A MONTHLY BULLETIN FROM APA FLORIDA

APA FLORIDA ANNUAL SPONSORS

 MAY 2, 2008

Become a Sponsor or Exhibitor
 at the
2008 APA Florida Annual Conference
September 10-13th
InterContinental Miami
Click here for more information 


2008 Project Award nominations accepted through May 16th
Click here for more information

STATE & FEDERAL HIGHLIGHTS

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY: OPPORTUNITIES FOR FLORIDA AGRICULTURE
Agriculture is in a unique position to play an important role in producing enough energy to greatly decrease the dependence on foreign oil. Corn ethanol and biodiesel production have already been huge successes in the mid-west, producing an economically feasible, renewable fuel source that can be produced on the farm. But can the successes of corn ethanol and biodiesel be translated to other crops and other regions of the country? Can Florida's farmers and ranchers take advantage of this new industry and find additional profit streams by producing alternative energy? These are some of the questions that were considered by the Florida Farm Bureau Energy Task Force in the formulation of this December, 2007 report.  Read their findings at http://www.floridafarmbureau.org/files/issues_122007_energyreport.pdf

NEW WEBSITE SHOWS IMPACT OF TRANSPORTATION ON HOUSING COSTS
A new interactive mapping website launched by the Center for Neighborhood Technology in partnership with The Brookings Institution shows how affordability changes from neighborhood to neighborhood based on housing and transportation.  It is  a map-based tool offering information on housing and transportation costs for 52 metropolitan areas, including Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, and West Palm Beach-Boca Raton areas.   The tool looks at housing and transportation costs as a percentage of income, with an affordability goal of housing and transportation between 0-45% of area median income.  The website can be found at http://htaindex.cnt.org/.

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REPORTS, PUBLICATIONS AND BRIEFINGS 

FOUR GENERATIONS: BUILDING COMMUNITY AND RELATIONSHIPS
In less than a lifetime, from 1945 to 2008, Florida went from being the smallest state in the South to the fourth largest and one of the most complex states in the nation. Today, Florida has the largest percentage of seniors in the nation, and it has become a testing ground in the United States for the ways in which multiple generations live and work alongside one another. This issue of Florida Focus, published by the Bureau of Economic and Business Research, discusses the emergence of this important demographic development and what it means for Florida and its citizens.  It can be read at http://www.bebr.ufl.edu/system/files/FL+Focus+4_3_2008_0.pdf .

UTILIZATION OF LOCAL OPTION SALES TAXES BY FLORIDA COUNTIES
Local option sales taxes are significant revenue sources to Florida's local governments and represent important funding mechanisms for the provision of local infrastructure, and in some instances, the provision of health-related services. The current utilization of existing taxing authority is of continuing interest to state lawmakers and local officials alike, particularly in the context of recurring discussions of growth management and local service provisions. The Florida Legislative Committee on Intergovernmental Relations issued this brief this month, providing a review of existing taxing authority for local option sales taxes available to Florida's county governments and school districts and offers estimates of realized and unrealized tax revenues for the local fiscal year ending September 30, 2008.  To read this brief, go to http://www.floridalcir.gov/UserContent/docs/File/reports/localoptsales08.pdf .

PLANNING FOR NATURAL DISASTER DEBRIS
EPA recently released a new document on planning for natural disaster debris.  This guidance document, based on experience of communities, discusses the management of debris from natural disasters, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, tornados, floods, wildfires, and winter storms. This document is intended to help a planner in the beginning stages of the planning process or to assist a planner in revising an existing disaster debris management plan. It provides planners with more awareness for environmental protection when it comes to dealing with disaster debris.  To download the document, go to http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/debris-new/pubs/pndd.pdf

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NEWS CLIPS, MAGAZINE ARTICLES, ETC.

Some publications may require free registration.

"Green" energy bill heads to governor
David Fischer, Associated Press, Herald Tribune, May 2, 2008
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080501/NEWS/805010613/-1/RSS01

Climate Change drives Florida to reduce vehicle usage
Bills link transportation costs, development
Bruce Ritchie, Capital Bureau, News-Press, April 28, 2008
http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080428/GREEN/804280360/1075

Tax commission adopts waterfront tax protection
Michael Peltier, Naples Daily News, April 27, 2008
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2008/apr/27/michael-peltier-tax-commission-adopts-waterfront-t/

Knight property will use sector planning
Jay Felsburg, Florida Freedom Newspapers, NewsHerald, April 25, 2008
http://www.newsherald.com/headlines/article.display.php?id=1725

