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Planning: general 🌇 Random Planning Thoughts (and Photos) Deserving No Thread Of Their Own

I love when a property is for sale in your city and the listing agent posts absolute false zoning info about the property :r: so then you have to answer a bunch of calls from people asking if they can build a duplex on a lot zoned for commercial uses
 
Riverotterr said:
I love when a property is for sale in your city and the listing agent posts absolute false zoning info about the property :r: so then you have to answer a bunch of calls from people asking if they can build a duplex on a lot zoned for commercial uses
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Or the listing agent puts the wrong or nonexistent zoning district name on the site sign.

Jimmy Carr Oops GIF by BBC
 
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How about the "My broker told me it's commercial zoning and I took a class on zoning so I know it's right." Got that statement from a realtor who I told to take another class.
 
Why do so many people call Planning and want us to tell them where the property boundaries are? Happens at least once a week.

We are not surveyors.

Jim
 
mendelman said:
Or the listing agent puts the wrong or nonexistent zoning district name on the site sign.

Jimmy Carr Oops GIF by BBC
Click to expand...
Or when a Realtor does not know a parcel has a city mailing address, but is MILES from the city limit and well within the unincorporated area. Call the county.
 
Planit said:
a town with the same name but in a different state.
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We have a neighborhood group on Facebook. The name of the neighborhood is South Hills. The cover photo says in huge words "Fort Worth, Texas" and all the descriptions say that. And yet people join and try to post about South Hills neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, Tacoma, Calgary, even South Africa. Probably a few more I'm missing.
 
DVD said:
How about the "My broker told me it's commercial zoning and I took a class on zoning so I know it's right." Got that statement from a realtor who I told to take another class.
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I had a realtor argue with me last week saying that they interpreted the ordinance to say a use was allowed when it clearly states on the next page it required conditional approval. After arguing back and forth over the course of a day, I told him his interpretation didn't really matter.
 
citysmarttoys.com

The Urban Playmat

Why we like it: This is the only playmat that depicts a city you would actually like to live in. The Urban Playmat came to be as part of the Little Big City Think Tank, where 37 imagination experts, ages 5 to 13 met with an urban planner to discuss their vision for a perfect city. As they put...
citysmarttoys.com citysmarttoys.com

439906442_120207210908650292_7500756201805286686_n.jpg
 
JNA said:
citysmarttoys.com

The Urban Playmat

Why we like it: This is the only playmat that depicts a city you would actually like to live in. The Urban Playmat came to be as part of the Little Big City Think Tank, where 37 imagination experts, ages 5 to 13 met with an urban planner to discuss their vision for a perfect city. As they put...
citysmarttoys.com citysmarttoys.com

439906442_120207210908650292_7500756201805286686_n.jpg
Click to expand...
BRB buying this for my future child.

Also I'm pretty sure these town playmats contributed to me wanting to be a city planner as a kid. Oh and the fact our daycare had a computer with SimCity 2000 on it 😅
 
The new councilman who questions everything questioned buying $400 of a certain kind of spray paint (@$16/can!) that Rec Dept uses. This is out of a $55m budget!!!
 
mendelman said:
Or the listing agent puts the wrong or nonexistent zoning district name on the site sign.

Jimmy Carr Oops GIF by BBC
Click to expand...
Riverotterr said:
I love when a property is for sale in your city and the listing agent posts absolute false zoning info about the property :r: so then you have to answer a bunch of calls from people asking if they can build a duplex on a lot zoned for commercial uses
Click to expand...

"Will zone to suit."
 
As posted on Twitter
DC Bike History @DCBikeHistory1 · 2h
Replying to @DCBikeHistory1
The design of the trail was controversial when announced since in most places it is between the Interstate and the sound barrier creating a noisier, more polluted and - many believed - less safe trail.
1715984745714.png
 
As posted on FB
Japan has started installing floating gardens on the roofs of public parking lots, transforming these areas into lush green spaces. These gardens not only enhance the urban landscape but also create vital habitats for bees and other pollinators, crucial for biodiversity.

