Being an Urban Planner myself...this comes as great news!  This was a major reason why I supported Mallory to begin with.  I cant wait for the city to get its planning dept back up and running, and should you combine it with those other depts...it should cut some red tape and make things a lot better!

 

Panel: Bring back city planning unit

By Joe Wessels  Post contributor

 

A committee convened by Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory said it's time to bring back the city's planning department.  The ad hoc panel - chaired by former city planning department head Liz Bloom - met three times and then recommended to Mallory that the department be re-established. The mayor said he's not reviewed the recommendation yet.

 

The department was abolished in a budget cutback by Council under then-Mayor Charlie Luken in 2002.  Mallory made bringing back the department part of his platform during his 2005 campaign to lead the city. His first chance to do that would be in next year's budget, which must be approved by the end of the year.

 

The Cincinnati Post reports on the rest.

It is my gut reaction to be against governmental agencies like this

but I can see how it is kind of neccesary with a large and complex city.

How much planning went on in the 19th century ?

I really can't see how a city functions without a planning department.

 

Did everything run through planning commission directly?

being a potential planner myself, is getting into the planning profession smart money wise?  Do planners make good money or am I gonna go get my masters and only make so-so money? 

What's so-so money? It's not buy a Benz money... Depends on if you work for the gov't or private I suppose. Check Planetizen, or Money Magazine's website, I think they have a breakdown of starting pay and average compensation.

 

As for the planning dept...

 

It exists now, and planners work there, it has just been rolled into the Community Development Department and severely under-resourced. When they say bring it back, they mean make it whole again, staffed up and as it's own department. I hope so, at least.

 

There are still anti-planning elements at City Hall leftovers from the Luken-Lemmie regime. Both of those folks wanted to privatize the planning function and outsource it to folks like Jeff Anderson and Bob Smjyunas.

 

Somewhat under the radar, a neighborhood plan is being developed for Mt Washington. And a lot of work is going on in OTR in conjunction with 3CDC and the Findlay Market Association.

It is my gut reaction to be against governmental agencies like this

but I can see how it is kind of neccesary with a large and complex city.

How much planning went on in the 19th century ?

 

Not much, but neither did a lot of activities of the modern era. To put it very generally, planning came about largely as a way to reasonably manage the results of the industrial age. Cincinnati was at the forefront of the planning movement in the US, which is why it's ironic and troubling that the department was castrated.

And by not much I mean quite a bit. Just not the way it is today, with boards and commissions. The Northwest Ordinance is really a seminal planning document. And of course there's the most famous of all 19th century planning relics, Haussmann's Paris.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haussmann%27s_renovation_of_Paris

 

Paris is of course simply the ne plus ultra of many European cities that were reborn after conscious planned effort in the 19th Century.

 

being a potential planner myself, is getting into the planning profession smart money wise?  Do planners make good money or am I gonna go get my masters and only make so-so money? 

 

I read just recently that Urban Planning positions are one of the top 50 jobs out there.  Should you become a city manager/planner (the planning director) you'll start around 70,000 a year.  With an undergrad degree and a be an accredited planner...I would expect around the 35-40,000 range as an entry level.

 

This is a great field to get into because of America's development...the nation is starting to fill out and people are beginning to weigh quality of life issues much more heavily.  This is what planning is all about...creating a high quality of life for all members of society in all aspects of life.

 

With a graduate degree I would imagine that you will have a great job awaiting you when your are all finished with schooling.  Planning jobs have been growing nationwide for the past several years...and its still growing further.

 

Here is a link to Money Magazines Top 50 Jobs (urban planner #36)

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bestjobs/top50/index.html

being a potential planner myself, is getting into the planning profession smart money wise?  Do planners make good money or am I gonna go get my masters and only make so-so money? 

 

Here's a good link from The U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos057.htm

being a potential planner myself, is getting into the planning profession smart money wise?  Do planners make good money or am I gonna go get my masters and only make so-so money? 

 

I read just recently that Urban Planning positions are one of the top 50 jobs out there.  Should you become a city manager/planner (the planning director) you'll start around 70,000 a year.  With an undergrad degree and a be an accredited planner...I would expect around the 35-40,000 range as an entry level.

 

This is a great field to get into because of America's development...the nation is starting to fill out and people are beginning to weigh quality of life issues much more heavily.  This is what planning is all about...creating a high quality of life for all members of society in all aspects of life.

 

With a graduate degree I would imagine that you will have a great job awaiting you when your are all finished with schooling.  Planning jobs have been growing nationwide for the past several years...and its still growing further.

 

Here is a link to Money Magazines Top 50 Jobs (urban planner #36)

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bestjobs/top50/index.html

 

But it depends on the education and the location you're looking at.

