THE C'EVELGPMENT AND TESTING OF AN EVALUATION SYSTEM FOR URBAN PLANNING PROGRAMS Thesis for the Degree of M. U. P. MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY James R. Lighffcot 197525 msszs LIBRARy Michigan Stan w? nivcrsity " ”-5.— —____ ABSTRACT THE DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF AN EVALUATION SYSTEM FOR URBAN PLANNING PROGRAMS by James R. Lightfoot Through the author's experience in working with :several urban planning assistance projects and through the Ioenefit of contact with several planners in both adminis— trative and operational capacities, it has become evident over the past few years that there is a distinct need for :hnproved methods of evaluating planning programs. It was found that there were very few objective guides available for evaluating a planning program and those that did exist concentrated almost entirely on the published materials, the plans, studies, and reports that were produced during a project. Very little was said on the area of results, the degree of achievement seen in the community as a conse- quence of the planning program. It was toward filling this apparent vacuum that the efforts of this study were directed. The plan followed in developing this study involved a two phase development and testing procedure. The first phase was an evaluation of the published documents of five community planning projects that had been completed under the provisions of Section 701 of the Housing Act of 1954 as amended. The second phase was an evaluation of the tangible and intangible results of these programs as seen in the communities. James R. Lightfoot As background material for the study, the develop— Inent and expansion of the 701 program was reviewed from its inception as a small section in the Housing Act of 1954 to :Lts present stature as a major program. The problems faced jJI setting up the administrative facilities to allow the Eitate of Michigan to participate in the program were also :reviewed. To better understand the comprehensive plan which :is the major tool and focus of the 701 program, the develop- Inent of the comprehensive plan concept was traced from the contributions of planners during the early 1920's. The expansion of the concept was followed through the statements of Bassett, Walker, and Charles Haar, and those of other contemporary writers. In developing the evaluation schedule for the first phase of the program, several existing procedures of evaluation were reviewed. It was found that none of these were adequate for the purposes of the study. Using the lnethods reviewed as a basis, an improved evaluation schedule was constructed and was tested on five communities in Michigan. The same procedure was followed in constructing the evaluation system for the second phase. It was decided that the most effective means of obtaining information in the area of community planning achievement was through per— sonal interviews. The interviews were conducted with the city manager, the planning commission chairman, and the mayor in each of the five cities. James R. Lightfoot It was found that results of the interview evalua— tion.were significantly different from the evaluation of Iflne documents. There were several areas that did not tappear in the documents that have a vital influence on the :hnplementation of a program. Some of these areas deal writh the effectiveness of the consultant as a teacher of lilanning principles and the degree of involvement of the Icommission and the council in the planning process. Based on these findings, several suggestions are xnade for changes in the 701 program. Among these are increased State participation in supervision of projects, provision of funds for the extra meetings required by the consultant to effectively carry out the functions noted, increased requirements for qualifications of supervisors, and expanded training in political process for all planners. THE DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF AN EVALUATION SYSTEM FOR URBAN PLANNING PROGRAMS By James R. Lightfoot A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF URBAN PLANNING School of Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture 1966 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express my appreciation to the many persons who have assisted me in the preparation of this thesis. Among these are my fellow students and several members of the faculty of the School of Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture who gave encouragement and stimula- tion during my graduate study. Thanks are due Mr. Randall P. Raymond, Assistant Planning Director of the New Hampshire Department of Economic Development for his part in the formation of the plan of this study. Thanks are also due the Planning Division of the Michigan Department of Economic Expansion for use of their files and several reports. Special thanks 30 to Mr. Gerald R. Gill, a member of the Michigan Staff for his assistance in selection of the test communities llsed. I am particularly indebted to Professor Robert HOtaling for his guidance in the development of this study. Tflhe several long discussions which helped give my ideas formand direction were invaluable. I am also indebted to the several persons inter- viewed in each of the test cities. Without exception they “were most helpful and cooperative. This attitude together Frith Some very candid comments on their planning programs ii nmde the interviews very enjoyable as well as highly hficrmative. Finally, I wish to express a special word of muueciation to Miss Paula Brown for her patience and diligence in transforming a rough manuscript into typed copy. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACMOWIIEDGMENTS O O C O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 LIST OF TABLES O O O O I O O O O O O O O O O O 0 LIST OF APPENDICES O O O O O O C O O O O O C O 0 INTRODUCTION 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 Chapter I. II. LEGAL BASIS FOR PLANNING ASSISTANCE . . . . Basis of Planning Effectiveness Evaluation Lies in Legal Foundations . . . . . . . Beginnings of Federal Legislation for Community Planning Assistance . . . . . Functions and Purposes Defined Through Hearings and Debate . . . . . . . . . . Need for Federal Assistance for Local Planning Recognized . . . . . . . . . . 701 Planning Program is Born . . . . . . . Purposes of 701 Program Further Defined . . Federal Aid for 701 Grows . . . . . . . . . Michigan Slow to Accept Federal Aid for Local Community Planning . . . . . . . . . . Distrust of Planning Evident in Legislative Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Personal Leadership Has Important Role . . 701 Program Finally Begun in Michigan . . . Value of Comprehensive Planning at State Level Recognized . . . . . . . . . . . State and Local Planning Programs Survive Crisis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary and Some Conclusions . . . . . . . DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN CONCEPT . O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 Early Contributions to the Comprehensive Planning Concept . . . . . . . . . . . Bassett Leads Toward Definition of Plan Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv Page ii ll 14 15 l7 l9 23 24 27 28 30 33 34 4o 1940—1950: The Comprehensive Plan Concept is Broadened . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 1950-1956: The Concept is Further Broadened; Goals are Emphasized . . . . . . . . . . 45 l956-Present: Development of the Compre- hensive Plan Concept Continues . . . . . 50 Planning Process is Emphasized . . . . . . . 56 A Hierarchy of Plans Proposed . . . . . . . . 60 A Contemporary Definition of the Comprehensive Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 III. CURRENT METHODS OF EVALUATING THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN . . . . . . . . . . . 72 States Responsible for Quality of 701 Planning Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Qualifications of Planning Consultants . . . 74 Problems of Measuring Planning Quality . . . 75 Use of the Contract as a Check List . . . . . 79 Propbsed Plan Review Procedure for Ohio . . . 80 Michigan Evaluation of Project Documents . . 85 Dillon Comprehensive Plan Quality Standard . 88 Concern for Continuity Reflected in HHFA Urban Planning Program Guide . . . . . . 9O Comparisons of Three Evaluation Schemes . . . 92 IV. DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF CRITERIA FOR THE EVALUATION OF PLANNING REPORTS . . . 100 Shortcomings of Current Evaluation Schemes . 101 Development of Improved Evaluation Criteria . 102 Evaluation Schedule for Planning Documents . 105 Selection of Test Cities . . . . . . . . . . 108 Application of the Evaluation Criteria . . . 110 Community 'A' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Community '3' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Community 'C' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 Community 'D' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Community 'E' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 V} EVALUATION OF PLANNING CONTINUITY AND ACHIEVEMENT . . o . . . o o . . o o o . o 118 Planning Education Should Be an Integral Part of Every Planning Program . . . . . 120 Involvement and Commitment are Closely Related to Education Program . . . . . . 125 Results: Score Card of Community Under- standing, Involvement, and Commitment . . 127 Four Systems of Measuring Results Are Reviewed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 v VI. VII. 1. Cuneo Local Planning Activity Questionnaire . . . . . . . . . . . 2. Connecticut Development Commission Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. Michigan 701 Project Completion Report Questionnaire . . . . . . . 4. H.H.F.A. Two-Year Follow-Up Questionnaire Guide . . . . . . . . Composite Questionnaire Separates Tangible and Intangible Results . . . . . . . . Who Shoald Be ASked? o o o o o o o o o o 0 EVALUATION OF THE EFFECT OF PLANNING IN THE COMNITY O O O I O O O O O O O O O O 0 New Hampshire Experience Used As a Pilot Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Development of the Questionnaire . . . . . The Planning Achievement Questionnaire . . Who Should Be Interviewed? . . . . . . . . Results of Community Interviews . . . . . . Community 'A' . . . . . . . . . . . . . Community '8' . . . . . . . . . . . . . Community 'C' . . . . . . . . . . . . . Community 'D' . . . . . . . . . . . . . Community 'E' . . . . . . . . . . . . . Community Planning Achievement is Compared CONCLUSIONS: SOME OBSERVATIONS ON EVALUATION AND PLANNING O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 Two Rankings Significantly Different: Why? Evaluation Criteria for Documents Expanded Interviews Needed for Complete Evaluation . Tangible Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . Observations and Some Tentative Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . Is State Responsible for Whole Program? . . Expanded State Participation Called For . . Concern for Qualifications of Consultants and Supervisors . . . . . . . . . . . . REFERENCES CONSULTED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi 128 131 132 135 143 143 144 146 150 151 151 154 157 160 162 165 168 169 171 172 174 174 175 175 177 187 LIST OF TABLES Page Appropriations Authorized for the 701 Program . 18 Selected Test Communities . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Results of Documents Evaluation . . . . . . . . 117 Community Interview Questionnaire Results . . . 166 Evaluation Scores of Documents and Achievement Compared . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 Community Ranking on Documents and Achievement Evaluation Compared . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 vii LIST OF APPENDICES Page A. Evaluation of Planning Documents . . . . . . . . 179 B. Documents Reviewed During Evaluation . . . . . . 185 viii INTRODUCTION Because urban planning directly affects the lives of people who live in the communities where planning programs are carried out, the following statement by Thomas Jefferson seems entirely appropriate to introduce this study: I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion with education. During the summer and fall of 1964 the author was involved in administration of urban planning assistance Programs as a member of the New Hampshire Department of Economic Development staff. One of the duties of the staff ‘memberS'was to evaluate the planning reports and programs being performed under the 701 program. It was generally agreed among the staff that the guides for evaluation were inadequate. There was no objective set of criteria that ‘30u1d be used to assist in determining the quality of a Ixroject. In this process of evaluation, only the most basic questions of content were asked and almost no eValuation of the effectiveness of the consultant in the c: 0mmunity was made 0 In response to the need for a more complete under— Stnmufing of the relationship of the planning program to the 1 2 cmmmunity, a preliminary effort was made to develop an ewaluation through the use of interviews in the communities. The results of these interviews were successful enough in drawing out information on the value of planning programs to communities to indicate the possibilities of this approach in a more complete study. It was on the basis of this experience that the plan of this study was formulated. The study was to involve two levels of evaluation; the first to be of the documents produced, and the second to be direct interviews in the communities involved. In discussing this study with many planners and administrators of planning programs, the most common reaction received expressed agreement that such a study was needed but also that there is little material available that could be used directly for guidance. In development of the background for the study it Was felt that a review of the basic laws providing financial assistance for planning was essential. The development and expansion of the provisions for urban planning assistance are traced from the formulation of the Housing Act of 1954 t0 the present. The entry of Michigan as a participant in :1-960 and further developments in the State are reviewed. The second chapter forms the basis of understanding ()f the basic concepts of the comprehensive plan, its formulation and use. The development of the concept is traced from the early days of planning in the United States 3 t11xrough the contributions of Bassett, Walker, and more c<311temporary writers to the present. In the third chapter the various methods of (axréiluating planning are reviewed. It was found that none ()1? these systems were acceptable for the purposes of this sstzl1dy. As a result, using the systems reviewed as a basis, earl improved evaluation system was developed. Chapter four contains the evaluation schedule ffiigrlally used. The results of the evaluations of the <1<)«c:uments produced in five 701 planning programs in 1‘11 Chigan are presented to be compared with the results <3k)‘i:ained from the next phase of the evaluation. The background and information to be sought in the i1'11:erview phase of the evaluation is presented in chapter f‘ji—‘re. Several series of interview questions were reviewed EFIIMCI a preliminary series of questions to be used was E)3'1"esented. Chapter six contains the final form of the (Elleestionnaire used and presents the results of the inter- ‘vjuews in each of the five test communities. This is f3311owed by a comparison of the evaluation scores based on dOcuments and those based on the interviews. The concluding chapter further compares and examines the results of the two evaluations. Based on this a series of observations are made and several recommendations are presented. CHAPTER I LEGAL BASIS FOR PLANNING ASSISTANCE I3zissis of Planning Effectiveness Evaluation Lies in Legal F‘c>11ndations Before one can measure the effectiveness of a tool 5—1: is necessary to understand the purposes for which the 13<>H(:31 was designed. In the case of the general plan and n1<>ulre specifically the plan and planning process as defined uJim—(fler Section 701 of the Housing Act of 1954 as amended, a S5"I:-1_1dy of the federal legislation and its background pro- ‘rIi-<fles this. Federal assistance for local planning is an outgrowth of the federal urban renewal program. The Ii3C>IJsing Act of 1949 contained the first federal approach ‘3‘) the idealof the general plan.1 While the term General Plan is not defined in the Act, Section 105(a) of Title I IRI’ovides that approval of a redevelopment plan shall itlclude findings that the redevelopment plan conforms to the general plan for the development of the locality as a Whole. This requirement was directly and indirectly responsible for an increase in city planning activity and 1Holway R. Jones, "A Bibliographic Essay on the Urban General Plan," in The Urban General Plan by T. J. Kent, Jr. (San Francisco: Chandler Publishing Company, 19611:), p. 2030 4 5 111 a number of localities resulted in the inauguration of Ialnanning for the first time in conjunction with the t)eagjnning of their urban renewal program. E3eegginnings of Federal Legislation for Community Planning A s sistance During 1953, the Eisenhower administration was in t£k1£1jcies and Programs headed by the director of the Housing iaI)L(fl Home Finance Agency. The Committee's report which was cOmpleted in December contained statements of principles aIt’Jde.recommendations which later became the basis of the '}I<:>Iqsing Act of 1954.2 One of the main themes developed by the Committee was the need for a comprehensive approach to 1:]b1-ee closely related problems of slums and housing. The il“ll—:i.tia1 statements of purpose by the committee included the ‘f?(>Illowing: That program should meet the problems of housing and sound community development through a series of related actions. Recognizing this, no single recommendation of the Committee could be considered an adequate solution in itself--the program must be closely integrated, comprehensive, and meet the twin objectives of supplying the demand of the American people for good homes and the maintenance of a sound and growing economy.3 2President's Advisory Committee on Government Housing Policies and Programs, Recommendations on Government Housing Policies and Programs-—A Report to the President of the United States, December 1953. BIbido, p. 10 6 Of particular note in the above statement is the concern for preventing the spread of slums. The 1949 Lhdusing Act had provided tools for attacking certain ;p(>ckets of slum conditions but tended to foster a 'project‘ zafxpmoach. This type of program would eliminate some of the *wwajrst of the slums through clearance but could not help £31?<3as that were becoming slums. That the Advisory Committee 17£3<30gnized this lack in the program is evidenced by the 1Sc>lllowing statement: A piecemeal attack on slums will not work-- occasional thrusts at slum pockets in one section of a city will only push slums to other sections unless an effective program exists for attacking the entire problem of urban decay. EilJLlnctions and Purposes Defined Through Hearings and Debate During the course of its deliberations the Advisory (:‘C>Immittee called in many people for expert opinions on all I’lhliases of the housing problem. They also made liberal use (33f? the opinions of the administrators of the various I? EEcleral housing and urban redevelopment agencies. The Slil-‘bcommittee on Urban Redevelopment in preparing its report j~liucluded as an appendix item a memorandum from J. W. Follin, ‘E’jmrector, Division of Slum Clearance and Redevelopment, FltFusing and Home Finance Agency. In this memorandum he “nadxes some very concise statements explaining the relation- SIlip of the local general plan to the urban renewal effort Ibid. 7 and to other federal programs. He expressed his opinion on the importance of the general plan as follows: Code enforcement, rehabilitation, neighborhood conservation, slum clearance, and redevelopment are all measures directed at the common objectives of conserving and improving the housing supply of the nation and making our cities a better place to live. A sound general plan for the development of the locality as a whole and a continuing city planning program are essential to the coordination of planning and action necessary for the attain— ment of these objectives.5 Plee1uld coordinate, and in some measure protect the invest- lIleeJnt in other Federal aid programs such as urban renewal. ‘Vfii.1thout this framework of planning, the effect of any $3:i_13g1e project was likely to be overwhelmed by surrounding ‘C:<>Jnditions or canceled out by some later project. Adequate C:CDI‘mprehensive planning could provide a rational basis for mobilizing all of a community's facilities with the help of ‘VPEiJrious Federal aid programs for an attack on the whole I)35‘<3blem of urban decay. Follin emphasizes this as follows: There are several Federal programs which vitally affect community development and which, to insure most efficient use of Federal funds, if for no other reason, should include as one of the basic requirements the existance of an up-to-date general plan of the community, and conformity of Federal or Federally sided projects with the general plan. The following are examples: HHFA--Slum Clearance and Urban Redevelopment, Federal Housing Adminis- tration, Public Housing Administration, Community 51bid., p. 171. 8 Facilities and Special Operations; Department of Commerce—-Bureau of Public Roads, Civil Aeronautics Authority; Department of Health, Education and Welfare—-Hospital Construction, School Construction, Stream Pollution Abatement Program; Department of Defense-—Construction of bases and other facilities and installations affecting nearby urban areas; Veteran's Administration--Construction of Hospitals, Veteran's Housing Program; and the General Services Administration--Construction of Federal buildings by the Public Buildings Service. The accumulative effect of these programs upon the community is such as to place on the Federal Government the responsibility for actively promoting and encouraging adequate and sustained local planning to insure the coordination of the Federal or Federally aided projects with each other and with local plans for future development, as well as to insure the existance and use of a plan and a continuing planning agency as a focal point for consultation and advice in each community with respect to plans for future development of the community. The Federal Government would be justified in providing at least the financial assistance necessary to initiate, stimulate, and encourage local and metropolitan planning in any community on some matching basis tgrough the State planning boards. (Emphasis added) Follin further strengthened his recommendation for J?”E3<3a1 planning and the recommendation of some type of IFee<fiera1 assistance in local planning were recognized by the £5t113committee and were included in its report to the czc>xmmittee as a whole. Among the Subcommittee's findings EiJT‘<3 the following recommendations and reasons for these r e commendations: One of the difficulties in slum elimination is the inadequacy of facilities for planning, preservation, or clearance programs in the smaller cities and the urbanized communities at the fringes of large cities. In composite these areas are large but individually they are small political entities with little or no funds for the planning facilities their problems require. Of great importance also is an attack on the urban renewal problem on a metropolitan or regional basis, including the preparation of metropolitan housing market analyses and the integration of the renewal and development plans, programs, codes and controls of the numerous local governments in these areas. To help the smaller communities and to stimulate planning and action on a metropolitan area base, grants are recommended on a matching basis to State or metropolitan area government planning agencies to cover the cost of technical assistance. In the Advisory Committee's report to the President t1'le above mentioned recommendation was included without 7 . Ibid., p. 174. 8Ibid., p. 124. 10 change. The various recommendations of the Committee were studied and modified before they reemerged as the Phresident's Housing Program. The recommendation for local filanning assistance was retained and made much more .SIDGCifiCo In the President's Housing Message which was Iaxresented to Congress on January 25, 1954, were the i?c>llowing provisions relative to local planning assistance: I. Neighborhood Rehabilitation and Elimination and Prevention of Slums In order to clear our slums and blighted areas and to improve our communities we must eliminate the causes of slums and blight. . . . Third. A program of matching grants to States and Metro- politan areas should be established to enable smaller communities and metropolitan area planning agencies to do the planning job which is necessary to arrest the spread of slum conditions. I recommend that the Congress authorize the appropri- ation of $5 million for this purpose. This recommendation was included in the omnibus :EI<3rusing Bill which was introduced in the Senate by Senator Capehart. There it became Section 701 of Title VII--Urban I3:1.anning and Reserve of Planned Public Works. In a brief SS‘JUmmary of the provisions of the bill it was described as 3f§<>llows: This section of the bill recognizes the importance of extending Federal assistance to meet the planning needs of the smaller communities and of metropolitan and regional areas. It would authorize the HHFA Administrator to provide planning grants, up to 50 percent of the estimated 9Dwight D. Eisenhower, "Housing Program—-Message FI‘om the President of the United States," Congressional liecord, Proceedings of Debates of the Congress, 83rd COngress, 2nd Session, 1954, Vol. 100, p. 737. 11 cost, to State, metropolitan, and regional area planning agencies for metropolitan or regional area planning, and to State planning bodies for the purpose of assisting municipalities under 25,000 population in urban planning by providing profes- sional and technical planning services to them. Five million dollars would be appropriated for the grants and the appropriations would remain available until expended.10 701 Planning Program is Born Although most debate on the bill during the <3<3cngressional session centered on the other sections, sseauction 701 was closely examined and criticized. The bill VVEBLS introduced initially on February 15¢ and was referred t:<3> the Committee on Banking and Currency. On May 24¢ an -i—1: em appeared in the Congressional Record Digest to the ‘EIETfect that the committee in executive session had deleted 8 ection 701. In its next session two days later the Committee restored the section to the bill.11 Section 701 SLillrvived the hours of debate and the many amendments to Silllerge from the committee intact. Once the bill was 17”E=ported out of committee there was very little discussion (33E? the 701 provisions while those dealing with FHA and :Eltlblic Housing prompted a great deal of debate. Following IEGEferral by both the House and Senate to a Joint Conference (:13nmdttee the bill as amended was finally passed by both 1"louses and signed into law as Public Law 560 on August 2, 1954. 10Ibid., p. 7283. 11Congressional Record Digest, Vol. 100, pp. D403, D412. 12 The preamble of the Housing Act of 1954 presents the goals of the act in the following language: An act to aid in the provision and improving of housing, the elimination and prevention of slums, and the conservation and improvement of urban communities.12 1V3 accomplish these ends it contains provisions under the :fkallowing titles: Title I, Federal Housing Authority; CF:Lt1e II, Federal National Mortgage Association; Title III, ESJLum Clearance and Urban Renewal; Title IV, Low—Rent Public fic>using; Title V, Home Loan Bank Board; Title VI, Voluntary II<>me Mortgage Credit Program; Title VII, Urban Planning and Fleeserve of Planned Public Works; and Title VIII, Miscel- ]_21neous Provisions. The wording in Section 701 of the Housing Act as fELnally enacted specifies that the grants are: . . . for provision of planning assistance (including surveys, land use studies, urban renewal plans, and other planning work, but excluding plans for specific public works) . . . . THIis language is very similar to that used by Mr. Follin in <1escribing the general plan requirements used by the Division of Slum Clearance and Urban Redevelopment in their approval of renewal plans.13 The history of the housing acts has been one of continual modification, reexamination and change. Every year there is at least one bill presented in Congress to 12Public Law 83—560, "Housing Act of 1954," 83rd Congress, 2nd Session, August 2, 1954. 13President's Committee, p. 180. 13 amend some part of the act. Most of these bills die for one reason or another but in the years of 1957, 1959, 1961, 1964, and 1965 amendments to the Housing Act were enacted iJltO law. In these modifications of the Housing Act the Ixrcwisions of Section 701 have been both expanded and made Inc>re specific. At the same time the amount authorized to t)ee appropriated has multiplied. There was only one minor change in Section 701 in J_E)57. A provision was added authorizing 701 grants to: . . . official governmental planning agencies for areas threatened with rapid urbanization as a result of the establishment or rapid and sub- 14 stantial expansion of a Federal installation; . . . . The year 1959 brought an extensive change in the Iic>using Act and with it a change in Section 701. The ipfl?imary changes in the section were to allow State agencies CYther than planning bodies to participate, to extend 701 EHSsista‘nce to cities up to 50,000 population, to increase tine authorization by $10 million, and to encourage community grouping for projects based on common problems. The section Was rewritten as the following description of Title IV, Section 419 of the Housing Act of 1959 points out: (1) Rewrites existing law to provide that grants- in-aid for planning assistance be made to State planning agencies, or in the absence of any such agency, to an agency or instrumentality of a State government, designated by the Governor and approved by the Administrator; State planning agencies for statewide or interstate comprehensive planning; official State, metropolitan, and lLtCongressional Record, Vol. 103, p. 10660. 14 regional planning agencies empowered to perform metropolitan and regional planning; and official governmental planning agencies for areas where rapid urbanization has resulted or is expected to result from establishment or increased activity of Federal installations. (2) Extends urban planning assistance to include municipalities of less than 50,000 population; counties of less than 50,000 population; groups of adjacent communities having common planning problems and less than 50,000 population; and cities, other municipalities and counties suffer— ing from a catastrophy which the President declares a major disaster. (3) Authorizes an additional $10 million (total $20 million) for the program. (4) Authorizes the Administrator to encourage, in areas embracing several municipalities or political subdivisions, planning on a unified metropolitan basis and to provide technical assistance for planning and for solution of problems.1 IXS was the case in 1954, there was very little controversy (Iver this section of the bill. It survived intact from its linitiation through final passage and enactment into law. SEyrposes of 701 Program Further Defined The 1959 Housing Act went considerably farther than its predecessors in stating the purposes and objectives of Section 701. It is stated in Section 701(d) that: It is the further intent of this section to encourage comprehensive planning for States, cities, and counties, metropolitan areas and urban regions and the establishment and develop— ment of the organizational units needed therefor. Following this statement of purpose, the term 'comprehensive planning' is defined as follows: Comprehensive planning, as used in this section, includes the following to the extent directly 15Congressional Record, Vol. 105, p. 18756. 15 related to urban needs: (1) preparation, as a guide to long range development, of general physical plans with respect to the pattern and intensity of land use and the provision of public facilities, together with the long range fiscal plans for such development; (2) programing of capital improvements based on a determination of relative urgency together with definitive financing plans for the improvements to be constructed in the earlier years of the program; (3) coordination of all related plans of the departments or subdivisions of the governments concerned; (4) intergovernmental coordination of all related planned activities among the State and local governmental agencies concerned; and (5) preparation of regulatory and administrative measures in support of the foregoing.16 Elederal Aid for 701 Grows The Housing Act of 1961 again increased the ziuthorization for appropriations and further expanded the Ixrovisions of Section 701. The major changes made were to Zincrease the Federal share of the matching funds from 50 jpercent to two-thirds, to increase the total authorization from $20 million to $75 million, and to add new provisions placing an emphasis on transportation planning as is shown by the following statement: . . . Planning which may be asSisted under this section included the preparation of comprehensive urban transportation surveys, studies, and plans to aid in solving problems of traffic congestion, facilitating the circulation of people and goods in metropolitan and other urban areas and reducing transportation needs . . . .1 16Housing Act of 1959, Senate Report 924, 1959, p. 131. 17Congressional Record, Vol. 107, p. 11517. 16 The Housing Act of 1964 further expanded the prwyvisions of Section 701 although there were no major (flianges. The greatest changes were in the provisions :relating to the Area Redevelopment Administration. In areas that have been designated as ARA redevelopment areas 'the Federal share of 701 planning assistance grants was :tncreased from two—thirds to three-fourths. In addition all municipalities in such areas would be eligible for 701 aassistance regardless of size. Other changes included exdension of 701 assistance to cover indian reservations éxnd all counties regardless of population. The total truthorization of funds for Section 701 was increased from $75 million to $105 million.18 The Housing and Urban Redevelopment Act of 1965 Inade further modifications of Section 701 but left most of the provisions intact. The most notable change was an increase in the authorization of appropriations from $105 million to $230 million. In the bill as passed by the House there was a provision for funds to be appropriated in ". . . such amounts as may be necessary to carry out the functions of this section . . ." and to have a cut-off date for further approval of projects as of October 1969. In the final form of the bill this provision was deleted and in its place the authorization for appropriations was more 18Congressional Record, Vol. 110, p. 17582. 17 than doubl ed . 19 Also authorized are provisions providing up) to five percent of the total appropriations for studies, rwesearch, and demonstration projects for development and :hnprovement of techniques and methods of comprehensive jplanning and additional grants to: . . . organizations composed of public officials whom he (the Administrator) finds to be repre— sentative of the political jurisdictions within a metropolitan area or urban region . . . . TEhese grants are to assist in undertaking studies and Illanning for the solution of the metropolitan or regional xxroblems in such areas or regions.20 This latter provision Iwould permit such groups as the San Francisco Association ()f‘Bay Area Governments which operate without a planning (lemmission to participate in the 701 program. EEidhigan Slow to Accept Federal Aid for Local Community ‘Eganning Michigan did not participate in the local planning assistance program until six years after the Federal legislation was passed. This was due to a number of factors not the least of which was a reaction on the part of the legislature against anything that contained the word 'planning.' Michigan had a State Planning Commission from the mid-thirties until 1947. It was first created by the 19Congressional Record, Vol. 111, pp. 14669-14714. 