Bylaws Bylaws Vote Update

The bylaw amendment considered by the membership on July 17, 2023, was overwhelmingly approved with more than 98% of the votes supporting the changes. The Board is working towards implementing the changes approved so stay tuned for a call for nominations for the Member Advocate positions. If you have any questions or concerns in the meantime, please don't hesitate to reach out to Andrew Hopewell at president@apavirginia.com. 

APA Virginia

Mid-Atlantic Planning Collaboration Next Up With the MAPC Webinar Series!

MAPC Presents "Off the Shelf and Into Action, How to Create an Implementable Comprehensive Plan"

October 5th, 2023 | 12:00pm-1:30pm

“The plan wasn’t implemented.” This is an all-too-common lament about comprehensive plans. It is a proverbial tale familiar even to those who are not planners. A plan sits on the shelf and collects dust.

There are different things planners can do to create plans that are practical and lead to results. The webinar will discuss the “implementable comprehensive plan” approach – principles and steps communities can employ to create plans elected officials and citizens embrace and partners join in to help implement. The webinar will highlight case studies and lessons learned as the implementable plan has grown as a movement in Pennsylvania.

The webinar will discuss five keys for an implementable plan. The keys include suggestions for a plan’s content, organization, process steps, and participants. The webinar will take a closer look at how the five keys have been applied in recent comprehensive plans to involve elected officials and the public, undertake problem-solving work sessions, design workable action plans, and create capacity to implement the plan. The webinar will challenge planners. Are they driven by helping a community achieve its aspirations and address its problems and needs or by the exercise of writing a book? Do they focus on the real issues a community is facing or a perceived statutory template?

Presenters Denny Puko and Jim Pashek are pioneers of the implementable plan approach. Ideas they will present come from their book Off the Shelf and Into Action, How to Create an Implementable Comprehensive Plan.

Stay tuned for the registration link and more information coming soon!

Mid-Atlantic Planning Collaboration

Webinars! Your Hour With APA Virginia Webinar Series

Next Up With "Your Hour With APA Virginia"

Monday, October 23, 2023

12pm-1pm

"Expanding the Housing Landscape in Botetourt"

Communities across the Commonwealth struggle with providing housing that meets the needs of residents, both current and future. Appropriate housing must meet affordability needs, location needs, quality, and quantity. Though there is no perfect approach to housing development, learn and engage with Botetourt County to better understand how housing development can be approached from a local-planning perspective by collaborating with developers, citizens, businesses, and local government leaders. Attendees will learn more about a detailed, deliberate, and multi-year approach to developing a new type of housing stock in Botetourt and the efforts made to integrate housing into the character of the county.

Register Here

Most recently with "Your Hour.."

September 25, 2023

"Mapping Suitability for (Sub)urban Agriculture and Planning Local Food Systems"

Urban agriculture is becoming increasingly common in many areas across the Commonwealth. However, individual instances of urban agriculture, especially non-commercial forms (i.e., community gardening) are often short lived. In many cases, political jurisdictions often approach urban agriculture development without intentionality and do not have the internal agricultural knowledge needed to proactively plan local food systems. The presenters discussed their geospatial research within the Greater Richmond Area identifying prime (sub)urban agricultural land to mitigate the issues surrounding site selection. Examples were provided of how partnering localities have utilized the results and the implications for their zoning modernization processes.

Webinar recording coming soon!

Stay tuned to learn more about upcoming webinars in the Your Hour With APA Virginia Series, which is held on the 4th Monday of each month from 12pm-1pm!

View previously recorded webinars here!

Legislative Agenda View the APA Virginia 2024 Legislative Agenda

View the 2024 Legislative Agenda

HERE

Members of the Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA Virginia) are committed to supporting economic prosperity for all residents and businesses in the Commonwealth. Planning provides opportunities for all Virginians to look into the future and work towards a long-term vision for their communities. Planners are reliable and trusted sources of information and committed to the communities they serve. The Chapter supports sound and legal planning efforts that enable localities to address needs in their communities. Annual updates to this legislative agenda do not negate previous years’ priorities.

View more APA Virginia policy related information

APA Virginia A Message from the APA Virginia President

Welcome to what is shaping up to be a warm Summer!