Suburban New Orleans (St. Tammeny Parish, on the northshore of Lake Pontatrain) had a planner opening, but they were offering 28K a year (essenitally they wanted an architect/building code enforcer).

Delaware, here in Ohio, has a opening they are advertising right now (wants a masters and prefereably a year experience) for 40 K.

Mallory's trip to Pittsburgh spurs planning interest

Inspired by efficiency, mayor wants to reinstate department

BY DAN KLEPAL | September 25, 2006

 

An early morning tour of this river city Sunday confirmed for Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory that the Queen City needs a plan.  Specifically, it needs a planning department, he said.  Pittsburgh Planning Director Pat Ford led Mallory, council member Cecil Thomas, Assistant Police Chief Michael Cureton and a few members of Mallory's staff on a tour of the city Sunday.

 

The tour was payment for a bet between Mallory and now-deceased Pittsburgh Mayor Bob O'Connor over the Bengals' playoff loss to the Steelers in January. The deal was that the losing mayor would tour the winner's city.  Mallory was more than happy to pay the bet. And Mallory felt like the winner after hearing Ford talk about how Pittsburgh's planning department works.

 

Read full article here:

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060925/NEWS01/609250368/1056

Shoot, planning isn't the problem, it's the implimentation :]

Chris, this is a sign! Do the damn thing!

Chris, this is a sign! Do the damn thing!

 

But Bexley is calling me!

Chris, this is a sign! Do the damn thing!

 

But Bexley is calling me!

 

Maybe a parody of London Calling should be in order here. :-D

The ad hoc panel - chaired by former city planning department head Liz Bloom - met three times and then recommended to Mallory that the department be re-established. The mayor said he's not reviewed the recommendation yet.

 

Liz Bloom.  I have actually met Liz Bloom, and her husband, at a party in Dayton thrown by a homosexual aquiantance of mine.  She lived across the street from him the the Five Oaks neighborhood, when she was planning director in Dayton and working on their "20/20" plan.

 

I am a bit leery of planning and its results (though I like the colorfull maps and graphics planning produces).  Cincinnati does have a long tradtiion of leadership in city planning as I think an early landmark comprehensive plan was developed for the city in the 1920s, I think. 

 

 

 

n Pittsburgh, the planning department divides the city's 84 neighborhoods into 16 sectors. That allows it to look at neighborhood issues in a more regional context.

 

That is sort of what the priority board system does in Dayton. 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, from preliminary reports about the City Manager's proposed budget, I don't think the Planning Dept is going to be fully reconstituted.

 

Cincinnati's Dept of Community Development and Planning also divides the city's 52 neighborhoods into sectors, and assigns each sector to Development Opportunity Teams, staffed with a business development specialist, a planner, a housing specialist, and sometimes a historic conservationist.

My local planning resources class went downtown to city hall and we talked to the people that do the planning and they were talking about what they do and all of their projects and you seriously have no idea how far they spread themselves thin. They have one "planner" designated for every like 10 neighborhoods in Cincinnati. Basically whole regions of the city. Granted im sure they are very good at what they do and work hard but according to what they said, they keep cutting staff. Cincinnati's comprehensive plan is 30 years old :[ Ridiculous.  It seems like they should be more specialized instead of doing a little bit of everything.

from an architect's standpoint, I seriously can't understand how Cincinnati doesn't have a planning department.  And I'm speaking literally, here...  I really don't understand how they don't have a planning dept!  Who do all the plan reviewers report to?  Is is all just fragmented around city hall?  I suppose I could go check it out online, but what fun is that???

 

Interesting articles - I'm not sure how the city is running now, but it would sure seem that an effective planning department would be essential.

 

 

^ Probably to Community Development and Planning.

 

They still employ planners, it's just that their department was merged and they don't have very much authority...

City hires new planning director

BY LUCY MAY | July 30, 2007

 

The City of Cincinnati has hired a new director of planning to reconstitute the Department of City Planning, which was disbanded in 2002 as a cost-cutting measure.  Charles C. Graves III will begin his new job Sept. 4 and will earn a starting salary of $125,000, according to a news release. One of his first assignments will be to examine the planning and staffing needs of the department as he establishes it. He also will oversee the regulation of land use changes in the city. He is a former senior city planner in the department.

 

"The City of Cincinnati welcomes Charles back," City Manager Milton Dohoney said in a statement. "His impressive experience and extensive and solid education will help the city enormously as we strategize about how we can best grow the city. I am pleased he is part of the strong leadership team."

 

Read full article here:

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2007/07/30/daily12.html

^ Probably to Community Development and Planning.

 

And that might be changing somewhat soon, as Bill Lavegin (the current CBO) is retiring at the end of the year.

 

Fantastic.