20Public Law 89-117, "Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965," 89m Congress, August 10, 1965, Title XI, Section 1102. Dollars in millions APPROPRIATIONS AUTHORIZED FOR THE 701 PROGRAM 250- 200- 150- 100- T I i 1954 '55 1961--$75 million--* 1957--$lo 1965--$230 million-- l964--$105 million -* I I I I I I '60 '61 '62 '63 '64 '65 l9 Chaxrernor in 1933 under the provisions of the Studies Ccnnmission Act.21 This commission was replaced by the bkichigan Planning Commission which was created by the Igegislature under Public Act 218 of 1937. A 1944 amendment 'to this act provided a $5 million revolving fund to be used orla.matching basis for planning of local public works .prpgrams to relieve the unemployment that was expected to :follow the end of World War II. The administration of this :fumd proved to be the commission's downfall. The fund was :irwufficient to handle the number of requests from the lLocal communities. This led to local disenchantment with 1ihe commission was reflected in legislative disapproval. CFhe final result of this displeasure was that the Michigan ZPlanning Commission was abolished in 1947 and replaced with ‘the Department of Economic Development.22 Bistrust of Planning Evident in Legislative Actions In retrospect it appears obvious that the problem with the revolving fund could have been corrected by the legislature had they wished to do so. Instead this excuse was used by legislators who were opposed to the New Deal and to planning in an attempt to permanently kill the planning operation in the state. This observation is 21Public Act 195, Michigan Public Acts of 1931. 22William C. Roman, State Planning in Michigan (Unpublished Thesis, M.U.P., Wayne State University, Detroit, November 1964), p. 6. 20 surpported by the language used in the first section of the Ecuonomic Development Department Act: . . . and which shall take over the records and property of the Michigan planning commission: Provided, that this act shall ig_ng wa re— establish the work of the Michigan planning commission. (Emphasis added)23 It is interesting to note in Section 5 of this act that the .same general powers for local planning assistance were pxpvided as had been available under the old planning (zommission. These provided for encouragement and develop- Inent of local planning as well as assigning liaison :functions between State and Federal agencies. However these 130wers were never exercised and were in fact specifically (iiscouraged as is evidenced by the following statement: The new department ignored the planning powers and heeded the restrictions to the degree that there was no planning of any kind attempted. Staff members even avoided mentioning the word 'planning' at the Director's instructions. When one recalls the political atmosphere of that time with its strong reaction against the New Deal it is not unreasonable to suggest that the Legislature acted more from agreement with the then current anti-planning hysteria than from mere anger from the unhappy result of the 1944 revolving fund.2Ll The distrust of anything connected with planning was still present in the legislature ten years later when attempts were made to reactivate a state planning function. In 1958 a bill was introduced in the Senate that would establish a new state planning commission. The bill, 23Public Act 302, Michigan Public Acts of 1947. 4Roman Thesis, p. 7. 21 jpertterned after the model planning acts of the Council of S13ate Governments, had the support of Governor Williams as wwill as the active interest and support of the Michigan Scnciety of Planning Officials. A measure of the strength «of opposition to this kind of act can be seen in the fact that no hearing was ever held on the bill after it was referred to the Senate State Affairs Committee. The following year the Michigan Chapter of the American Institute of Planners sponsored a bill in the House of Representatives to establish a Department of State Planning with the director to serve at the pleasure of the Governor. This measure fared only slightly better than the one the previous year and failed passage in its house of origin.2 One result of the lack of a State planning agency was that Michigan could not participate in the 701 program. AS has been noted previously, this requirement was changed iJl 1959 permitting 701 grants to be made, in the absence of 21 State planning agency, to an agency of the State govern- Enent designated by the Governor and approved by the Administrator. Even with the 1959 amendment the State of Michigan did not participate as it was felt by State Officials that the Governor did not have the authority to designate an agency to accept Federal grants without the approval of the Legislature. 25Ibid., p. 10. 22 It should be noted that, although support for state alrd.local planning was at a low ebb as far as the state liegislature and administration were concerned, there were (yther "planning forces" at work through other state and local organizations. Most significant of these were the Inany planning commissions throughout the state which had been established since the first planning enabling act was passed in Michigan in 1931. These bodies had maintained a base of interest in planning although they had not been rallied into a politically effective unit in support of the needed state legislation. A development that seems to have had considerable influence in motivating support for planning took place as a result of a grant from the Kellogg Foundation to Michigan State University which established the Institute for Conmmudty'Development. The Institute staff was made up of :SDecialists in the fields of Urban Planning, Political Scxience, Public Administration, Police Administration, I3Conomics, Sociology, Geography, and Education. As part of this staff the University hired four urban planning Specialists with broad backgrounds in state, city, regional, township, and county planning. Through the efforts of these Planners a statewide program of planning education was initiated in early 1957. Working closely with the COoperative Extension Service they were able to reach Practically every major metropolitan area, a majority of 23 (sixties and villages, most of the developing counties, and a :nxunber of urbanizing townships with this program. The Institute planners were aided considerably by a cunincident increase in interest in development problems on 'the part of the Extension Service. This was the result of a Ford Foundation Grant creating positions for five Community Resource Development specialists. This combina- tion of resource development specialists and highly qualified urban planners produced one of the broadest educational efforts to ever be put in the field in the interest of developing an awareness of the need for planning at state and local levels of government. A measure of the effectiveness of this effort can be seen in the great increase in establishment of planning commissions at all levels of local government during the 1957—1960 Period. Efigrsonal Leadership Has Important Role Due to increasing interest in the 701 program on 'bhe part of several municipalities a movement was started to try to obtain the needed legislation to allow Michigan t0 participate. This attempt was led by three men who were b0th interested in planning and known and respected by Various legislators. They were the late John Huss, then director of the Michigan Municiple League, Donald Oakes, former Grand Rapids city manager and active leader in the Michigan Society of Planning Officials, and Jay Gibbs, a 24 Ifllzanning consultant who was highly respected by some irLfluential legislators. Because of the provisions relative to local Inlanning and liaison with Federal agencies in the act establishing the Department of Economic Development, this should have been the most logical agency to administer a 701 program but the department and its director Donald weeks had become a constant subject of controversy. There had been continual clashes with many individuals and groups including the Legislature. In view of the difficulty faced during the previous two years in the attempts to re— establish a state planning function and the controversial nature of the department and its director, it was decided to find another agency in which to place the responsibility for the 701 program. The Department of Administration was Selected as the agency best suited to the job. Legislation to this effect was submitted to the Senate by Senator Frank I3ead.le, was approved by both houses and became Public Act 110 of 1960 .26 291 Program Finally Begun in Michigan Act 110 was an amendment to the act establishing the Department of Administration. It added a new section under the duties and powers of the department as follows: Section 17. Upon the request of the governing body of any city, village, county, township, or regional planning district, the department is 26Ibid., p. 11. 25 authorized to apply for and accept grants from the Federal government for planning assistance for said local units of government, which includes but is not limited to surveys, land use studies, urban renewal plans, technical services and other planning work. State costs, if any, shall be reimbursed to the State by the local municipalities. The depart- ment may accept and expend grants from the Federal government and other public and private sources, contract with reference thereto, and enter into other contracts and exercise all other powers necessary to carry out the purposes of this section. The new function of the department which was at first considered to be primarily a paper shuffling process was assigned to the Building Division which was the only division even vaguely related to planning and development. At the time the act was passed thenawere no staff members in the Department of Administration who were experienced in planning. Shortly after the program was started, Sanford :Farness, who had been the director of the Lansing Tri- ‘3ounty Planning Commission, was hired to handle the 701 llrogram. He set up the basic procedures that have been :followed for administering the program. Farness left the department in mid-1961 and walter McVicker, chief of the Site Section of the Building Division, assumed responsibility for the 701 program. During this period interest in the Program by local municipalities was intense and the workload became excessive with the result that there were many delays in processing applications. By early 1962 the situation required that the State Controller take direct action to make improvements. As a result William Roman was hired as 701 supervisor and the Urban Planning Assistance Section 26 1v21s established with Roman as chief being directly respon— sible to the Controller. This allowed an immediate eaqpansion of the 701 staff and greatly improved the 27 administration of the program. As has been mentioned previously the 1961 amend- Inents of the Federal Housing Act placed a heavy emphasis on the importance of transportation planning. In response to this, an attempt was made by Governor Swainson to have the State Highway Department designated as a qualified recipient for 701 funds. This was in part based on the existance of the planning section already operating in the department. This arrangement was not acceptable to the H.H.F.A. largely because of a lack of understanding on the part of State officials of the subordinate role of transportation planning as only one part of comprehensive planning. Expecting a lfavorable reaction to the Governor's request, Highway <3ommissioner Mackie assigned Marvin Tableman from the (iepartment's planning office to make arrangements for iJrvolvement in "urban renewal planning." This assignment in view of subsequent developments, was the one most Valuable action to come out of the Governor's attempt to qualify the Highway Department as a 701 agency.2 27Ibid., pp. 11-16. 28Ibid., p. 17. 27 ‘Vkalue of Comprehensive Planning at State Level Recognized Tableman, who had served as Governor William's athninistrative assistant, began a thorough study of the pnassibilities of comprehensive planning on a State level. iIn.the course of his study he worked closely with Robert Byers, then director of the Department of Economic Develop- ment. These two, accompanied by other State officials, visited the Wisconsin Department of Resource Development who had begun a 701 State Planning Program. Following this they proposed a review of all the planning activities that were being undertaken in Michigan's various state depart— ments. It was Tableman's contention that through a coordination of the planning efforts already being carried on by the Departments of Administration, Economic Develop- Inent, Conservation, Aeronautics, Waterways, Health, Agriculture, Highways, and Water Resources, Michigan could (ievelop a state planning program similar to that of Wis- <30nsin. The coordinated planning functions could be used iJl place of extra funds to qualify as the State's share of a 701 program. Such a program would have as an immediate result the much wider use of Federal assistance programs in all of the participating departments. After several meetings the program as described above was put into action. The heads of these departments were appointed as the Governor's Interdepartmental Resource Development Committee and under their direction an application was made to the H.H.F.A. for a grant for state planning. On 28 ()ctober 15, 1962 the application was approved and Michigan was back into state planning. State and Local PlanningpPrograms Survive Crisis One outgrowth of the state planning program was an attempt to reorganize the Department of Economic Develop— ment to give a firmer legislative basis for state planning. At the same time the local planning assistance program was to be moved from the Department of Administration to the new department. Through a series of misunderstandings the law was nearly written in such a way as to jeopardize both the local planning assistance program and the state planning program. The bill was in process shortly after Governor Romney had been elected and the men he had placed in charge of the disposition of the bill saw it as primarily a tool for carrying out economic studies and industrial promotion. However, through the legislative committees of the Michigan Chapter of the American Institute of Planners and the Michigan Society of Planning Officials together with some of the men who had been involved with the state planning project, efforts were successful in having amendments made in the bill to give the state at least the minimum powers needed for both local planning assistance and for state planning.29 The bill, House Bill 344 creating a Department of Economic Expansion, was finally passed into law as Public 291bid., pp. 40—60. 29 Act 116 of 1963. This act gives the Governor a high degree of control over the new department. He appoints the executive director of the department who serves "at the pleasure of the Governor." He also appoints the twenty- four member advisory council for terms coterminous with his own and appoints the chairman of the council who also serves "at the Governor's pleasure." The section of the act on program and activities of the department includes the following provision which covers the function formerly carried out under the Governor's Interdepartmental Resource Development Committee: Section 4(j). To conduct research and make recommendations to the governor for the general purpose of guiding and accomplishing a coordinated and efficient development of the state in accordance with present and future needs and to best utilize natural, material, and human resources. Upon direction of the governor the department shall utilize and coordinate the research activities of state departments and institutions in the interest of Michigan's economic and other development. The section on the powers granted the department is very similar to that of the Department of Economic Development which it superseded. One exception was a clause requiring legislative approval for grants to be accepted from the Federal government or any other source. This would have had the effect of requiring legislative approval for each individual contract for a local planning assistance grant or any amendment of such a contract. This would have slowed the application procedure greatly and placed an unnecessary burden on the legislature. In recognition of 30 this an amendment was included in the final version of the bill which permits the acceptance of local planning assistance grants without further legislative approval. The remainder of the local planning assistance section, Section 6, was taken almost verbatim from Act 110 of 1960 with the addition of provisions transferring the records, files, property and employees dealing with local planning 30 assistance to the Department of Economic Expansion. Summary and Some Conclusions The foregoing are the laws under which local plan— ning assistance is now carried on in the State of Michigan. The provisions are not perfect but they have been approved by the H.H.F.A. as being adequate to carry out the function of local planning assistance under the National Housing Act of 1954 and its amendments. The continual development of the 701 program has been shown from its beginnings in the 1949 Housing Act as a program to insure the protection of Federal investment in urban renewal and other Federally assisted projects. The need for such a program to be comprehensive in nature was developed by the President's Advisory Committee as was the Federal responsibility to encourage and assist local planning. The Committee's recommendations resulted in the very modest beginning of the program of local planning assistance as expressed in 30Public and Local Acts of the Legislature of the State of Michigan, Public Acts of 1963, Act 116. 31 Section 701 of the Housing Act of 1954. The purposes and terms used in the 701 program were further clarified and defined in the Housing Act of 1959. It seems evident that the intrinsic value of a community planning program was becoming increasingly recognized by this time. In the same act and again in 1961 both the scope of the program and the Federal involvement were increased. This process has continued with the 1964 and 1965 amendments to the point that the modest program of $5 million begun in 1954 has grown by steps in nearly a geometrical progression to a current level of $230 million. A further examination of Michigan's reluctance to participate in the local planning assistance program may shed some light on the problems of obtaining continuity in community planning. One reaction to this reluctance is to describe it as the result of extreme conservatism. More correctly it could be characterized as a natural resistance to change of any established pattern of doing things and as a distrust of a process that was not well understood. To counteract these prevalent attitudes there was a need for strong personal leadership from someone who was both well versed in the process and close to, if not actually involved in, the political power structure. This leader- ship was evident both in the act to permit 701 planning in Michigan and the series of actions that resulted in the current state planning program and the establishment of the Department of Economic Expansion. 32 A parallel may be suggested between this and the requirements for success in a local planning program. The same attitudes of a natural resistance to change and a dis- trust of a poorly understood or unfamiliar program seen in the State Legislature may be expected in the local community with the additional problem of the distrust of an 'out— sider' telling the residents what they should do. The need for knowledgeable leadership from within the community power structure is, if anything, more important at the local than at the state level. In view of this it is suggested that an examination of the planning process be included with an examination of the plan reports in any evaluation of a comprehensive planning program. CHAPTER II DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN CONCEPT The basic tool of planners is the comprehensive plan or general or master plan. Through use of this instrument the principles and objectives of planning are explained in terms of actions and conditions for a particular community. For a device that has such wide spread use there is still a surprising amount of discussion and controversy among planners as to the proper use and content of the comprehensive plan. Part of this controversy can be credited to the relative youth of planning as a profession and part must be explained as a result of an operational device being developed without any overall theory. As an operational instrument the comprehensive plan concept has been largely pragmatic. As such it has changed in emphasis over the years as the tools for implementing various measures recommended by it were improved. In his thesis investigating the comprehensive plan, Donald Dillon wrote in 1964: The comprehensive plan concept is presented as it has been proposed over time because there is not a generally accepted definition of the term, how 33 34 the plan should accomplish its objectives, or what it should contain.1 In developing a working definition of the comprehensive plan for use in this paper the same approach will be taken as was used by Dillon. As a start in this direction a brief review of some of the early statements on the purpose and content of the general plan is in order. Early Contributions to the Comprehensive Planning Concept The early beginnings of city planning have been well documented in several places showing its heritage from the Garden City and City Beautiful Movements at the turn of the century. The concept of the master plan developed somewhat later. One of the first persons to speak and write about the ideas included in the general plan concept was Fredrick Law Olmsted Jr. As early as 1911 in a presentation before the National Conference on City Planning, he described the scope of city planning and the subject matter of the general plan. In this description he stated that the area of concern of the planner was the: . . . intelligent control and guidance of the entire physical growth and alteration of cities; embracing all the problems of relieving and avoiding congestion . . . but also embracing . . . each one of the myriad problems involved in making our cities year by year, in their physical arrangement and equipment, healthier, pleasanter, and more economical instruments 1Donald L. Dillon, An Investigation of the Compre- hensive Plan as a Tool for the 701 Urban Planning Assistance Program (Unpublished Thesis, M.U.P., University of Washington, Seattle, June, 1964), p. 63. 35 for the use of the people who dwell within them . . . .2 Another of the pioneers of planning who contributed heavily to the general plan concept was Alfred Bettman, who was trained in law and experienced in municipal administra— tion. His ideas of the content, purpose, and focus of the general plan closely paralleled those of Olmsted. Speaking before the Twentieth Annual Conference on City Planning in 1928 he described the general plan as follows: A city plan is a master plan for the physical development of the territory of the division of land between public and private uses, specifying the general location and extent of new public improvements, grounds, and structures, such as new widened or extended streets, boulevards, parkways or other public utilities and the location of public buildings, such as schools, police stations, fire stations; and in the case of private developments, the general distribution among various places of uses, such as residential, business and industrial uses. The plan should be designed for a considerable period in the future, twenty-five to fifty years. It should be based, therefore, on a comprehensive survey of things as they are at the time of planning, such as the existing distribution of existing developments, both public and private, and trends toward re- distribution and growth of population, industry, and business, estimates of future trends, growth, and distribution of industry and population, and the allotment of the territory of the city in accordance with such data and trends, so as to provide the necessary public facilities and the necessary area for private development correspond- ing to the needs of the community, present and prospective.3 2T. J. Kent, Jr., The Urban General Plan (San Francisco: Chandler Publishing Co., 1964), p. 28. 3Ibid., p. 30. 36 An event that profoundly affected the form of all planning organizations which also took place in 1928 was the publication of the Standard City Planning Enabling Act. The Act was prepared by a nine member committee appointed by then Secretary of Commerce, Herbert Hoover. Both Olmsted and Bettman were members of the committee as was Edward Bassett whose book, The Master Plan, published in 1938, is considered to be a milestone in the development of city planning thought. The report was quite specific in its recommendations of the form of organization for planning and the content and function of the plan. In his forward to the report Mr. Hoover wrote: . . . This report recommends, first, a clearly defined, permanent planning branch in the local government, in the form of a commission which formulates a comprehensive plan and keeps it up to date.- The commission then advises the executive and legislative branches of the municipality, and the public, as to the impor- tance of the plan and promotes conformance to it in the laying out of new streets, the con- struction of public works and utilities, and the private develgpment of land . . . .4 There is no question that this model act had a great affect on planning as it was adopted, with only minor changes, by many of the states as their planning enabling legislation. What is somewhat surprising is that it did not contain the kind of clear statement of purpose and content of the general plan that Bettman had presented to the Planning Conference. Because of this shortcoming it 41bid., p. 33. 37 contributed to what Kent describes in The Urban General Plan as "twenty years of confusion." The Standard Act report as prepared by the committee contained a liberal number of explanatory footnotes that showed clearly the intent of the authors. If more attention had been paid to these or if the language of the Act had been more complete, many of the confusions which resulted could have been avoided. Apparently what actually occurred was that many of the footnotes were lost in the act of adopting enabling legislation for the states from the Standard Act. Several specific problem areas that resulted were pointed out by Kent as follows: (1) Confusion between the zoning plan and the working—and—living areas section of the general plan; The authors of the Standard Act expressed clearly the intent to provide a plan to be used as: . . . a guide in governing public and private development in the city . . . (which) should be long-range, comprehensive, and general . . . . This is consistent with the Bettman concept of the general plan but the Act also: specifically includes the zoning plan among the list of subjects that are considered appro riate for inclusion in the general plan. This led to undue confusion between the specific zoning plan and the general policy instrument, the general plan. 5Ibid., p. 35. 38 (2) Piecemeal adoption of the plan; the Standard Act permitted a planning commission: . . . to adopt the plan as a whole by a single resolution or may by successive resoéutions adopt succe551ve parts of the plan . . . . The footnotes accompanying this section stated clearly that each section was to be considered only in its relation to the whole plan. However in the absence of the footnotes the language of the Act seemed to encourage piecemeal planning. (3) Lack of a specific definition of the essen- tial physical elements to be dealt with in the general plan; There was some disagreement among the committee members on this point. An illustrative definition was included in the Act but the authors consciously attempted to exclude from the formal text a specific definition of the physical elements to be covered by the general plan. One of the footnotes states the following: An express definition has not been thought desirable or necessary. This was in accordance with Bettman's thinking during this period that: . . . anything that might come to be known as a 'standard definition' of the general plan might lead city-planning commissions throughout the country to do their work in a perfunctory way, without really thinking for themselves, and hence might cause them to ignore the special problems, features and opportunities that characterize every community.7 6Ibido, 1). £13.10 71bido, p0 £1250 39 (4) Basic questions as to the scope of the general plan; There is still a good deal of discussion on this subject. The question of the breadth of the program, whether other subject areas in addition to physical development should be included in the general plan, has not yet been resolved. Even under a fully comprehensive approach: . . . there will always need to be at the very least a general plan that focuses on physical development, just as the budget and long-range fiscal plan focus on the subject matter of financial resources.8 The other question of scope concerns the depth of detail to be included in the plan. Whether the more specific programs which are referred to in the plan should be actually included in it or should be separate from the plan is still being debated by the planners. Kent sees the inclusion of these programs in the general plan as a process which decreases the general plan's usefulness as a 9 (5) Distrust of general guide and a policy instrument. the municipal legislative body; The one concept put forth in the Standard Act that seems to have been most taken for granted is that the plan should be for the use of the planning commission, a body of responsible citizens who would be immune from the pressures of politics. This concept reflects a lack of confidence in the competence and integrity of city councils. The commission form recommended 81bido, p. 49. 9Ibid., p. 52. 40 by the Standard Act is a result of this belief that the city council could not be expected to understand the complexities of the plan or to make wise policy decisions regarding physical development. Kent maintains that this should be: . . . replaced (1) by the belief that the city council, and only the city council, should be the principal client of the general plan, and (2) by the judgement that the technical complexity of the general plan is not such that it is impossible to make the plan understandable, available, and amendable . . . .10 Bassett Leads Toward Definition of Plan Content One of the members of the committee that drafted the 1928 Standard City Planning Enabling Act, Edward Bassett, in his book, The Master Plan, published in 1938, helped to clear up much of the confusion that had existed over the content and functions of the general plan. Dillon refers to this book in his thesis as the first milestone in the definitive development of a comprehensive plan concept. Bassett had held, at the time the Standard Act was written, that an express definition of the content of the master or general plan was needed. In his book he formulated the following criteria: Each of the elements of the plan . . . 1) relates to land areas; 2) has been stamped on land areas by the community for community use; 3) can be shown on a map. If a subject does not conform to lOIbido, p. 511:. 41 these three requirements it does not come under the head of community land planning.ll By 1945, as the result of observing the experience of several cities' planning programs under the original enabling acts, Mr. Bettman reversed his stand on the need for an express definition of the general plan. Under sponsorship of the American Society of Planning Officials he published a draft of a model urban redevelopment Act which included a definition of the essential physical elements to be included in a general plan. His definition reads as follows: The planning commission is . . . directed to make . . . a master plan of the municipality . . . which shall include at least a land use plan which designates the proposed general distribution and general locations and extents of uses of the land for housing, business, industry, communication and transportation terminals, recreation, education, public buildings, public utilities and works, public reservations and other categories of public and private uses of the land.12 Kent rephrases this definition in terms that are consistent with his book and at the same time simplifies it to read as follows: The general plan of the municipality must deal with as an absolute minimum, the following three essential physical elements: (a) working— and-living areas, (b) community facilities, and (c) circulation. 11Charles M. Haar, "The Content of the General Plan: A Glance at History," Journal of the Amgiican Institute of Planners, Vol. 21:2 (Spring, 1955), p. 67. 12Alfred Bettman, in City and Regional Planning Papers edited by Arthur C. Comey (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press, 1946), pp. 263-264. 42 Essentially similar definitions using the same basic elements have been published by the Housing and Home Finance Agency in a 1950 statement, the American Institute of Planners' Board of Governors in 1952 and is contained in the California City and County Planning Enabling Act of 1 1955. 3 The Dillon thesis showed the development of the comprehensive plan concept as a cumulative process. He used the features of Bassett's comprehensive plan concept as his basis for this development. In this process he separated for comparison purposes (1) the purpose or use to be made of the plan; (2) the plan content; and (3) the areas of particular emphasis. Dillon's abstraction of the basic features of Bassett's Comprehensive Plan Concept follows:1 1) Purpose for Use: a) Advisory to Planning Commission to coordinate elements of community plan. 2) Content: a) Only those elements which can be shown on a map including streets, parks, zoning districts, pierhead lines, etc. 3) Emphasis: a) Coordination of public improvements. b) Use of a map to show locations. c) Flexibility. This definition of the plan, its function, focus, and content shows the same kind of limited concept that was present in the Bettman definition and in the notes on the l3Kent, pp. 62, 63. 1[‘Dillon, p. 78. 43 Standard Act of 1928. It also presents the planning commission as the proper client of the plan. 1940-1950: The Comprehensive Plan Concept is Broadened During the period from 1940 to 1950 there were several changes proposed in each of the categories used by Dillon. Of these perhaps the most important was the questioning of the planning commission as the proper repository of all planning activity and author of the general plan. As a result of the growing size of the planning operations and staffs in some cities it was felt by many planners that the planning function should more properly be controlled by the chief executive with the planning director acting as staff aide to him. The questioning of the validity of the planning commission was stimulated by Robert Walker's study of the planning function in government which was published in 1941. He felt that it was contrary to the political philosophy of democracy to place government in the hands of administrators who are not responsible to the people. In his book Walker stated that: planning via the independent, unpaid boards on the periphery of the administrative structure has severely limited the work of local planning agencies . . . . He goes on to say that: . . . the planning agency will be most likely to perform its function satisfactorily if it 44 is made immediately responsible to the chief executive.1 This position which was quite radical at the time has since been followed by many planners. Another shift was occurring during this period dealing with the breadth of coverage of the comprehensive plan. There were several advocates of the position that the comprehensive plan if it were to be truly comprehensive, must include more than just physical planning. That this controversy has still not been resolved is illustrated by the following statement taken from the American Institute of Planners Journal in 1959: I believe the scope of governmental planning is as broad as the concerns of government. It includes governmental activities being planned and their underlying considerations and encompasses the physical, social, and economic evolution of the environment.1 Returning to the categories used by Dillon, the major developments during this period were summarized by him as follows: 1) Purpose or Use: a) Can also be used by others to coordinate activities. b) Educational tool for planning and publica- tion of plan proposals. 2) Content: a) All major features affecting community development including economic, social, and physical features. 15Robert A. Walker, The Planning Function in Urban Government (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1941, Second ed., 1950), p. 333. Henry Fagin, "Organizing and Carrying Out Planning Activities Within Urban Government," Journal of the American Institute of Planners, Vol. 25:3 (August 19597, p. 111. 45 3) Emphasis: a) Coordination of all features of development. 