As my correspondence earlier this year indicated, there will be a Chapter Bylaws Amendment up for vote at the Chapter's Annual Business Meeting on Monday, July 17th at the annual conference in Roanoke. We are sharing with you now the language that will be considered in that vote. It is almost identical to the language that was shared earlier this year with the only minor change being the removal of APA from the call for nominations for the Member Advocates as they are not able to include this item in their election slate this year due to the timing involved.

In summary, the changes fall into three categories: (i) changing the name of the Young Planners Group (YPG) to that of the Emerging Planning Professionals per their request; (ii) formalizing the options for the departure of a Board member, including identification of due process for the termination of a board member by the Chapter's Executive Committee; and (iii) introducing Member Advocates to serve independently of the Board to provide resources and guidance to APA Virginia members who may encounter issues with the behavior or activities related to the Chapter and Chapter events.

Again, I want to personally assure all of our members that this is an issue that we are taking very seriously. There will be opportunities for questions and conversations at the conference but I am also very happy to address any items in advance of our gathering in Roanoke, so please feel free let me know of any questions, comments or concerns at president@apavirginia.com. I look forward to seeing many of you there in just a few weeks.

Until then, all the best,

- Andrew

View the Proposed APA Virginia Bylaws (.pdf)

Annual Report APA Virginia 2022 Annual Report

Learn more about what activities, events, and work each board member have been involved in!

View the 2022 Annual Report

Save The Date!! Join Us in Williamsburg in 2024!

Conference Attendees booking at Williamsburg Lodge will enjoy

• Complimentary self-parking (savings of $20 a day)
• Two (2) tickets to Colonial Williamsburg Historic Area for the duration of your stay included with each room booked at Williamsburg Lodge
• Access to the conference hotel rate three (3) days before and after the conference dates
• Complimentary access to the fitness center and pools at the Spa at Colonial Williamsburg
• Complimentary access to the Historic Area Shuttle
• Discount admission tickets to the Historic area for the duration of the Conference

Stay tuned and visit our Conference Website as we get closer to next summer to keep up to date with all conference-related information!

Visit our Conference website!

Interesting in sharing your work with "Your Hour With APA Virginia" ? We are seeking webinar presenters!

"Your Hour With APA Virginia" is seeking webinar presentations! Are you interested in sharing topical planning content with the Chapter's audience? Please reach out to APA Virginia staff member, Gillian Saul, at gillian@bellatrixcg.com with any webinar proposals or presenter suggestions. The webinar series is held every 4th Monday of each month from 12pm-1pm. 

Watch Past Webinar Recordings on APA Virginia's Youtube Page

From the Executive Committee of APA Virginia: A Message from the Executive Board of the Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association

The Executive Board of the Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the behavior of a former board member, which led to the permanent revocation of their AICP and FAICP credentials. There is no place in the planning profession or society in general, for any form of harassment. APA Virginia applauds the courage and bravery of those who participated in and informed the Committee’s investigation. The harassment they endured was wrong and unacceptable. The Chapter prides itself on being an open and welcoming organization and wants to ensure that all interactions we have with individuals are positive and productive.

APA Virginia prioritizes the safety and security of all members when participating in Chapter-related activities. The Board of Directors will direct its resources toward enhanced measures to foster a safe and secure environment for these activities. Further discussion to facilitate the development of these measures will occur at the Board’s March 17th quarterly meeting in Roanoke, and will continue to be a focus of the Board’s work through the remainder of the year and beyond. If you have any concerns in this regard, please do not hesitate to contact Chapter President Andrew Hopewell (president@apavirginia.com) or Ralph Willmer, FAICP, the Ethics Officer for the American Planning Association at (312) 786-6360.

APA Virginia

APA VA Member Spotlight

APA VA wants to hear from you! As in every community we plan, there are stories to its citizens. As a community of planners, we would like to highlight some of our amazing planners across the Commonwealth. If you or someone you know has a great planning story to tell, please reach out to Robert Narvaez, AICP, Director of Inclusion or anyone on the APA VA Board. We can’t wait to hear from you!

Check out Member Spotlights