The DCA Office of Planning and Environmental Management, in partnership with the Georgia Planning Association, offers a series of classes called the Community Planning Institute to Georgia’s planning commissioners, elected officials and local government staff. The Institute provides information about planning for land use, growth and development, as well as for efficient management of local water resources.

The Community Planning Institute consists of three classes:

• Preparing and Implementing your Comprehensive Plan is a 2-day class that covers the local planning process. You may be eligible for a scholarship for this CPI Class through the Denise Abbound Memorial Fund, Georgia Planning Memorial Foundation at The Georgia Planning Association website.   For more information, click the link at the bottom of this page.

  This class provides:

  • An overview of the importance of community planning– why we plan and who should be involved;

  • A review of Georgia’s planning requirements; 

  • How to engage your constituents in envisioning and planning for their future;

  • Plan implementation tools, including successful examples from PlanFirst communities;

  • Other plan implementation tools such as zoning or form-based codes.

• Managing your water resources is an overview of Georgia’s water resources and what local governments can do to wisely use and protect these resources. The day starts with a brief history of water planning in Georgia, followed by an overview of state and regional water issues. After lunch, the session includes best practices for stormwater management. The day ends with an overview of better wastewater management practices, and a hands-on activity to put the day’s lessons into useful perspective.

• Principles for Integrating Planning for Hazard Mitigation and Land Use provides an overview of the importance of planning to enable quicker recovery from future natural disaster events. This session includes best practices for hazard mitigation in the context of land use planning (including GIS mapping.), and discussion of proposed model zoning code sections and how to apply them. It explains the benefits of proactive land use planning by local governments to both enable better recovery efforts and diminish the negative impacts of such a hazard event on your community. (This class is not currently being offered. If you would like to view an earlier presentation click here or to learn more about this effort click here.)

The Preparing and Implementing your Comprehensive Plan class will be offered May 10-11, 2018 at the Middle Georgia Regional Commission in Macon. City officials desiring to attend this class may register using the CPI Registration Form.

Early bird registration for this class ends May 1, 2018.