1950-1956: The Concept is Further Broadenedi Goals are Emphasized The period from 1950 to 1956 was particularly productive in terms of the development of the concept of the comprehensive plan. It was during this period that the Federal Aid program for planning was started and a great deal of thought was given to the proper context of plans and planning. There were changes in all areas of interest dealing with the concept of the comprehensive plan. The concept was both expanded in its breadth of content and made more definitive in the area of purpose and use. The expansion of areas of interest that were considered proper for inclusion in the comprehensive plan was shown by Charles Haar in an article in the A.I.P. Journal in the spring of 1955. He noted that the more recent enabling acts had greatly expanded the narrow view of the content of the plan that had been put forth by Bassett. He illustrated this shift in thinking by referring to the new enabling act passed that year by the state of California. This act: . . . illustrates the elements of the master plan by listing eleven possible plans and their general contents: conservation, land use, recreation, street and highway, transportation, transit, public services and facilities, community design plan, and housing redevelopment. It also provides for a capital budgeting function. To quell any possible doubts, it concludes that the master plan may deal with other subjects which in the 46 commission's judgement relate to the physical development of the city.17 It should be noted, that although it was not clearly stated, the subject area was at least implicitly limited to those areas that dealt with in some way the physical development of the city. Haar recognized the possible implications of an unrestricted subject area when he stated: Not everything should go into the master plan. If all the permutations human activity can improvise are to be encompassed by the master plan, it may be rendered diffuse, ambiguous, and meaningless as a base for action when land development and redevelopment actually occur.1 At the same time that the above noted movement to expand the field of interest included in the plan was going on there was a shift of thought concerning the basic function of the plan. There was an increased interest in the sections of the plan dealing with objectives with a corresponding decrease in emphasis on the physical planning. This feeling is expressed in the definitive article by Haar, "The Master Plan: An Impermanent Constitution" which was published in the summer of 1955. Here he states: It is not the function of a master plan to examine the territory and to pinpoint in detail the sites and locations of the various activities, its job is that of goals and relationships . . . . Haar carried this point of view to the exact opposite of that held by Bassett, that all parts of the master plan 17 18 Haar, p. 68. Ibid., p. 70/ 47 should be able to be shown on a map, when he wrote the following: The stress in the enabling acts on the location of the various facilities also seems undesirable. It is (in determining) the relation of . . . sites to residential, industrial, and commercial areas that is the long—range planning function. For this reason, the enabling acts should be amended to make clear that the master plan consists of statements of objectives and illustrative material. The identification of the plan with maps is undesirable, for maps import location.l9 Haar also expressed the prevailing attitude that the amount of detail that was to be included in the plan should be limited. This expression was consistent with the view of the function of the plan as an instrument with an emphasis on goals and objectives. In its more simplified form, omitting some of the detailed implementation measures, the comprehensive plan could become more nearly a policy state— ment that could be intelligently used as such by the municipal legislative body. Haar, in proposing that the plan be directed to the use of the legislative body, is expanding on a different track the ideas proposed by Robert Walker, that the planning function should be within the realm of the elected representatives. The implications of the act of adoption of the comprehensive plan by the municipal legislative body were explained by Harr, as follows: 19Charles M. Haar, "The Master Plan: An Impermanent Constitution," Law and Contemporary Problems, Vol. 20 (Summer 1955), p. 3707 48 If the plan is regarded not as the vest-pocket tool of the planning commission, but as a broad statement to be adopted by the most representative municipal body—~the local 1egislature—-then the plan becomes a law through such adoption. A unique type of law, it should be noted, in that it purports to bind future legislatures when they enact implementary materials. So far as impact is concerned the law purports to control the enactment of other laws (the so-called implementary legislation) solely. It thus has the cardinal characteristic of a constitution. But unlike that legal form it is subject to amendatory procedures not significantly different from the course followed in enacting ordinary legislation. To enact a non-conforming measure merely amounts to passing the law twice. This concept of the plan as a form of a constitution has raised the most controversy among planners of any of Haar's writing. During the same period there was another idea put forward that was in effect an outgrowth of the limitation of the depth of detail contained in the comprehensive plan. This was a proposal for another level of planning to go on at the same time as the general planning--but at much greater detail. It was for a middle-range of planning to carry the action from the long-range view of the compre- hensive plan to the short—range area of actual implementa— tion embodied in the capital budget. Martin Meyerson described this approach as follows: . . . the framework required by the people who make some of the key decisions for both public and private community development is not provided by project-planning. Nor is the urgency of these decisions met by the kind of long-range compre- hensive planning we usually do. I have concluded ZOIbido, p0 3750 49 that a middle ground is needed. An intermediate set of planning functions must be performed on a sustained on-going-basis to provide this frame— work . . . .21 The functions that Meyerson saw the middle—ground community planning operation as serving were the following: 1) A central intelligence function to facilitate market operations for housing commerce, industry, and other community activities through the regular issuance of market analysis. 2) A pulse—takingpfunction to alert the community, through periodic reports, to danger signs in blight formation, in economic changes, population movements and other shifts. 3) A policy clarification function to help frame and regularly revise development objectives of local government. 4) A detailed development plan function to phase specific private and public programs as part of a comprehensive course of action covering not more than ten years. 5) A feed-back review function to analize, through careful research, the consequences of program and project activities as a guide to future action. The only function listed above that is not one currently implicit in the comprehensive plan concept is that of detailed planning for a ten year period. This approach of using planning at different levels would be further developed by several authors in the succeeding period. Returning once again to the categories used by Dillon in his summary of the major changes proposed in the 21Martin Meyerson, "Building the Middle-Range Bridge for Comprehensive Planning," Journal of the American Institute of Planners, Vol. 22:2 (Spring, 1956), p. 59. 50 concept of the comprehensive plan, those occurring during the period of 1950 to 1956 were the following:22 1) Purpose or Use: a) Planners use in making plans. b) Council uses to guide effectuation measures. c) Developers use to make acceptable proposals. 2) Content: a) Exclude implementation such as zoning. b) Community goals and interrelationships of elements explicitly stated. 3) Emphasis: a) Analysis of interrelationships of land uses and facilities. b) Identification of goals. 0) Use of plan to guide effectuation and administration of controls. 1956-Present: Development of the Comprehensive Plan Concept Continues The period from 1956 to the present has been no less productive of ideas than was the preceding six years. Much of the writing in the field during this period gave heavy emphasis to the planning process, however there were several articles that supported the view that more emphasis was needed on the plan itself. There was also a good deal of discussion extending the ideas of other levels of planning in addition to the long-range general plan. Another area of concern that prompted a considerable amount of discussion dealt with the involvement of the Community decision makers in the planning process by Various means. There was a feeling expressed that planning Should in somelay be more closely involved in the political Process. Historically the planning function had been 22Dillon, p. 78. 51 consciously insulated as much as possible from political pressures and as a result had often developed plans almost completely independent of the influence of municipal legislative bodies. A result of this was a lack of under- standing on the part of the legislative bodies who are responsible for the action program that will implement a plan. All too often the lack of understanding led to a resistance to take action. The theme was developed by several authors that one way to promote better cooperation from the legislative bodies was to involve them as directly as possible in the planning process. The following state— ments illustrate the direction of their thinking: No matter how imaginative and well conceived the plan may be, it is unlikely to achieve success as an organizing force unless planning is a well established and astutely directed function of local government . . . . The foregoing statement by Chapin is reinforced by this statement by Herbert Smith speaking as a planning consultant from the standpoint of many years experience: . . . the benefit to the community of a compre- hensive plan is in proportion to the under- standing of its purpose . . . .24 From the above statements it is clear that there is a definite need for the community leaders to understand the Purpose of planning and of the comprehensive plan. In an 23Ibid., p. 17. 24Herbert H. Smith, "The Planning Consultant Looks at 701," Urban Problems and Techniques No. 1, Perry Norton, Ed. (San Francisco: Chandler—Davis Publishing Co., 1959), p. 164. 52 article written in 1959 for the American Institute of Planners Journal, Henry Fagin gives an excellent defini- tion: The purpose of organizing and carrying out planning activities within the framework of urban govern- ment is to enable the urban community to make intelligent and coherent decisions about its own physical, social, and economic evolution.25 Given this purpose there still remains the very pressing questions of how the guiding should be done and who should be primarily responsible for it. In a 1963 article Chapin states that if a plan is to have force and effect: . . . it is dependent on the extent to which planning is in the mainstream of decision- making. He goes on to express the importance of the relationship between involvement of the legislative body, who are the municipal policy makers, and the plan as follows: It is increasingly recognized that where public policy is closely keyed to the general plan it can be an extremely effective technique for guiding urban expansion.2 While there is little question among these authors that the plan should be closely tied to public policy, there is a difference of opinion as to what part of the public policy making structure should be primarily responsible for it. Fagin tends toward the position taken by Walker in advocating 25Fagin, p° 109. 26F. Stuart Chapin, Jr., "Taking Stock of Techniques for Shaping Urban Growth," Journalppf American Institute of Planners, Vol. 29:2 (May 1963), p. 79. 53 a strong role for the chief executive in the planning process: Whatever his (the chief executive) method of designation, his integral ties to the pperations of the government and his responsibilities for co-ordinating governmental activities makes it essential that the top executive play a pre- eminent role in the exercise of the planning function.27 Chapin tends to the direction of the primacy of the 1egis- lative body in the planning process as is evidenced by the following statement: . . . the effectiveness of a plan in guiding development has been dependent on how well- related it is to the decision making process of governing bodies. (Emphasis added)28 Kent, in his book The Urban General Plan makes very clear his focus of the plan when he uses a quotation from Thomas Jefferson in his preface: I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of society but the people themselves and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discre— tion, the remedy is not to take it from themé but to inform their discretion by education. Kent proceeds to expand on this theme, that the planning function is an aid in the formulation of policy and there— fore should be an aid to the representative governing body 0f the city: . . . the city council is the primary client of the city-planning agency because it is the final 27Fagin, p. 112. 28Chapin, p. 78. 29Kent, p. xii. 54 policy—making authority in municipal government. . . . It is upon this concept that I base my definition of the primary uses of the general plan. . . . The city planning commission in this concept are advisory to the council and the professional staff are advisory to the commis— sion. The director presents the recommendations of the commission to the council. The general plan concept outlined in this book is based on the premise that the city- planning process should be designed to involve directly and continuously the city council and the city-planning commission and not just the city-planning staff and the chief executive.30 Continuing the line of reasoning that results in increased involvement on the part of the legislative bodies and a simplifying or at least a limiting of the amount of detail in the contents of the general plan, we see an increased emphasis on the policies contained in it. In describing this limiting of the content of the general plan Kent states: The general plan is not a program. It states the desired ends but does not specify the means for achieving them. Thus it should not include schedules, priorities, or past estimates . . . it should not be inhibited by short-term practical considerations.31 Kent maintains that the general plan should contain only four things; goals, proposals, standards, and principles. From these should emerge policies. He goes on to define policy in the following terms: Policies are the most important ingredients of the general plan. Appolicy is a generalized 3()I-bj..d.o, p. 16. 31Ibid., p. 21. 55 gpide to conduct which although subject to modifi- cation does imply commitment. In view of the quality of implying commitment implicit in a policy and the Jeffersonian view of the responsibility of government to the people it naturally follows that the council as the most representative legislative body in municipal government should have sole responsibility for final determination of policy. Kent's whole approach to the general plan is based on this orientation and is explained in the following statements: . . . the city council should be the principle client of the general plan, . . . the plan should be prepared for active use by the council. This belief follows from my belief that city planning is primarily a policy-making activity of the city council. . . . The general plan, thus, should be conceived of primarily as a legislative—policy instrument, . . . . . . the general plan should contain the policies of the council. If the council finds that it disagrees with the plan, it should change the plan.32 Two other authors who have written on the importance of policies in planning but have given the subject a slightly different emphasis are Henry Fagin and F. Stuart Chapin. Fagin, 1959, described what he referred to as a policies plan as a concept to bring together the physical plans, financial planning, and government activity programs. It was to be a unified document expressing the general 33 goals, specific plans, and programs for urban changes. 32Ibid., p. 23. 33Fagin, p. 23. 56 In 1963 Chapin developed the idea further when he described an urban development policies instrument as being the next step beyond the general plan. This was to be somewhat like a policies plan with the policies to be consistent and growing out of the general plan. It would replace the informal understandings between various agencies by formal agreements relating to the proper balance of government activity dealing with all areas of physical, social, and economic development. It would also take into account the timing of such governmental actions. It would recognize the general growth stages identified in the plan and 34 coordinate the policies with them. Planning Process is Emphasized Another interesting development in thinking which has taken place within the past ten years is not so much a change in process as it is a shift in point of view. This is the view of looking at the goals of the plan and the community not in terms of static ends, but rather as 223- directions. Robert Mitchell reflects this point of view when in describing the emerging features of metropolitan planning he states: Planning will program change. They will start with present conditions and point the direction and rate of change. . . . The planning process thus becomes time oriented in three ways: a) it is continuous without termination in a final plan; b) it seeks to effect and make use of change, rather than to picture a static future 3LfChapin, pp. 80—82. 57 condition; and c) it is expressed partly in long— range and short-range programs of action to be taken, and in capital and other resources to be utilized. Mitchell is moving away from the emphasis on the plan in his writing and putting a heavy emphasis on the act of planning. In so doing he is allowing for the inclusion of plans at many levels from the most general to the very specific within the general plan. As a result of this the concept of the general plan tends to lose its limits and to include some implementation measures as follows: An urban renewal program will obviously be part of the master plan, consisting of two major parts: the long-range urban renewal strategy of the city; and the short-range plans and programs covering a six to ten year period . . . . The most important thing, I believe, is that we are planning for or charting a development process rather than a static future state . . . . 35 The notion of planning as a process noted above has attracted a good deal of attention among planners. That it should be a continuous process is particularly stressed both by the larger planning staffs and by those concerned with developing continuity in the planning programs of smaller communities. This is an atempt to keep the plan from becoming static and as a result falling into disuse. Among the authors who have particularly stressed the process theme is F. Stuart Chapin, who noted in his book, Urban Land Use Planning, that: 35Robert B. Mitchell, "The New Frontier in Metropolitan Planning," Journal of Americgn Institute of Planners, Vol. 27:3 (August, 1961), pp. 171-175. 58 . . . city planning is viewed as a process--a series of evolutionary and rationally organized steps which lead to proposals for guided urban growth and development. He went on to explain one of the greatest reasons for this emphasis as follows: . . . as conditions alter the applicability of earlier findings and proposals, policies and plans are reviewed and often modified. This explains the emphasis in the field on planning rather than on plans.3 The notion of process is closely involved in some of the current efforts to formulate an overall theory of planning. The article by Davidoff and Reiner proposing what they termed as a choice theory was based on the concept of process. They noted at one point that: . . . the planner engages in choice of three fundamental levels. These jointly constitute the process of planning. They are: value formulation, means identification, and effectuation.i7 In a commentary on this article John Dakin was even more closely involved with the process of planning. He wrote the following: Because of the importance in planning of the fourth dimension—-time-—it would seem possible to attempt a theory based on the notion of process. . . . Such a theory would not stress action as much as the relation between succeeding actions--the ways in which actions grow out of one another, and preceding actions helps to determine succeeding action: a theory of becoming. 36F. Stuart Chapin, Jr., Urban Land Use Planning (New York: Harper Brothers, 1959), pp. 267, 273. 37Paul Davidoff and Thomas A. Reiner, "A Choice Theory of Planning," Journal of American Institute of Elanners, 28:2 (May, 1962), p. 106. 59 He further described this approach as: . . . a theory of process, based on the idea that planning is essentially dynamic and not static and is a part of the on-going social process.38 The emphasis on the planning process while an important development in the planning concept is not accepted without definite reservations by many planners. The feeling has been expressed by several authors that the heavy emphasis on process has been to the detriment of the plans produced. Part of this reaction is due to the difficulty of selling a community on the idea of planning without the physically tangible entity of a plan to refer to. It is much easier to understand the idea of a plan than it is the idea of planning. After explaining the reason for the increasing emphasis on the planning process as was noted above, Chapin gives this statement on the value of the plan itself: . . . to have utility, planning must produce some tangible and concrete results in the form of plans, in this case a land use or land de- velopment p1an.39 In a traditional view of planning in Local P1anning_Adminis- tration published by the International City Manager's Association, Chapin's view is reinforced by the following statement relating to the proper function of city planning: 38John Dakin, "An Evaluation of the 'Choice' Theory of Planning," Journal of American Institute of Planners, 29:1, (February, 1963), p. 26. 39 Chapin, Urban Land Use Planning, p. 371. 60 The basic function of city planning is to prepare a general plan for the future development of the community and then to take the proper steps to bring the plan to realization. 0 A much more outspoken criticism of the emphasis on process is given by Eldridge Lovelace. He maintains that the various other functions and areas of emphasis that planners are pursuing are diluting their effectiveness in dealing with the plan. In explaining this position he states: We put ourselves in this valley of frustration by emphasizing the wrong thing. The emphasis should be on the city p1an-—not planning or the planning commission or the planner. The planners' and the planning commissions' proper place in the hierarchy of municipal development is found only when they are the authors and guardians of the city's PLAN and when the PLAN is the recognized and accepted guide for all improvements—-both public and private . . . . The first job of the city planning commission and the city planner is to prepare and secure the recognition and adoption of an official city plan. The only other job is to secure the carrying out of the p1an.4l A Hierarchy of Plans Proposed Another question which has continued to receive a good share of attention since Meyerson's proposal is that of planning at various levels of detail. These proposals have a fairly large amount of support because of their quality of offering detailed, concrete plans for immediate 40Mary McLean, "Scope and Methods of City Planning," Local Planning Administration, Mary McLean, ed. (Chicago: The International City Managers Assoc., Third ed., 1959), p. 90 alEldridge Lovelace, "You Can't Have Planning Without a Plan," Journal of the American Institute of Planners, Vol. 24:1 (Winter, 1958), p. 7. 61 projects while still maintaining the long-range general plan concept. Chapin was referring to this type of opera- tion when he wrote: . . . there has been a tendency for the general plan to be set forth in three levels of detail. First, there is the 'horizon' concept of urban expansion in the larger region usually expressed in a very generalized pattern as a 'goal form' for growth and development. . . . Second, there is the tradi— tional version of the p1an—-a coordinated set of proposals for development over a 20- to 25-year period, with its recommended general priority schedule, financial program, and various actions needed in effectuating the plan. . . . The third concept involved in the general plan is the short- term, often five-year, scheme, essentially a first stage of the 20-year plan which becomes the basis for the capital budget of the governing body.l12 Robert Hoover expanded on this theme by proposing a kind of hierarchy of plans. The most general of these was to be an Advisory Direction-Finding Statement and accompany- ing general policies. In his proposal these were to be prepared by a nine-member board somewhat like a planning commission but with overlapping ten—year terms. The direction-finding statement was to deal with goals and objectives and be forward looking for 25 years into the future. The chief executive with the help of his planning staff was to prepare a middle range plan for ten years into the future. This plan dealing with physical development and public services would result in more concrete proposals for action. This was to be followed by a five year Legislative Policy Statement for Metropolitan Growth which 42Chapin, "Taking Stock . . .," p. 79. 62 would embody that part of the executive mid-range plan that was acceptable to the legislative body. This five year program would contain a forward program budget, a physical capital budget, and a physical development and control ordinance. The ideal state of a system of this type would result where the following was true: At no point was the judgement of the prior body imposed upon the one to follow. Each plan relied upon the basic appeal of the soundness of its proposals . . . for its survival.43 Another scheme using the idea of several levels of detail but with a much different basis of power was proposed by Edmund Bacon. He envisions the planning process as circular, leading from the comprehensive plan through successively greater detailed steps of the functional plan, area plan, project plan, architectural image, the money entity, to the capital program and into actual effect, the result of this leading back again to the comprehensive plan. This is a formal description of the ways in which planning should actually operate. He describes the first three levels as follows: I. The Comprehensive Plan; deeply rooted in an understanding of the community, based on both experience and research, sets forth an interrelated, sensitively balanced range of community objectives. 3Robert C. Hoover, "0n Master Plans and Constitu— tions," Journal of the American Institute of Planners, Vol. 26:1 (February, 1960), pp. 14—22. 44Edmund N. Bacon, "Urban Design as a Force in Comprehensive Planning," Journal of the American Institute of Planners, Vol. 29:1 (February, 1963), p. 2. 63 II. The Functional Plan; sets forth the physical organization, on a regional basis of a manageable number of factors in their primary relation with each other. III. The Area Plan; sets forth for a limited geographical section of the city, the three- dimensional relationships between the full range of physical factors, correlated with the functional plan which bear on the problems to be solved in the area in order to achieve comprehensive plan objectives. Once again returning to the abstractions used by Dillon in describing the changes in the comprehensive planning concept over time, we find that he noted the changes in the period from 1956 to the present as follows: 1. Purpose or Use: a) Use by all but primarily for coordination and statement of community goals. 2. Content: No major changes. 3. Emphasis: a) Hierarchy of plans with the comprehensive plan giving overall guidance. b) Plan's value is in presenting goals, in showing interrelationships of functional, time, and spatial components of development. 0) Goals should represent directions and desirable roles of change, not ends. A Contemporary Definition of the Comprehensive Plan At this point an attempt should be made to synthesize a contemporary definition of the terms Compre— hensive Plan and Comprehensive Planning. There have been several statements made by a variety of authors which present all or part of a definition of these terms. One 45Dillon, p. 78. 45 64 of the better definitions of the term comprehensive planning was given by Melville Branch in 1959: Briefly, the single word planning is a generic term referring to any activity which contributes to the establishment of objectives for the future and their attainment over time. Physical planning is concerned primarily with the characteristics and arrangement of three-dimensional features on the land. Functionalgplanning focuses on a particular aspect of the total problem. Comprehensive planning is the continued establishment of objectives of an institutional or organizational entity as a whole and the direction of its affairs so as to maximize the attainment of these goals. Another very complete general definition of comprehensive planning was given by Robert Hoover in which he describes the areas with which planning deals: Comprehensive planning is the prearrangement for the utilization of the community's physical resources and its energy resources or public service programs, in the dimensions of space and time. It is comprehensive with respect to the things with which it deals--capita1 improvement of plant, fixed physical objects, and expendable materials. It is comprehensive in terms of the community's energy resources including long-term programs of public service such as education, welfare, health, social service, recreation, etc. It is comprehensive in the dimensions of its coverage-—height, depth, breadth, and time.47 The above statements while showing the direction of concern and the areas in very general terms, are almost too general in nature to be of much use in formulating a pragmatic instrument. A much more specific definition was 46 Melville C. Branch, Jr., "Comprehensive Planning: A New Field of Study," Journal_pf AmericanInstitute of Planners, Vol. 25:3 (August, 1959), p. 115. 47 Hoover, p. 8. 65 presented by Chapin in the preface of his book Urban Land Use Planning: City planning may be regarded as a means for systematically anticipating and achieving adjustment in the physical environment of a city consistent with social and economic trends and sound principles of civic design. It involves a continuing process of deriving, organizing and presenting a broad and comprehensive program for urban development and renewal. It is designed to fulfill local objectives of social, economic, and physical well-being, considering both immediate needs and those of the foreseeable future. It examines the economic basis for an urban center existing in the first place; it investigates its cultural, political, economic, and physical characteristics both as an independent entity and as a component of a whole cluster of urban centers in a given region; and it attempts to design a physical environment which brings these elements into the soundest and most harmonious plan for the development and renewal of the urban area as a whole. The above definition, published in 1957, while recognizing the importance of goals and objectives in the plan, gives heavy emphasis to the physical design. The following definition by Henry Fagin which was published in 1959 while still recognizing the importance of design gives a stronger emphasis to the role of the planner in goal formation: Five Functions of Planning: 1) Research and Information. The gathering and analyzing and reporting of facts is a basic planning function. 2) General Goal Formation. Involves interaction of three groups: a) the public and voluntary organizations. b) government as embodied in the elected representatives. 48 Chapin, Urban Land Use Plannipg, p. xiv. 49Fagin, p. 109. 66 c) progressional and technical aides who staff urban planning offices. 3) Specific Plan Making. This is the pivotal function of a planning office. 4) Coordination among the various functions, departments, projects, etc. 5) Assistance and Advice. Two of the more recent writings on the general plan have given even more stress to the function of goal forma- tion than did Fagin. One of these is the statement below by Davidoff and Reiner: The function we see for the master plan is to set forth basic, accepted policies, the goals and criteria of the government. The master plan need not contain details of programs derived during the means—identification stage. But it must include the criteria necessary to control exercise of administrative discretion. Another definition which contains a heavy emphasis on goals and particularly their relation to policies is in Kent's The Urban General Plan: The general plan is the official statement of a municipal legislative body which sets forth its major policies concerning desirable future physical development; the published general plan document must contain a single unified, general physical design for the community and it must attempt to clarify the relationships between physical development policies and social and economic goals.5l The most important points of the many definitions available of the plan and planning were combined by Donald Dillon into a contemporary definition of the Comprehensive Plan Concept. His definition, which reflects the most SODavidoff and Reiner, p. 113. 51Kent, p. 18. 67 prevalent current thinking on the comprehensive plan, follows: The comprehensive plan is a flexible, long-range (20-25 years), advisory instrument expressing community goals and objectives for its growth and development and illustrating the functions, time, and spatial relationships of the components of urban development. Goals are directional and express rates of change rather than final ends. The comprehensive plan is a guide and coordinator for the preparation of middle and short—range plans and effectuating programs. The plan contains data for all major features affecting development including physiographic, economic, social, and cultural components of the community. It is used by planners for making detailed plans, by officials and administrators for preparing and administering effectuation measures, and by the public as a vehicle for reacting to statements of goals and broad planning proposals.52 This definition expresses well my own conception of the comprehensive plan. One of the areas that has been referred to several times in the chapter which is not adequately explained in the Dillon definition is that of focus of the plan or as Kent put it, the primary client of the plan. As has been noted, various authors have presented differing viewpoints of the proper focus of the plan which are naturally colored by their own particular orientation and experience. What seems to be needed here is a concept of flexibility in focus. The particular solution selected should be dependent on the situation found in a specific community. The most logical focus for the comprehensive plan is the municipal council which is the repository of 5213111011, p. 770 68 representative decision making and power in the local community. This statement is in line with the view of the plan as an instrument expressing current development policy and guiding future policy. However the validity of the citizen commission as the body responsible for the production of the plan remains intact. The members of this body responsible for the production of the plan remains intact. The members of this body through their personal influence can be an effective force in transmitting an understanding of the planning process to other segments of the community. It is an inescapable fact that the planning opera— tion will be involved in the political structure of the community. It will be part of the planner's job to secure the active involvement of the community decision-makers in the process of planning. If the planner has a sound under— standing of the decision making process of the community, he will be in a stronger position to promote an under- standing of the planning process by the community leaders. In the February 1964 issue of the A.I.P. Journal, Lawrence Mann presented an extensive review of the writing that has been done on the decision making process and community power structure. He points out the various prevailing theories of decision making process and how they may be 53 used by the planner to better understand his position. 