The Buckland Bridge Replacement Project: Using Innovative Construction Techniques to Preserve a Historic District
Nicholas J. Roper and MaryAnn Naber, FHWA Successes in Stewardship Newsletter, April 2008
http://environment.fhwa.dot.gov/strmlng/newsletters/apr08nl.asp

Montegomery Aims To Make Green Homes Mandatory
Ann E. Marimow, Staff Writer, Washington Post, April 23, 2008
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/22/AR2008042202839.html

Up With The New: A Second City For Las Vegas
Steve Freiss,  The New York Times, April 23, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/us/23vegas.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Meeting of the minds, professional grade
Kristen Green, Globe Correspondent, Boston Globe, April 20, 2008
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/04/20/meeting_of_the_minds_professional_grade/

Loss of Habitat Imperils Bald Eagles in Fla.
Linda Charleton, Correspondent, The Reporter, April 23, 2008
http://www.theledger.com/article/20080424/REPORTER/804240383/1003/NEWS01

Transport officials say paying cash to bid losers justified
Dara Kam, Capital Bureau, Palm Beach Post, April 23, 2008
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/state/epaper/2008/04/23/m1a_xgr_dot_0424.html

Court rules against petition signature revocation
James Miller, Staff Writer, Daytona Beach News Journal, April 24, 2008
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Politics/Florida/floHEAD03POL042408.htm

Oregon biotech signs deal, headed to Port St. Lucie
Eve Samples, Staff Writer, Palm Beach Post, April 23, 2008
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/content/business/epaper/2008/04/23/a9b_vgti_0424.html

$2-million set aside for Tampa Bay transit planning
Janet Zink, Times Staff Writer, St. Petersburg Times, April 23, 2008
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/state/article470440.ece

Commission approves mining on more than 11,000 acres
Andy Reid, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, April 24, 2008
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-424pbcmines,0,3012689.story

Push for urban parkland takes root
Haya El Nassar, USA Today, April 13, 2008
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/2008-04-13-urbanparks_N.htm

Ceasefire in Downtown Height Fight
Preservationists and Smart Growth Activists Craft a Compromise
Martha Sadler, Santa Barbara Independent, April 17, 2008
http://www.independent.com/news/2008/apr/17/ceasefire-building-height-fight/

Planners: Floridians need to grow up, face water limits
Dinah Voyles Pulver, Environmental Writer, Daytona Beach News-Journal, April 19, 2008
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Local/newFLAG02ENV041908.htm

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 APA FLORIDA/APA/AICP NEWS & INFORMATION

SUBMIT YOUR NOMINATION FOR APA FLORIDA'S 2008 PROJECT AWARDS
APA Florida is pleased to announce the opening of its 2008 Project Awards Program application cycle.  This program provides APA Florida the opportunity to recognize outstanding planning projects in the State of Florida at its annual conference.  The program provides APA Florida members with the chance to see and learn about development, conservation, government, or environmental projects, where planning has had a positive impact on the outcome.  Judges will be looking for innovativeness and quality, and the potential for use in other areas.  Eligible projects are those completed within the last two years in Florida, and submittals are due by May 16, 2008.  For more information, go to http://www.floridaplanning.org/conference/2008/2008ProjectAwardsAnnouncement.pdf.

SALARY SURVEY RESULTS ON-LINE
Results from the AICP 2008 Salary Survey are now on-line. Based on more than 14,000 responses, the biennial survey is the most comprehensive look at compensation and benefits in the planning profession.  To get a comprehensive view of the results, go to http://www.planning.org/salary/ .

TIME TO REGISTER FOR THE NOVEMBER AICP EXAM
The window is now open to apply for the AICP exam in November.  To sign up, go to http://www.planning.org/certification/ and sign in as a member. 

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OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST

PARTICIPATE IN GLOBAL SURVEY TO ASSESS PLANNING CAPACITY
The Global Planners Network (GPN) is a network of national planning organizations, including APA, that established itself at the 2006 World Planners Conference in Vancouver.  Twenty-five professional planning institutes from around the world have now joined the network and committed themselves to work together and with others to tackle the challenges of rapid urbanization, the urbanization of poverty and the hazards posed by climate change and natural disasters. The GPN's action plan recognizes that effective planning demands better resourced, more knowledgeable and innovative institutions, communities and individuals. In other words, the world's capacity for planning needs to be developed. The crucial first steps are to find out first what capacity exists at present, where the most serious gaps are and to learn how capacity can be promoted most effectively. To that end, the GPN has developed a Self Diagnostic Tool for Assessing Planning Capacity to give all those engaged in planning around the world a means to assess the capacity for planning in their country and to compare this with the development challenges that face it. The questions in the Self Diagnostic Tool walk the individual or organization through a structured assessment of their own capacity to act as agents of change and make settlements more sustainable through planning.  The Global Planners Network will analyse the data to enhance current understanding of the different ways that planning is done. This will help highlight where the main gaps in capacity are, both geographically and functionally, and show where knowledge could most usefully be transferred and exchanged. To participate in this survey, go to
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=BVoAHze7i6IVKGrpW%2fzgdA%3d%3d#q1

