Every day, you make choices that impact your community. While some of these decisions are small in scale, others are large enough to positively (or negatively) impact your residents — and, as a result, can directly impact your community’s satisfaction under your leadership.
So how can a planning and zoning specialist help guide future decisions to improve development and community growth? Let’s start with a one-thousand-foot view.
What is a planning and zoning specialist?
A planning and zoning specialist typically works in city government housing and community construction departments. This role works across all levels of government, and depending on the location, the specialist may oversee city, county, or regional development.
At times, they may even work specifically with a state or the federal government to identify, assess, and find solutions to issues that directly affect large numbers of people.
What does a planning and zoning specialist do?
Sometimes referred to as professional planners, a planning and zoning specialist helps your community’s public leaders, local businesses, and community members make efficient, stable decisions to improve the community and expand its growth. They help determine many factors, from the impact development will have on transportation to the economic growth a new project might drive (or hinder).
Planning and zoning specialists may touch a wide range of items in a project, including:
- Transportation planning/design/programming
- Disaster and hazard planning
- Water policy planning
- Fire services
- Town centers and downtown planning
- Comprehensive planning
- Surveying and mapping
- Zoning and rezoning
- And more
Using their skills and training, someone in this role may also help:
- Identify evolving trends and how to design your community to include them (e.g., autonomous cars, dispensaries, solar)
- Uncover and assess the needs of your community
- Plan and direct new development
- Operate within a landscape that contains at-risk natural resources
- Collaborate on how to use creativity to solve both today’s and future needs
- Pull together public policy recommendations
- Provide local zoning regulations and permitted uses
- Communicate with the community regarding land use and new projects
What are the benefits of a planning and zoning specialist?
When you boil it down, a planning and zoning specialist makes sustainable and successful community development possible. A city without proper planning and zoning structure will face a wide range of issues, including out-of-control commercial and residential development, adverse economic impact, and transportation issues.
With your community’s needs continually evolving, this role can help make sure that your plans go beyond a concept and are well-executed to benefit your community and meet local standards and regulations.
Grow your community with thoughtful planning
We understand that not every community has a planning and zoning specialist to lean into when working through development projects. That’s why we provide best-in-class specialists to help you proactively work through your project.
Our planners are certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and have a great wealth of experience working with small and large communities across the country. Combined with our multi-disciplinary team members, including urban designers, we can offer a wide range of services, from full-service municipal planning to supplemental, as-needed planning services.
As your partner, we can help support growth and development that:
- Improves efficiency
- Supports sustainable growth
- Meets compliance requirements
- Improves your community’s infrastructure and attractiveness
- Reduces costs
- Makes your community safer
Interested in what our team can do to improve your community?