53Lawrence D. Mann, "Studies in Decision Making," Journal of the American Institute of Planners, Vol. 30:1 TFebruary 1964), pp. 58-65. 69 One of the problems which result from the separation of the plan making function from the legislative is a lack of understanding by the council of the work of the commis- sion. One means of drawing the two bodies closer together would be to have a voting member of the council serve as a full voting member of the commission. This would be in addition to the chief executive who is already often an ex—officio member of the commission. The importance of the chief executive being thoroughly involved in the planning process cannot be overstressed. It is his responsibility to initiate and supervise the actions that will carry out the purposes and policies of the plan. If he is thoroughly committed to the plan and the planning process, the implementation measures will have a much better chance of becoming reality and the planning process a better chance of continuing. The final concern with the Comprehensive Plan Concept deal with the content of the plan. This has been mentioned in many places in this chapter and will be dealt with in more detail in the next. It should contain major sections on (1) background, content, inventory and analysis including projections and trends; (2) community goals and objectives; (3) plans, and (4) suggested implementation measures and courses of action. The inventory section should cover the physical, social, and cultural factors of the community, including such things as land use, popula- tion, physical characteristics, community facilities and 70 services, economy, and circulation. The plan should explain the relationships between plans and objectives. It should give guidance sufficient for decisions to be made by the council. The following outline of the general plan by Kent contains much the same material as is listed 54 above: The Urban General Plan Introduction: Reasons for the General Plan; Roles of council, planning commission, citizens; Historical background and content of plan. Summary of General Plan: Unified statement including a7 basic policies, b) major pro- posals, and 0) one schematic drawing of the physical design. Basic Policies: 1. Context of the General Plan: (facts, trends, assumptions, forecasts) Historical background; geographical and physical factors; social and economic factors; major issues, problems, opportunities. 2. Social Objectives and Urban Physical- Structure Concepts: Value judgements concerning social objectives; professional judgements concerning major physical- structure concepts adopted as basis for General Plan. - 3. Basic Policies for the General Plan: Discussion of the basic policies that the physical design is intended to implement. General Physical Design: Description of plan proposals in relation to large-scale General Plan drawing and city—wide drawings of: 1. Working-and-Living areas section. 2. Community Facilities section. 3. Civic—design section. 4. Circulation section. 5. Utilities section. These drawings must remain general. They are needed because the single General Plan drawing is too complex to enable each element to be clearly seen. 5liKent, p. 93. 71 The question of degree of involvement in the planning process is not included in these descriptions of the plan content. Whether a section of the plan should be devoted to this question is still unresolved at this point. It is increasingly evident to planning on the part of city council, and even the great deal and the chances becoming reality vary with of involvement is included that the degree of committment the community decision-makers, planning commission varies a of the various plan proposals it. Whether or not the question in any documents produced in the planning program, it must be dealt with in some way by the planner. The area of involvement may well turn out to be the one most critical factor in the planning process. CHAPTER III CURRENT METHODS OF EVALUATING THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN One of the primary reasons for the establishment of the federal aid program for city planning, as was pointed out in the first chapter was to protect the investment of the Federal government in our cities. The same concern for the Federal investment has influenced the administration of the 701 program. States Repponsible for Quality of 701 Planning Work As the program has been set up, the States, through their designated agencies, are responsible for the local planning aided by the Federal government. Under this arrangement the State agency has a contract with the Federal government agreeing to provide an acceptable planning program for the local municipality which will be paid for in part by a Federal grant. The federal grants will usually amount to two-thirds of the project cost with the remaining one-third to be made up by either the State or the local community or a combination of the two. The State also has a contract with the local community in which the local community agrees to pay a share of the project cost. The State may actually conduct the studies and produce the comprehensive plan itself or it may through a 72 73 third party contract engage a consultant to produce the plan. The States of Arkansas, North Carolina, and Rhode Island maintain staffs to do the planning while Michigan, New Hampshire and Ohio subcontract this work to planning consultants. In either case the State is responsible for the quality of the planning work produced. In the case of states who do their own planning the control of the quality of work is a question of administration. They have direct and continuous control and can set their standards of quality through administrative action. However in the case of those states working through consultants, the planning work is one more step removed from direct control and other means must be found to regulate quality. The power to regulate is retained by the States as is illustrated by the following excerpt from a third party contract from the New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development, the 701 agency of New Hampshire: The consulting firm shall do, perform and carry out, in a satisfactory and proper manner, as determined by the State the following: (Following this phrase the specific contract work items were listed).1 The contract form used by the State of Michigan has a similar charge in the article on consultants services and responsibilities: 1State of New Hampshire, Depappment of Resources and Economic Develppment, Division of Economic Development, Upban Planning Assistance Program. Phrase taken from page one of standard third party consultant contract form used during 1964. 74 Prior to final printing of reports on any contract work item specified in this contract, the consultant shall provide copies of all such reports in preliminary or interim form to the Municipality's Planning Commission and to the Department for review and approval. After such preliminary planning reports have been approved by the municipalities planning commission and the Department the consultant shall prepare and complete the reports in final form. (Emphasis added)2 Qualifications of Planning Consultants One means of control that is used by all states involved with the 701 program is through specifying the qualifications of the planners. Although many states leave the selection of a particular consultant to the local community, they demand that the planner in charge of the project have at least a minimum degree of profes— sional training and experience. A good example of these requirements is the professional competency standards for planning contractors used by the State of Michigan. These standards present the minimum qualifications for the planner-in-charge of any planning project financed through the 701 program. Excerpts from the standards follow: Competencnytandards: The minimum experience and educational requirements of the individual in charge of any comprehensive planning project shall be as follows: A. Professional Experience: 1. Eight (8) years of professional planning work involving the preparation of State of Michigan, Department of Economic Expansion, Egban Planning Assistance Project Contract, standard contract form between the State, Municipality, and the Cansultant, Article I, Item 12, p. 3, October, 1965. 75 comprehensive community plans for municipal, county, regional and metropolitan areas. 2. Six (6) of the above must be in such planning work as a principal source of income. 3. Not less than four (4) of the above eight (8) must have been spent in A) responsible charge of the formulation of, or B) directing the work of others in the prepara- tion of or in the active effectuation of comprehensive community plans, or C7 the major portions thereof, for municipal, county, regional and metropolitan areas. B. Education: One only, of the following educa— tional degrees may be substituted for a portion of the required experience on the following basis: 1. An undergraduate or graduate degree in p1anning--2 years. 2. An undergraduate or graduate degree in a related field—-1 year.3 It should be noted that the above standards were prepared prior to the instructions on standards being issued by the HHFA office and are somewhat more stringent than found in other states. They were intended to apply to the planner in charge of each specific planning project but this has been relaxed slightly in practice. They are applied to the firm which contracts with the State. As long as the planner responsible in the contract meets these requirements, it is usually felt sufficient. The qualifica- tions of those working under him are not checked closely. Problems of Measuring Planning Quality To have any meaningful control of quality requires the existence of some means of measuring that quality. 3Michigan Department of Economic Expansion, Planning Division, Professional Competency Standards for Planning COITtractors4(mimeograph, March, 1964). 76 There is a need for a set of standards or criteria or at least guide lines with which to compare the actual planning function. Attempts to construct criteria for planning have been hindered by the nature of the plan and the planning process. As was pointed out in Chapter II, a primary task of the planner was to determine the goals and objectives of the community. Objectives are difficult to measure because of the variety of interpretations given them. The dif- ficulty in measuring of this type was well illustrated by George Monaghan in his study of the functions and achieve- ment of city planning agencies}t In this study he defined 'Adequacy' as the degree of attainment of results, an absolute measure of accomplishment. He had defined 'Result' as the effect of performance in accomplishing objectives, which may themselves be either single or multiple and difficult to define. It can be seen that we are attempting in some way to relate an absolute measure to final objectives that may be impossible to quantify in an absolute sense with any degree of assurance. Another area of difficulty pointed out by Monaghan was the dependence of an adequacy measurement on prior need in the community. In his conclusion he wrote: As this thesis was originally contemplated, it was intended to create an instrument to measure George J. Monaghan, The Functions and Achievement of City Planning Agencies: The Development of a Question- naire (Unpublished Thesis, M.C.P. Department of City and Regional Planning, Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1960), p. 23. 77 planning agency adequacy. Further research pointed out, however, that adequacy depends on the existing service needs in any situation. The lack of informa- tion about the need for planning in individual cities constitute the major obstacle to eventual adequacy measurement.5 Some of the features of a community that could possibly be used to indicate need might be population growth, size and complexity of the municipal budget, building or subdivision activity. Monaghan noted that the usefulness and appli- cability of an adequacy measurement is limited by the need index and its applicability. Another way of looking at the need index would be to compare two hypothetical communities, one with a long history of planning and the other with virtually none. In the first community a program that did not result in a regularly updated plan, full administrative support, capital budget, and complete set of development controls might be termed unsuccessful, while in the second city, the one with no prior planning, a program lacking all of these items, might be termed a success if it resulted in the council and administration adopting an attitude of planning for more than just the immediate future. The wide divergence of need in various cities is only one facet of the problems posed in creating an evalua- tion instrument. Another area of concern was indicated by much of the material of Chapter II. This is the shifting 51bido, p. 12]... 6Ibid., p. 68. .‘xy gel) .. w" NV‘ 5:! k; u 78 concept of the comprehensive plan itself. A noted planning consultant, Herbert H. Smith, made the following comments on this problem: States have the job of passing on the adequacy of performance without uniform standards of perform- ance. When the job is that of determining per— formance in a still nebulous field, the task becomes even more of a strain. . . . It comes down to determining the minimal acceptability rather than a measurement of true quality--a somewhat less than satisfactory approach. The measuring of the success of a program poses even greater problems. This takes the measurer into the areas of decision-making, administration and community enthusiasm. In regard to the above Dillon gave the following opinion: It was found, that in addition to the difficulty of devising a standard for current results from a long-range plan, results are dependent as much or more on implementation than on the Plan itself so this method would not give a true measure of plan quality.8 The factors that affect implementation are often beyond the influence of the planner. However the question of develop- ing an understanding and enthusiasm for planning within the community is often the direct result of the job that the planner has done. The need for a planner to stimulate community morale is seen in a statement by Fred Bair: 7Herbert H. Smith, "The Planning Consultant Looks at '701'," UrbanvProblems and Techniques No. 1, Perry L. Norton, Ed. (San Francisco: Chandler—Davis Publishing Co., 1959), Po 169. 8Donald L. Dillon, An Investigation of the Compre— hensive Plan as a Tool for the 701 Urban Planning Assistance Program (Unpublished Thesis, M.U.P. Univ. of Washington, Seattle, June 1964), p. 26. 79 With it, in most small cities, almost any program will work. Without it, the most workable program, gets nowhere.9 The planner can do a good deal to educate and stimulate but he can not do the whole job. There must be a certain amount of community interest and support before the planner can be successful. Use of the Contract as a Check List Because of the difficulties involved in attempting to evaluate planning programs in terms of results, most of the 701 programs have been evaluated on the basis of the reports produced. The methods used have varied widely in their applicability and comprehensiveness. The basic method used has been to simply compare the studies, reports, and materials produced with the third-party contract to determine whether the consultant has fulfilled the terms agreed upon. In its most simple form this method amounts to using the work items listed in the contract as a check list and checking off the items as they are completed by the consultant and forwarded to the 701 administering department. The method as described above was the one used in New Hampshire during 1964. The various reports called for in the contract were reviewed by members of the staff and usually accepted. On rare occasions the consultant was asked to resubmit a report because of some major 9Smith, p. 174. 80 shortcoming. This evaluation done by the staff was almost entirely subjective in nature as there was no specific standard used. In most cases there was a heavy reliance on the professional competence and integrity of the consultants. In the few cases where the reports were not approved by the staff, the reasons were not that they had not fulfilled the work item in the contract but that the study and report were, in the judgement of the State Department staff member, not of "professional" quality by virtue of being incomplete or inconsistent with data presented or other shortcomings. The reason for this was that usually the contract work item was specified in general enough terms to permit the consultant a certain amount of freedom to treat it in his own way. However this also would permit incomplete reports to be presented by a consultant which would technically fulfill the contract work item. However as was pointed out in the New Hampshire example, the consultant, by signing the contract agrees to produce a comprehensive plan to a quality acceptable to the state. Proposed Plan Review Procedure for Ohio The need for some common standards and a more objective means of evaluating reports is recognized by most members of staffs administering 701 programs. Several attempts have been made to develop some methods of more objective evaluation. One of the more recent of these was prepared for the 701 agency of the State of Ohio, the Local Planning Bureau of the Department of Development, by 81 W. Raymond Mills and Israel Stollman.10 This report was intended as a guide to assist the State in setting up a procedure for reviewing the planning work submitted to it under the 701 local planning assistance program. The Report attempts to provide criteria for answering the following question: Does the planning work fulfill the requirements of a contract sufficiently to be judged a professionally competent piece of work? It does not attempt to deal with the question of excellence of planning work. Although it was felt by some members of the Ohio 701 staff that the report does not present anything that they did not know already, it does make several valid points. One of these is in relation to the qualifications of the staff member who will do the reviewing: The Departments responsibility of passing upon professional quality implies a third point: that the reviewer will himself be a professional planner.11 It is only by drawing on his professional experience and skills that he can adequately evaluate the work presented. The Mills-Stollman report shows the review process as involving three levels of evaluation, each succeeding level requiring a higher level of professional qualifica- tion of the reviewer. At the first level, the reviewer 10W. Raymond Mills and Israel Stollman, Development of Criteria for Professional Review of City and Regional Planning Work Performed in Ohio Under the Local Planning Assistance Program '701' (mimeograph report, March lb, 1965). 11Ibid., p. 8. 82 determines whether or not the items called for in the work program have been provided. This is the only part of the procedure that is subject to the use of a check list. He also determines whether or not the objectives of the report and those of the community have been clearly stated. At the second level the reviewer checks for clarity in the documents and graphics presented. The third level involves an evaluation of the internal consistency of the documents and reports and of the total program of which they are a part. The areas listed in the report to be evaluated are the following:12 (1) Fulfillment of the work program; (2) Clarity of expression in written and graphic documents; 3 Explicit statement of community objectives; ( ) (4) Logical connections among the parts of each study; (5) Relevance of planning analyses to community objectives; (6) Adequacy of planning solutions. The first and third items of the above list were the only ones that would be evaluated at what Mills and Stollman referred to as the first level of review. At another level the third and sixth items are only indirectly subject to review. The legitimacy of the community objectives presented must be passed on by the community itself as the reviewer has no way of determining this. The question of the adequacy of the planning solutions can only be 12Ibid., p. 4. 83 indirectly evaluated for consistency with the rest of the material presented. Without duplicating the work done by the consultant, the reviewer could not judge the merit of a particular solution. Even if he were to duplicate this effort there is no assurance that he would achieve the same result or any way of saying that another solution would be more valid if they were both backed up by adequate supporting material. In short, the reviewer should not in his review procedure question the professional judgement of the consultant in the planning solution selected. However he may criticize a solution that is not logically supported by the other reports and material in the program. In relation to this the Mills—Stollman report made the following statement: In summary, the desk reviewer in Columbus can deal with matters related to the explicitness and internal consistency within the document being reviewed but he is in no position to determine how adequately the planning document relates to the community it is supposed to serve.1 The Mills—Stollman report presented a series of questions to aid in the evaluation of planning work. They stated that the list was only suggestive and illustrative and in no way could be considered a checklist. They specifically reject the use of a checklist because it only indicates the presence or absence of an item and says nothing of its quality: lBIbido, p. 180 84 First, the checklist asks the wrong question. It asks what topic was discussed and not how well was it discussed. Secondly, a checklist approach sets a low standard of acceptable work--low because it is mechanical and quantita- tive--and would tend to push the results down to the low standard. . . . Thirdly, the checklist implies that there is great enough uniformity among the communities of Ohio to allow develop— ment of uniform contents in planning reports.1 The questions listed are presented to define by example what is pertinent to ask in judging the professional quality of planning work. They are presented under the following headings: (1) For all studies; (2) For economic study and development program; (3) Population study; (4) Neighborhood analysis; (5) Land use study and preliminary plan; (6) Utilities study and preliminary plan; (7) Traffic and transportation study and preliminary plan; (8) Community facilities study and preliminary plan; (9) Natural resources study and preliminary plan; (10) Compre— hensive General Plan; (11) Capital improvement program and budget; and (12) The zoning ordinance of subdivision regulations. All of the questions listed under the various headings above deal with the question of professional quality. They all answer in part the general question; is it clear, logical, and relevant? The questions under the first two headings are illustrative of those of the entire list:15 lqlbido, p. 25. 15Ibid., p. 27. 85 Standards of performance to be looked for and questions that may be asked of planning studies to be reviewed are: 1. For All Studies 57’ Explicit statement of community goals related to the study. b) Source of community goals identified. c) Purposes and problems identified with clarity. d) Relevance of statistical data or other information to purposes of study. e) Is there a statement of next steps needed to implement the plan or to pursue the study conclusions? f) Does the study or plan include a defini- tion of its own limitations? (Why it is preliminary, shortcomings of data or analysis, ways in which it is not compre- hensive). 2. For Economic Study and Development Program a)? Does the study give a clear indication of the current state of health of the local economy? Are the major industries expanding, contracting, or maintaining constant employment? b) Does the study analyze why the economy is expanding or contracting? 0) Does the study describe the factors which are expected to influence the future growth of the city? d) Is the development program reasonable in the light of the experience of other communities similarly situated? e) Is the basis of the employment or economic projection clearly stated? The list of questions under each heading was not intended to be exhaustive nor were the headings themselves. Rather, they indicate the kind of information the reviewer should find in an adequate professional planning report. As of September 1965 the procedure recommended in the Mills- Stollman report had not been adopted. Michigan Evaluation of Project Documents A somewhat similar procedure has been in use by the Michigan Department of Economic Expansion in the 86 evaluation of planning work done under the 701 program. They include in their project completion report forms a section on "evaluation of Project Documents." In the evaluation procedure each map and report is rated on a series of criteria under headings of presentation and planning considerations. A condensation of this section of the completion 16 report form follows, showing the list of items rated: D. Evaluation of Project Documents This section is a critical appraisal of the materials submitted in fulfillment of the Urban Planning Assistance contract. Each report, map, and plan has been thoroughly reviewed and rated according to general criteria pertaining to effectiveness of presentation and professional services. Its intent is to offer fair and constructive criticism and promote a questioning attitude and creativity in subsequent planning work. The ratings are: Excellent-—5; Very Good-— 4; Good--3; Fair--2; and Poor--l. 1. Presentation: a. Presentability, format and neatness. b. Correct grammar, punctuation, capitalization, spelling, etc. c. Continuity in presentation of ideas and data. d. Clarity and detail for use of the layman. e. Mapping presentation. Basic data required 1. Title 2. Date 3. Agency producing map . Scale . North arrow Legibility Correlation with text 701 assist. statement . Complete legend «DahdcfimrP O Michigan Department of Economic Expansion, Planning Division, Project Completion Report, Evaluation CheCk LiSto 87 f. Use and effectiveness of diagrams, tables, and illustrations. g. Use of a summary section, presenting a brief analysis of the report. 2. Planning Considerations: a. Relation to previous planning work. b. Delineation and/or description of the planning area. c. Evidence of coordination with surrounding community or regional planning programs. d. Use of a logical planning approach; objectives, data collection, analysis, conclusions, recommendations. e. Acknowledgment of current problems and programs to attain community objectives. f. Clear statements of planning "principles" and "standards" and their sources. g. Acknowledgment of allied professional services and sources of data used. h. Evidence of original research where primary sources are inadequate. i. Reliability and accuracy in use of data. j. Logical development of planning projections and methodology. k. Pertinency of the data used to the actual planning study. When this checklist was originally developed it was intended that all projects would be evaluated using it. It has been found through usage that it was not necessary to continue to evaluate the work of a particular planning firm after the first or second project had been completed as they tend to follow the same format, and pattern. However the complete format is used to evaluate certain work that is of question- able quality in the minds of the reviewing staff member or that produced by firms who have not previously handled 701 projects in Michigan. It should be noted that the ratings for each item rated are totaled and divided by the number of items giving an average score. This permits each report 88 to be rated on the same scale with only those items pertinent to it scored. There is no attempt to list the specific studies that should be included for all communities. The work programs for each project are drawn up individually and the contracts written to include the work program agreed upon by the Department and the consultant. Dillon Comprehensive Plan Quality Standard In his study of the comprehensive plan, Donald Dillon included a similar listing of items to be evaluated. However following his establishing a definition of the comprehensive plan, as pointed out in Chapter II, he developed a scoring system covering the items of a work program consistent with his definition. His comprehensive plan quality standard rated plans on appearance, inventory and analysis, inclusion and specificity of goals and objectives, and completeness and continuity of plans. He used a scoring system that would give more weight to the areas he considered more important with a maximum total of . 17 one hundred p01nts: Comprehensive Planiguality Standard I. Appearance (5 points-—possible maximum) A. Judgement based on use of illustra- tions (5) II. Inventory and Analysis (35 points) A. Land Use (5) 1. Existing land uses (3) 2. Survey of buildings (2) B. Physical Characteristics (2) l. Topography, Soil, drainage (1) 2. Geographic, geologic, climate (1) l7Dillon, p. 90. 89 c. Population (10) 1. Trends and projections (6) 2. Distribution and density (2) 3. Characteristics (2) D. Circulation and Transportation (3) 1. Existing conditions and problems (3) E. Community Facilities and Services (5) 1. Schools (2) 2. Recreation (2) 3. Utilities and other (1) F. Economic Base and Financial Analysis (10) 1. Employment Opportunities (4) 2. Regional Relationships (4) 3. Tax base and municipal fiscal trends (2) III. Community Goals and Objectives (25) A. General (5) B. Housing Goals (7) C. Transportation Goals (7) D. Goals expressed as directions (6) IV. Plans (35) A. Long-Range (20 years or more) (8) B. Land Use (9) 1. Industrial, commercial, residential needs (1) 2. Overall space requirements for land uses (1) 3. Areas designated for different land uses (1) 4. Standards for population density (1) 5. Documentation for standards, policy rationale (2) 6. Relationships between land uses (3) C. Community Facilities (9) 1. Schools and recreation (l) 2. Public Buildings (1) 3. Utilities (1) 4. Documentation for standards, policy rationale (3) 5. Interaction with land use areas (3) D. Transportation (9) 1. Major Streets (2) 2. Documentation for standards, policy rationale (3) 3. Interrelationships of transportation with various land use areas (4) Dillon applied his quality standard to all of the 701 planning programs in the State of Washington that had been completed by the end of 1963. He found that they had a generally low score with mean and median scores of 54.3 and 90 58.0 respectively on a 100 point scale. He found that the appearance of the plan document was usually a good indicator of quality for this study, however there were several exceptions to this. He found the highest scores were in the sections dealing with plan proposals and the lowest scores, indicating the greatest deficiency, in stating community goals. The Dillon study did not include anything beyond the formulation and presentation of the plans them— selves. He did not include sections on implementation or planning continuity in his quality standard. However in his conclusions Dillon made specific mention of this omission as being true also of current practice: It is evident that there is much work that could be done to enhance the chance of success of the 701 program but unfortunately, the effort so far has been concentrated in making plans with little attention to whether or not they are being used. Concern for Continuity Reflected in HHFA Urban Planning Program Guide This situation noted by Dillon has also been a concern of the HHFA office. In its Urban Planning Program Guide, published in 1963, there are several references to the implementation phase of planning programs. The defini- tion of comprehensive planning that is presented reiterates the items that are listed in Section 701 (d) of the Housing Act. Among the activities included in comprehensive 91 planning as defined here, the following relate specifically 19 to implementation of the plan: 2. Programing of capital improvement based on a determination of relative urgency, together with definitive financing plans for the improvements to be constructed in the earlier years of the program. 5. Preparation of regulatory and administrative measures in support of the foregoing activities. The various activities included in the law and presented in the guide as a definition of planning are further spelled out in a list of planning activities that are eligible to be included in a 701 planning project. This listing is proceeded by the following statement of intent:20 Planning work is eligible under the Program if it contributes to the preparation, revision or implementation of a comprehensive development plan for an eligible planning area. Implementa- tion activities include the development of guides, controls, and other administrative measures related to the physical growth and development of the area. The list of eligible planning activities follows: 1. Survey and analysis of data onrnpulation, economy, physiography, land use, transporta- tion, community facilities, and similar factors. 2. Preparation of a Comprehensive Development Plan. Basic to such a plan are: a. Statement of community goals and policies. b. Land use plan. 0. Highway and transportation facilities plan. 19Housing and Home Finance Agency, Urban Renewal Administration, Urban Planning Program Guide (Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C., August, 1963), Section 1-2, p. 1. 20Ibid., Section 2-3, p. l. 92 d. Plan for location and extent of community facilities. 3. Preparation of programs for implementing the Comprehensive Development Plan, including: a. Capital Improvements Program which includes a long-range fiscal plan and a definitive financing plan for the early years of the program. b. Regulatory ordinances for the use and occupancy of land and buildings, including zoning ordinances and subdivision regula- tions. c. Assistance on preparation for local adoption of nationally recognized model housing, building, plumbing, electrical, and fire prevention codes. 4. Coordinating and administrative activities, including: a. Coordination of development plans among the departments or subdivisions of a single level of government. . b. Coordination of development plans among the local, regional, State, and Federal agencies concerned with the Planning Area. c. Public education activities related to the planning program. d. Advisory services on the general adminis— tration of zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, and housing and construction codes. 