Planning Volunteers Workshop, VT Law School

June 18-19, 2010
Development Review Volunteers’ Summer Retreat
Speakers and Workshops (under construction)

Keynote Speakers:

Prof. Marc Mihaly Friday evening
Prof. John Echeverria Saturday morning
Prof. Sean Nolon Saturday lunch

Workshops: (aimed at timely topics, leadership building, skills, best practices…)

These are aimed for development review volunteers who are leaders in their municipalities, and so should be highly interactive; anticipating and incorporating their feedback. The information exchange among them is as important as the info the speaker wants to convey. Also, examples should be aimed at rural skills, examples and issues rather than more urban.

First session (choice of one):
1. Promoting More Energy Efficient Communities: Implementation via Project Review (Peg Elmer with Kat Roos, VLS): regulatory implementation
2. Takings: Lessons for the local decision-maker from the direction of the Courts (Prof. John Echeverria)
3. Basic Ethics (Garrett Baxter, VLCT): exploring the dilemmas posed in local land use decisions

Second session (choice of one):
4. The Developers' Perspective (speakers yet to be determined from the private sector) the experience from the other side – what helps/what doesn’t; how to get more development happening (incentives) in the centers; small town examples; successful examples and why
5. The Effective Land Use Board (Stephanie Smith, VLCT)
6. Pushing that Density (Noelle MacKay and, tentative, Sharon Murray): Beyond enabling, to requiring. What to look for, issues to address

Third session (choice of one):
7. Dispute resolution: some successful models, and when to fit into development review decisions? (Prof. Sean Nolon, Director, VLS Dispute Resolution Center)
8. Making Decisions that Stick, post JAM Golf (Sharon Murray, Jim Barlow, VLCT both tentative - Offspring of VLS/VPA 4/23 professional workshop): Crafting defensible decisions under discretionary review criteria in the town bylaws.

The registration form is up and ready to use at the following link, for use by sponsors of participants as well.

http://forms.vermontlaw.edu/elc/landuse/DevelopmentReviewSummerRetreat/register.cfm