President's Message: What's Doing?
by Dan Pava, FAICP, President, Western Planner Resources Board
Several years back in my last tenure as Western Planner Resources (WPR) board president, when the Western Planner still mailed a print journal, I continued the tradition of a president’s message. I called the column “What’s Stewing”, as my predecessor Matt Ashby had called his “What’s Brewing.” I want to revive this tradition by writing a brief column with the advent of our first summer e-journal for 2020.
The WPR Board met in Denver in early March, just before stay/work at home orders, social distancing and business closures. We have continued monthly virtual meetings. The board has decided to postpone the Bismarck conference but committed to return to North Dakota in 2022. We are partnering with APA Arizona to hold the 2021 conference in the Phoenix area. The board is also supporting the ongoing efforts of the Tribal and Indigenous Interest Group to reestablish an APA Tribal Planning Division. We are also looking to fill our vacant board seats with qualified representatives to round out the WPR network.
Summer is upon us and it will be unlike anything we have previously experienced. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused great societal and economic disruption, illness, and death. It has both unified and divided the country in many ways. People are wanting to get out and act “normal” once again. Like so many other issues, public health has become a political issue during this election year. Modern planning and public health are complementary efforts that arose to counter the problems created by a rapidly urbanizing and industrializing United States. Events such as this modern pandemic have led to societal changes in short order. This time will be no different. There are likely to be paradigm shifts creating the new “normal”. Planning at the federal, state and local levels can be used to shape this new future; the pandemic has shown us that cooperation between government at all levels, private enterprises, and the nonprofit sector yields better results.
This first summer issue of the Western Planner focuses on public lands. The Western Planner realm encompasses the states with the most federal public lands, whether administered by the Departments of the Interior, Agriculture or Defense. One factor which sets us apart in the West is the predominance of these vast holdings that impact our economies, shape our identities and communities, and even define our culture. Western Planners have always cooperatively worked through these impacts to assure our communities grow and adapt.
The articles in this issue show how good planning matters at and between the federal, state, and local levels. In Bears Ears National Monument: Dueling Presidential Proclamations and the Antiquities Act, we learn how a lawsuit may ultimately decide the issue of whether a president has the authority, pursuant to the Antiquities Act of 1906 (54 U.S.C. §§320301-320303), to reduce in size or completely eliminate a national monument established by a prior president. This article also shows that tribal governments are a fundamental partner to consider in the Western Planner domain, as multiple legal complaints were filed challenging the proclamation, which have since been consolidated into Hopi Tribe v. Donald J. Trump, Case 17-cv-02590 (D.C. Cir. 2017).
Another one of our articles reports on progress in Coconino County - Home to the Grand Canyon, Vermilion Cliffs, San Francisco Peaks, Oak Creek Canyon, the Coconino, Kaibab, and Apache-Sitgreaves national forests, and the cities of Flagstaff, Williams, Sedona, and Page. Read about how this 18,000 square mile county is implementing sweeping zoning changes to permit commercial campgrounds and address the proliferation of illegal encampments. This has required working closely with both the Forest Service and the Arizona Game and Fish Department. Furthermore, I’m certain that many of our readers can identify with the article, Who Knew? Covid-19 and City of Kingman Zoning Ordinance Update Project. This western Arizona city’s Zoning Ordinance was originally adopted in 1971, without a complete update in almost 50 years. The timing of this pandemic came at a very important mid-point of the project schedule which included presenting the initial administrative draft to the Kingman City Council, seeking to move forward with the expansion of the Historic Overlay District, and continuing the public outreach phase of the project.
Life goes on and so does the need to plan our western communities for the new “normal.” Your skills, knowledge, and experience as Western Planners will be essential as we move forward into a changed future. I urge you to stay well, stay focused, and help to build a more equitable and resilient future way out west.