5. Updating and maintenance of basic data, up- dating of the Capital Improvements Program, and revisions to the Comprehensive Development Plan. The list of eligible items in the past has had a strong influence on what should be included in the plans produced under the 701 program. It is hoped that the present list can have an equally strong influence in directing increased emphasis to the problems of implementation. Comparisons of Three Evaluation Schemes The three systems for the evaluation of planning documents, viewed in this chapter, vary a great deal in their approach and emphasis. On the question of 93 presentation they vary from the Michigan 701 report which allots over one third of its questions to the areas of presentation through the Dillon standard which weights appearance at five percent of the total score to the Mills-Stollman report which disregards this area completely. The approach taken in the Michigan report is defensible on the grounds that this is the level at which the report will be most often criticized by the members of the local community. Proper grammar and spelling and neat and clear graphics reflect professional quality to the persons unfamiliar with planning. A good first impression will encourage their further acceptance of suggestions relative to planning matters. For these reasons it is felt that there should be an evaluation of the presentation. However the real essence of the planning program is not the publica— tion of nice reports but rather the ideas contained in them. For this reason, somewhat less emphasis on presentation than is apparent in the Michigan evaluation would be in order. As has been noted previously in the chapter, the Michigan report is written in general terms so it may be used to evaluate a variety of different types of specific planning studies whereas the Mills-Stollman report and the Dillon Standard have specific sections for each of the parts of a comprehensive planning program. For this reason it is difficult to compare the Michigan evaluation with the other two. However through discussions with personnel in the Michigan 701 office it was found that they use the elements 94 listed in the Urban Planning Program Guide, noted earlier, in writing their contracts for comprehensive plans. It is expected therefore, that the contents of the comprehensive planning reports prepared in Michigan will follow closely those items listed in the Program Guide. It was also noticed that one of the evaluation criteria in the Michigan report rated the plans on: "Use of a logical planning approach; objectives, data collection, analysis, conclusion, recommendations."21 These steps in any planning program are the same as the major categories used by both Dillon and Mills—Stollman in their evaluation schemes. Inventory and analysis is given a large proportion of the total emphasis in both the Mills-Stollman report and the Dillon standard. Dillon gives this section 35 points of a total of 100 while Mills and Stollman devoted over one third of their questions to this area. It is interesting to note that the types of studies included in both of these schemes coincide exactly with those listed as eligible activities of survey and analysis of data in the HHFA Program Guide. Because of this it can be assumed that these same items will be found in the Michigan 701 studies. Of these studies both Dillon and Mills and Stollman indicate the economic base study and the population study as the two most important. Dillon gives each of these studies 10 points of the 35 possible for inventory and 21Michigan, Evaluation Check List, item D2d. 95 analysis. On the basis of points in his scale, the next most important are the land use study and the community facilities and services study, each with 5 points. The circulation and transportation study is next with 3 points and the physical characteristics study follows in importance with 2 points. The Mills-Stollman report gives no weighting of the relative importance of these studies but simply poses pertinent questions that will lead to a judgement of the quality of the report. However it can be inferred from the order in which the questions are presented that they generally agree with the order of importance used by Dillon. The Mills-Stollman report lists first the economic study and then the population study. These are followed by a neighborhood analysis which was not mentioned by Dillon. Then comes the land use study followed by transportation, utilities and community facilities, and finally a natural resources study. All of the studies had questions relating to goals and objectives. Dillon gave 25 of a possible 100 points to this aspect of the plan. He divided these points among the areas of housing, transportation, general, and having goals expressed as directions rather than as ends. The questions asked in the Mills—Stollman report on goals and objectives are much more specific. They are spread in the various sections dealing with the other specific studies or sections of the plan. They ask questions pertaining to the relation of various standards, projections, and land uses to the 96 community goals and objectives and if the general plan reflects a reasonable balance among the community's several objectives. The Michigan evaluation report asks only one question that is directly related to the area of goals and objectives. It asks if there is an acknowledgment of current problems and programs to attain community objec- tives. In so doing it is implied that these objectives will have been determined but there is no specific require- ment that they be clearly stated in the plan. The sections on plans in the three evaluation systems follow the same pattern as was noted for the inventory and analysis sections. The Dillon and the Mills—Stollman reports devote a large segment of the evaluation to this area while the Michigan evaluation presents general questions that could be applied to a variety of specific plans. The Dillon standard allots 35 of its possible 100 points to this area. He gives equal weight of nine points each to the land use community facilities, and transportation plans and eight points for the plans being long range in nature. The same classic set of plans is shown in the headings used in the Mills- Stollman report. Again it is interesting to note that these plan elements coincide exactly with those listed as eligible activities in the HHFA Urban Planning Program Guide. For this reason it can be assumed that the plans produced under the Michigan 701 program will have these same elements in them. 97 The very important area of implementation has been included only in one of the three evaluation schemes, that of Mills and Stollman. They include the question: "Is there a statement of next steps needed to implement the plan or to pursue the study conclusions?" Following the sections of questions on the basic studies and plans, they include sections on the capital improvement program and budget and on the zoning ordinance and subdivision regulations. It is felt that the Dillon standard is seriously lacking in omitting the implementation phrase. It is felt also that the Michigan evaluation could well include some specific items pertaining to implementation of the plan. It can only be assumed that the programs in Michigan will contain sections on implementation of the comprehensive plan as such programs are specifically listed as eligible activities in the HHFA Program Guide. One of the reasons for the differences in the form of the three evaluation schemes reviewed in this chapter is the purpose for which they were developed. The Dillon standard was for the purpose of comparing the results of a group of planning programs, as evidenced by the documents produced, with an ideal of quality and with one another. For these reasons it contained the feature of an absolute scale on which each plan was rated. This score for each plan which represented its "quality" could then be compared with the score given each other plan and an order estab- lished from the highest score to the lowest. In addition 98 to the serious shortcoming of ignoring the area of implementation, this approach would seem to tend to grade an overall plan rather than make a series of evaluations of the various segments of the plan. For the purpose of ranking them this is valid but it would seem that a more important use of an evaluation system would be to criticize failings in a planning report in its draft form and point out corrections that should be made for the final draft. Both the Michigan evaluation report, and the Mills— Stollman report were aimed at this latter objective, that of giving the program administrator tools to aid the objective criticism of planning reports. The Mills- Stollman report makes no attempt to provide a numerical score in this process but simply lists a series of questions to be asked of the plan reports at each successive stage of completion. While the listing of pertinent questions for each type of study is valuable as a guide for the person reviewing the reports it does not give any means of indicating how well a particular section of the report was written. Most of these questions are of the presence or absence variety. The Michigan evaluation list attempts to remedy this by scoring each question on a one to five scale. While most of the questions that are the basis of the evaluation in this list are general enough to be valid for all planning reports, if all questions in the list are asked of each report it becomes the most comprehensive and 99 useful of the three evaluation schemes. If the reviewer gives specific statements in constructive criticism rather than just a numerical score on each area the value to the writer of the report can be considerable. Through this means the administrative agency can demand a level of quality and express this level to the writer of the plan reports in specific terms. CHAPTER IV DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF CRITERIA FOR THE EVALUATION OF PLANNING REPORTS The quality of a plan can be measured in several ways, two of which have been considered in this study. The first of these is on the basis of conformance to standards for preparation of the plan or the potential for obtaining results. The second is on the basis of results as seen in the community. The first means of measuring is the concern of this and the preceding chapter while the second will be treated in the following two chapters. One of the basic contentions of this thesis is that evaluation at this first level has proven to be inadequate in rating the quality of planning programs. It is felt that in this method of evaluation many vital factors are omitted. Among these are the job of education done by the planner, the degree of involvement of the community in the planning process, and the commitment of the community leaders to the plan. It is the belief of the author that these factors have a critical impact on whether the planning program will continue and if its proposals will be implemented. It is the proposal of this study to evaluate and compare the continuity and accomplishment of a group of Michigan cities to more clearly see the influence of factors lOO 101 other than those measured in the evaluation of planning documents. To provide a basis of comparison with the results of a continuity evaluation, the cities selected will be evaluated and ranked by use of currently used methods. This will be a comparative evaluation of the published planning studies produced in each program. Shortcomings of Current Evaluation Schemes For many reasons, several of which are described in the preceding chapter, the methods that have been used to date in the evaluation of plans and planning programs have concentrated on the studies, documents, and plans that have been published. It was pointed out there that only a few states are currently using an objective guide for their evaluation. One of these is the evaluation form used by the State of Michigan. While it is objective, it does not lend itself well to a comparative ranking. The evaluation scheme developed by Donald Dillon which was also described in Chapter III was structured in such a way as to make comparative evaluations fairly simple. However it did not contain explicit enough questions to make it an objective evaluation. It was more nearly a subjective evaluation divided into sections. In addition it lacked a major section on implementation. The third evaluation scheme discussed in Chapter III, by Mills and Stollman, made no attempt to rate or score the various features of a plan. It lO2 simply supplied lists of questions to be asked of each study and major section of the plan. Development of Improved Evaluation Criteria In constructing an improved evaluation scheme which can be used in comparing a group of planning programs, an attempt has been made to take the best features of each of the three schemes described in Chapter III and combine them into a workable evaluation process. The basic structure of the evaluation scheme proposed in this chapter follows that used by Dillon in his Comprehensive Plan Quality Standard.1 Dillon used a basis of one hundred points, alloting a certain number to each of four areas; appearance, inventory and analysis, community goals and objectives, and plans. The scheme proposed here will also use a basis of one hundred "points" or percent and will use the four major sections of the Dillon standard. It will also add a major section on implementation and will give the sections a somewhat different weighting than was used by Dillon. The sections of the proposed scheme are as follows: I. Presentation--lO% II. Goals and Objectives——l5% III. Inventory and Analysis-—30% IV. Plans--30% V. Implementation Provisions——l5% 1See Chapter III, p. 88. 103 The section on Presentation has been much expanded from Dillon's idea of appearance. It has included format, editing, graphics, correlation of graphics to text, and clarity of presentation. The questions used in this section were taken from the Michigan Evaluation of Project Documents form.2 This series of questions gives a fairly comprehensive appraisal of the quality of the physical publication. It should be noted that while presentation is not given as much weight as was apparent in the Michigan form, it is greater than that given by Dillon. This is consistent with the importance of maintaining a professional level of writing and publication and the weight given first impressions by the lay persons who are the recipients of the plans and reports. The questions used in the remaining four sections of the proposed scheme were drawn from a variety of sources. Among these were the three evaluation schemes already described. A major share of the questions are derived from those used by Mills and Stollman in their study.3 These questions were listed under the headings used in the proposed scheme, along with those from other sources. Then the lists were generalized and simplified 2See Chapter III, p. 86. 3W. Raymond Mills and Israel Stollman, Development of Criteria for Professional Review of City and Regional Planning Work Performed in Ohio Under the Local Planning Assistance Program T1'701' (mimeograph report, March 16, 1965). 104 to the point where it is felt that a meaningful series of questions remain. Following this structuring of questions under the various major headings each heading was given a weighting in the scoring system to be used. The assignment of relative weights to the various segments of the rating scale was of course somewhat arbitrary. It was based on the past knowledge and experience of the author and was felt to be an improvement on the scoring systems currently available and adequate for the purposes of this study. The use of a numerical scoring system was felt to be necessary for the purposes of this study to provide a means of ranking each test city program for future compari— son purposes. This is a different function than that needed in evaluation of reports and plans by a State 701 adminis— tering agency. For an agency of this type, the evaluation criteria should be in a form that would aid the staff in making an assessment of the quality of a report and to make pertinent comments and suggestions for improvement of the report. For this function a numerical scoring system is not needed or even necessarily helpful. To be most effective this kind of evaluation must be done at the time the preliminary report is submitted by the consultant and before the report is approved for final publication. The following is the evaluation schedule that will be used in ranking the test cities' planning programs 105 through examination of the planning studies and reports produced: II. EVALUATION OF PLANNING DOCUMENTS Overall Considerations (10%) A. Internal Consistency: Use of a logical approach in the develop- ment of the study; objectives, inventory, analysis, conclusions or plans, and next steps to be taken or implementation measures. Involvement: Was there reference to the involvement of community groups in the preparation of the plan, such as organization charts, lists of names, or acknowledgments? Presentation: 1. Presentability; format, neatness. 2. Continuity in presentation of ideas and data. 3. Clarity and detail for use of the layman. 4. Use of a summary section, brief analysis of the report. 5. Use and effectiveness of tables, diagrams, and illustrations. 6. Mapping presentation; a) Legibility b) Correlation with text c) Complete data; legend, title block, etc. 7. Correct grammar. Goals and Objectives (15%) A. Is there an explicit statement of the following types of community goals and the relationships between them: 1. Social improvement. 2. Economic improvement. 3. Political--Decision making. 4. Physical development. Are these goals expressed where possible as directions rather than static ends? Are the sources of the goals and objectives identified? Do the proposed goals fit the scale of the community and the space for growth? Are the program goals, the purposes and objectives of each individual study clearly stated? III. IV. 106 Inventory and Analysis (30%) A. I. J. K. Are the following basic studies included: 1. Land Use; existing land use and building survey. 2. Physical Characteristics; topography, soils, drainage, geography, geology, climate. 3. Population; trends, projections, distribution, density, mobility, and other characteristics. 4. Transportation; circulation, both highway and other means. 5. Community Facilities and Services; schools, recreation, utilities and others. 6. Economic Base; employment, commerce, relation to region, trends and projections. Is the statistical data and other informa- tion relevant to the purposes of the study? Does the study describe trends of popula— tion or economic change? Does it give reasons for these changes? Does it describe factors that are expected to influence the future growth of the community? Does the study contain a statement of categories and definitions used in the gathering of data? Are the bases and methods used for making projections and defining future needs clearly stated? Are major opportunities and limitations clearly identified? Are standards fitted to local goals and requirements? Is data adequate? Are sources of data and standards shown? Plans (30%) A. Are the following basic plan elements included: 1. Land Use; overall space needs, residen— tial, commercial, and industrial areas, should contain guide to interrelation— ships of land uses, to policy for physical development. 2. Community Facilities; schools, recrea— tion areas, facilities, public buildings, utilities. 3. Transportation; major streets, other means, standards, relationship of transportation with other land uses. 107 Are the plans long-range, covering twenty years or more? Does the plan show how the separate elements have been adjusted to each other in achieving coordination among highway, recreation, housing, industry, community facilities, and other land uses? Does the plan seem to reflect a reasonable balance among the community's several objectives? Is there evidence of coordination with other planning efforts? Do plan recommendations relate to community goals and objectives? Do they solve major problems and exploit major opportunities identified? Does the plan provide justification for the recommendations? Does the study or plan include a definition of its own limitations? Implementation (15%) A. B. Is there a statement of next steps needed to implement the plan or pursue the study conclusions? Is the development program proposed reasonable in the light of experience of similar communities and the analysis of community resources and the proposed time span? Does the capital improvement program show the basis of determining the recommended financing and debt policies? Are projects drawn from the General Plan and bases defined for establishing their priorities? Are reasons given for raising, continuing, or lowering the present volume of capital expenditure? Are steps needed to establish continuous programming of capital improvements specifically recommended? Zoning Ordinance or Subdivision Regulations; 1. Are the administrative demands of the ordinance in proportion to the local governmental structure? 2. Is the proposed ordinance likely to prove sufficient to handle the implementation of the land use pro- posals of the General Plan? 108 Selection of the Test Cities The cities selected for evaluation in this chapter were picked from a group of cities that met a series of criteria that was established for this study. These criteria were established both for reasons of consistency in the study and because of several physical limitations of time and accessability. The cities selected have all completed compre— hensive planning programs under the 701 planning assistance program in Michigan. This gave the author opportunity to have access to all of the planning documents, studies, reports, and plans produced during each program as these are permanently on file in the offices of the Michigan Department of Economic Expansion which administers the 701 program in Michigan. Because of the relevance of this study to their current interests the Michigan Department of Economic Expansion has given the author full cooperation and encouragement. All of the cities selected had planning programs that were carried out through the use of third party contracts with private consultants as have been most of the 701 planning programs in Michigan. Also all of the communities had completed their planning programs nearly two years ago. This was necessary to allow some time for implementation measures and other recommendations to be acted upon. The two year time period was also selected to correspond with the HHFA requirement that follow up reports 109 be made on the achievements of planning programs aided by 701 funds two years after the study has been completed. There are several projects in Michigan that were scheduled for completion by December of 1962 and are due to have follow up reports written but to date none have been finished. In addition to the foregoing it was felt that the cities selected should be representative, in so far as possible, of the planning work done in Michigan under the 701 program. To do this the sample cities should represent a variety of consultants, a range of population sizes, and a somewhat representative geographic distribu— tion. The cities selected were all located in southern lower Michigan and had completed comprehensive planning programs between December 1962 and May 1964. They represent populations of from 1,728 to 22,968 as of the 1960 census and had planning programs handled by five different consulting firms. The communities selected are as follows: Community Population Consultant CoifiIZted Cost of Program A 4,822 V Dec. 1962 8 5,564 B 1,728 x May 1964 19,111 (2 parts) 0 6,881 w Dec. 1963 15,000 D 22,968 Y Feb. 1964 26,841 (2 parts) E 16,034 N 3 53) q 1963 28,081 110 Application of the Evaluation Criteria The following are the results of an evaluation of the documents produced during the 701 planning programs in the cities listed above: Community 'A' Overall Considerations--7.5 of 10 This is generally a good report. It is attractive, makes good use of maps and charts with the mapping of a generally high quality. Evidences of involvement were good with the planning commis- sion, only fair with other persons and groups. Statements of further intentions to increase involvement were presented. Goals and Objectives--9.0 of 15 Goals for economic and physical development were well covered. Social goals were referred to in passing but there was very little said on political goals. The physical development goals and economic goals were keyed excellently to the size and character of the community. Other areas were somewhat sketchy. Inventory and Analysis--l5 of 30 All of the basic inventories and analyses were covered but most areas received a relatively light treatment. Some trends were mentioned but this was not consistently done. Generally the bases of such trends were omitted as were categories and definitions related to the gathering of data. A good job was done in describing the factors that are expected to influence the future growth of the community. Plans-—27.0 of 30 A generally excellent job was done in presenting the plans for the community. All basic elements were included although the guides to proper relation— ships between land uses might have been more fully explained. The only omission was a statement of the plan's limitations. The remainder contained a logical, clear, well worked out and balanced series of plans. Implementation—~12 of 15 The implementation measures proposed and the recommended steps to be taken were clear, well thought out and generally very good. Two areas that might have been improved were in providing lll guides to aid in determining future priorities of projects and establishing a continuous programming of capital improvements. General Impressions-—70.5 of 100 This appears to be a very good plan in many ways. It is clearly and simply written to be well understood by the laymen of the community yet it covers all of the basic elements that should be included in a plan. It is obviously keyed to the kind of community for which it was written. Its proposals are reasonable and seem to be within reach. With the implementation measures proposed and the involvement contemplated the plan should meet with a fairly high degree of accomplishment. Community '8' Overall Considerations-—7.5 of 10 This was a generally well written and very intensive program. The reports on each of the studies were complete and seemed to be logically developed and draw valid conclusions from the data presented. The presentation was of generally high quality and made ample use of charts and maps which were clear and readable. The weakest section was that on involvement. The planning commission was referred to often but other groups were omitted. There was frequent reference to future involvement in the implementation of parts of the plan but little in the plan preparation. Goals and Objectives--8 of 15 The areas of goals that were covered were good. The community goals of physical and economic development were clearly expressed and prominently placed in the reports. However little was said of social improvement or political or decision-making goals. This seems to reflect the consultants views of planning as almost entirely physical in nature. Inventory and Analysis-—28 of 30 This section of the program was outstanding. The reports showed an excellent development using all of the available data sources and leading through logical steps to apparently sound conclusions. The completeness of the data, explanation of the bases for the various projec- tions, and the crediting of sources for data and standards were particularly good. 112 Plans—-l9.5 of 30 The score in this section seemed surprisingly low after the high score in the analysis section. All of the basic elements were present but the quality did not seem nearly as high as that evident in the analysis section. In many places references were made to the ultimate holding capacity of the area some day in the future far beyond the twenty year period covered in the plan. This seemed to make the plans feel remote and left a slight confusion between this and the foreseeable future of twenty or so years. Implementation--9 of 15 In this section the score is perhaps lower than might be expected because of the approach taken by the planner. The questions used refer to a completed capital improvements program whereas this program does not carry that far. It leaves many decisions to be made by the community and gives them the guides and basic questions rather than a completed program. This approach may promote more future involvement on the part of the city council than would an already completed capital improvements program. General Impressions--72 of 100 This program seems to provide all of the elements a city needs to begin a planned approach to city governmental operation. The inventory and analysis and the preparation of basic data were particularly well done and, with the guides provided for implementation, should result in a successful planning program. However one might question whether a program this detailed and with the depth of data presented are really needed or applicable for a community of this size. Community 'C' Overall Considerations—-5 of 10 Generally, the approach used in the program was logical and complete. All of the basic items expected in a planning study seemed to be present. However the degree of involvement on the part of the community that was reflected in the documents was minimal. The planning commission was the only body that was credited with any appreciable extent of participation. The presentation was acceptable in more areas but certainly not outstanding. In places the writing was not particularly clear and would lose anyone not familiar with the subject. The use of graphic materials other than the basic maps was poor. These maps were acceptable. 113 Goals and Objectives--6 of 15 This area was only occasionally mentioned in the text of the various reports. Some of the goals which were implied seemed to be of a directional character. The two areas that were covered adequately were those of physical and economic goals. But the sources of these were not commented upon. The purposes of the various studies in the program were not mentioned. Inventory and Analysis--l7.5 of 30 The area of inventory and analysis was acceptably handled and included all of the basic studies usually part of such a program. There were no specific studies that were either out- standingly well done or poorly done. The best of these was the transportation study. There was a very poor statement of categories used in gathering land use data but the local opportunities for development were well noted. The greatest weakness noted in this section was the lack of statement explaining the basis used for making projections of future trends and needs. Plans--l8.5 of 30 The plans produced scored higher than the other sections of this evaluation but even these were not outstanding. Of the plan segments the transportation plan was the best. The recommenda— tions did seem to be consistent with the size and resources of the community and were tied to the major opportunities and limitations previously noted. Implementation--9.5 of 15 Again in this section the studies were adequate for the most part but not outstanding. There were many specific recommendations in each of the areas of the plan. Some of these were in the form of staged development. One of the better developed sections was that dealing with the capital improvements program. The reason for the program and the steps to be taken to develop such a program were well explained and sample forms to be used were included in the report. General Impressions-~56.5 of 100 The comment most used above was acceptable but not outstanding. This describes the entire program as reflected in the documents produced. It was a difficult program to criticize as it included nearly all of the elements expected in such a program yet left the impression of being somehow 114 incomplete. It appeared to lack the ability to inspire enthusiasm or excitement. The publications were not particularly attractive and could have benefited from more extensive graphics. The recommendations were not particularly imaginative. It would seem that something more is needed to assure a continuing and successful planning program. Community 'D' Overall Considerations--7 of 10 The documents of this program were generally attractive, complete and well written. The degree of involvement shown was typically light as in the previous studies reviewed. The presentation, use of graphic materials, format and writing were generally good. The use of summary sections for the whole plan and the major sections was particularly good. The only criticism in addition to lack of involvement in this section is in the clarity of some sections of the report which were at times difficult to follow and had in places excessive detail for ease of comprehension. Goals and Objectives--8.5 of 15 In many sections of the reports the expression of goals, objectives and principles were especially good. Those found in the land use and transporta- tion sections are examples of this. These goals generally referred to physical development. Areas of economic and social improvement were less clearly treated or omitted entirely. The use of a community attitude survey in developing these goals was well documented. Inventory and Analysis--26.5 of 30 The sections relating to inventory and analysis were of a high quality. The data gathered was apparently very complete and detailed. In the community facilities study there was some question as to the necessity of including all of the material presented for a planning study. Some of it could well have been omitted without loss in validity of the report. The methodology used and bases for the various projections were particularly well explained and the sources of data and standards used were consistently shown throughout. P1ans-—25 of 30 The overall plan and various major sections and supporting material were also well handled. There was ample explanation of major proposals and various 115 plan elements. The plans were logical, well coordinated, and related to the goals and objectives Stated. ’ Implementation-~12 of 15 The sections on implementation measures were very good as far as they went. The presentation of the criteria for determining priority of projects and the steps leading to a capital improvement program was well handled. The evaluation of level of capital expenditure was not covered in the report but this may have been a result of the philosophy of the consultant. General Impressions--79 of 100 The impression gained from these planning documents is one of a generally high quality pro- gram. It seems to contain all of the elements needed to provide a continuing and successful planning program. There was a large amount of explanation of the various principles to be applied and the basis of projections and standards used. Community 'E' Overall Considerations——6 of 10 This was a very attractive and imposing report. It was generally well written and appeared to be quite complete. The presentation was good and the mapping was clear, readable and effective. There was extensive use of graphs and tables but many of these were not easily understood or had incomplete titles or keys. This same criticism can be made of the technical explanations. The sections on population and economic base were at times very difficult to read and would have been almost incomprehensible to the layman. There was also a lack of evidence of community involvement in the planning process. However there was a joint letter of transmittal by the planning commission and the city council at the front of the final report. Goals and Objectives--7 of 15 This was the weakest section of the program. The physical development goals were in most cases explicitly stated as were the purposes of each section of the report. However goals in other areas were only indirectly implied or omitted entirely. Also the sources of these goals and objectives were omitted. 116 Inventory and Analysis-—23.5 of 30 The sections on inventory and analysis were generally complete and well done. The presenta- tion of basis and methodology for projections was particularly complete. The only noticeable omission was in the area of public utilities. The extensions needed in the sewer and water systems were mentioned in the capital improve- ments section but were not included under community facilities. The only other criticism here was in the large amount of data included in the population and economic base sections. This made it difficult to sift out the meaningful statements from the rest of the material. Plans--25.5 of 30 This section was the highest scoring in the program. The plans are long range, logical, reflect the objectives and capabilities of the community, relate to the area, seem to solve the major problems noted, and are well justified in the text. Possibly they could have been more complete in the areas of transportation and community facilities. They are generally of a high quality. Implementation—-l2 of 15 The proposals for the next steps needed to continue the program seem to be logical and well worked out. The relation of the plan to the various kinds of implementation measures, as well as the limitations of the plan without these, was well explained. The capital improvements program was well worked out to take advantage of current and proposed renewal programs. However there was no set of criteria presented for establishing future priorities of projects. The program presented was good but recommendations of steps needed to establish a continuing programming of capital improvements were omitted. General Impressions--74 of 100 This was a very impressive report. It contained all of the elements expected in this type of program and handled them well. With the exception of including a large amount of data in the text in some sections, it was well written. It was weakest in the areas of involvement and goals and objectives and was strongest in the areas of inventory and analysis and plans. There was mention of previous planning and capital programming that had been successfully carried on prior to this planning effort. This fact together with the high quality 117 of this report should result in a continuation of successful planning. The following table shows the scores of each of the community's planning programs as determined by an evaluation of the documents produced: Maximum Community __'s"_co‘r‘e‘_ A :3. 9. 9. 