This green initiative aims to counteract the effects of urban concrete, providing wildlife refuges and improving air quality. Parking lot gardens symbolize progress in urban sustainability, emphasizing the importance of integrating nature into city environments.

1716295392287.png
 
Planit said:
Entire town staff resigns after manager's contract not renewed.

myfox8.com

Town of Summerfield staff announces ‘collective resignations’

SUMMERFIELD, N.C. (WGHP) — The staff of the Town of Summerfield has sent in resignation letters, FOX8 has confirmed. A member of the town staff sent an email to FOX8 on Sunday evening announcing th…
myfox8.com myfox8.com
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...& the follow up:

Summerfield Town Council votes to give departing manager severance

The Summerfield Town Council voted to give Town Manager Scott Whitaker six months’ severance – worth just over $100,000 — and allowed Whitaker to continue insurance benefits, which would help cover his wife who is suffering from cancer. The emergency meeting vote was in hopes that some or all of the town staff might stay after mass resignations.
 
Planit said:
Entire town staff resigns after manager's contract not renewed.

myfox8.com

Town of Summerfield staff announces ‘collective resignations’

SUMMERFIELD, N.C. (WGHP) — The staff of the Town of Summerfield has sent in resignation letters, FOX8 has confirmed. A member of the town staff sent an email to FOX8 on Sunday evening announcing th…
myfox8.com myfox8.com
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Good to stand up and be in the manager's corner but he is now out and so is the 9 staff on a rotating basis. They are out jobs (for doing what is right) while the manager gets his severance, which is usually part of the contract with such a manager position.
 
I actually like grids that are askew to each other. It makes for interesting neighborhood features and can help calm traffic. Much of Fort Worth is aligned to NSEW but the downtown district is tipped a bit.

1716821625203.png


Also, Alamo Heights section of Fort Worth follows the southwesterly flow of the train yard before transitioning the the NSEW grid of Arlington Heights.

1716821790890.png


It gives a neighborhood nooks and crannies and natural spots to fit a park in here and there.
 
Come on Fed Ex or whoever has my package. I'm not wanting to call the developer and ask for a tracking number yet. Don't want to say we don't know where your big check is. We assume in the building somewhere.
 
So help me if the City I live in messes up and takings claims start being able to happen based on "denials that could happen...."

www.planetizen.com

Vermont Land Use Case Could Go to Supreme Court

Property owners argue that a new law protecting wildlife corridors amounts to an unconstitutional taking of property.
www.planetizen.com www.planetizen.com

City rezoned with big wetland setbacks and habitat block development prohibitions. Appellant argues that these new rules are a taking.

The case is all about ripeness b/c no application has been filed and no denial has been issued. But there's no way these zoning laws create a total take on this land. The same foundation that won Koontz is representing the appellants.
 
as posted on Fb
Urban Cycling Institute

'Different mobility practices offer different conditions for being exposed to other people and the environment. Such exposure influences a sense of being connected to places, communities and societies.'
Article
Travelling together alone and alone together: mobility and potential exposure to diversity


1718045455195.png
 
70 years ago ...

The Planner December 1954.jpg


A few things:

1). A few of these guys likely have stories about killing Jerries.

2). Everybody in this photo is probably dead now.

3). The women are all sitting in the back.

women.jpg


4). 1925 called, and wants its hairstyle back.

1925.jpg


5). Yeeeeeeees.

pipe.jpg


6).Had one too many sips from his flask.

sleeping.jpg
 
A football coach once opined about his rival, Some people who are standing on third base think they hit a triple, but they didn't.

Since the start of the year, I’ve tried to work harder at being a better observer of different places.

