APA-IL Faculty Members Michael Blue, FAICP and Laurie Marston, FAICP lead members of the APA-ISS Board through a "Train the Trainer" virtual session. Plan Commissioner Training continues to occur virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trainer Marty Scott, AICP speaks to attendees at the Village of Villa Park on 11/29/18. Photo by Laurie Marston, FAICP.
Planning Officials Training at the 2014 APA-IL State Conference
APA-IL Faculty Members Michael Blue, FAICP and Laurie Marston, FAICP lead members of the APA-ISS Board through a "Train the Trainer" virtual session. Plan Commissioner Training continues to occur virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic.
1/27
PLANNING OFFICIALS TRAINING
The APA-IL Planning Officials Development Committee creates training opportunities and brings them to planning officials around the Illinois.
Planning Officials attended training at the 2014 State Conference and can attest to the quality and value of the APA-IL's Plan Commissioner Training.
Planning officials work hard reading packets, reviewing cases, conducting public hearings, and considering policy matters; but they rarely get the chance to sit back and look at the big picture of what they do and the significance it has to the communities in which they live. Also, most officials are not professionals in the planning or development fields and can benefit from a bit of extra training on the topic. Even seasoned commissioners appreciate the chance to step back from the task of plan review and approval, learn what’s new in planning, and discuss their role with fellow commissioners. The APA-IL's in-depth curriculum includes:
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Planning History
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Tools of the Trade - master plans, zoning codes, etc.
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Role of the Commissioners
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Role of Others in the Process
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Basics of “Findings of Fact”
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Open Meetings/Ethics
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Regional Planning
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Special Topics - a custom-built to include particular issues that a community would like to cover. Examples include: site plan review, sustainability, design review, affordable housing, economic development, or transit oriented development.
A special thank you to the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development at DePaul University who provided the knowledge and support to help develop and make the training a success!
Training News
Program
In general, our program is a 2 to 2 ½ hour workshop covering a wide range of planning and development topics that are fundamental for commissioners. We can also get into details on items of interest. Whether commissioners are new or have been serving for some time, they all find the session worthwhile. That's in no small part for the chance to discuss what they do without having it happen as part of a hearing or in a room full of concerned residents.
Length
2 - 2 1/2 hour workshop
Curriculum
We’ve done over 100 of these sessions, each is a little different because they are done as a discussion not a presentation.
Dates
Workshops typically fall on a regular meeting night.