$36,000 made available for planning director's salary

Building Cincinnati, 9/11/07

 

Photo of Charles C. Graves III from the American Planning Association

 

The City is looking to transfer a total of $36,200 from two budget accounts to help new Department of Planning Director Charles C. Graves III begin his new job.

 

The money would come from accounts for the Office of the City Manager and the Office of Budget and Evaluation.

 

Graves' starting salary is $125,000 per year.

 

Graves began his term in the newly-created department on September 4. The Department of Planning had been disbanded in 2002 due to budget cuts.

 

An ordinance authorizing the transfer of funds is currently in the Finance Committee.

 

http://buildingcincinnati.blogspot.com/2007/09/36000-made-available-for-planning.html

 

City approves money for new planning director

Building Cincinnati, 9/18/07

 

Photo of Charles C. Graves III from the American Planning Association

 

City Council unanimously approved an ordinance authorizing the release of funds to pay part of the salary of new Department of Planning Director Charles C. Graves III.

 

The funds, which total $36,000, will be transferred from accounts of the Office of the City Manager and the Office of Budget and Evaluation.

 

Graves began his term in the newly-created department on September 4. His starting salary is $125,000 per year.

 

The Department of Planning had been disbanded in 2002 due to budget cuts. In its 2007/2008 Approved Biennial Budget, City Council set aside only $5,120 for the new position. That money was to be used only for the candidate search.

 

http://buildingcincinnati.blogspot.com/2007/09/city-approves-money-for-new-planning.html

 

When Mayor Mallory was elected he pledged his support for planning.  It didn't take him long to reinstate the Planning Department and he has also started the Office of Environmental Quality which has begun implementing Cincinnati's Climate Protection Action Plan (aka the Green Cincinnati Plan).

 

Soon the city will begin on a new comprehensive plan that will, "inform current and future decision makers where we are now, where we want to go, how we intend to get there, and who will help us along the way."  The comprehensive plan effort is being called "Plan Cincinnati."

 

Become a fan on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Cincinnati-OH/PLAN-CINCINNATI-Comprehensive-Plan-of-the-City-of-Cincinnati/107148483499

 

Official Website:

http://plancincinnati.org/

Cincinnati to begin work on first city-wide comprehensive plan in nearly three decades

http://www.soapboxmedia.com/devnews/0811comprehensiveplan.aspx

 

In 1925 Cincinnati was the first city in the nation to have a formal comprehensive plan adopted by its city council.  The 1925 plan has only been updated twice, once in 1948 and again in 1980, and will soon be completely updated for the first time in nearly three decades in an effort being dubbed Plan Cincinnati.

 

Contemporary comprehensive plans are typically updated every five years and are often tied to capital improvement plans so that there is legal standing and financial support for the elements of that plan – something that city officials hope to have done with the City's new comprehensive plan that is currently getting underway.

 

Current Mayor Mark Mallory pledged his support for city planning when he originally ran for mayor.  That support translated into the recreation of the City’s Planning Department that had been dismantled by the previous administration, and this fall it will continue with a major kickoff to the efforts to have a new comprehensive plan completed by the end of 2010.

 

The comprehensive planning effort has been allocated $250,000 this year and next year from the City's Capital Budget, and will have work done both in-house and contracted out for more specific elements of the plan that need additional expertise.

 

Chief Planner Margaret Wuerstle says that the City has been going out to the community councils this summer to make them aware of the process and inform them about the four major meetings that will be held this fall:

 

• September 30th from 6pm to 8pm at the Corryville Rec Center
  
• October 5th from 6pm to 8pm at the Price Hill Rec Center
  
• October 15th from 6pm to 8pm at the College Hill Rec Center
  
• October 22nd from 6pm to 8pm at the Madisonville Rec Center

 

Wuerstle says that the City is hopeful it will have an appointed Steering Committee within the coming weeks that will include 31 people who will help lead the process including the plan’s eleven primary elements: Housing & Neighborhood Development; Economic Development & Business Retention; Transportation & Transit; Health, Environment & Open Space; Land Use; Historic Preservation; Urban Design; Utilities & Infrastructure; Institutions; Intergovernmental Cooperation; and Fiscal.

 

Following the meetings this fall there will be the Neighborhood Summit meeting in February which will almost entirely be devoted to the comprehensive plan and how the various neighborhoods need to be involved.

 

The 10-year comprehensive plan will create a vision for where the City wants to go and how it intends to get there.  "It’s very important that people are involved.  This is their plan, and is the way they can get involved to help fix the issues they may have in the city," says Wuerstle who also encourages residents, business owners and anyone who shares an interest in the future of the city to get involved.