AMERICA 2050 UPDATE
America 2050 is a national initiative to meet the infrastructure, economic development and environmental challenges of the nation as we prepare to add 120 million additional Americans by the year 2050.  In 2005, the Regional Plan Assocations convened the National Committee for America 2050, a coalition of regional planners, scholars, and policy-makers to develop a framework for the nation's future growth that considers trends such as: rapid population growth and demographic change; global climate change; the rise in foreign trade; sprawling and inefficient land use patterns; uneven and inequitable growth within and between regions; infrastructure systems that are reaching capacity;  and the emergence of megaregions. In recent months, the focus has been on the nation's over-reliance on fossil fuels and the need for incorporating renewable sources of energy to fuel our cars and buildings.  Additionally the importance of federal transportation policy to meet the challenges of climate change, competitiveness and social equity has been underscored.  Go to  http://www.america2050.org/ to learn more.

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RFPs/RFQs, GRANTS, AWARDS, ETC.

  RFQs/RFPs are listed in this newsletter and posted to APA Florida's website at no charge. APA Florida does this as a service to its members. Please take advantage of it.  Email a one paragraph summary to the Chapter Office at fapa@floridaplanning.org for posting. 
Be sure to include a deadline and web link.                                                                                                        

There are currently no RFQs or RFPs posted.  Please continue to check the website at http://www.floridaplanning.org/rfp.asp for updates.

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JOB MART

Newest JOB MART advertisements now posted:

PLANNER (City of Palm Beach Gardens);PLANNING DIRECTOR (City of South Miami); Planner III (Brevard County Planning and Zoning Office);  PLANNER II (City of Oviedo); GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS ANALYST/MANAGER (Central Florida Regional Planning Commission); CHIEF PLANNER (Lake County); TOWN PLANNER (Town of Ponce Inlet); PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR (City of Cape Canaveral); PLANNING MANAGER (City of Fort Myers); DIRECTOR OF PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT (City of Dunedin); SENIOR PLANNER - COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT (City of Cocoa); SENIOR PLANNER (Ecology and Environment Inc.); PLANNER (City of Pompano Beach)

We encourage you to visit APA Florida's JobMart website at http://www.floridaplanning.org/jobs2.asp for salaries, descriptions, minimum requirements and application deadlines.  Also, don't forget about APA Florida's resume posting feature at http://www.floridaplanning.org/membership/resume_select.asp.

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APA FLORIDA CHAPTER & SECTION CALENDAR

May 15 -16, 2008:  The APA Florida Executive Committee will hold a Board Retreat at the Hyatt Regency Downtown Jacksonville.

May 23, 2008:  The APA Florida Broward and Treasure Coast Sections are sponsoring a seminar on "Effective Planning in an Anti-Government Environment".  For details, go to http://www.pbcplanningcongress.org

May 23, 2008:  The APA Florida Sun Coast Section is holding a Regional Visioning Workshop.  This session is approved for 2 AICP CM credits.  Contact Tony LaColla at lacolla@plancom.org for more information.

September 10-13, 2008:  Save the date for APA Florida's 2008 Annual Conference at the InterContinental Miami in downtown Miami.  Keep up with breaking news at http://www.floridaplanning.org/conference/index.asp.

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OTHER STATE & NATIONAL EVENTS

May 12-16, 2008:  The 22nd Annual Governor's Hurricane Conference will be held at the Greater Ft. Lauderdale/Broward Convention Convention Center.  For information, go to http://www.flghc.org.

June 11-14, 2008:  The FPZA Annual State Conference will be held at the Casa Monica Hotel in St. Augustine.  For information, email fccfpza2008@yahoo.com.

June 16-17, 2008:  Registration is now open for DCA's Annual Growth Management Workshop, at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando.  Go to http://www.dca.state.fl.us/fdcp/dcp/gmw/gmw08.cfm .

July 16-18, 2008:  Save the date for the Florida Chamber's 22nd Annual Environmental Permitting Summer School at the Marco Island Marriot Resort.

July 31 - August 2, 2008:  Save the date for the 2008 FLASLA Annual Conference and Expo at the Omni Jacksonville Hotel in downtown Jacksonville.  Check http://www.flasla.org/conference.htm for more information.

October 22-24, 2008:  The Florida Redevelopment Association will hold its 2008 Annual Conference at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Tampa.

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