Mission
Provide basic land use training for members of municipal land use boards: planning, zoning and board of zoning appeals.
Target audience
Newly elected member of planning, zoning and board of zoning appeals commissions. The curriculum is consequently very basic. Not-so-new commission members and members of other boards such as conservation and inland wetlands are welcome, as are town staff and interested residents.
Goals
- To offer regularly scheduled training workshops around the state, at locations and times convenient to commission members.
- To prepare basic information for the newly-elected commission member.
- To supplement the basic course, over time, with detailed workshops on current or specialized issues.
Timetable
- One year to develop curriculum and recruit volunteer presenters.
- Pilot program tested in February, 1998; eight regions received training in 1998.
- Four additional regions are scheduled in 1999. One region is repeating the series. Additional topics have been or are in development as of April, 1999.
Methods
A committee of volunteers formed and met over several months to design all aspects of a training program. The committee is known as the Land Use Education Partnership. Members represent several areas of planning and land use expertise. The CT Rural Development Council coordinates the program. Materials previously prepared by the Cooperative Extension System, the American Planning Association and the Connecticut Bar Association were used as resources, supplemented by original material written by Partnership members. The Partnership now meets bi-annually to monitor the program and develop additional topics.
Contents of Core Curriculum
Session 1. Roles & Responsibilities
Statutes that provide authority for three land use regulatory boards in CT
Land use board duties and responsibilities; town plan of conservation and development; zoning and subdivision regulations
Trainers: professional educators from the UCONN Cooperative Extension System and planners from CT Chapter of American Planning Association (CTAPA)
Session 2. Rules and Legal Procedures
Rules of conduct for land use boards
Decision timetable; legal notices; public hearings; conflict of interest and predisposition
Trainers: attorneys from the CT Bar Association
Session 3. Plan Review
How to read and interpret the material presented in a typical site plan
Site plan review checklist
Zoning regulations
Trainers: landscape architects from CT Association of Landscape Architects and planners from CTAPA
Publications
Master registration brochure with details specific to the host region
Master Schedule - mailed out and posted on the CT APA web page.
Course handouts for three core curriculum courses
3-D topo model for Plan Review session and presentation-size maps of site plan case study
Table-top display board promoting the program
Certificates of completion for attendees
Evaluation form
Session Schedule and Timing
Core curriculum taught in three separate sessions in the order shown above, each lasting two hours and scheduled over three consecutive months. Sessions are from 7-9pm unless a regional host requests a different time and the trainers are available.
The core will be offered to each region every two years.
Regional Organizations Serve as Sponsors
Regional planning organizations, county conservation districts and regional economic development organizations are encouraged to be the host sponsor for sessions in their region. Host is responsible for mailing and registration, publicity, booking the location, photocopy of materials, keeping attendance records, mailing out certificates.
The Partnership recommended free workshops. Some regions have opted to charge a nominal to cover photocopying costs.
Outcomes
12 of 15 planning regions have held or are scheduled to hold sessions since the first in February of 1998. Sessions were well-attended, with approximately 250 people having attended all three sessions and hence earning certificates of completion. The majority of attendees were land use board members, and the majority of these were newer members. Evaluations from attendees have been overwhelmingly favorable, with several suggestions for additional workshop topics. Attendance has included board members from cities and towns of all sizes, urban, suburban and rural.
An unexpected outcome has been the increased communication among Partnership members, leading to other collaborative efforts including sharing of mailing lists, notices of professional association meetings, articles in various newsletters about the program and provision of speakers for conferences and meetings on land use-related topics.
Costs
The time of Partnership members is donated by their respective employers and no record of costs is available. Initial costs in the pilot region to print registration brochures and session handouts were approximately $1200 (covered by the CT Rural Development Council and the two host pilot regions). Postage to mail out registrations and costs to photocopy handouts are paid by each host region and have not been documented or considered prohibitive by the regions.
Land Use Education Partners
Local Government: Town planning & zoning commission members and town planning staff, regional planning and economic development organizations
State Government: CT Rural Development Council, UCONN Cooperative Extension System and Institute of Public Service and Central CT State University
Non-Profit Organizations: CT Trust for Historic Preservation, CT Preservation Action and Litchfield County Conservation District
Private Sector: Planning, landscape design, engineering and law firms
Professional Associations: CT Chapter, American Planning Association, CT Association of Zoning Enforcement Officials, CT Chapter, American Society of Landscape Architects and CT Bar Association
Contact: Linda Cardini, Executive Director
CT Rural Development Council
Northwestern CT Community-Technical College |
Park Place East Winsted, CT 06098
(860)738-6413 phone (860)738-6431 fax
www.ruralct.org
For up-to-date Schedule of Workshops, consult the CT APA home page.
