Their View: How to make planning work

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In a recent article in “Planning,” the magazine of the American Planning Association, information was provided on ways to use planning in communities more effective. Comprehensive plans have become more focused on ways to implement them throu8gh zoning, subdivision regulations and other tools of local government, but one of the needs may be to hold planning meetings with the public in a more disciplined manner. In the Pocono- Northeast, there are a variety of county and municipal planning commissions, so that comprehensive plans need to be available and researched for total benefit to the citizens of the county or municipality.

Sometimes, as was the case in Luzerne and Lackawanna Counties the plan becomes a joint effort of governments. Sometimes meetings of the public become very difficult to manage. One case was the Montage project6 when that public meeting went from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. regarding the road proposal up the mountain for 3.5 miles and the testimony of 35 entities or people came from both proponents and opponents of the project. Eventually, the project was implemented and became well known in the region. This writer was the coordinator for that meeting.

Since there is a need to think through how such meetings take place and since there seems to be those for and those against, planning such an event becomes vital and key. Therefore, the following steps might be undertaken in connection with carrying out an acceptable and capable meeting.

• Detach from the cult of work. This includes thinking about work in a detached manner. Think about what the meeting of citizens means, no matter the situations being faced.

• Know your boundaries and yourself. This presents both self- awareness and emotional intelligence regarding potential conflicts that come out of a meeting.

• Planning is political. Sometimes that is not taught in schools of planning and the learning curve becomes very difficult, especially at first or second such events. At times, role-playing can be a helpful tool to utilize.

• Everything starts at the top. Good leadership is critical and can be influential in achieving successful meetings.

• You might be the collateral damage. To be conscious of being the person at the head of a meeting or dealing with both those wanting a project and those opposing. Learning how to utilize your role effectively does not always lead to success, but you can avoid disappointment by finding ways to manage a meeting.

• Read between the lines. Use others as needed to help plan the planning meeting and discover new techniques accordingly.

• The oxygen mask cliché may be true. You need to protect yourself without being dragged down. Take up a mediation process. Try and understand what it means to handle conflict in a public setting.

These ideas and steps can be beneficial in the entire planning process, because there will be times, outside of a public meeting, that conflicts will happen, and therefore, applying one or more of the ideas presented may be useful. Study how others deal with conflict and attempt to use their findings, as needed.