2 Overall Considerations 10 7.5 7.5 5.0 7.0 6.0 Goals and Objectives 15 9.0 8.0 6.0 8.5 7.0 Inventory and Analysis 30 15.0 28.0 17.5 26.5 23.5 Plans 30 27.0 19.5 18.5 25.0 25.5 Implementation 15 12.0 9.0 9.5 12.0 12.0 Total 100 70.5 72.0 56.5 79.0 74.0 The above listed scoring gives a basis for comparison of the programs when they are evaluated in succeeding chapters on the continuity and accomplishment of their programs. See Appendix A for complete scoring of all items. CHAPTER V EVALUATION OF PLANNING CONTINUITY AND ACHIEVEMENT In his study of the Comprehensive Plan in 1964, Donald Dillon made the following statement which has proven to be quite appropriate to the organization of this and the following chapters: Program achievements might be placed in one of two categories: 1) tangible input and output of the program; and 2) tangible and intangible results. The first category would contain funds expended and documents produced. The second would include unassisted comprehensive planning activities, increased use of technical planning in decision—making, and change in the environment due to increased control over development.1 The first of the above noted categories has been covered in Chapters III and IV. It is an investigation of the second category, the area of results, that will be covered in this and the succeeding chapter. Some of the actions that appear obviously to influence the degree of achievement of a planning program and are reflected by the results attained in the community will be discussed. The specific items of tangible results that occur will be examined and the various methods currently used or contemplated for 1Donald L. Dillon, An Investigation of the Compre— ansive Plan as a Tool for the 701 Urban Planning AsSistance Program (Unpublished Thesis, M.U.P., University of Washington, Seattle, June, 1964), p. 41. 118 119 measuring these results will be studied. Finally ways of directly reaching the intangible factors that influence achievement and continuity of a planning program will be explored. A pragmatic approach to the question of value or quality of an instrument and of the usefulness of such an instrument would be to ask what does it do and how well does it work. The answer to these questions could be seen in the results obtained from the use of the instrument. In such an approach the operator's understanding of the purpose and function of the instrument have a direct influence on the results obtained. Without this under— standing the instrument will not function properly and the results obtained will be poor. The advantage that could have been gained from a high quality instrument will be greatly decreased or lost. An extreme example of this was reported by a housing inspector in a public housing unit in Detroit. The inspector found in one apartment, occupied by a newly arrived family, that the water closet was apparently not working. It was nearly full of waste matter which was creating a very unpleasant odor and posed a definite health hazard. Upon asking the tenant why the malfunction of the 2From a lecture given by Mr. Harold Bellemy, Assistant Director, Detroit Mayor's Committee for Community Renewal, in an Urban Renewal Seminar at Michigan State University, East Lansing, Summer, 1965. 120 “water closet had not been reported to the building super- intendent he was told that it worked fine but it just 'wasn't full yet. This was apparently the family‘s first experience with the use of modern bathroom fixtures. The ‘water closet itself was a good quality instrument but the :Eamily's lack of understanding of its use produced a result 'that was far below the designed capacity of the instrument if‘not totally inadequate. Efllanning Education Should Be An Integral Part of Every Ezlanning Program This same kind of reasoning can and should be erpplied to the evaluation of planning programs. If a plan jws made, even if it is of very high quality, but is not used (Jr not used correctly, it is of little or no value. Here I (iisagree with some statement made in the early days of I9lanning that a good and wise plan will prevail through its (an merits. Plans are to do. They have within them certain Iaroposals and measures that if implemented can result in Eichieving the goals of the community for which they were nnade. But these implementation measures are only the tools I)rovided to the community leaders to achieve their community Egoals. If these persons do not have the knowledge or igncentive to use the tools correctly the results that are I)ossible through use of the plan will fail to materialize. In an address to the American Society of Planning C)if‘ficials in 1962 Richard IVes made the following statement (>11 the importance of planning education: 121 . . . (the) number one function of all planners is to make the planning process and the reasons why it must be a continuing activity understood by local officials.3 IHe went on to say that the educational process is fully ninety five percent of the planner's job. The results of 'the planning program in terms of continuity and achievement are the scale on which the effectiveness of the planner in 'this activity is measured. A successful planning program (zontinuing after the completion of the plan indicates that ‘thds area was satisfactorily covered. A lack of continuity zxnd achievement indicates that either the educational (Element or some other critical element was missing or jgnadequate. If the educational process is successful, the officials and people of the locality will under- stand what the planning process is about and what it is intended to achieve. With this understanding there will be a much greater chance of attaining effective continuity in planning. In a study of the functions of the general plan Vrritten in 1960, Alan Black made the following statement (Zoncerning planning education in conjunction with compre— Ilensive planning programs: The legislators are perhaps the major recipients of the educational impact of the general p1an.5 3Richard Ives, "Achieving Continuity in 701 I’lanning," ASPO Planning 1962, p. 49. 41bid., p. 55. 5Alan Black, The Functions of the Urban General I31an (Unpublished Thesis, M.C.P., Univ. of California, \ E3erkeley, September 1960), p. 78. 122 ’Ihis reflects Black's View of the proper place of planning in city government. As a pupil of Kent, he views planning in the context of a staff function responsible to the council. While this in many instances would be desirable .in that the council is the body primarily responsible for 'the implementation of the plan, in most 701 planning «operations it is not the case. Usually the planning (zommission receives the consultant's direct and most (:oncentrated effort in the teaching of planning principles exnd.proper use of the plan. With the major impact of the (Zonsultant's influence one more step removed from the seat (If active power, the importance of his role as teacher is Given greater. He must transmit the understanding of the Illanning process well enough to insure the continuation of tihe process after he has completed the plan and is no longer liresent on a regular, frequent basis to interpret the plan 1:0 the council and others. For this he must rely on the members of the planning commission. The efforts in planning education should not be Jaimited to an interaction between the consultant and the IDlanning commission. It certainly should extend to include Tihe city council as this is the body responsible for any Elotions taken to implement the plan. This may be either 11hrough direct contact by the consultant or through the clemmission members. Of course the more direct such action j—s the more effective it is likely to be. 123 A positive effort also must be made to produce interaction between the planner and the chief administrative officer. This person, the mayor or the city manager, is the one person most directly responsible for the carrying out of actions decided upon by the council. He is also in a position to exert a high degree of influence on the decisions made by the legislative body through personal Lleadership and as a resource person with a good understand- :ing of the functions of the community departments. The janortance of developing a close understanding between the IDlanner and chief administrator is well expressed in the ICOllowing statement: In administration planning and management are one and the same. . . . It seems a truism that planning cannot be effective if separated from management. . . . Planning must alwayg be focused at the point where decisions are made. IJsually the city manager or mayor is very closely involved Vvith the planning effort as it is developed. He is often zan ex—officio member of the planning commission and I‘eceives the same impact of the educational effort of the IDlanner that is given the rest of the commission members. At the same time that the education of persons in 1:he community government is going on a major effort should 13e exerted to create understanding of planning and the IDlanning program on the part of the other elements of the 6George J. Monaghan, The Functions and Achievements (>f City Planning Agencies: The Development of a Question- ;Ilaire (Unpublished Thesis, M.R.P., Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1960), p. 6. 124 community. The understanding and support of the leaders of ‘various interest groups within the community is vital to the achievement of results in any measure that requires a vote of the electorate or even support from the council. The active participation of the planning commission can be ihighly effective in reaching these community leaders. They frequently exert a large amount of influence even though ‘they are not actually themselves members of the city's ()fficial bodies. Ideally the members of the planning (:ommission will be members of groups which exercise power :in.the community and will have direct access to these ]_eaders. In other cases they may be reached through the sseveral service clubs and similar organizations in the (:ommunity which take an active interest in its affairs. TFhe planner or a member of the planning commission will Ilsually be welcome as a speaker at this type of meeting. ()ther efforts that should be carried on in this area :involve use of the various means of mass communication. Esome of the means that might be used to reach larger seg- Inents of the community are through radio and the local Ilewspaper. The local editor, if sympathetic to planning find the local planning program, can be a powerful ally in (:reating an understanding and degree of support in the (:ommunity. 125 .lpvolvement and Commitment are Closely Related to Education Pro gram Another factor that is reflected in the results attained from the planning program is the degree of community involvement in the formulation and commitment to the jprinciples and proposals of the plan. To a certain extent 'these are very closely related to the success of the educa- 'tion program. The education program is aided by such things zas public opinion polls and surveys which involve people in ‘the actual operation of the planning program. In such cactivities with the planning commission, the city council, axnd other groups in the community the planner is carrying <3n.the education process at the same time as he is fostering £1 feeling of involvement. In developing certain sections ()f the plan it is imperative that he involve the community (lecision makers. Among these areas are the development of (:ommunity goals and objectives. If there is a lack of aidequate involvement at this initial stage the planning Iprogram may not reflect the desires of the community. If ‘the planning is inadequate on this point, the planner has Eilready lost a good deal of potential support for implementa- ‘tion of the plan. The one group that will be most closely involved 1bhroughout the development of the plan is the planning (:ommission but every opportunity that can be created to janolve other groups in the process should be utilized. 'que most important group to involve is the city council. 126 The reasons are the same as given for the education process with the following additions: The general plan is an instrument by which the legislative body considers and agrees upon a coherent unified set of general long—range policies for the physical development of the community.7 If the plan is in fact to act as a defined policy statement of the council, they must be involved in its formulation. The next higher level of approval is commitment. This can be fostered through the application of the previously described elements, education and involvement. The planner has the task of stimulating the community to some kind of action. One of the best means of doing this is through dissemination of information or education. If he has done an adequate job here and has created an understanding and interest the question will arise, 'what can we do.‘ The next task of the planner is to channel this interest into active support for planning and to get people involved in the program. At this point a feeling will be generated that the people involved are helping to create the plan. If this can be sustained, a feeling that the plan is the property of the community rather than being the planner's plan will emerge. This feeling is particularly important on the part of the city council as is indicated by the following: When the plan is first adopted it must represent the policies of the city council. The legislators 7Black, p. 41. 127 must be ready to follow the plan's policies in their future actions. They must feel committed to the plan.8 If successful, this process of developing understanding, involvement, and commitment to the plan and the planning program will greatly increase the chances of achieving a high level of results and of having the planning process continue. Results: Score Card of Community Understanding,_lnvolve— ment, and Commitment The Housing and Home Finance Agency is very much aware of the importance of the actions described above. This is illustrated by the inclusion of the following statements in a section on program policies in the Program Guide published in 1963: 1) Increase public awareness of the comprehensive planning process and demonstrate the economic and social benefits to be obtained by incorporating this process in the development of an urban area. 2) Encourage appropriate legislative bodies to participate in the planning process and to give official recognition to the policies and goals embodied in the comprehensive plan. 3) Develop administrative, financial and organiza— tional measures necessary to implement the comprehensive plan through both public policies and programs and develop activities of private individuals and agencies. 4) Increase the use of professional staff services on a continuing basis in the conduct of compre- hensive planning activities.9 There is a high degree of consensus that the actions referred to above are highly important and have a strong 81bid., p. 44. 9Dillon, p. 37. 128 jJanJJence on the results that are derived from a planning prw>gnxmh In this sense the extent of the results obtained, tlle degree of achievement and continuity of the planning pxnogpmmu comprise the score card that measures the success (XE 'the above actions. If we are to use results as a :sccxring system, the next question that arises is how does one measure results? FWDELP Systems of Measuring Results are Reviewed: 2;: Cuneo Local Planning Activity Questionnaire There have been a limited number of attempts made t<> Ineasure the results of planning programs. One of the eiirflier studies conducted along these lines was done by R037 A. Cuneo in 1960. This was a study to determine the ‘3f5fectiveness of the Urban Planning Assistance Program ‘thich had been in operation for four years at that time. Cuneo used as his test area the H.H.F.A. Region I which itlcludes the New England States and New York. He excluded Iil'lode Island because of the use of State staff planners in all of their 701 programs. The majority of the 701 pro— é)Slf‘ams in the other states were handled by private con— ‘Sllltants. In addition to the above, the criteria he used :ill selecting his test communities were as follows: \ 10Roy A. Cuneo, The Urban Planning Assistance €F230gram: Section 701 of the Housing Act of 1954, as Amended Ianublished Thesis, Graduate School of Public Administra- jLon, New York University, October 1960), p. 28. 129 1. 701 program completed at least six months. 2. Minimum program to include the basic elements of a comprehensive plan. 3. Major part of the work done by a planning consultant rather than by state or local staff. On the basis of these criteria he selected forty—three communities as his sample. Information was obtained by use of a mailed questionnaire. He received thirty-two returns which formed the basis of his study. The questionnaire consisted of two pages. The first contained a series of nine questions relating to the planning operation and continuity of the program. The second asked for information on the various products of the planning program. The fol— lowing are the questions used in Cuneo's Local Planning Activity Questionnaire:l 1. What year was your planning board formed or created? 2. Give the amount of the planning board budget for each of the years 1952-1960. 3. Give the year or years in which the Section 701 Planning Assistance Program was in progress. 4. a) Has the planning board hired a permanent technical staff since the completion of work under the 701 program? b) Has the planning board added to an already existing staff since or as a result of the 701 program? 5. Has the Planning board retained a professional planning consultant for any purpose since the 701 program? If so, for what purpose? 6. If the answer to question 5 is yes did you retain the same consultant as you did for the 701 work? 7. Do you believe that since the 701 program your local governing body has been more aware of the value of "planning" to your community? 8. Do you believe that as a result of the 701 program, public interest and participation 11Ibid., p. 40. 130 in local planning problems and activities has increased? 9. Discuss briefly what you believe to be the primary accomplishment of the 701 program in your community. This series of questions was followed by a request that the status of each of the following items be indicated as adopted or approved, rejected, under consideration, being revised or restudied, or no action taken: 1. Plan of Development (General Plan, Town Plan, City Plan, or Comprehensive Plan). 2. Capital Budget and/or program (if prepared). 3. Zoning Ordinance or Major Revision a. By planning or zoning board. b. By local governing body. 4. Subdivision Regulations. 5. Other codes or ordinances prepared under Planning Assistance program. The conclusions that were reached were quite general but still seem to be valid. Cuneo felt that one of the major accomplishments of the program was in stimulating the formation of planning boards in small communities. The program did not result in the creation of local staffs but half of the communities responding had retained a planning consultant after completion of their programs. All of the communities reported an increased appreciation of the value of planning by the local governing body and eighty percent noted an increase in interest and participation in planning problems and activities. This was a very simple study. The questions were very brief and don't give a great deal of information of the kind that is desired in the present study, such information would reflect more than super— ficially the quality of a program. 131 2. Connecticut Development Commission Study Another study using much the same approach was reported by James Klar, Assistant Managing Director of the Connecticut Development Commission at the American Society of Planning Officials Conference in 1962. This survey covered all of the Connecticut communities that had completed 701 planning programs for a year before the study.12 In the 52 community programs surveyed they found a range of from 1,771 to 107,130 in population. The median per capita cost of these programs was $1.00 with a range of from $.12 to $4.88. The survey covered two areas as did the Cuneo study, the adoption of steps to implement the plan, and the provision of continuing technical assistance. The questions and results were as follows: A. Adoption of Steps to Implement the Plan 1. Has the community adopted a comprehensive plan or major elements thereof? 27 yes-- 18 no 2. Has the community adopted zoning regula- tions or major revisions thereof? 29 yes—— 6 no 3. Has the community adopted subdivision regulations or major revisions thereof? 29 yes-—5 no 4. Has the community adopted a capital improvement program, following establish— ment of project priorities? 1 yes--3 no 5. Has the community proceeded with urban renewal projects? 10 yes B. Provisions of Continuing Technical Assistance 1. Has the community retained a consultant on a regular basis for at least a year after completion of the 701 program? 6 yes—-4l no 12James S. Klar, "Achieving Continuity in 701 Planning," ASPO Planning 1962, pp. 59-60. 132 2. Had the community a full time staff prior to the 701 program? 2 yes—-49 no 3. Has the community a full time staff after completion of the 701 program? 4 yes—- 47 no 4. Has the community a full time town engineer? 15 yes—-29 no Among the conclusions drawn from this survey were that the acceptance of zoning and subdivision regulations was high and adoption of the plan itself, which in Connecticut includes a mandatory referral requirement, was fairly high. The lack of acceptance of capital improvement programs was quite disappointing. The answers to the questions on continuation of technical assistance showed a high per— centage of the communities with no continued assistance. Klar noted this in the following terms: . . . we have a rather good indication that technical assistance on a continuing basis either (1) is misunderstood or (2) cannot be financed. . . . It seems quite apparent that the mechanism of technical advice is still not recognized by the municipalities as a need in making the planning function meaningful.13 Again in this survey we see an example of collecting the more obvious data, the things that can be answered with a yes or no. These things do give an indication of the results of a planning program but are only covering the most obvious features of such a program. 3. Michigan 701 Project Completion Report Questionnaire The Michigan 701 administering office has developed a pair of questionnaires that they use in preparing their 13Ibid., p. 60. 133 project completion reports for the Housing and Home Finance Agency. One of these is to be filled out by the consultant upon completion of the planning project and the other by the planning commission chairman. Both of them ask the same type of questions asked in the previous two studies, dealing with the adoption of the plan and various imple- mentation measures, but they go considerably farther. The consultants' questionnaire deals with community interest and awareness in planning, support by news media, activity of the planning commissioners, and reaction of the legisla- tive body. Each question has a space for a yes or no answer and for comments. The questions used in the 14 consultants' questionnaire follow: 1. Does there appear to be community-wide interest or awareness in planning and planning proposals? If so, on what evidence? 2. Do local news media publicize planning issues, meetings, hearings, etc.? Positively or negatively? 3. Do the planning commissioners actively attend and participate in their commission meetings? 4. Does the legislative body generally endorse planning and planning commission recommenda— tions? 5. Was the plan, or elements of it, adopted by either the legislative body or the planning commission as public policy or law? 6. Has the plan been adopted by the planning commission according to the requirements of the enabling statute? 7. Does it appear that planning will be established on a continuing basis? 8. Has the legislative body specifically established an annual planning budget? Michigan Department of Economic Expansion, Planning Division, Project Completion Repprt, Consultants' Questionnaire (mimeograph form). 134 9. Has the legislative body adopted a capital improvements program and/or budget? The questionnaire that is to be filled out by the planning commission chairman asks some of the same questions relative to adoption of the plan and some implementation measures but hits several other areas. Among these are questions on the probability of future continuity, feelings on effectiveness of the program, and several on the opera— tions of the consultant. The form is the same as noted above with room for yes or no answers and for comments on each question. The questions from the Community Question— 15 naire are listed below: 1. Do you feel the planning consultant had a thorough understanding of your community? 2. Did the consultant encourage and consider ideas and comments from citizens-at—large? 3. Did the consultant attend regularly scheduled planning commission meetings? 4. Did the consultant arrange special meetings for the plan commission, citizens, or community organizations? 5. Were consultant explanations understandable to the planning commission and citizens? 6. Were reports or plans submitted in draft to the planning commission or community for discussion before the final report? 7. Is the community considering additional planning studies, with or without 701 aid? 8. Is the community continuing to retain this consultant's services? 9. If the consultant is being retained, what planning studies are contemplated? 10. If not now retaining the consultant, does the community anticipate rehiring this consultant for any future work? 11. Does the planning commission feel the program resulted in significant community accomplish— ments and will guide urban development? 15Michigan Department of Economic Expansion Planning Division, Final Project Completion Report, Community Questionnaire (mimeograph form). 135 12. Is there evidence the community-at-large has greater awareness or interest in planning? 13. Was the plan or elements of it adopted by either the legislative body or the planning commission as public policy or law? 14. Has an annual planning budget been established for continuing planning work as a result of this program? 15. Has the plan been adopted by the planning commission as required under Michigan law? 16. If applicable, has the planning commission prepared coordinated and comprehensive programs of public improvements for the ensuing 6 years showing order of their priority, as required under Michigan law? As can be seen from the above questions these forms survey the same kinds of tangible results of the planning program as were done by the Cuneo and Connecticut studies. In addition the Michigan forms attempt to reach some of the causative factors of the consultants' performance and of community interest and information dissemination. They also refer at least in one instance to the relationship between the commission and the legislative body. 4. H.H.F.A. Two—Year Follow-up Questionnaire Guide The Housing and Home Finance Agency as has been mentioned previously, is highly interested in the area of results or achievement of the 701 planning programs. In an effort to create a better understanding of the processes leading to continuity and accomplishment in planning programs they have required that a follow-up report be made of each project two years after the completion. Until recently the specific content and means of collecting information for the report had been left to the State administering agencies. However in November of 1965 the 136 HHFA published a letter to all planning agencies containing a questionnaire to guide in the collection and organization of this material. The following questions have been taken from this letter. The questionnaire calls for the same kind of information as did the other studies reviewed in 16 this chapter but demands much more detail. 1. Has the Comprehensive Development Plan been adopted? By whom? What official status does it have under State and local law? 2. Has a Capital Improvements Program been adopted and annually updated? 3. Have all public facilities proposed following completion of the project been reviewed by the local planning body for consistency with the comprehensive develop- ment plan and the capital improvements program? Give specific examples. 4. List the public lands or community facilities, including highways, called for in the plan that have been acquired, constructed, or scheduled for construction. 5. Has the community prepared or is it working on a Workable Program for community improve- ment? If applicable, give date of certifica— tion or latest recertification by HUD or HHFA of the community's workable program. 6. If the community is engaged in any urban renewal activity, including preparation of a community renewal program, describe the relationship between that activity and the comprehensive planning program. 7. Have official actions on zoning and subdivision development been taken in conformance with the Comprehensive development plan? To what extent have variances and amendments been granted on the zoning ordinances and subdivision regula- tions? Comment on the significance of variances and amendments granted. 8. Describe specific measures taken by the local planning body during the past year to (a) up— date the land use, population, economic, and other planning data, (b) update and revise 16Housing and Home Finance Agency, Urban Renewal Administration, Two—Year Review Report, Exhibit A, November 1965. 137 the comprehensive development plan, and (c) prepare, or cooperate with functional agencies in preparing, plans for water systems, sewer and other waste disposal systems, open space and recreation, and public transportation. 9. Describe the professional services and budget currently available to the local planning body. 10. Describe any use of plans and planning data made by other local, State, or Federal agencies or private organizations. 11. If significant public actions have been taken that contradict the comprehensive development plan or would interfere with its proper implementation, discuss the apparent reasons. 12. If the project failed to produce a continuing planninglrogram in the locality, discuss the apparent reasons for the failure. Composite Questionnaire Separates Tangible and Intangible Results In one place or another in the preceding lists of questions most of the concrete results of a planning program have been mentioned. By pooling and editing the several lists we can develop a fairly comprehensive list of ques- tions, the answers to which will indicate the degree of achievement of results of a planning program. This preliminary list is divided into two sections. The first section contains questions which relate to specific actions taken in the community or concrete products of the planning program: 1. What is the status of adoption of the following: a. The comprehensive development plan. b. The zoning ordinance or major revision. c. The subdivision regulations or major revision. d. The capital improvements program. 2. Have any of the public lands or community facilities including highways, called for 9. 138 in the comprehensive plan been acquired, constructed, or scheduled for construction? Have all public facilities proposed during the past two years been reviewed by the planning agency for consistency with the comprehensive plan? Has any urban renewal activity including a community renewal program taken place since completion of the 701 project? If so describe the relationship between that activity and the comprehensive planning program. Has the community prepared or is it now working toward a "workable program for community improvement"? Has a capital improvements program and a capital budget been adopted and annually up- dated? Describe the specific measures which the planning agency has taken since completion of the 701 program to (a) update the planning data or land use, population, economy, etc. and (b) maintain the comprehensive development plan in an up-to-date status. Has the planning agency retained either a permanent technical planning staff or a planning consultant on a regular basis since completion of the 701 project. Does it appear that planning will be established on a continuing basis? The other half of this list deals with the methods used by the consultant in working with the community and with the community's acceptance of the planning program and the various measures proposed: 1. 2. Do you feel the planning consultant had a thorough understanding of your community? Do you believe that since the 701 program your local governing body has been more aware of the value of "planning" to your community? Does there appear to be community—wide interest or awareness in planning and planning proposals? If so on what evidence? Did the consultant encourage and consider ideas and comments from citizens-at-large? Did the consultant arrange special meetings for the planning commission, citizens, or community organizations? 139 6. Do the local news media publicize planning issues, meetings, hearings, etc.? Is this publicity positive or negative? 7. Did the planning commissioners actively attend and participate in their commission meetings during the 701 program? Have they continued to meet after its completion? 8. Does the planning commission feel the program resulted in significant community accomplish- ments and will guide urban development? 9. Comment on the administration of zoning and subdivision regulations and the relationship of administrative policies to the comprehensive development plan. To what extent have variances and amendments been granted on these regulations? 