Who oversees implementation of your comp plan?

[luckless pedestrian]

my community is debating who should implement the comp plan and it's a "hearty" discussion rife with controversy

the plan itself will assign certain duties to specific groups and staff but the town wants general oversight from a committee

should it be the comp plan committee that wrote it?

should it be the community development committee which is an ad hoc group recommending stuff to the Board of Selectmen right now?

the elected and thus segregated from the BOS Planning Board?

a super committee which blends the CPC, the CD and wastewater (the big ticket item is a whole new sewer system)?

what do you do?

[johnelsden]

We drew from the original comp plan committee and meet every 6 months to update progress on the comp plan implementation (Chapter 11 of the Plan). The progress doc is about 30 pages long and staff updates it with review from the committee and recomendation for acceptance by the city council.

It works pretty well, if a member resigns we pick from the discipline he/she represented such as planning, housing ,health, faith alliance, etc. This is the only community I have worked in that implements the plan.

[otterpop]

Do you mean some places actually implement their comp plan/master plan/growth policy?

[imaplanner]

I'm a little unclear about the question really. Whenever we update the general plan we (the Planning department) implements most of it through the adoption of new zoning regulations. The Planning department implements other aspects through spearheading and being the clearinghouse for community grant proposals.

[Random Traffic Guy]

Do you mean some places actually implement their comp plan/master plan/growth policy?

Exactly... if they thought it would be implemented they would have made a better plan
I count it as a victory if some incorrect land use proposal at least has to get a variance, rather than just ignoring the whole thing.

[luckless pedestrian]

No really, folks -

In my Pinky and the Brain world, it should be staff actually becasue the plan itself AREADY assigns people to different strategies so staff cn coordinate it, check in with the chief elected officials etc.

but they want a committee here to do it and I am concerned

[mike gurnee]

In smaller communities I would go with the planning commission: driven by staff. If the plan needs actions by others (i.e. health and school communities) perhaps a committee that includes those sectors. As you know, a seperate group means additional meetings for YOU.

[Dan]

In the draft comp plan for the community where I work, I wrote an implementation section. A table with every goals/recommendation in all of the element is included, with the following for each recommendation:

Action: what kind of action is required:to implement the goal.

• Decision: day-to-day recommendations and policy decisions made by planning staff, other municipal employees, volunteers, appointed officials, and elected officials serving on boards and committees dealing with issues addressed in the plan.
• Regulation: writing and adopting new laws, or modifying or reforming existing laws.
• Plan: initiating, adopting and implementing neighborhood, corridor or subject-specific plans.
• Project: achieved by one or more temporary endeavors. A project may be a physical (e.g. new infrastructure) or analytical (e.g. a report or inventory) concern.
• Program: establishing formal long-term programs that carry out one or more goals and recommendations of the plan. A program may be the foundation for carrying out multiple projects.
• Cooperation: forming partnerships, intergovernmental agreements, and other joint efforts with neighboring communities, public agencies, and /or institutions.

Priority: time frames for implementing actions.

• Immediate: initiated before or immediately following the adoption of this plan.
• High: initiated and realized shortly after plan adoption, through 2013-2015.
• Medium: initiated and realized between 2015 and 2018, or after high-priority items are completed.
• Open: initiated and realized any time, but action to be taken by 2018-2023 if not before.
• Completed: actions that have been completed.
• Continuous: ongoing actions with no set initiation or completion date, generally decisions and long-term projects and programs.

Responsibility: agencies, bodies, or other groups that will be largely responsible for undertaking the action.

[luckless pedestrian]

In the draft comp plan for the community where I work, I wrote an implementation section. A table with every goals/recommendation in all of the element is included, with the following for each recommendation:

Action: what kind of action is required:to implement the goal.

• Decision: day-to-day recommendations and policy decisions made by planning staff, other municipal employees, volunteers, appointed officials, and elected officials serving on boards and committees dealing with issues addressed in the plan.
• Regulation: writing and adopting new laws, or modifying or reforming existing laws.
• Plan: initiating, adopting and implementing neighborhood, corridor or subject-specific plans.
• Project: achieved by one or more temporary endeavors. A project may be a physical (e.g. new infrastructure) or analytical (e.g. a report or inventory) concern.
• Program: establishing formal long-term programs that carry out one or more goals and recommendations of the plan. A program may be the foundation for carrying out multiple projects.
• Cooperation: forming partnerships, intergovernmental agreements, and other joint efforts with neighboring communities, public agencies, and /or institutions.

Priority: time frames for implementing actions.

• Immediate: initiated before or immediately following the adoption of this plan.
• High: initiated and realized shortly after plan adoption, through 2013-2015.
• Medium: initiated and realized between 2015 and 2018, or after high-priority items are completed.
• Open: initiated and realized any time, but action to be taken by 2018-2023 if not before.
• Completed: actions that have been completed.
• Continuous: ongoing actions with no set initiation or completion date, generally decisions and long-term projects and programs.

Responsibility: agencies, bodies, or other groups that will be largely responsible for undertaking the action.

exactly - we have this in our strategy and implementatin section but some folks want an oversight committee on it - I think it's overkill

[ursus]

exactly - we have this in our strategy and implementatin section but some folks want an oversight committee on it - I think it's overkill

I think you're right, it's overkill. Hell, it's bad enough to form the committee to steer the process to get the plan written and passed. Oversight for the implementation of our city's general plan is just planning staff (read: "ursus") and oversight for our 5 -year strategic plans (which seem to be written like your comp plan) are spelled out by assignments to various staffers and dept. heads. A committee trying to organize and do those things would be overly cumbersome.

You implement with Seal Team 6. You make the plans with the E Ring at the Pentagon.

[Whose Yur Planner]

I do, basically. It's one of my super powers.

[luckless pedestrian]

I think you're right, it's overkill. Hell, it's bad enough to form the committee to steer the process to get the plan written and passed. Oversight for the implementation of our city's general plan is just planning staff (read: "ursus") and oversight for our 5 -year strategic plans (which seem to be written like your comp plan) are spelled out by assignments to various staffers and dept. heads. A committee trying to organize and do those things would be overly cumbersome.

You implement with Seal Team 6. You make the plans with the E Ring at the Pentagon.

I do, basically. It's one of my super powers.

exactly - it's my freakin job!