MAP Peer Review of Flathead County Planning Department
At the beginning of December, MAP conducted its first peer review and below is a summary from MAP President Roger Millar:
MAP conducted its first peer review last week. I believe that the event was a great success. The Board of County Commissioners, Planning Director Jeff Harris, Planning and Zoning Department staff, and the community appreciated the investment of time by MAP and Missoula, Yellowstone, Lewis and Clark and Sanders Counties and the suggestions for improvement. I have attached our summary memorandum to Jeff for your review.
We debriefed with Jeff after our presentation to the Board of County Commissioners on Friday. Ideas for improvement included:
-Include a meeting with the County Attorney;
-Include a meeting with local, state, and federal agencies;
-Begin the peer review with a site tour;
-Develop a brochure to explain the process and potential benefits;
-Have the agency to be reviewed provide annual reports, budget documents, etc. in advance of -the peer review; and
-Get a commitment from the reviewed agency to commit resources to future reviews.Jeff plans to follow up with a response memo and an action plan to implement our recommendations as appropriate. At that time I would propose loading the documents on our web page and sharing the project with our membership, MACo, MLCT, and others.
My thanks to Jeff and BJ Grieve for organizing the meetings and to the peer review team (Candi, Dan and Greg) for their hard work and their insights.
At this point Missoula, Yellowstone, Lewis and Clark and Sanders Counties have all contributed resources to the peer review program and are thus on the list for a reciprocal visit. Flathead County has agreed to participate in future reviews.A copy of the Peer Review that was submitted to Flathead County can be found here.
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FHWA Technical Summaries
This is to announce the availability of new one-page (front-and-back) technical summaries of five new intersection safety treatments. The treatments, listed below, are ones that have been identified or refined since the publication of NCHRP Report 500, Volumes 5 (A Guide for Addressing Unsignalized Intersection Collisions) and 12 (A Guide for Reducing Collisions at Signalized Intersections) in 2003 and 2004, respectively. An electronic copy of each of the technical summaries is attached and is also available on the Office of Safety website at http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/intersection/resources/. A limited number of hard copies are presently available from our office, and more may be printed if demand warrants.
* Red-Signal Enforcement Lights (FHWA-SA-09-005)
* Embedded LEDs in Signs (FHWA-SA-09-006)
* LED Raised Pavement Markers (FHWA-SA-09-007)
* Advanced Dilemma Zone Detection System (FHWA-SA-09-008)
* Rectangular Rapid Flash Beacon (RRFB) (FHWA-SA-09-009)
The intent of these summaries is to provide additional tools for state and local transportation agency practitioners and decision makers to use in addressing intersection safety. Each summary contains information on the treatment's details and purpose, potential benefits, agency experience, and implementation considerations, including costs. While they do not yet have rigorously-developed crash modification factors, some preliminary safety effectiveness information is presented in the summaries. It is noted that the Rectangular Rapid Flash Beacon won a 2009 National Roadway Safety Awards from the Federal Highway Administration and the Roadway Safety Foundation for the City of St. Petersburg, Florida (see http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/awards/).
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MAP Board of Directors Strategic Planning Session
The MAP Board held a Strategic Planning meeting in Butte on 13 November. Notes from the meeting can be found here, as well as a memo from Bob Horne. Special thanks to MAP Boardmember Janet Cornish for volunteering to facilitate the meeting.
MAP President Roger Millar sent out the following email announcing the results of this session:
Your Board of Directors met last Friday in Butte to discuss the state of the organization and to begin the development of a strategic plan for MAP. Janet Cornish did an excellent job facilitating the meeting and the Board and the other MAP members who attended stayed awake all day, had a great discussion, and took the first steps toward an exciting future for the Montana Association of Planners. Notes from the meeting as well as a follow up memo from MAP member and workshop attendee Bob Horne are attached for your review.