10. Discuss briefly what you believe to be the primary accomplishment of the 701 program in your community. The preceding list asks questions that in several instances should reveal the procedure used by the planner in his approach to the community. It does not question the methodology used in developing the various studies included in the plan but rather procedures used in developing community support for planning. As was pointed out in the beginning of this chapter it is felt that this activity is at least as important as the development of the plan itself. One means of better understanding the elements used in developing community understanding and support would be to separate the steps a consultant uses in this cycle of planning operations. The first step is that of information dissemination. Here he must reach as many of the community leaders as possible to explain the benefits, steps involved, and the requirements of the planning process and specif- ically the local planning program. It is at this point that the consultant lays the groundwork for future support of the planning program. He has many points of possible 140 access to the community leadership. Some of these which have been mentioned previously are through the planning commission, the council, ad hoc committees, and business men's and civic organizations. On the basis of the consultant's analysis of the response to the first step he may decide either to continue at this level or if he feels there is enough interest generated, may proceed to the consolidation of support. This may come in the form of resolutions or expressions of support from various civic groups, from specific interest groups such as a downtown merchant's association, or expressions of support from individual community leaders. The planner must at this point be ready to help organize programs that will call for involvement at various levels. These programs serve a dual role. Their main purpose may be to help gather certain items of data but at the same time they give a large group feeling of participation and belonging to the program. They also help to create interest in the program on the part of the community as a whole. The final step is the programming and actively institutionalizing the planning program. This is the stage where the various proposals of the plan are implemented through actions of the community leadership. If the preceding steps have not been successful in developing the understanding and support of the community, the chances of the planning program achieving any significant degree of positive results are poor. By separating the various activities of the planner 141 it is not inferred that these activities are conducted in a strict sequence. The consultant must continually work at the dissemination of information, the development of under- standing and support throughout the duration of the program. Who Should Be Asked? The list of questions relating to specific actions and results in a community could be answered by anyone close to the planning operation or the community governing body. The list of questions that deal with opinion must be asked of the group to which various actions were directed. The same question might draw a very different response from representatives of the planning commission and of the community council. This would be a result of the different orientation of the group and of the different approach taken by the consultant for each group. One means of specifying which persons should be interviewed is on the basis of selecting a representative of each of the following groups; innovators, legislators, administrators, developers, and consumers. The innovators are the persons who first became interested in planning and who started the movement that resulted in the 701 program being initiated. They may be members of an ad hoc committee, part of a civic organization or service club, the city manager, or even the planning commission itself. The administrators are the persons who are responsible for the operation of the program. These include the planning commission as well as the city manager, building inspector, 142 and zoning administrator. There are many persons who come under the heading of developers. These include bankers, realtors, builders, material suppliers as well as others. Often these persons are well represented on planning commissions. Legislators are a special group due to their function. They are at the same time representing all of the other groups including the broad group of consumers, and directly responsible for the implementation of any measures carried out in the community. In the next chapter the specific questions to be asked of each group will be developed. These will be drawn both from those listed in the current chapter and formulated to fill any gaps noticed. These questions will be the basis of an evaluation of the continuity and achieve- ment of the planning programs of each of the cities whose documents were evaluated in Chapter IV. CHAPTER VI EVALUATION OF THE EFFECT OF PLANNING IN THE COMMUNITY In Chapter IV the planning documents produced for each of five communities were evaluated on the basis of a series of criteria which were established following cur- rently used methods. It is the basic theme of this study that evaluation of the documents alone does not give an adequate or accurate picture of the complete planning program. The most effective means of obtaining this information is through personal interviews with the people who were involved in the various community planning pro- grams 0 New Hampshire Experience Used As a Pilot Study During the fall of 1964 the author participated in a preliminary effort, conducted by the state 701 adminis- tering office in New Hampshire, to reach some of the intangible indicators of the success of a planning program. It was the feeling of the staff that the form of completion reports on various 701 projects which included only an evaluation of the report left a great deal unsaid. It was decided that personal interviews with several members of the Community would help fill in this gap in information. In Carrying out this aim, interviews were conducted in three 143 144 cities that had recently completed 701 planning programs. The persons contacted in each case included the city manager, a member of the planning board, and a member of the city council. In two cases the local editor was included. In two cases leaders of local interest groups were also contacted. The interviews were relatively unstructured but included questions relating to the relative status of the planning board and city council, the degree of cooperation between the two, benefits derived from the planning program, its influence on the city govern— ment, changes resulting in government policy with reference to budgeting and expenditures, and the general acceptance of the plan by the community. The results of these inter- views were then included in the completion reports on each project to the HHFA.l This effort to gain insight into the operation of the planner, the planning board, and the planning program was successful enough to indicate the possibility of these areas in measuring the effectiveness of a planning program. Development of the Questionnaire The surveys reviewed in Chapter V all had one limiting factor in common. They were all designed to be 1New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development, Completion Report Urban Planning Assistance Project N.H. P-ll to the U.S. Housing and Home Finance Agency (January 19651. ---- —--- Completion Reporti_Urban Planning Assistance Project N.H. P—I4 to the U.S. Housing and Home Finance Agency (December 1964). 145 mailed, filled out by normally busy persons and returned. As a result they were all quite brief. The use of a personal interview technique to gather this data permits a much more extensive act of questions to be asked. It also assures a one hundred percent return on the sample used. With the four sets of questions reviewed in Chapter V and the New Hampshire experience as a guide it was decided to develop the questionnaire in six sections as follows: 1. Tangible Results 2. Consultant Actions 3. Planning Commission Actions 4. Legislative Council Actions 5. Administrative Actions 6. General Questions An additional source provided some of the questions used pertaining to acceptance of the program and COOperation between the council and the planning commission. This was a working paper which was prepared as a guide to inter- viewers reaching for similar types of information in communities.2 Using these sources as a guide the questions were formulated according to the above listed six cate- gories. This questionnaire was felt to be extensive enough to bring out significant differences in the communities and together with the evaluation of project documents, provide a complete picture of the 701 planning program in the 2E. W. Alchin, Dr. John Donoghue, and S. A. Marquis, A Plan for Community Development Research (East Lansing: Institute for Community Development Michigan State Uni- versity, mimeograph paper). community. follows: 146 The questionnaire as it was used in this study The Planning Achievement Questionnaire I. Tangible Results 1. What is the status of adoption of the following: a. The comprehensive development plan. b. The zoning ordinance or major revision. c. The subdivision regulations or major revision. d. The capital improvements program. Have any of the public lands or community facilities, including highways, called for in the comprehensive plan been acquired, constructed, or scheduled for construction? Have all public facilities proposed during the past two years been reviewed by the planning agency for consistency with the comprehensive plan? Has any urban renewal activity, including a community renewal program, taken place since completion of the 701 project? If so, describe the relationship between that activity and the comprehensive planning program. Has the community prepared or is it now working toward a "workable program for community improvement"? Have a capital improvements program and a capital budget been adopted and annually updated? Describe the specific measures which the planning agency has taken since completion of the 701 program to (a) update the planning data for land use, population, economy, etc. and (b) maintain the comprehensive develop- ment plan in an up—to-date status. Has the planning agency retained either a permanent technical planning staff or a planning consultant on a regular basis since completion of the 701 project? II. III. 147 Consultant Actions 1. Did the planning consultant have a thorough understanding of your community? What activities were utilized to involve citizens in the planning program, such as public opinion polls, use of civic groups in collection of data, etc.? Did the consultant arrange special meetings for the planning commission, council, civic organi- zations, or groups of citizens? Did the consultant encourage and consider ideas and comments from citizens—at-large? Did the consultant work closely with the commission and the council in defining community goals and objectives and on other questions involving policy? Planning Commission Actions Who are the planning commission members? What interests do they represent? Are they leaders of other groups? Has the character of the commission changed since the beginning of the 701 program? Do the planning commissioners understand the planning program, its possibilities and limitations? Did the planning commissioners regularly attend and actively participate in commission meetings during the 701 program? Have they continued to meet since the program completion? Did commission members actively promote the planning program by speaking to civic groups, writing articles, or informally through personal contacts? How does the commission view its relationship to the city council? IV. 10. 11. 148 Does the council refer all matters pertaining to physical development to the commission for comment on consistency with the plan? Does the commission feel the program resulted in significant community accomplishments and will guide urban development? Community Legislative Council Actions 1. What do you see as the major goal or function of the community government; a. Economic growth. b. Providing maximum community services and facilities. c. Maintaining only traditional services—- caretaker. d. Arbitrating among conflicting interests. Has there been any shift in this since beginning the 701 program? Does the council understand the planning pro— gram, its possibilities and limitations? How does the council view its relationship to the planning commission? Does the council seek the advice of the planning commission on all matters pertaining to physical development? To What extent does the council make use of the commission in handling unpopular issues, in preparation of priorities for a capital improvements program, etc.? Administrative Actions 1. Has the planning program changed the administrative operations in the areas of capital improvements programming and budgeting? Has the Planning program increased the under- standing of various departments of their relation to the whole community? Comment on the administration of zoning and subdivision regulations and the relationship of administrative policies to the general plan. VI. 149 To what extent have variances and amendments been granted on these regulations? What codes and ordinances have been adopted as a result of the planning program? Have there been any particular problems in their administration and enforcement? Has the planning program had any influence on the communities acceptance of zoning, bond issues, capital improvements, etc.? Has the planning program had any effect on the kind of projects the council would approve? Who were the first persons or groups to become interested in planning? What groups now support or have supported planning and how was this support expressed? Has the program and community actions result- ing from it lived up to expectations? What measures were taken to acquaint the community with the planning program? Did the local newspaper actively support the Does there now appear to be community-wide interest or awareness in planning and planning Was there any strong opposition to the 701 How will this affect future planning and What do you believe to be the primary accomplishments of the 701 program in your General Questions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. planning program? 6. proposals? 7. program? 8. Does it still exist? 9. development efforts? 10. community? 11. Does it appear that planning will be established on a continuing basis? 150 Who Whould Be Interviewed? The groups of persons who might be included in the interviews were examined in Chapter V. These persons included representatives of the following groups: innovators, administrators, legislators, developers, and consumers. The best representative of the administrators in most of the test communities would be the city manager. He would be in a position to provide the most information on tangible results. He would also be in a good position to provide insight into the working relationship between the legislative body and the planning commission. He would also sit with the planning commission and be able to react on the effectiveness of the work of the consultant with the commission. Only one of the test communities did not have a city manager. Here the mayor or another member of the community government would represent the administrators. In this instance the staff planner was selected. The legislators would be represented by the mayor or another member of the council. They would have a distinctly dif- ferent viewpoint than the city manager or the planning commission. They would be responsive to pressures from all segments of the community. In this sense they would represent primarily the consumers but they would also represent the developers. The planning commission would represent the administrators in so far as preparation and administration of various plan elements was concerned. They are also frequently representatives of the developers through the influence of bankers, realtors, and builders 151 who are often members of planning commissions. Persons representing the innovators could not be identified except through interviews with some of the persons mentioned above. Due to limitations imposed by time and travel it was decided to interview the city manager or the staff planner, the planning commission chairman or another commission member, the mayor or another councilman, and some other person who had been among the first to support planning in the community if the innovators were not included in those listed above. All of the questions in the questionnaire could not be asked of every person inter— viewed. The administrator, due to his unique position, would be able to respond on all sections of the question— naire but the commission member would not respond on the section dealing with legislative administrative actions and the councilman would not respond on those sections dealing with administrative actions and planning commission actions. Following are the results of the community interviews: Results of Community Interviews Community "A" Persons Contacted: City Manager Planning Commission Chairmen City Council Member Tangible Results There have been only limited successes in this area. The Comprehensive Plan was adopted by the planning commission but not by the city council, however it is being used as a guide to actions by the council. The Zoning Ordinance revision has not been acted upon but is still under considera- tion. The Subdivision Regulations as proposed were turned down as being too stringent. However this 152 too is being used by the manager as a guide for proper actions by developers. There have been only two major physical outgrowths of the 701 program. These are the planning and construction of parking and the master sewer and water plan. The latter program has had an application filed for federal aid for engineering and construction. No action was taken on the proposed Capital Improvements Program or on any other specific proposal of the plan. The consultant who did the 701 plan was retained for only one year. The city council felt he was more expensive than called for. The planning commission was very displeased at this action. There have been no provisions made for updating the planning data or the plan itself. Consultant Actions This area was not particularly outstanding. The consultant had a good understanding of the area but his main problem seemed to be in his inability to gain the support of the council. He was strongly supported by and worked closely with the planning commission. The consultant was characterized as being a bit too "far out" while the council was just the opposite. Other than participation in hearings there was little direct contact with the rest of the community. Planning Commission Actions The composition of the planning commission shows an interesting cross-section of the community. Four of the eight members (excluding the councilman) can be characterized as leaders in other areas. Three represent the local business community, three held management level positions in local industry, one is a retired school superintendent, and one a mechanic. The capability level of the commission has not changed since beginning the 701 program. The understanding of the commissioners of planning seems high due to the work of the consultant. During the 701 program attendance at commission meetings was very good but this has fallen off since the consultant's services were terminated. The commissioners did promote planning by speaking to the various civic groups but this might have been pushed harder. Most items that concern planning are referred to the commission for comment through the manager who sits with both bodies. Generally the commission does feel that the program resulted in significant community accomplishments. 153 Legislative Council Actions The legislative body is apparently convinced of the value of planning ahead and providing services with an eye to future growth rather than on the basis of expediency as was done in the past. Their primary goals seems to be that of economic growth but within limits. A certain resistance to change was evident. The council apparently seeks the advice of the planning com— mission on most matters dealing with physical development but does not always follow their suggestions. There is an understanding by the commission of their different political bases which explains some of the differences. For a time there was a joint council—commission committee working on the zoning ordinance but this group has ceased to function. One short— coming noted was that the consultant's contact was limited to the one councilman who was also a member of the planning commission. In spite of this the council appreciates the value of the plan and refers to it often as a guide to policy. Administrative Actions The city manager is of the opinion that there was not much change in his administrative opera- tions due to the 701 program. This is due in part to the slow acceptance of various ordinances by the community. As mentioned previously the zoning revisions are still under study. A junk car ordinance can be credited to the program and a minimum housing ordinance is now being prepared. General Questions and Impressions There is no single group in the community that strongly supports planning however neither is there any strong opposition. The local news- paper did give the planning operation good coverage but did not actively support it. Comments were made indicating that it never really supports anything so this was expected. The entire plan was serialized in the paper and members of the commission spoke to various groups on the planning program. As a result there is a limited degree of interest and awareness in the planning program in the city. The greatest value of the 701 program was indicated in two areas; first, it broke the ground for taking a long range view of the needs of the community, secondly, it laid the basis for the master sewer and water plan which had been one of the biggest needs of the community. It does appear that planning is established here and that the plan will be revised from time to 154 time. However this will probably not happen for the next five to ten years. From the standpoint of what might be considered optimum this program lacks a good deal. With the understanding of this as a first effort in planning and in the setting of a small town which has only a moderate growth potential, there appears to have been significant progress as a result of this 701 program. Community "B" Persons Contacted: City Manager Mayor Planning Commission Member Tangible Results There has been a high degree of accomplishment in this program. The Comprehensive Plan has been adopted by both the planning commission and the city council. The new Zoning Ordinance which was a product of the program has been adopted for two years. Also adopted is the new revision of the Subdivision Regulations. The Capital Improvements Program which is prepared annually by the city manager has been fairly well followed. The load time of items in it depends on the type of financing. The water system is planned for long term expansion while the sewer system due to special industrial waste problems is a shorter term program. Other items that have been completed or are programmed include extensive street surfacing, parks, golf course and an airstrip. An interesting point here is that a significant share of the park budget comes from voluntary contributions of interested citizens. There is no current urban renewal program or workable program. However renewal is being investigated as a means of land acquisition in the downtown and a new Housing Code is now nearly ready for consideration. Most of the planning data is considered to be still adequate but an aerial photograph of the community is taken each five years to keep land use information up- to-date. The consultant has been consulted only infrequently since the completion of the 701 pro- gram. Consultant Actions There appears to have been an excellent rela- tionship between the consultant and the community. They consider him to be highly qualified and to have an excellent understanding of the community. He used a public opinion poll in collection of data, called in various persons to meetings of the 155 planning commission and had frequent meetings with the commission. There was no broad attempt to involve the whole community in the planning pro— gram. Most of his time was spent with the planning commission with only limited close contact with the council however the council was kept informed of all developments and was in general agreement with the commission. Planninngommission Actions The planning commission is a very capable group. They were carefully screened by the manager and others at the time of their appointment to ensure that they were leaders, had an interest in the community, and were willing to work. They include the president and an officer of an insurance firm, three engineers, a local appliance dealer, a veterinarian and the editor of the local paper. All of the original members have continued to serve on the commission. During the development of the 701 program the attendance and participa- tion of the commission members at meetings was very good and they seem to have a good under— standing of planning and of the plan. They no longer meet on a regular basis although they are still active and provide recommendations to the council on specific questions pertaining to physical development. The council does not refer all matters on physical development to the commis- sion but does respect its opinions. Legislative Council Actions The areas that are viewed as the major goals of the community government deal with the economy and providing services. Of these the provision of more and better services and facilities to the community ranks at the top. This is illustrated by the stringent requirements in the new subdivision regulations. The goal of economic growth is seen as supporting the community. In this context the council takes a leadership role in the community. They are very experienced and have a thorough understanding of the planning program. They generally take an overall view of the community and actively use the plan. They have worked very closely with the planning commission. Twocf the five member council are also members of the planning commission. As a result there has never been any conflict between the two bodies. The council uses the commission as an advisory body and especially as a clearing house for all zoning questions. On certain issues, particularly those pertaining to zoning and development, the commission 156 acts as a sounding board and can permit a cooling off period before the council must take action. Administrative Actions It was felt that the planning program greatly helped in gaining acceptance for capital improve— ments programming. This was one of the biggest benefits in the area of administration. There have been relatively few problems in the areas of zoning and subdivision regulations with practically no variances or amendments so far. There has been good enforcement and support of these and this is now accepted and expected by the community. Part of this must be credited to the council which has given excellent support in these areas. General Questions and Impressions The planning program was apparently an out— growth of efforts made by the city manager and persons within the city government. There is no specific body or civic group which pushed planning although it has been generally accepted by the community. There seems to be general satisfaction with the accomplishments of the program however the area of local retail sales is still weak. There seems to be a degree of apathy among some local merchants but there has now been an economic develop- ment commission appointed to study ways of improving the downtown retail area. The primary means of publicizing the plan and planning program has been through the local newspaper. With the local editor on the planning commission the papers have given strong support to the program. There was also a speaking bureau set up to give programs to local civic groups. Theough these means the plan- ning program has been well accepted. There was never any significant opposition to the 701 program. There were several opinions as to what was the primary accomplishments of the 701 program. Among them were the apparent physical features of the street improvement and architectural and appearance programs, the new zoning and subdivision regula- tions, and the feeling for planning that has been generated. Among the comments were some on the value of having the plan: "The certainty of having a plan helps sell the area to outsiders. A state- ment of public policy on development gives protec— tion to potential investors." This appears to be a very healthy community. The plan has been a distinct help in furthering community aims and it is expected that the planning program will continue. 157 Community "C" Persons Contacted: City Manager Planning Commission Chairman City Council Member Tangible Results There was a surprisingly high degree of achievement in this program. The Comprehensive Plan has not yet been published in its final form. There is expected to be a popular version of the plan for distribution in the community by March. The new Zoning Ordinance has been adopted. There was expected to be more controversy on this than on the plan so it was handled first. The S22: division Regulations are quite recent and were adequate for the present development. The Capital Improvements Program was a result of the planning program and will this year have preliminary recom— mendations from the planning commission before it is drawn up. This is the only community inter- viewed in which the commission actively partici- pates in the formulation of the capital improvements program. The first planning proposal to take shape is implementation of the open space program. This has been provided for in the budget and federal assistance in land acquisition has been applied for. There is a good working relationship between the council and the planning commission. The commission is used to give advice on any proposals for public facilities. There has been no federally aided urban renewal but there has been what amounts to a local renewal program. This has resulted in the construction of a shopping center in the downtown area. The stores were privately financed and the off—street parking was provided by the city. There is no "workable ro ram" as such but the city had a new housing code. The consultant has been retained to handle special reports and problems. The community also has a grant for a continuing program which will include publishing the popular report, broader coverage in some areas and some updating. Consultant Actions The consultant worked very closely with the planning commission. The commission participated fully with the consultant in the preparation of the various studies of the 701 program. The council did not work closely with the consultant but was kept well informed. There was some feeling that at times the consultant was too "theoretical" but in general he had a thorough understanding of the 158 community. There was no effort made to involve the community on a broad scale in the planning process. The Board of Commerce was consulted in the develop— ment of plans for the downtown area and the Economic Development Commission on industrial plans but there remains much to be done in the area of community involvement. There was only limited contact beyond the commission, council, and those bodies mentioned above but it was felt that in a community of this size this was sufficient. One area that seemed weak was in the area of goal formulation. The persons interviewed felt that this was done mostly by the consultant on the basis of his own experience and observations. Planning Commission Actions The prestige of the planning commission is such that there are persons who have asked to be considered if any vacancy occurs. With a situation such as this it has been possible to select replacement members on the basis of record of community leadership, interest, and willingness to work. The make-up of the commission includes two men in management positions in automobile plants, a data expert, an architect, a realtor, an elec- tronics engineer, a school teacher, and two other persons active in local groups. The commission has a good understanding of planning, several having participated in planning seminars. Their attendance and participation in commission activities has been outstanding with it being a rarity to have more than one absence at a meeting. There was a degree of personality conflict between the consultant and some of the commission members but for the most part they worked well together. They are still a very active body meeting usually twice a month. They see their function as advisory to the council, taking some of the research load from them. The council makes liberal use of the commission and almost always refers matters per- taining to physical development to the commission for comment. The commission does little active promoting of the planning program but has set up separate committees for this purpose. Legislative Council Actions The primary goals of the community government is seen as promoting the community's economic growth. The provision of services has been some— what limited to basics due to the size and the economic structure of the community. The 701 program has helped to point out deficiencies in this area. The council has a good understanding of the planning program as most of the councilmen 159 had served on the planning commission. This has promoted an excellent relationship between the two bodies and has fostered a high degree of coopera- tion. They go out of their way to use the commis- sion recognizing that it has the time and talent to handle many questions for the council. On many development questions the commission holds hearings before any council action is taken, and acts as a sounding board for the council. The council recognizes that often the commission can be more objective in its viewpoint. Administrative Actions The 701 program has caused a significant change in the operation of the city manager particularly in the area of budgeting. The planning commission now participates directly in the preparation of the capital improvements plan which is used as a guide in preparation of the budget. There has been little problem in the administration of the zoning and subdivision ordinances with only a few hardship variances being granted. There has also been a new Housing Code adopted but this has yet to be actively enforced. There has not been much effect yet on the community acceptance of various planning measures but it is expected that this will change with publication of the popular planning report later this year. General Questions and Impressions The planning commission was established in 1953 but did not accomplish a great deal until recently. One comment described the community as staggering in 1956 but as sound and moving now. The program has generally lived up to the expecta— tions of those close to it. The primary means of publicizing the program has been through the local papers. There have been reports of all commission meetings and other support from the local editors. There is some lack of interest in planning in the community but it was mentioned that interest is generated only as there is a direct effect on people. As a result the business community are very aware and interested in planning. This is expected to greatly improve with the publication of the popular planning report. There has been an attitude survey recently conducted by the Junior Chamber of Commerce which with a limited return indicated generally favorable attitudes toward planning. The primary accomplishments of the 701 program are in giving direction to the planning commission and to the community, as well as providing new basic ordinances and the capital improvements programming. It has been an excellent 160 tool and guide to the council and has made the commission and council stronger and more effective bodies through their cooperation. It has also helped to improve the image of the community and encouraged new industrial development. This pro- gram gives every appearance of being well established and highly successful. Community "D" Persons Contacted: Mayor Chairman Planning Commission Staff City Planner Tangible Results The Comprehensive Plan has been recommended by the planning commission to the council to be adopted as a guide to policy and principles. It is nearing action but has not been adopted at this time. A major revision of the Zoning Ordinance which was originally written in 1936 was adopted in 1963. This was a direct result of the 701 program. A revision of the Subdivision Regulations was adopted by the planning commission in January of 1966. The Capital Improvements Program has had only limited acceptance. There is an annually revised capital improvements program but it includes only a limited number of items. It is hoped that it can be expanded in the future. There has been a fair success in carrying out proposals of the plan. Among these are open space and park land acquisitions and construction of parking in the business district. The city is well covered by codes and ordinances and its workable program is in the process of being recertified. There is some discouragement expressed by the mayor due to the failure of the city to approve an urban renewal program in a recent referendum. Part of the problem here was the failure to sufficiently involve the persons affected by the proposed project. There will be further attempts to start urban renewal projects but in different areas. The planning program is still active with a staff planner working to keep the planning data up-to-date. Consultant Actions It was felt that the consultant had a good understanding of the physical aspects of the city but did not thoroughly understand the community's political structure. He used a public opinion poll in gathering information but this was the extent of efforts to involve a broad base of the 161 community. He met regularly and frequently with the planning commission during the development of the plan. He also met at times with the city council and spoke to some other groups. Commission Actions The planning commission is of generally high caliber and represents a good cross-section of the various elements in the city. They represent backgrounds in labor, unions, management and commerce. There has been no change in the general make-up of the commission since inception of the 701 program although there has been some change in the individual members. The understanding of planning by the commission is generally good. Their attendance and participation at commission meetings during the planning program was excellent. They have continued to be very active since its completion with nineteen meetings in 1965. The commission sees their role as advisory to the council. The council generally refers all matters pertaining to physical development to the commis- sion for comment. This relationship has improved over the past few years as the council gained confidence in the commission. Legislative Council Actions The major goal or function of the city govern— ment is seen to be economic growth. Other items are important but secondary to this. The new mayor was elected on a platform stressing improve- ment of the tax base, public housing, and river pollution control. The economic goal was one of the reasons for beginning planning and has not changed. Some members of the council have a good understanding of the planning program while others are a bit questionable. They all seem to accept it as a good guide to policy and programs. The council seeks the advice of the commission and of the staff planner on most matters pertaining to physical development but they do not always follow these suggestions. Administrative Actions The planning program has definitely influenced administrative actions. The capital improvements program was introduced in the 701 program. The zoning map generally follows the plan. There have been a fairly large number of variances granted but these were mostly deemed to be consistent with the principles of the plan. The zoning ordinance, subdivision regulations, and a minimum housing code are products of the planning program. The city now has an adequate set of ordinances and its 162 workable program is in the process of being recertified. It is felt that the planning pro- gram had a positive effect on the community's acceptance of zoning and capital improvements and the council's acceptance of various proposed projects. General Questions and Impressions There was considerable effort in planning prior to the 701 program. There had been a parking study and an urban renewal project. The 701 program was to an extent the result of the urban renewal program. The impetus for planning apparently came from within the council and city government. There is still no really strong general support for it. During the program commission members spoke to nearly every group in the city in support of the program. In this effort the local newspaper gave good coverage of the program. In spite of this there is a feeling that general understanding.of the planning pro— gram is quite vague. However there was and is no strong opposition to planning. The planning program is definitely established on a continuing basis with a full time staff planner. It is felt that the primary accomplishments of the program were in preparing the community for orderly growth by providing a guide for decisions. It is the feeling of the author that this program has resulted in significant improvements and steps in understanding and operation of planning. There is some discouragement due to failure to pass an urban renewal project but the planning function is well enough established to ride over this setback and continue to provide guidance. Community "E" Persons-Contacted: City Manager Planning Commission Chairman Mayor Pro Tem Tangible Results This community has had a good history of planning. The present plan is a further extension of a planning program begun some ten years ago. The Comprehensive Plan was adopted by the planning commission but has not been formally adopted by the council. However they use it as a guide. The Zoning Ordinance had no major revisions as it was fairly recently written and was still adequate. There have not been any amendments in the 163 Subdivision Regulations although these are in the process of being changed to accommodate new types of apartment developments. There is a Capital Improvement Program that is being used and is annually updated. The city manager publishes an annual status report showing which projects are ahead of, behind, or on schedule. Currently, all projects of the capital improvements program are on schedule. Nearly all items of this kind that are proposed are reviewed by the commission. There is a close cooperation between the council and the commission in this area. The Urban Renewal program is very active. The community is in their second large project and has two more in the planning stages. As part of this program the city has a currently approved Workable Program. The city has hired a staff planner who will be working with the urban renewal director as well as keeping the planning data up-to-date. They still plan to call in a consultant to assist on special problems. Consultant Actions There were a good deal of problems with a change of planner-in-charge in the middle of the project. This caused a problem due to lack of continuity between the planners. It was felt that at times the chief planner was ineffectual but the consulting firm made adjustments necessary to successfully complete the project. In the process of developing their studies the consultant used a public opinion questionnaire and contacted several of the commissions in the community such as the school and recreation commissions. How- ever, no civic groups were involved in this phase. The consultant worked primarily with the planning commission. There were no extra meetings and the number of commission meetings were only good because of some pressure from the commission upon the consultant. The consultant did not work with the council directly but they felt that it was their responsibility to stay abreast of the commission. Commission Actions The planning commission is quite capable and active. They represent some of the more active leaders in the community. They are mostly from two areas, the business community and management level in industry. In addition there are a probate officer and two women. They seem to have a good grasp of the possibilities and limitations of planning. Although there have been some changes in personnel the character of the commission has remained the same since before the 701 program. 