Our mission: "To promote sound planning, land use and zoning practice in New York State so that orderly growth and development may occur balanced with necessary resource conservation."
Planning and Zoning Summer Schools
Save the date: Annual conference is Oct. 12-14
This year's NYPF Planning and Zoning Conference, our 70th annual, returns to the Saratoga Hotel & Conference Center in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. on Oct. 12-14, 2008.
On tap are more than two dozen informative sessions for planning board and ZBA members, elected officials, planners, code enforcement officers and attorneys. For more information, contact Lael Locke at llocke@nypf.org or 518-270-9855.
Promoting the Training of Municipal Planning & Zoning Officials
In 2006, the New York Legislature approved a bill establishing minimum training requirements for municipal planning and zoning officials. The new legislation calls for a minimum training standard of four hours annually for members of local planning boards, zoning boards of appeal and county planning boards. See Training Opportunities on our menu to the left for commonly-asked questions and answers on this important new requirement.
Wind Energy Toolkit
New York State has some of the highest potential for wind energy development of any state in the nation. Yet many local officials feel unprepared to evaluate proposed wind energy facilities that are increasingly coming before them. The Toolkit is designed to offer information on the various aspects of wind energy development to help municipalities decide how, where and whether wind energy facilities should be sited.
The Toolkit consists of a series of short, topical papers, three of which were prepared by the New York Planning Federation for NYSERDA, including Wind Energy Development and the Comprehensive Plan, Government Agencies’ Role in the Approval Process and Wind Energy Model Ordinance Options. These three papers are especially geared to answering the kinds of questions local officials are likely to have about planning and zoning for wind energy development.
NYSERDA’s website also provides a link to NYSERDA’s wind map, illustrating the areas within the State which have the greatest potential for wind energy development. See the winter edition of Planning News for the full article.
Online Education Courses for Planners
The Bloustein Online Continuing Education for Planners program at Rutgers University provides a variety of professional development courses to those in the field of urban, regional, city and community planning.
14 AICP Continuing Professional Development credits can be received for each four-week online course. The New York Planning Federation members receive a 10% discount off the $250 course fee.
BOCEP courses are taught by professionals from the East Coast and around the country. You can learn more about the program as well as future courses at http://policy.rutgers.edu/bocep/bocep.html.
Discussion list
We've created an electronic forum that allows members to share ideas and seek advice on issues regarding planning, zoning and main street development. Your participation involves using a simple tool - e-mail.
Join the conversation today by signing up at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nypf and get plugged into what the experts are talking about!
Updated Guide
NYPF has updated the popular "The Short Course: A Basic Guide for Planning Boards and Zoning Boards of Appeals in NYS." It contains many updates that you'll want to be aware of. The guide, now in its 7th printing, has proven to be a valuable resource for local governments. To purchase this guide, visit our bookstore.
Land Use Training & Certification School
The New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal Land Use Training Program for Local Government Officials is an online training program designed to teach the basics of New York land use law. The program is made available to governmental officials, planning and zoning board members, municipal risk managers and others for noncommercial purposes. The program has nine tutorials and a glossary with links to definitions and various New York State statutes.
The program is produced by the Pace University Land Use Law Center and the New York Planning Federation. It is made available through the New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal, which is owned by the 530 New York Municipalities it insures.
You can download the program free from NYMIR or the zip file (1.6 meg) from NYPF.
New York Planning Federation
440 3rd Ave.
Watervliet, NY 12189
518-270-9855
fax: 518-270-9857
e-mail: nypf@nypf.org