Now we need your help. The Board has reactivated the Committees called for in our bylaws, volunteered for those committees as interest and availability warrant, and established tasks for each committee. The Committees and their chairs are as follows:
Membership: Andrew Finch
Legislation: Roger Millar
Public Education: Candi Beaudry
Professional Development: Janet Cornish
Western Planning: Jeff Bollman
Ad Hoc Website Committee: Kristin Smith
You can assist your organization greatly by signing up to be a member of a MAP committee. Please review the meeting notes, select the committee or committees that interest you, and contact the committee chair at their email address above to get involved. We are doing our best to make our organization relevant to our members and thus worth the cost in time and dollars. We can't do it without you.
To facilitate member involvement we agreed to budget for teleconferencing services so that committees can communicate effectively without having to drive all over this great state of ours.
The first tasks for each committee are to establish long range goals, a 1-year work plan, and a budget for the Board's consideration at our next meeting in mid-February. The goals and work plans of each committee will be rolled up into a strategic plan for MAP.
Thank you for reading this far, and thank you in advance for agreeing to be an active member of the Montana Association of Planners. Please feel free to contact me if you have questions or concerns.
RogerIf you have any questions or would like to volunteer to serve on one of the committees, please contact Roger Millar .
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Governors Task Force Offers Presentations on Streamside Development
The Governor’s Task Force for Riparian Protection has contracted with Headwaters Policy/Planning Partnership, LLP to provide outreach to Montana communities through an interactive PowerPoint presentation. Topics covered include: why are riparian areas next to rivers and streams so important to maintaining our Montana lifestyle? How do healthy riparian areas protect private property and local economies? What scientific information is available to understand the effects of development along rivers and streams? What can local governments do to address these issues?
The presentation reviews the most significant issues related to waterside development, but can be adapted to best meet the information needs and time requirements of the audience. Intended audiences include county commissioners, planning board members, planners, citizen committees, interested members of the public, and organizations involved in natural resource, development, and planning issues. To schedule a presentation, contact Mary Vandenbosch or Jeff Erickson from Headwaters at (406) 449-3229 or headwaters@q.com.
The Governor’s Task Force for Riparian Protection provides a forum for state and local government agencies to better collaborate and work creatively to protect riparian areas around Montana. For more information, visit http://water.montana.edu/setback.==========================================================================
CTAP Community Planning Workshops
Community Planning Workshops Available: The Community Technical Assistance Program (CTAP) is available to provide training workshops on various planning topics, such as planning board procedures, drafting-updating a growth policy, or administering subdivision regulations etc. These workshops are intended provide a venue where participants can learn and exchange ideas and experiences. If you are interested in CTAP coming to your community to facilitate a workshop, please contact Jerry Grebenc at 841-2598 or via e-mail at Jgrebenc@mt.gov.
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FWP & Natural Heritage Program Fact Sheets
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and the Natural Heritage Program have provided fact sheets that contain information that was presented at the 2008 MAP Conference.
Click here for FWP fact sheet and here for the Natural Heritage Program information.
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Report from MDT on Land Use and Highway Noise
The MT Department of Transportation released the following report "Growing Neighborhoods and Growing Corridors: Land Use Planning for Highway Noise" in March 2008. A copy of the report can be accessed by clicking on this link. (Note: this file is a 1.28MB PDF, so it may take a minute to load, depending on your connection speed)
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Information from MDT on Traffic Control Devices on Private Property
The MT Department of Transportation has sent the following article to MAP regarding Traffic Control Devices on private property. (Note: this article is a 1.2MB PDF, so it may take a minute to load, depending on your connection speed)
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Final Model Subdivision Regulations
MAP, in conjunction with MACo JPIA, the University of Montana School of Law Land Use Clinic, Montana Smart Growth Coalition and the Montana Association of Realtors developed Model Subdivision Regulations that incorporate changes made by the 2005 Legislature. Click on a link below to view a copy of the Model Subdivision Regulations (modified 9/06):
Final Model Subdivision Regulations - 1.4MB (MS Word format)
Final Model Subdivision Regulations - 870KB (PDF format)
If you have questions about the model regulations, please contact Jeff Bollman.
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