One thing that occurred to me was the idea of certain kinds of community leaders taking comfort (or solace) in the idea that they have a good place, a desirable place, a place ripe for investment. I am not saying these leaders are complacent, but given how vanilla these certain places are in contrast to associated marketing materials or related assertions on the communities’ website, I can’t help but think there is a contingent believing they are on third base because they think they hit a triple.

That’s faulty thinking! Leaders are believing their own hype! Don’t they know how real community development happens?

What says you? Have you come across this attitude? What thoughts have you on these kinds of base runners?
 
Wannaplan? said:
That’s faulty thinking! Leaders are believing their own hype! Don’t they know how real community development happens?
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I think Fort Worth leaders have taken a very active role in creating the city identity such as it is. Some of it is visionary: The Stockyards, The Near Southside, The Museum District, even (begrudgingly) Downtown. (Begrudgingly because much of that was high money private interests dictating development, and because lately the downtown interests have lost steam.)

But on the other hand, they could have done so much better in so many respects. They could have had well developed light rail but turned down federal funding for that in 2010 (and the funds ended up going to Dallas who added a new line with the funding). For every visionary leap there's another effort that falls flat, or so it seems.
 
So we have these two streets that the use the center turn lane as extra commute capacity by making them one way streets into town in the morning and one way out in the evening. We call them suicide lanes. It's been this way since I want to say the '80s. There has never been a problem with it other than it's just weird. Everyone knows about these weird streets so you either avoid them or understand if you can use the center lane or not. So some guy that writes editorials has decided to take this up as his mission. These are the worst streets ever! They only think about traffic throughput and not about the community! Will someone please think about the poor businesses (which are doing fine) and people that live there? Also, he started with "I was hit by a wrong way driver on the freeway so..." Because that relates. Also mentions that there are no increases in accidents on those streets and the ones that do happen occur on the regular lanes not the suicide lanes. I love when people attack what they don't understand.

I looked him up, 20 something "urbanist" that uses Phoenix to demonstrate what urbanism is and how everything should be done this way. He's a "content creator"

Editorial if you're bored. https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2024/06/10/remove-phoenix-reverse-lanes/74012231007/ (Phoenix's reverse lanes are a hassle. Remove them now)
 
DVD said:
So we have these two streets that the use the center turn lane as extra commute capacity by making them one way streets into town in the morning and one way out in the evening. We call them suicide lanes. It's been this way since I want to say the '80s. There has never been a problem with it other than it's just weird. Everyone knows about these weird streets so you either avoid them or understand if you can use the center lane or not. So some guy that writes editorials has decided to take this up as his mission. These are the worst streets ever! They only think about traffic throughput and not about the community! Will someone please think about the poor businesses (which are doing fine) and people that live there? Also, he started with "I was hit by a wrong way driver on the freeway so..." Because that relates. Also mentions that there are no increases in accidents on those streets and the ones that do happen occur on the regular lanes not the suicide lanes. I love when people attack what they don't understand.

I looked him up, 20 something "urbanist" that uses Phoenix to demonstrate what urbanism is and how everything should be done this way. He's a "content creator"

Editorial if you're bored. https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2024/06/10/remove-phoenix-reverse-lanes/74012231007/ (Phoenix's reverse lanes are a hassle. Remove them now)
Click to expand...
Interesting.

In my fair city, we have a similar road that functions in much the same way -- except that it's not signed or sanctioned by the City; it just happens organically when traffic is heavy. When I first moved here, it made me crazy. People are in total disregard of the traffic laws and it's a free-for-all out there. It made me very uncomfortable as this is a good commuting route for me. (In addition, people also chose to pass on the right whenever possible -- in the bike/ bus lane or just in the shoulder/ parking lane; it doesn't matter. If you're not driving 10+ mph over the speed limit, you WILL get passed on the right -- in the middle of the City on a two-lane street.)

