Agenda - Planning Commission - 01/05/2017

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ii may be utterly lost on why a reduction in the no context to the attendee,especially those your presentation to best inform stakeholders parking requirements can be an incentive to new to the process.To a person who does not in your community. development in downtowns.Here we can see know what a floor area ratio is,proposing a the value in establishing a minimum baseline change from 0.5 to o.6 is rather meaningless. The Public foryour community to clear up early miscon- Instead,give your recommendations some You might be familiarwith two groups of com- ceptions and ensure that all participants are context by spending a few minutes discussing munity members that comprise"the public." on the same page at the very beginning of the your zoning map,with a special focus on the First,there is the wider public.They may be planning process. district where you are proposing change,and members of the community who don't often simple diagrams and colorful maps outlining attend community meetings or forums,and In Advance of Zoning Recommendations the current and proposed conditions.Give are generally less involved in the community You may find yourself nearer the end of a plan- your existing zoning condition as much con- planning process.Alternatively,we also have ning process rather than the beginning.It's text,color,and jargon-free attention as your the"involved public."These are those highly not too late!A basic primer even at this stage proposed scenario.As this presentation will active participants who regularly attend meet- may be valuable,especially if it is fresh on the (and should)discuss the changes in detail, ings,may already have a relationship with minds of a community now tasked with weigh- foundational understanding ofwhatyou are your planning office,and have weighed in !ng in on some tweak to lot coverage or set- changing is crucial.You probably don't have before on zoning discussions. backs.Take some time to consider the compo- a lot of time,so it's important to make what sition of your audience and the thoughts they time you have count. Itis likely these groups are mixed at a community forum or public meeting.It is also have expressed through the planning process. Itis possible some participants have been ac- WHO IS YOUR AUDIENCE? likely that members of the wider public may have little understanding of zoning,and the tive throughout the process,while others may In the previous section we discussed how the involved public may be chronically confused only be in attendance because changes are context foryour presentation matters,and we about elements of the code or map. imminent. Are there specific elements related touched on how the composition of an adviso- This is a fantastic opportunity to reestab- to zoning and land use that you think need ry group may inform the content of the presen- lish a baseline of zoning knowledge,and en- a more thorough explanation?Now can you tation.Tailoring discussion to the given 'sure that participants are on the same page. catch up the new folks in the room so they can audience is crucial.Developers,architects, Again,illustrative examples of your zoning dis- give informed feedback? elected officials,the involved public,and the tricts,simple maps,and vastly reduced jargon Of course,it is already standard practice wider public are all different audiences with will be extraordinarily helpful in this case. to describe the current zoning before putting vastly different levels of understanding ofzon- forward a change.Establishing the existing !ng and land use.To complicate the matter,in Elected Officials condition may be considered a pro forma step many public forums,representatives of these Your office may find it helpful(or necessary) before giving your recommendations,but pay groups are all likely to be in attendance.Still, to discuss zoning with your local elected of- special attention to how well you are describ- there are opportunities to tailor the content of ficials.Whether happens as an independent Ing the current zoning code and map.Simply a Zoning ioi presentation to the needs of the informational meeting or i n advance a stating the various elements that comprise the audience.The examples below highlight some presentation to a council or commiss ofn,it is current zoning district and then what you are potential audience-specific needs and chal- likely that elected officials,like the public,will proposing to change is not enough.This offers lenges that might influence how you develop have a widely varying understanding ofzon- !ng.A mayor may have a broad understanding of the city as a whole,while a council member „y may have an idea of the appropriate density for their district with little knowledge Of what the zoning actually permits. I Consider also what elected officials in your city may want to learn more about.Do they have a general understanding of the city -- map,but would like a better picture of the development process to better answer ques- tions in the community?Then perhaps a walk- through of the development review process may be useful.Elected officials will often be the first to field a question or concern from the public on questions of zoning,land use,or p ,• development. • Therefore,arming them with a basic understanding of the code and the map is crucial. ZONINGPRACTICE 12..16 AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION page 4