A MONTHLY BULLETIN FROM APA FLORIDA

APA FLORIDA ANNUAL SPONSORS

November 30, 2009


Save the date for the 8th Annual Public Policy Workshop

February 3, 2010
Tallahassee

Registration opening soon!

NEW REPORT HIGHLIGHTS THE IMPORTANCE OF LOCATION EFFICIENCY
San Francisco Bay Area residents spend an average of 59 percent of their income on combined housing and transportation costs, with parts of the nine-county Northern California region averaging in excess of 70 percent, a new study from the Urban Land Institute's Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing reports. Bay Area Burden: Examining the Costs and Impacts of Housing and Transportation on Bay Area Residents, Their Neighborhoods, and the Environment provides a comprehensive analysis of the "cost of place" in the region and highlights the importance of location efficiency - the proximity of housing to transportation hubs, employment, and retail centers "as a driver of both affordability and environmental sustainability." . The study is the product of the ULI in conjunction with the Center for Housing Policy and the Center for Neighborhood Technology. The report's sponsors hope to bring to the fore the discussion of transportation's impact on household costs and how paying attention to transportation can help create sustainable, affordable cities that reduce our overall environmental impact.  You can read the report at http://reconnectingamerica.org/public/display_asset/20091104bayareaburden?docid=357 .

COMMENTS SOUGHT FOR PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT EFFORT
The Florida Department of Community Affairs has released a Notice of Proposed Rule Development. Its purpose is to amend Rule 9J-5.006, F.A.C., "to provide greater detail and explanation relating to the statutory requirements that the future land use element be based upon the amount of land required to accommodate anticipated growth and the projected population of the area." A rule development workshop was held on November 10, 2010 in Tallahassee.  Additional workshops will be held around the state but the schedule has yet to be determined.  DCA is however currently accepting written suggestions or comments on this issue. Contact Robert Pennock, DCA, at 850-488-2356 for more information.

WORKSHOP SCHEDULED ON DRAFT REVISIONS TO 9J-5, FAC, TO IMPLEMENT HB 697
The Florida Department of Community Affairs has scheduled a workshop on draft revisions to 9J-5 intended to implement the new energy/climate change requirements of HB 697. The workshop will be held at 10:00 AM on December 3, 2009, at the University of South Florida Polytechnic Auditorium, USF Polytechnic, 3433 Winter Lake Road Lakeland, Florida 33803.  DCA has posted the draft revisions at http://www.dca.state.fl.us/fdcp/dcp/Legislation/2008/Files/DraftRules.pdf . Please contact Robert Pennock, DCA at robert.pennock@dcs.state.fl.us if you have any questions.

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FLORIDA MUNICIPALITIES TOP LIST OF PLACES THAT ARE DANGEROUS FOR PEDESTRIANS
A new report recently released by Transportation For America lists four Florida communities as the top four most dangerous metropolitan areas for walking.  Entitled Dangerous by Design - Solving the Epidemic of Preventable Deaths (And Making Great Neighborhoods), the report uses the Pedestrian Danger Index (PDI) in order to establish a level playing field for comparing metropolitan areas based on the danger to pedestrians. The PDI corrects for the fact that the cities where more people walk on a daily basis are likely to have a greater number of pedestrian fatalities, by computing the rate of pedestrian deaths relative to the amount of walking residents do on average.The PDI shows that the most dangerous places to walk are those that fail to make smart infrastructure investments that make roads safer for everyone.The most dangerous metropolitan areas in the U.S. for walking in 2007-2008 were: Orlando, Tampa, Miami, Jacksonville, Memphis, Raleigh, Louisville, Houston, Birmingham and Atlanta. To read the full report, go to http://t4america.org/resources/dangerousbydesign/.