Interestingly, after having driven that route now for 2.5 years and seeing this lawless behavior -- in one way or another -- almost daily, I've gotten used to it. And I've also not yet seen any accidents on this route -- crazy since it truly is a free-for-all. I guess it's an understood free-for-all where most (yes, local) drivers understand the system. If you are driving faster than the car(s) in front of you, go ahead and pass. Use the middle turning lane or use the bus/ bike lane; it doesn't matter. Just get safely around them and move on.

I'm not condoning it. But I'm also not denying that it works...

[Aside, I was involved in an accident once when crossing the Hudson River on a bridge where the middle lane alternated with traffic. The retractable bollards would differentiate between directions (as would a directional sign above the lane). A dump truck in oncoming traffic got too close to a bollard, causing it to fly into the air and directly through my windshield. Thank God, it did not hit further up on the windshield where it may have hit ME; it destroyed the windshield and damaged my dash but I navigated off the bridge to pull over successfully without personal harm. It certainly freaked me out though and I hate those bollards!
 
That sounds like Texas driving to me.

Here's a google of one of the streets. Notice the no left turn sign and you might see signs saying do not use center lane 4-6 or something.
www.google.com

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.
www.google.com www.google.com
 
RandomPlanner said:
Interesting.

In my fair city, we have a similar road that functions in much the same way -- except that it's not signed or sanctioned by the City; it just happens organically when traffic is heavy. When I first moved here, it made me crazy. People are in total disregard of the traffic laws and it's a free-for-all out there. It made me very uncomfortable as this is a good commuting route for me. (In addition, people also chose to pass on the right whenever possible -- in the bike/ bus lane or just in the shoulder/ parking lane; it doesn't matter. If you're not driving 10+ mph over the speed limit, you WILL get passed on the right -- in the middle of the City on a two-lane street.)

Interestingly, after having driven that route now for 2.5 years and seeing this lawless behavior -- in one way or another -- almost daily, I've gotten used to it. And I've also not yet seen any accidents on this route -- crazy since it truly is a free-for-all. I guess it's an understood free-for-all where most (yes, local) drivers understand the system. If you are driving faster than the car(s) in front of you, go ahead and pass. Use the middle turning lane or use the bus/ bike lane; it doesn't matter. Just get safely around them and move on.

I'm not condoning it. But I'm also not denying that it works...

[Aside, I was involved in an accident once when crossing the Hudson River on a bridge where the middle lane alternated with traffic. The retractable bollards would differentiate between directions (as would a directional sign above the lane). A dump truck in oncoming traffic got too close to a bollard, causing it to fly into the air and directly through my windshield. Thank God, it did not hit further up on the windshield where it may have hit ME; it destroyed the windshield and damaged my dash but I navigated off the bridge to pull over successfully without personal harm. It certainly freaked me out though and I hate those bollards!
Click to expand...
East 7th Street in Charlotte was that way, I think that they recently changed the middle lane to just being a turn lane once again. Notice the signs and lane markers. I have drove it a couple of times in traffic and it doesn't function real well because of all the cross streets and driveways, as the left lane becomes a dedicated turn lane for the priority direction. Maybe that was the point. Because I have memories of driving it before the conversion; I had a hard time driving in what was historically the turn lane, even with the signs and lights. It was all mental.

 
Imagine your community doing this:

Replace "At Target, store workers become A.I. conduits" with this: "At the City of Busy Beavers, municipal workers become A.I. conduits".


Busy Beavers is the latest city to put generative artificial intelligence tools in the hands of its employees, with the goal of improving the front-desk experience for employees, its citizens, the homeless, and to developers. On Thursday, the City said it had built a chatbot, called Guv-Pal-Tool (GPT for short), that would appear as an app on a city worker’s hand-held device. The chatbot can provide guidance on tasks like removing fatbergs or automatically filling out a rezoning application in the city’s Respond NOW! program. The idea is to give employees “confidence to serve our customers” immediately, Will Knot, Busy Beavers’ chief information officer, said in an interview. Busy Beavers is testing the device in 3 departments and plans to make the app available to most employees across its nearly 25 departments by August.
 
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