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Development   NATIONAL EXPERTS TO ADDRESS MONTGOMERY PLANNING BOARD By Donna R. Savage Posted 03/26/2007 Updated 03/26/2007 Viewed 8027 times SILVER SPRING, MD - The public is invited to join the Montgomery County Planning Board throughout the spring to hear a diverse slate of planning experts speak about ways to guide growth while maintaining a vibrant economy and protecting the county’s unique natural resources. The growth management speaker series will inform the Planning Board and planning staff as they update the county’s key growth policy, (also referred to as the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance), which directs growth to areas with the right level of roads, schools and other public amenities. The growth policy will ultimately be reviewed and voted on by the County Council. As Montgomery County emerges as an economic power center in the state, public officials and planners are working to retain high levels of public service and our historically high quality of life. The series hosts nationally known experts who will lend insight into such issues as balancing growth and public services; fostering high-quality communities; developing vibrant urban areas and creating pedestrian-friendly environments; among other subjects. See below for information about the speakers, who will address the Planning Board on the dates specified below. For more information and to view online videotapes of the speeches, go to www.mcparkandplanning.org/planning/growth. - 4:30 p.m., March 29: Dick Tustian, a planner, architect and educator with 50 years experience in shaping the built environment, served as Montgomery County’s Planning Director for 24 years. More recently, Tustian spent 10 years as an architect/consultant, four years as senior fellow/faculty at Harvard University’s Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and eight years as adjunct professor/lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania. Tustian will cover “Mapping the Growth Management Genome.” - 7 p.m. April 5: Chris Nelson, Professor and Director of Urban Affairs and Planning at Virginia Tech’s Alexandria Center, has conducted pioneering research in land use planning, growth management, public financing and urban development policy. Nelson will address “The Infrastructure and Affordable Housing Linkage.” - 1 p.m. April 12: Robert Gibbs, a pioneer in reviving the community-oriented principles of traditional town planning and smart growth, is considered a leading urban planning consultant by some of the most respected mayors, architects, and developers in America. During the past 20 years, Gibbs has worked on more than 300 town centers and historic cities across North America and consulted on developing many new urban towns, including Maryland’s Kentlands community. Gibbs’ topic will be announced. - 4 p.m. April 26: James Murley, Director of the Catanese Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions at Florida Atlantic University, is former Secretary of the Florida Department of Community Affairs and Executive Director of 1000 Friends of Florida. Murley will cover “Growth Management Efforts and Strategies in Florida - Past, Present and Future.” - 1 p.m. May 3: Richard Heapes, founder and principal of Street-Works, LLC, a mixed-use development and consulting firm headquartered in New York, is nationally recognized for creating great urban places. Heapes recently led a $180-million mixed-use development in suburban West Hartford, Conn. Heapes’ topic will be announced. - 7 p.m. May 17: Robert Hunter is president-elect of the American Planning Association, which represents 41,000 planners and other professional in 39 nations. Hunter also serves as the executive director of the Hillsborough City-County Planning Commission in Tampa, Fla. Hunter will address “Growth: Who Pays and Who Plays?” - 7 p.m. May 24: Alexander von Hoffman, Senior Research Fellow at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, has authored three books on urban revival and is now writing a history of low-income housing politics and policy. Von Hoffman will address “Urban Planning in the Age of Sprawl: Thoughts on the Past and Future of American Metropolitan Growth.” His presentation will focus, in part, on three growth management case studies, including Montgomery, Loudoun and Fairfax counties. - 7 p.m. June 6: Edward “Ned” Hill, Professor and Distinguished Scholar of Economic Development at the Maxine Levin College of Urban Affairs, Cleveland State University, is also a Senior Fellow in the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution. Hill edited Economic Development Quarterly from 1994 to 2005. Hill’s topic will be announced. - 7 p.m. June 7: Ed McMahon, who holds the Charles Fraser Chair on Sustainable Development at the Urban Land Institute, is nationally known as a leading authority on sustainable development, land conservation, urban design and historic preservation. McMahon will address “The Dollars and Sense of Responsive Design.” - 7 p.m. June 14: Michael Freedman, principal and founder of an urban design firm in San Francisco, specializes in infill development master plans, corridor redevelopment, design guidelines and open space planning. Freedman will address “The Strategy of Superior Infill by Guiding Growth and Change with Effective Regulatory and Capital Improvement Tools.” - 9:15 a.m. June 21: Peter Park, Director of Denver’s Community Planning and Development Department, specializes in urban design and innovative design solutions that balance development needs with unique site concerns. Park will cover “Balancing Community and Development Needs with Innovative Design and Planning Tools.” - 7 p.m. June 21: Gordon Price, Director of the City Program at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia, and a professor in the School of Community and Regional Planning at the University of British Columbia, has written extensively on Vancouver and transportation and land use issues. Price will discuss “The Vancouver Recipe: How to Increase Density and Reduce Fat.” Except for the June 6 presentation, the growth management speaker series will take place during regularly scheduled Planning Board meetings held on Thursdays at 8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring. Additional speakers may be added in the coming weeks and the current schedule may change. For the latest on the speaker series, call (301) 495-4600 or go to www.mcparkandplanning.org/planning/growth.

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