Summary

This workshop is designed for local officials, staff, and others who want a more thorough understanding of the powers, duties, and responsibilities of planning commissions and boards of adjustment.

What you will learn:

• The legal authority and responsibility under Alabama law for planning commission and board of adjustment members – what each can do and cannot do.
• Where the planning commissions’ authority ends and the board of adjustment’s authority begins; the relationship between the city council and the planning commission.
• How the law says an aggrieved party can appeal a determination by boards of adjustment, building inspector, etc.

Topics Include:

• How Chapter 52 of the Code of Alabama assigns responsibility for local planning among four governmental entities
• How the comprehensive or master plan is implemented in part through various regulatory devices. (The role of the zoning in land use planning.)
• How the board of adjustment serves as a “safety valve” to minimize hardships
• Proper and improper uses of variances
• Administrative and legal issues in local planning: The test of “hardship,” “takings,” and other topics
• Setting basic standards for decision-making.

Speaker

Greg Clark is currently the Executive Director of the Central Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission in Montgomery, Alabama. He has over thirty years experience in planning, community development, grant management, economic development, transportation, and public administration. During his professional career, he has worked with all levels of government: local, county, regional, state, and federal and assisted in the establishment of non-profits and community development organizations. He has also been employed by the Consolidated Government of Columbus, Georgia, as the Chief of Economic Development, Community Development Block Grant Administrator and City Planner, and the Columbus Housing Initiative as the Community Development Director. Greg has lived in Eufaula most of his life. He went to Huntingdon College in Montgomery where he majored in Psychology and Sociology (1976-1980) and attended the University of Tennessee for Urban Planning (1980-1982). He is a member of the American Planning Association (Alabama Chapter Treasurer), National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, and Past President of the Georgia Community Development Association.

CAPZO Credits

0.35 credits are available for this event.

Registration / More Information

To register, visit the Alabama Planning Institute’s website or call 1-800-825-5862, ext. 4862.

This course is part of a six-course series that can be taken for CAPZO certification.