APA Idaho is pleased to announce the opening of its 2013 Awards Program application cycle. This Program provides APA Idaho with the opportunity to recognize outstanding planning projects and outstanding individuals engaged in planning in the state of Idaho.

The Awards Program is open to individuals or groups, to members or non-members of APA Idaho Chapter, and to professional planners, citizen planners, or elected/appointed officials. The Program provides APA Idaho conference participants with the chance to see and learn about development, conservation, government, or environmental projects in which planning had a positive impact on the outcome. In reviewing submissions, the

APA Idaho Awards Committee will look for innovation, quality, and the potential for use in other areas. We welcome and look forward to receiving your nominations!

ID-APA_conference2013_Call-for-Presentations.pdf

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Download the RESET Report

As part of our current cooperative agreement, the American Planning Association (APA) has prepared an annotated model pre-event recovery ordinance designed to assist communities in preparing before a hazardous event for better managing the process of recovery after a disaster. This model ordinance is not final, and I would like to encourage anyone interested to review the ordinance and provide informed comment.  Comments will be accepted through April via the project web site at: http://www.planning.org/research/postdisaster/ .

As many of you are aware, the APA is one of FEMA’s Cooperating Technical Partners (CTP) with the mutual interest of furthering our mission of long term risk reduction.  Our current cooperative agreement is on schedule with the main task of developing an update to the 1998 Planning Advisory Service report funded by FEMA, Planning for Post-disaster Recovery and Reconstruction (FEMA 421, PAS 483/484), which was a landmark report for community planners for rebuilding and recovery after disasters and post-disaster reconstruction.  Despite the titles, both of these efforts include mitigation as a critical basis and mechanism to facilitate recovery and local planning.  The current cooperative agreement also supports APA’s Recovery Blog, where a range of articles, webcasts, audio interviews and resource links are shared.  This has been a fantastic resource for sharing progress of APA’s research.

Please forward this to others that may have an interest in this topic.

The Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development (BUILD) Act of 2013, introduced today by Senators Lautenberg, Inhofe, Udall and Crapo, would improve the way the federal government supports brownfields redevelopment in the United States. Here’s how.

The Act reauthorizes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfields Program, and improves the program’s ability to support local economic development. If passed, the bill would modernize and improve key elements of the program, and would provide additional tools and resources to communities working to redevelop brownfields. It makes a number of improvements recommended by the National Brownfields Coalition, which is comprised of a broad set of stakeholders, including local governments, developers, and community redevelopment organizations.

The BUILD Act recognizes the complexity of remediating larger sites by increasing the funding ceiling for cleanup grants and allowing funds to be used for administrative costs. Additionally, the legislation allows the EPA to award multipurpose grants that include multiple elements of a project, including site inventory, characterization, planning or remediation for one or more Brownfiled sites. This will speed redevelopment by streamlining and increasing certainty on the clean-up process. For example, Tampa, FL’s multi-purpose grant will help the City work with community residents to clean up a former junkyard. The accelerated process allows the City to take advantage of new residents and investment in the newly opened Encore development across the street.

The legislation expands the eligibility of nonprofits to qualify for site assessment grants. Under current law, non-profits only qualify for site remediation grants. The legislation also allows local governments to apply for site assessment grants that were acquired by a community before the creation of the Brownfields Program.

In addition, the legislation provides technical assistance for rural communities, Indian tribes, and low-income communities, as well as waterfront sites and renewable energy facilities. Finally, the legislation reauthorizes the Brownfields Program at current funding levels through Fiscal Year 2016.

The BUILD Act will enable the EPA Brownfields Program to make long-lasting and crucial investments in America’s towns and neighborhoods. Properties will sooner be cleaned up and back in productive use.

Want to know even more? Download a convenient section-by-section summary for more information about the particulars of the bill.

Envisioning a city of the future and managing stormwater pollution

By Steve Linhart, AICP and Jon Cecil, AICP

Hundreds of sixth, seventh and eighth graders representing teams from schools throughout Idaho gathered at Boise State University’s Simplot Ballroom for the Ninth Annual Idaho Future City Competition held on January 26, 2013.  The statewide competition was the culmination of efforts that began for the students in fall 2012.

The Idaho Future City Competition is a non-profit organization affiliated with the National Engineers Week Foundation whose mission is to “focus on an engineering challenge with a hands-on application as students present their vision of a city of the future by working in teams along with their teacher and a volunteer engineer mentor.”

