• Zoning and form-based codes
• Strategic implementation

-Project experience in:

• Georgia
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maryland
• New York
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Texas

Every planner should know the basics of citizen participation and if you don't...shame on you.  Pick up a book, take a course, observe a public workshop run by someone that knows what they're doing,...do something to become competent with community outreach.  For those familiar with its importance, good...keep developing your skills. Citizen participation is vitally important in the community planning process and residents are an important resource and essential for identifying the issues, needs, priorities, opportunities, and aspirations of a community.

However, there are several important outreach considerations that are often overlooked by "experts" and novices alike.  The better you understand the following the better and more effective your outreach will be.

Neighbors informing neighbors...
It is not uncommon for some residents (or officials for that matter) to think they know all the answers...what is most important for a city to address.  However, the range of issues and possibilities begins to expand when neighbors learn from one another.  As important as it is for planners, staff, and officials to hear what residents think is important, it may be more important for residents to hear what their neighbors think is important. This simple process expands how a community is viewed by its residents and allows individuals to see their community from a new and broader perspective. Remember, this is one of the most important benefits of effective citizen participation...an open dialogue that expands the insight and understanding of community residents...a process that lets residents hear directly from other residents.

Business owners are "residents"...
Remember, business owners, property owners, and business managers should be all be considered residents, whether the individuals live within the city or not.  Business and property owners are one of the more consistently excluded groups from traditional outreach.  Business owners have a unique and important perspective, often having a list of needs and issues not known to or understood by most residents.  Without business and property owners, cities couldn't function or exist.  Make sure you reach the business folks directly.  Have a workshop just for them.  Have it in the morning before 9:00 a.m.  Give them lots of coffee and some bagels.  Be efficient with their time and get them back to their businesses in a timely manner.  If they are like most business owners, they always thinking about what would make their businesses better.  Make sure you know what is important to them and what would make the community more business-friendly and supportive.

But what about the children...
So much of our community is geared toward the kids, but when was the last time your city asked children what should be done to improve things.  You'd be surprised at how insightful kids can be.  Trust me, they'll come up with ideas no adult ever thought of...and some of them are pretty good ideas.  Reach out to the schools. Outreach to kids for city initiatives makes a great civics lesson.  Teachers love it and kids appreciate distraction from math lessons.  It might not be as much fun as a field trip, but it's more fun than a substitute teacher.  Kids view their world in a totally different perspective and it's a perspective you need to understand. Be creative!

Cast a wide net...
The widest possible range of community input should be sought in the planning process. Drawing in the values and sensitivities of a broadly-based constituency ensures that all interests are represented in the evaluation and decision-making process. Use several mediums and outreach formats to maximize participation - face-to-face, on-line, one-on-one interviews, small groups, large groups, open houses, formal presentations, local television, radio, newsletters, surveys, work with established groups (chamber, historic preservation society, friends of the river, downtown business association, schools, whoever is appropriate, available, and willing). Be creative.  You can't make people participate, but you should give them every possible chance to participate. Simply having the token "community meeting" is not enough. Trust me, it will pay off in the end when the plan has a broad base of support from a wide range of constituents. 

Circle back...
If residents take the time to participate, they deserve some follow-up.  Circle back after each outreach activity with a "thank you" to those who participated and a summary of what took place and what was accomplished.  Provide a summary or overview of the results in a newsletter or on-line.  This is a simple tactic that makes a big difference.  We're not talking about a personal letter to everyone who participated, just an article, a memo, an on-line post, something that acknowledges, informs, and thanks residents for giving their time and letting everyone know what took place.

Make it fun...
If outreach is boring, disorganized, and poorly run and managed, people will not participate.  They may come to the first meeting, but they won't be back. And rather than building support for the plan, you may actually be building animosity toward the plan and process.  Make outreach fun, but keep it well managed.  Use creative and effective techniques such as key pad polling, design charrettes, small break-out groups, and more.  Even large group workshops should be engaging, fun, and relatively informal.  The key is to engage residents and have them participate, not just show up and sit there.  Make it fun and informative for them and they'll show up next time...and maybe they'll bring a friend.

Join John Houseal and Devin Lavigne as they speak on an upcoming panel, Delivering Better Plans and Recommendations in Text, Graphics and Speech.  This presentation is sponsored by the Chicago Metro Section of the Illinois Chapter of the American Planning Association.  John and Devin will be joined by John Harris of a5 inc., a marketing and communications firm.  All three panelists will present the benefits of using multi-media to convey clear and concise messages in planning documents and presentations.  Planners of all levels will benefit from techniques and examples to help build the skills necessary to effectively communicate planning information and data in text, graphics, and speech. This event is also applicable to practitioners in other fields such as engineering, architecture, landscape architecture, development, and non-profit management. 

The workshop will take place Thursday, September 15, from 9:00-11:00 am in the CMAP offices (Willis Tower, 233 S. Wacker Drive, Suite 800) in Chicago.  The cost is $15 and is payable at the door but registration is requested by September 12 (via apachicagometrosection@yahoo.com).  Two (2) CM credits are available for AICP members.