ECONOMIC IMPACT OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION INVESTMENT
In October the American Public Transportation Association released a report, Economic Impact of Public Transportation Investment,  which focuses on how investment in public transportation affects the economy in terms of employment, wages and business income. It specifically addresses the issue of how various aspects of the economy are affected by decisions made regarding investment in public transportation.  The study results claim that, per $1 billion of annual investment, public transportation investment over time can lead to more than $1.7 billion of net annual additional GDP due to cost savings. This is in addition to the $1.8 billion of GDP supported by the pattern of public transportation spending. Thus, the total impact can be $3.5 billion of GDP generated per year per $1 billion of investment in public transportation. Read the full report at http://www.apta.com/resources/reportsandpublications/Documents/economic_impact_of_public_transportation_investment.pdf

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STUDENT WRITING COMPETITION DEADLINE EXTENDED
The APA Urban Design and Preservation Division is hosting a writing competition for undergraduate and graduate students. The student who submits the best entry will receive a Student registration to the 2010 National Conference in New Orleans and a $300 stipend for the travel to the conference.  Entrants may choose from a prescribed set of topics or can propose one that they think the review committee will find engaging.  Articles must be written by current undergraduate or graduate students who are members of the Division or become members at the time of submission. Articles should not exceed 1,500 words and must be submitted by December 15, 2009. For more information, go to  http://www.planetizen.com/node/41751 .

FREE AICP CM CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES
If  you still need AICP Certification Maintenance (CM) credits to meet the required 32 CM credits (including 1.5 CM Law & 1.5 CM ethics, here are several websites that provide FREE CM opportunities, so don't miss out: 
 http://www.planning.org/cm/free/  (35.5  CM opportunities, 1 - 6 CM/Event

http://utah-apa.org/webcasts.htm    (4.5 CM still available this year)
       THREE EVENTS LEFT THIS YEAR (EACH 1.5 CM Viewed Live; must register): 
               - Creating Sustainable Communities  December 4, 2009 - 1 pm - 2:30 pm EST 
               -Community Strategies for Dealing with Distressed Properties - CM LAW CREDIT
                       December 10, 2009 - 1 pm - 2:30 pm EST
               -Social Equity  December 11 , 2009 - 1 pm - 2:30 pm EST
If you have any questions, contact Henry Bittaker at hbittak@sfwmd.gov . 

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 CALL FOR PILOT PROJECTS
The Sustainable Sites Initiative is seeking site and landscape projects as pilot projects for the Sustainable Sites Initiative Rating System, released on November 5, 2009. Accepted pilot projects will be the first projects to demonstrate their application of The Sustainable Sites Initiative: Guidelines and Performance Benchmarks 2009. Feedback will be used to revise the rating system and inform the technical reference manual.  Projects may only be submitted online through February 15, 2010.  Pilot projects will be selected to ensure a broad range of project types, sizes, budgets, geographic diversity and phase of development. The minimum project size is 2,000 square feet. For more information on the Pilot Program and how to apply, go to http://www.sustainablesites.org/pilot/  or contact pilot@sustainablesites.org.

PODCAST ON LAND BANKING AS A FORECLOSURE MITIGATION STRATEGY
On Tuesday, December 8 from 1 - 3:00 p.m. EST (10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. PST), learn more about land banking as a foreclosure mitigation strategy and get answers to your questions from Frank Alexander of the Emory University Law School. This "Live at the Forum" event is offered in partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's Foreclosure Response podcast series. The two-part event begins with a 30-minute conference call, in which Professor Alexander will discuss his findings. Following the conference call,Professor Alexander will be online to answer questions. For details on how to participate, go to http://forum.housingpolicy.org/group/neighborhoodstabilization/forum/topics/live-at-the-forum-frank .

FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR CONTROLLED BURNS
The Florida Division of Forestry has received stimulus funding for wildfire prevention through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) program.  Funds are available to assist landowners (including local governments and non-profits) in mowing and controlled burning where fire dependent natural communities abut neighborhoods.   To see if your site is eligible for assistance, contact the Forest Area Supervisor for your region, found on the following website:
http://fl-dof.com/field_operations/index.html . 

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January 13-15, 2010:  The Florida Office of the Attorney General will be hosting Crime Prevention through Environmental Design for Architects, Planners and Engineers in St. Augustine.  Contact Ed Isbell at 850-414-3359 for details and registration information. 

February 23-25, 2010: Save the date for the Florida Chamber's 26th Annual Growth Management, Energy, Climate Change & the Environment Short Course at the Wyndham Orlando Resort.  For more information, go to http://www.floridaenet.com/ .

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