Future City alumni have entered various career fields, including engineering, architecture, planning and science.  In this competition, teams of Idaho middle schoolers built cities of the future using math, science and other disciplines to work together and develop a design to solve real world issues.  This year’s theme was “Rethink Runoff – Design clean solutions to manage stormwater pollution.”  The National Future City Competition Committee wanted to foster the participants’ understanding of storm water runoff issues and how it can become a serious source of water pollution, affecting drinking water and recreation opportunities such as swimming and fishing.  The Committee also wanted the participants to know that runoff can be a valuable resource and that it is time to think creatively about managing storm water.

Teams were evaluated based on four competition components: design a city using SimCity 4 software; build a tabletop scale model using recycled materials; write an essay based on the year’s theme; and, present their model and idea at the aforementioned competition.  Twenty-three teams from sixteen schools from across Idaho competed.  The winning team from Meridian Middle School presented their future city “Grad Izdrzljivosti” (Croatian for “City of Endurance”) at the National Finals competition held during Engineers Week February 17-23, 2013 in Washington, D.C.

Teams were also judged based on Special Award categories from competition sponsors, including the American Planning Association’s Idaho Chapter (APA Idaho).  APA Idaho was a Platinum Award Sponsor this year and they selected criteria based on a city design that best considers how a future city’s citizens can live, play and recreate.   APA Idaho Chapter President Daren Fluke, AICP said, “The Chapter’s participation in this worthwhile educational experience is based on bridging professional disciplines including architecture, engineering and planning.  Our kids need to understand how architectural, engineering and planning principles are applied in real world situations.”

This was APA Idaho’s second year sponsoring this event and the first year sponsoring a Special Award category.  In addition to APA Idaho’s financial contribution, a number of APA Idaho members also volunteered their time and expertise, including: Jon Cecil, AICP, and member of Western Planner Resources’ Board of Directors; Anna Canning, AICP, Chapter Education and Outreach Officer; and Diane Kushlan, AICP, Chapter Professional Development Officer.  They served as judges of APA Idaho’s Special Award “Best Use of Recreation.”

During the afternoon award ceremony, Charles Hutchinson, AICP, and a Chapter District Representative, presented the award to the design team from Boise’s Idaho Distance Education Academy who designed the future city, “Hurit-Sokanon.”  Steve Linhart, AICP and APA Idaho Chapter member, served as a Competition Steering Committee member responsible for coordinating fundraising and Special Awards.

“The Hurit-Sokanon” Model (Algonquin for ‘Beautiful Rain’) developed by the student design team from the Idaho Distance Education Academy did a fantastic job incorporating recreational elements,” said Jon Cecil, AICP.  “The model envisioned geodesic domes with sustainable villages containing all services—facilitated by Green Infrastructure—with green roofs, subterranean sidewalks, permeable pathways and a subway system that allowed easy access to all of the passive and active recreational facilities located throughout the community.”    “The students did a great job,” said Cecil, “enthusiastically explaining their designs in detail and answering questions from the judges.”

Generous financial support from businesses, professional organizations such as APA Idaho, agencies, colleges and universities as well as volunteers, is critical to the success and existence of the Future City Program.  Event planning is already underway for Idaho’s 2013-2014 Future City Competition, which will be a milestone because it marks a decade of the state’s participation in this event.

Nominations accepted until March 29, 2013

What makes your community a great place to live?  A great historic building that has been renovated for re-use?  A school that has incorporated green building practices?  A neighborhood or housing development where you can walk to shops, jobs, and school?  Whether it is a brand new project or one that has been around for years, nominate your favorite example of smart growth today!

For more information and nomination forms, go to http://idahosmartgrowth.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0446e805353e27358ea4cba3c&id=ccc247443d&e=a52c532e1e

http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2013/H0136.htm – Amends existing law relating to local land use planning to provide that exercising powers under the Local Land Use Planning Act shall be discretionary, to provide that mandatory provisions of specified law shall only apply to cities and counties that elect to exercise the powers conferred by the Local Land Use Planning Act as evidenced by the passage of a resolution or ordinance, to provide that any changes to a comprehensive plan, resolution or ordinance proposed to be enforced countywide shall first, prior to enforcement, be submitted for approval to the voters upon whom such regulations are intended to be imposed; to provide that cities and counties that elect to exercise the powers conferred by the Local Land Use Planning Act shall establish a property rights council and to provide for duties of such council.

*** IDAPA has submitted comments in opposition to this Bill. The latest word is that the bill is being held in committee.

http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2013/H0137.htm – Amends existing law relating to urban renewal law to remove language relating to certain urban renewal agency powers.

There are a few other interesting bills, one minor change concerning plats, one on regulatory takings etc…… you can find all bills at:

http://legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2013/minidata.htm

IDAPA encourages its members to engage the legislative process as individuals by contacting their representatives and by letters to the editor. IDAPA encourages its members to engage the legislative process as professionals by making their Planning Commissions, City/County Commissions and other elected or appointed officials aware of issues.