Bringing people together to create great places to live, work, and play Planning for Rural Success APA Idaho October 7, 2015

Idaho Smart Growth is  Statewide nonprofit (501c3) organization  Established in 2000  14 board members, 4 staff members, 30+ volunteers

We work in the overlap

“Triple Bottom Line”  Strong economy  Healthy natural environment  Happy people Smart growth benefits

How do we do it?  Build coalitions  Provide policy and technical support  Conduct research  Celebrate!

6 Idaho Land Use Analysis  GOAL: review how land use planning is working in Idaho and recommend and implement changes to keep our communities vibrant

7 Partners  University of Idaho  Boise State University  Idaho Chapter of the American Planning Association  Idaho District Council of the Urban Land Institute  AIC, IAC

8  Collected Comprehensive Plans  Both City and County Plans  Analyzed for congruency with Local Land Use Planning Act  Developed qualitative information through surveys Comprehensive Plan Analysis Web-based database of Idaho County and City comprehensive plans and land use ordinances

9 General Support for planning  LLUPA provides guidance, but  Insufficient technical information  No state recognition of: – Costs of preparing plan – Costs of implementing  Evenly divided over stronger state role Comprehensive Plan Analysis Findings

10 Planning procedures, decisions  Applicants have “too much influence”  Feel limited due to property rights/taking issues  Lack of planning skills  Too much political influence  Need better information (on-line?)  Hard to engage public except “NIMBY” Comprehensive Plan Analysis Findings

11 Impact fees  Feel growth should pay for itself  Current structure doesn’t work- complicated, costly, burden to small communities Comprehensive Plan Analysis Findings

12  Strongest Element – Property Rights Element (must include the State Attorney General’s Takings Checklist)  Weakest Elements – Community Design (including signs, landscape, building design, gateways and corridors) – Hazards (including flooding, avalanche and mudslides, irrigation ditches, railroad crossings, bulk fuel storage) Plans Congruency with state law

13 Planning and growth principles  Environmental concerns ranked at the top (surface and ground water), followed by – transportation considerations – citizen input – public investment options – housing principles Concerns about how to get it right

14 BSU Observations Need for technical assistance and consistent education

Idaho Smart Growth Community Assistance  Develop information (research)  Offer education  Conduct/partner in plan development  Encourage, broaden participation  Facilitate discussion  Be patient

Idaho Smart Growth Community Assistance  Build Local Capacity – Help the communities help themselves by strengthening knowledge and working relationship of a local team to carry ideas forward  Move toward results – A policy is a place to start, action builds confidence.  Improve local conditions – Identify infrastructure, policy & non-infrastructure improvements specific to each locale  Share Examples – Learn from each other

Get the plan right  Engage  Broaden Participants  Organize  Offer tools ISG Community Assistance Examples

ITD technical Assistance Program  Bring Expertise  Offer affordable tools  Find opportunities for early success ISG Community Assistance Examples

Envision together ISG Community Assistance Example

3 weeks later… 3 months later…

 Small towns can be nimble and move fast  Roles and responsibilities need to be clear, but people will step up  People can envision the outcome they want (shared values) – few understand how to get there  Folks are ready to act eager to learn tools.  On the ground activity is key to understanding and finding solutions – its also fun! ISG Community Assistance Lessons

 Need – No one has stepped up to meet BSU recommendations  Expertise – Land use knowledge, experience with small towns, skilled in engaging the public  Partnership – ISG, Dover, Private sector  Share results – As statewide non-profit organization we can share best practices and lessons learned to a broad audience. Why Comprehensive Planning now?

 They ask for help and are willing to try a new model  ISG loves working with communities who are committed and looking for success  We think we can hit the ground running, ISG has built a lot of knowledge and relationships in other work in the area. Why Dover?

Bringing people together to create great places to live, work, and play Thank you!