In 2014, the City of Geneva hosted a plan commission training session. In the fall of 2019, the City combined the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) and the Plan Commission into the Planning and Zoning Commission. On January 23, 2020 another Plan Commission Training session was presented so the commissioners could learn about the types of applications they would be reviewing since they would be reviewing different types of cases than they had reviewed before the Plan Commission and ZBA were combined.
Seven members of the Planning and Zoning Commission as well as staff members attended the
workshop. Cindy Winland, FAICP and Andy Cross, AICP were the trainers for the session. Since the
program began in 2011, the Illinois Chapter of APA and the Chaddick Institute at DePaul University have
provided over 100 training sessions.
At the conclusion of the workshop, the attendees completed an anonymous evaluation form. The topics
that attendees felt were most helpful were: their responsibilities, how to stay on track, and conflicts of interest.
Several commissioners suggested ideas for a future session, including reviewing a case study, hearing
about innovative ideas from other towns, and meeting with the City Council to do the same workshop.
Thank you to the City of Geneva for inviting us to train your plan commissioners.
Plan Commissioner Training News & Notes:
Save-the-date for Plan Commissioner Training at the 2020 APA-IL State Conference!
We're excited to hold our 2020 State Conference in Rosemont, IL at the Crowne Plaza, September 16-18, 2020. This conference is our once-a-year opportunity for urban planners and allied professionals to learn about the latest trends in Illinois planning and network with their peers.
There will be a special, all-day plan commissioner training held at the 2020 State Conference on September 17, 2020. This training is great for commissioners that have and have not been through our evening training. We welcome entire commissions and boards or just the one or two commissioners. The training is split into a morning of general information, a networking lunch with fellow commissioners and trainers, an afternoon session to put your knowledge to the test, followed by an evening cocktail hour.
Plan commissioners are able to attend at discounted rates, just $75 for 1-day, $150 for 2 days, or attend all 3 days of the conference for only $200.
Registration will be opening in just a few months. Now is the time to save-the-date!
Want to know how we can customize training for your officials?
Visit the Plan Commissioner Training website and contact the APA-IL Planning Officials Development Officer, Michael Blue, FAICP at podo@ilapa.org
(photos by Paula Freeze)