 

If you are interested in getting involved you can email Margaret Wuerstle at [email protected], call the Planning Department at (513) 352-4845, or become a fan of Plan Cincinnati on Facebook.  Once you have shared your interest and contact information, the City will connect with you about future events and engagement opportunities.

wow, that plan cincinnati website is terrible.

wow, that plan cincinnati website is terrible.

 

I'm sure it's a quick splash page until the site launches. lol

The website looked different when I was writing the article, but had less information.  So I would interpret that as the site still being a work in progress.

Cincinnati's form-based code effort to take city leaders back to Nashville

By Randy A. Simes, Soapbox Cincinnati | January 12, 2010

http://soapboxmedia.com/devnews/0112formbasedcodes.aspx

 

Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls has announced that city leaders will be returning to Nashville as Cincinnati continues to move forward with the development of a form-based code.

 

The visit to North Nashville is one that builds upon a previous visit taken by city leaders in June 2008 to see how Nashville leaders successfully moved from a conventional zoning code to a form-based code.  The visit encouraged many city leaders about the potential that form-based codes can have in terms of transforming and revitalizing neighborhoods.  Following the trip, Cincinnati City Council approved $50,000 in February 2009 to advance the development of neighborhood form-based codes in Cincinnati.

 

Since that time the City has moved forward with Plan Cincinnati, a new comprehensive plan, and is now looking to organize four overnight trips back to Nashville between late January and late July 2010 so that community leaders can learn from Nashville's form-based code process.

 

On Tuesday, January 26 community leaders will be traveling to Nashville for a kick-off meeting that will include an overview of the form-based code process, and outline the process taken with a visioning session with related stakeholders there.

 

Cincinnati community leaders will return next on Thursday, May 6 to review the land use policies for open space, residential and conservation areas, and explain the potential impacts these policies would have in Cincinnati.  The third overnight trip to Nashville on Thursday, June 17 will continue to review land use policies as they relate to centers, corridors and districts, and again discuss the potential impacts of such policies.

 

The final overnight trip to Nashville will review implementation strategies with the North Nashville community and get their feedback regarding the process.  Cincinnati city leaders hope to then take this information and use it to effectively develop form-based codes for several Cincinnati neighborhoods.

 

"As Cincinnati’s form-based codes effort moves forward and neighborhoods get ready to organize community charrettes, we have a terrific learning opportunity in the coming months," said Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls.

Bellevue looking to the future with new form-based code

By Randy A. Simes, Soapbox Cincinnati | January 26, 2010

http://soapboxmedia.com/devnews/0126codingbellevue.aspx

 

The City of Bellevue is looking to the future concerning development and redevelopment.  Now in its 140th year as a city, Bellevue is kicking off a new initiative that will look at form-based code models that have been used to create great places elsewhere to apply in Northern Kentucky.

 

Coding Bellevue is about much more than looking at what has been done elsewhere though.  The motto for the whole initiative harkens to the historic nature of the community - "Preserving the past, preparing for our future."  According to city leaders, the initiative will take place over the next several months and will require extensive public participation in order to be successful.

 

"With form-based codes you can do three things," said Bellevue Assistant City Attorney Candace Klein who is also working on drafting the code.  "You can protect the assets you currently have, enhance the assets you would like to improve, or you can use a form-based code to transform your community."

 

In Bellevue's case, Klein says that they will be focusing on protecting and enhancing their current assets since the community already has a tremendous base to work from.

 

Much like the form-based code initiative taking place in Cincinnati, Coding Bellevue will eventually create a customized code for the Bellevue community to look to for its future growth and redevelopment.

 

The first of several public meetings will take place on Wednesday, January 27 from 7pm to 9pm at the Callahan Community Center (located behind City Building at 616 Poplar Street).  The informational event hosted by the City of Bellevue and Jeff Raser of glaserworks will introduce the concept of form-based codes and function as a kick-off to the Coding Bellevue initiative.

 

The next event will also be at the Callahan Community Center and will take place on Saturday, February 27 from 9am to 12pm.  This interactive workshop will provide the opportunity for the public to develop a vision for how Bellevue should evolve.  The crux of the workshop will be a Visual Preference Survey that will provide a foundation for the future form-based code.

 

Then over the course of four days, the Coding Bellevue Charrette will run from Monday, March 22 through Thursday, March 25 from 9am to 8pm each day.  This four day charrette will feature public presentations and opportunities for members of the public to interact with the consulting team, PlaceMakers LLC, about their work.

 

Klein concluded that, "It's going to be an exciting time for Northern Kentucky being the innovator on this, and I think we're going to see a lot of communities do this in the coming years."

 

Reservations for the Coding Bellevue Charrette are not required, but are requested and can be made by contacting Jody Robinson or John Yung at (859) 431-8866.