164 They have continued to meet regularly on various matters referred to them by the council. Their relationship with the council is quite harmonious and results in good communication between the two bodies. They are quite satisfied with the results of the program and feel that the plan is being used in guiding the development of the community. Legislative Council Actions The major objectives of the city government are seen to be in improving both the economic position of the community and the services and quality of the residential neighborhoods. The council is taking an active role in shaping future development and is using the comprehensive plan as a guide. There seems to be a good level of under- standing of planning and of the purpose of the 701 program. There also seems to be an appreciation of the value of the planning commission with the council seeking their advice and comment on most physical development questions. They have at times used the commission to assist as a cooling off process for unpopular issues. Administrative Actions There have been significant changes in the administration of the community since the beginning of the 701 program. One of these has been the inclusion of a formalized capital improvements program in the printed city budget. Having a full-time planner available to assist the manager has also increased the understanding and coopera- tion of the city departments. The present 701 project is seen as a necessary part of the overall program. Urban renewal is a much greater force in the city government than the planning program and actually motivated the council to begin this 701 project. General Questions and Impressions Planning has been a fact in this community since the urban renewal program was first begun. The leadership here came mostly from the city manager. The primary support of planning has been from the council and administration but is now more general as planning is well established and accepted. There has been no real support from the community for this project, in fact there is a feeling of apathy in many sections, however there is no opposition to planning. The publicity efforts have consisted of mailed leaflets and articles in the local newspapers. The papers have given generally excellent coverage and some direct support. On this basis it would seem that 165 there was a general awareness and understanding of planning in the community. The primary benefits of the 701 program are felt to be that it allows the small community to afford the services of a consultant and to draft a program that would not otherwise have been done. It has provided a basis for policy decisions and helped to clarify goals. It is the author's impression that this is a generally excellent program. It is also felt that were it not for the understanding and leader- ship of the city manager and commission members, the 701 program might have broken down during the change of planners on the project. As it turned out a successful program has maintained its momentum. Community Planning Achievement Is Compared As was mentioned previously the areas of achieve- ment reviewed here are at times extremely difficult to evaluate objectively. However there are a number of specific items included in the questionnaire that may be compared and roughly scored. The scoring of these items is in itself quite subjective but will give a clearer picture of the reasons for the author's opinions on the quality of the 701 programs reviewed. The items that are most subject to scoring are found in the sections on Tangible Results. Items included that could be scored are: status of the comprehensive plan, zoning ordinance, subdivision regula- tions, and use of a capital improvement program. Other items that should be included are the items that would come under a "workable program" such as new or improved codes and ordinances other than those mentioned above, the degree of implementation of physical improvement proposals, and the continued use of a planning consultant or staff planner after completion of the 701 project. Another area that 166 would receive a completely subjective score but is highly important to the continued success of planning is the rela- tionship between the legislative council and the planning commission. The score given each of these areas reflects their status of adoption and degree of use or the commitment of the legislative body to the policies and principles expressed. The following are the scorings of each of the communities on eight areas selected as indicating community achievement: Community Interview Questionnaire Results Area Maximum Community Evaluated Score A B 2 _l_)_ E Comprehensive Plan 5 3 5 3 4 3 Zoning Ordinance 5 3 5 5 5 5 Subdivision Regulations 5 l 5 5 5 4 Capital Improvements Program 5 l 3 5 2 4 Other Codes and Ordinances 5 2 2 3 5 5 Physical Improvements 5 2 3 3 3 4 Continued Use of Consultant or Staff Planner 5 2 2 3 3 4 Relationship of Planning Commission to Legislative Council '_5 _3 __3 _5_ __4, _4 Total 40 16 28 32 31 33 Comparing the scores given in the evaluation of community achievement with those from the evaluation of documents shows some obvious discrepancies: 167 Community _A- _E1 2 E 2 Evaluation of Planning Documents 70.5 72.0 56.5 79.0 74.0 Evaluation of Planning Achievement 16 28 32 31 33 This would seem to bear out the thesis that evaluation of documents alone, without giving consideration to the special situations that exist in the community, is inadequate. The reasons for these discrepancies will be examined in the succeeding chapter and conclusions will be drawn. CHAPTER VII CONCLUSIONS: SOME OBSERVATIONS ON EVALUATION AND PLANNING The basic premise of the study has been that an evaluation of only the documents produced in a planning program does not give an adequate picture of the quality of the program. It has been proposed that a more complete evaluation would be obtained through the use of personal interviews with the persons who were involved in the planning program. This thesis was tested by evaluating a series of five community planning programs first on the basis of the documents produced and secondly on the basis of interviews with persons in the community. The evalua- tion of documents was accomplished through the use of a set of criteria that were developed for this purpose. The interviews were conducted with three persons in each community who had been closely involved with the planning program. This was done with the aid of a questionnaire which had been formulated to bring out significant facts on the activity that had taken place in the community during and since completion of the planning project. If the basic premise was incorrect and the evaluation of the documents does reflect adequately the whole planning program, then the ranking of the test communities on the basis of documents evaluation and the ranking on the basis 168 169 of community interviews should be at least similar if not the same. If the premise is correct and the interviews do show factors of the planning program vital to its implementa- tion that did not appear in the evaluation of documents, then the rankings by the two methods of evaluation should be quite different. A comparison of the two rankings follows: Ranking of Community i- 2' 2_ 4' '2 Evaluation of Planning Documents D E B A C Evaluation of Planning Achievement E C D B A Two Rankings Significantly Different: Why? It was found during the interviews that there were a number of factors vital to the programs in each community that did not appear in any of the planning documents. Community "E" showed an outstanding record of achievement in its planning program that was even higher than the quality of the documents would indicate. It was found that this was in large part due to an active urban renewal program and to previous planning efforts. There was some problem in the preparation of the current planning reports due to a change of personnel in the consulting firm. Had the planning program not been as well established as it was, it is doubtful that the program would show such a high degree of achievement. Community "C" shows the most marked degree of change in the rankings. The evaluation of the documents for this 170 community showed an adequate program including all of the basic items but one that was far from inspiring. The most important factors that were missed was the degree of cooperation that had occurred between the consultant and the community and the spirit of the community leaders. The reactions to the plan were that it was in tune with the goals and capabilities of the community. The interviews showed a high respect for the planner and a high degree of satisfaction with the plan. The result is a program of much higher quality than was reflected in the planning documents. The planning program in community "D" has some very good features but its dependence on the community political structure was not mentioned in the documents. The program has been institutionalized to a fair degree and should be strong enough to continue to be effective. At the present time due to the defeat of an urban renewal proposal there is a feeling of some discouragement with the whole planning program. There are plans for another urban renewal project being developed which should meet with more success. With this, the whole program should be back on its way. Community "B" has an excellent planning program for a small community. Its ranking on the scale is due more to the limited means available and more modest needs than to any lack of success in its program. The position of community "A" at the bottom of the list is due to a combination of two major factors. It is a 171 small community with a limited growth potential and as a result the proposals would be on a more limited scale to have any real hope of success. The other factor is the lack of receptivity to planning faced by the consultant. He worked closely with the planning commission and had good support from them but was not as successful with the city council. There were some significant results from this planning program but there was not the degree of achieve- ment shown in the other test communities. However it is felt that one of the most significant achievements of this program was the development of a feeling for planning on the part of both the planning commission and, to a more limited extent, in the council. Any future planning pro- gram should and find much more acceptance due to the efforts made in this program. Evaluation Criteria for Documents Expanded None of the above noted features showed up in the study of the documents. It is fair to assume that this would also be the case in the vast majority of evaluations conducted by the various state administering agencies for the 701 planning assistance programs. In developing the set of criteria used in evaluation of planning documents a review was made of several of the means of evaluation used by such state agencies. It is felt that the evaluation criteria used in this study incorporates the best features of the systems reviewed. It is considerably more extensive than any of them and should give a more complete evaluation. 172 But as has been noted, even this extended evaluation system for documents could not provide a reviewer with adequate information to judge the quality of a planning program. Interviews Needed for Complete Evaluation It has been shown that interviews with the persons involved in the planning program and its implementation in each community could provide sufficient information to make a valid judgement of the quality of the total program. The information sought was basically the same as had been the case during the author's experience in New Hampshire. The areas covered included the relative status and rela- tionship between the planning commission and the city council, the influence of the planning program on the city administration, particularly as pertains to codes, ordinances, and the capital improvements program, the influence of the planning program on the legislative council, the benefits derived by the community from the program, and the acceptance of planning by the community. In probing into these areas the questionnaire used was organized into the following sections, each aimed at different point of view or area of activity: tangible results, consultant actions, planning commission actions, legislative council actions, administrative actions, and general questions which included background, publicity, and opinion on the primary accomplishments of the program. The interviews included the three persons who should be most able to react on the effectiveness of the planning 173 programs. The first persons to be contacted in each of the cities was the chief administrative officer. In four of the five cities this was the city manager. He is the one person closest to the total operation of the city. He normally sits with both the city council and with the planning commission. In addition he is the one most involved with the administration of any implementation measures that are products of the planning program. The staff planner in the one city without a manager performed many of the same functions that would be handled by the manager. The mayor or some member of the city council would be able to react to the effectiveness of the planning program from the point of view of a legislator who is ultimately responsible for any actions that are taken and from the point of view of the elected representative of his constituents who are the consumers and users of any facility or service provided by the community. The planning commission chairman or a member was the other person included in the interviews in each community. The questionnaire which was developed to be used as a guide in these interviews was quite extensive. Several sets of questions relating to the kinds of information desired were reviewed as background for its preparation. However all of the questionnaires reviewed were designed for use without an interviewer and as a result were quite brief and limited in the questions asked. The form of the questionnaire which was actually used was much more 174 extensive than any of those reviewed and reaches many more areas of planning activity. The whole questionnaire was used in the interviews with the city managers and took about an hour to cover. The interviews with the planning commis- sion members and councilmen omitted some sections of the questionnaire and took about thirty to forty minutes each. Tangible Results The usable products of this study are of two kinds. The first is the background material on the planning laws and concept of planning that was presented in the first two chapters. The second and the more valuable is the system of evaluation of planning programs that has been developed. This system would involve both the evaluation criteria for documents and the interview questionnaire which provides an evaluation of planning achievement. These two instruments may provide a beginning for an improvement of the evaluation techniques currently being used by agencies administering urban planning assistance programs under section 701. Observations and Some Tentative Recommendations As a result of this study a number of observations seem to be called for regarding the planning programs that have been carried on under the 701 program. It has been well established that the planning documents produced during a project tell only half the story. The basic idea that has been developed here is that the total planning program 175 including the implementation of the planning proposals should be considered. The quality of the plan should not be measured as something distinct and separate from the planning program. There is a need to use a total approach to the comprehensive plan and to recognize the vital part that is played by the participants in the planning program; the consultant, the planning commission, the city manager or administrative officer, and the legislative body. We are working within the community decision making process. If we understand the relationship that exists between the participants, we can have a better perspective of the tools that we are providing to aid this process; the comprehensive plan, the various codes and ordinances, and the capital improvements program. Is State Responsible for Whole Program? There is a need to recognize the total nature of the planning program and its relationship to the decision- making process in the administration of the 701 program. If we accept the reality of the total program and still maintain the idea of the State's responsibility for the planning work that is done, this leads to the conclusion of calling for expanded participation of supervisory personnel in the planning programs. Expanded State Participation Called For If we expect the consultant to effectively play the roles of educator and stimulator in the planning program in 176 addition to preparing the classic planning studies there are two things that we should expect to provide. First, this might well require many extra meetings and extra effort for the consultant. If we recognize this as a need in the program, the consultant should be encouraged to provide this service and there should be provision made to compensate him for it. Secondly, if we accept the importance of the consultant's work and interactions with various elements of the community and pay him for this work there should be some close contact by the administrative agency. Supervisors should meet with the consultant and the planning commission at least monthly to keep abreast of the development of the program. This request for increased State participation is not a recommendation for a proliferation of specific contract items. There must be a reliance on the profes- sional competence of the planning consultant. He must have enough flexibility in his contract to provide the planning items that are proven to be needed in the individual case. Another area that should be encouraged is the provision of grants for continuing planning activities. This is already being done to a limited extent under the current guides of eligible planning work which includes certain educational activities such as preparation of materials for publicity of the program, training sessions for administration, and certain exhibits, films, etc. Also eligible are certain work items leading to accomplishment 177 of a Workable Program for Community Improvement.1 The guidelines are general enough to permit greatly expanded use. Concern for Qualifications of Consultants and Supervisors This brings us to another important area, that of the qualification of planners. The most important correc- tions are those that can be made while a program or study is still in its formative stages. If the state representa— tive is present when studies are presented to the commission and is abreast of the program development, he can insure that the program develops smoothly. But to be effective he must be at least as well qualified as the person he is supervising. Without this background and experience he would not be able to assist the consultant in difficulties in the program. At the same time that the supervisor's qualifica- tions are being questioned, those of the planners-in-charge should also be examined. In one of the communities reviewed there was a definite problem due to the consulting firm assigning a planner whom the city manager and planning commission termed "ineffectual" to handle the project. With closer control of planners qualifications this might have been avoided. One comment that was noted in two of the programs reviewed was that the planner did not fully understand the 1Urban Planning Program Guide, Section 2—3. 178 political structure of the community. In one case the planner was apparently unable to relate to the city council. In each case the competence to handle physical problems was unquestioned. This indicates a lack in the planner's training. There is a need expressed for greater understanding of local political structures and the opera- tion of the decision making process within it. There is a lack of skills and understanding of the question of critical involvement in a community. The need to know Who to involve in the planning process to increase the chances of a planning program succeeding is great now and will become more important in the future. The 701 program has changed drastically since its inception in 1954. It has grown from an after thought in the National Housing Act into a major program of aid to cities. In the process there have been many questions asked of its value and there will be many more. It is hoped that the material presented here may help in some small way to improve the service that is provided through this program. APPENDIX A EVALUATION OF PLANNING DOCUMENTS Community Max. A B C I. Overall Considera- tions (10%) 3.0 2.5 3.0 2.0 A. Internal Con- sistency: Use of a logical approach in the development of the study; objectives, inventory, analysis, conclusions or plans, and next steps to be taken or implementa- tion measures. Involvement: 3.0 2.0 1.0 1.0 Was there reference to the involvement of community groups in the preparation of the plan, such as organization charts, lists of names, or acknowledgments? 1. Planning Commission 2. City Council 3. Community Service Clubs 4. Other Groups Presentation: 4.0 3.0 3.5 2.0 l. Presentability; format, neatness. 2. Continuity in presentation of ideas and data. 3. Clarity and detail for use of the layman. 4. Use of a summary section, brief 179 D 3.0 180 analysis of the report. 5. Use and effec— tiveness of tables, diagrams, and illustra— tions. 6. Mapping presenta- tion; a) Legibility b) Correlation with text c) Complete data, legend, title block, etc. 7. Correct grammar. SUBTOTAL 10.0 7.5 II. Goals and Objectives (15%7 A. Is there an explicit statement of the following types of community goals and relationships between them: 1. Social improve— ment. 2.0 1.0 2. Economic improvement. 2.0 2.0 3. Political-— Decision making. 2.0 O 4. Physical development 2.0 2.0 Are these goals expressed where possible as direc- tions rather than static ends? Are the sources of the goals and objec- tives identified? 2.0 1.0 Do the proposed goals fit the scale of the community and the space for growth? 2.0 2.0 Are the program goals, the purposes and objectives of 7-5 5.0 7.0 1.5 6.0 181 each individual study clearly stated? 1.0 O 1.0 O SUBTOTAL 15.0 9.0 8.0 .0 III. Inventory and Analysis (30%) A. Are the following basic studies included: 10 Land. Use: Existing land use and build— ing survey. 2.0 1.0 2.0 1.0 2. Physical Characteristics; Topography, soils, drainage, geog— raphy, geology, climate. 1.0 1.0 0.5 0.5 3. Population; trends, projec- tions, distribu- tion, density, mobility, and other character- istics. 2.0 1.0 2.0 1.0 4. Transportation; Circulation, both highway and other means 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 5. Community Facilities and Services; Schools, recreation, utilities and others. 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.0 6. Economic Base; Employment, commerce, rela- tion to region, trends and projec- tions. 2.0 1.0 2.0 1.5 Is the statistical data and other infor— mation relevant to the purposes of the study? 2.0 1.0 2.0 1.0 Does the study describe trends of population or eco— nomic change? 2.0 1.0 2.0 1.0 Does it give reasons for these changes? 2.0 1.0 2.0 1.0 [.1 0 CD 0 U1 \ll-‘ 00 0.5 1.5 182 E. Does it describe factors that are expected to influence the future growth of the community? 2.0 F. Does the study contain a state- ment of categories and definitions used in the gathering of data? 2.0 G. Are the bases and methods used for making projections and defining future needs clearly stated? 2.0 H. Are major oppor- tunities and limita- tions clearly identified? 2.0 I. Are standards fitted to local goals and requirements? 1. J. Is data adequate? 2 K. Are sources of data and standards shown? 2.0 SUBTOTAL 30.0 Plans (30%) A. Are the plans long— range, covering twenty years or more? 3.0 B. Does the plan show how the separate elements have been adjusted to each other in achieving coordination among highway, recreation, housing, industry, community facilities, and other land uses? 3.0 3.0 C. Does the plan seem to reflect a reason- able balance among the community's several objectives? 2.0 D. Is there evidence of coordination 1.0 1.5 1.5 1.5 NH 00 2.0 3.0 3.0 1.5 1.0 23.5 2.0 2.0 183 with other plan- ning efforts? 2.0 2.0 1.5 2.0 1.0 2.0 E. Do plan recom- mendations relate to community goals and objectives? 3.0 3.0 1.5 1.0 3.0 3.0 F. Do they solve major problems and exploit major opportunities identified? 3.0 3.0 2.0 3.0 2.0 3.0 G. Does the plan pro- vide justification for the recommenda- tions? 3.0 3.0 3.0 1.5 3.0 3.0 H. Does the study or plan include a definition of its own limitations? 2.0 O O 0 1.0 1.0 I. Are the following basic plan elements included: 1. Land Use; Over— all space needs, residential, commercial, and industrial areas, should contain guide to inter- relationships of land uses, to policy for physical development. 3.0 2.0 1.5 1.5 3.0 3.0 2. Community Facilities; Schools, recrea— tion areas, facilities, public buildings, utilities. 3.0 3.0 3.0 1.5 3.0 1.5 3. Transportation; Major streets, other means, standards, rela- tionship of transportation with other land uses. 3.0 3.0 1.5 2.0 3.0 2.0 SUBTOTAL 30.0 27.0 19.5 18.5 25.0 25.5 V. Implementation (15%) A. Is there a state— ment of next steps 184 needed to implement the plan or pursue the study con— clusions? 3.0 3.0 3.0 1.5 Is the develop- ment program pro- posed reasonable in the light of experience of similar communities and the analysis of community resources and the proposed time span? 2.0 2.0 1.0 1.0 Does the capital improvement program show the basis of determining the recommended financing and debt policies? 2.0 2.0 1.0 1.0 Are projects drawn from the General Plan and bases defined for estab- lishing their priorities? 2.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 Are reasons given for raising, con- tinuing or lowering the present volume of capital expenditure? 2.0 2.0 O 1.0 Are steps needed to establish continuous programming of capital improvements specifically recom- mended? 2.0 O 1.0 2.0 Zoning ordinance or Subdivision Regula- tions; 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 1. Are the adminis— trative demands of the ordinance in proportion to the local govern- mental structure? 2. Is it sufficient to handle proposals of the General Plan? SUBTOTAL 15.0 12.0 9.0 9.5 3.0 3.0 2.0 2.0 1.0 2.0 2.0 1.0 O 2.0 2.0 O 2.0 2.0 12.0 12.0 TOTAL 100 70.5 72.0 56.5 79.0 74.0 APPENDIX B DOCUMENTS REVIEWED DURING EVALUATION CommunityA'A' A Master Plan—-(Community 'A') Including: Land Use Population and Economic Studies Zoning Plan Street Plan Schools & Parks, Business and Industrial Development Financial Plan, Administration of the Plan Master Plan Community 'B' Master Plan Public Improvements Plan Major Thoroughfare Plan Zoning Ordinance Subdivision Ordinance Topography, Population and Residential Neighborhood Study Economic Base Analysis Recreation and Community Facilities Community 'C' Basic Needs Study Population,_Purchasing Power, Economic Base Study Existing Land Use Land Use Plan Street and Highway Plan Draft of Master Plan Text Downtown Plan Industrial Develppment ThoroughfareVFrontage Plan River Valley Proposal Proposed New Zoning Ordinance General Development Plan Community 'D' Comprehensive Development Plan Central Business District Study Basic Studies Report No. l—-Orientation 185 186 Basic Studies, Part 11 Community Facilities Population Community Attitude Survey Comprehensive Plan, Part III Street and Traffic Study Economic Potential Study Land Use Plan Trafficway Plan Proposed Official Mgp Preliminary Second Draft of the Zoning Ordinance Community 'E' A Comprehensive Development Plan Land Use Survey Population and Economic Study Land Use Plan and Housing Study Major Thoroughfare and Community Facilities Plan Composite Plan and Capital Improvements Program Capital Improvements Program REFERENCES CONSULTED Alchin, E. W., Dr. John Donoghue, and S. D. Marquis, A Plan for Community Development Reconnaissance Research TEast Lansing: Michigan State University, Institute for Community Development, mimeograph paper). American Society of Planning Officials, Planning Advisory Service, Check Lists for Planning Operations) Information Report No. 107 (Chicago, Illinois, February 1958). Bacon, Edmund N. "Urban Design as a Force in Comprehensive Planning," Journal of the American Institute of Planners, Vol. 29:1 (February 1963). Bettman, Alfred, in City and Regional Planning Papers, edited by Arthur C. Coney (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1946). Black, Alan, The Functions of the Urban General Plan (Unpublished Thesis, M.C.P., University of California, Berkeley, September 1960). Branch, Melville C., Jr., "Comprehensive Planning: A New Field of Study," Journal of the American Institute of Planners, Vol. 25:3 (August 1959). Chapin, F. Stuart, Jr., "Taking Stock of Techniques for Shaping Urban Growth," Journal of the American Institute of Planners, Vol. 29:2 (May 1963). , Urban Lapd Use Plannipg(New York: Harper Brothers, 19597} Congressional Record Digest, Vol. 100, pp. D403, D412. Congressional Record, Vol. 100, p. 7283. , Vol. 103, p. 10660. , V010 105, p. 18756. , V010 107, p. 115170 187 188 , V010 .110, p. 175820 , Vol. 111, pp. 14669-14714. Cuneo, Roy A., The Urban Planning Assistance Program: Section 701 of the Housing_Act of 1954, as Amended (Unpublished Thesis, Graduate School of Public Administration, New York University, October 1960). Dakin, John, "An Evaluation of the 'Choice' Theory of Planning," Journal of the American Institute of Planners, Vol. 29:1 (February, 1963). Davidoff, Paul and Thomas A. Reiner, "A Choice Theory of Planning," Journal of the American Institute of Planners, Vol. 28:2 (May 1962). Dillon, Donald L., An Investigation of the Comprehensive Plan as a Tool for the5701 Urban Planning Assistance Program (Unpublished Thesis, M.U.P., University of Washington, Seattle, June, 1964). Eisenhower, Dwight D., "Housing Program--Message From the President of the United States," Congressional Record, Proceedings of Debates of the Congress, 93rd Congress, 2nd Session, 1954, Vol. 100. Fagin, Henry, "Organizing and Carrying Out Planning Activities Within Urban Government," Journal of the American Institute of Planners, Vol. 25:3 (August 19597. Haar, Charles M., "The Content of the General Plan: A Glance at History," Journal of the American Institute of Planners, Vol. 21:2 (Spring, 1955). , "The Master Plan: An Impermanent Constitution," Law and Contemporary_Problems, Vol. 20 (Summer, 1955). Hoover, Robert C., "0n Master Plans and Constitutions," Journal of the American Institute of Planners, Vol. 2631 (February, 1960). Housing Act of 1959, Senate Report 924, 1959, p. 131. Housing and Home Finance Agency, Urban Renewal Administra- tion, Urban Planning Assistance Branch, Draft of Questionnaire Concerning Ways of Measuring Success of Local Community Planning Programs (June, 1965). , Urban Planning Program Guide (Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C., November, 1965). 189 , Workable Program for Community Improvement (Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C., June, 1961). Ives, Richard, "Achieving Continuity in 701 Planning," American Society of Planning Officials: Planning 1962. Jones, Holway R., "A Bibliographic Essay on the Urban General Plan," in The Urban General Plan by T. J. Kent, Jr. (San Francisco: Chandler Publishing Company, 1964). Kent, T. J., Jr., The Urban General Plan (San Francisco: Chandler Publishing Company, 1964). Klar, James S., "Achieving Continuity in 701 Planning," American Society of Planning Officials: Planning 1962. Lovelace, Eldridge, "You Can't Have Planning Without a Plan," Journal of the AmericanInstitute of Planners, Vol. 24:1 (Winter, 1958). Mann, Lawrence D., "Studies in Decision Making," Journal of the American Institute of Planners, Vol. 30:1 (February, 1964). McLean, Mary, "Scope and Methods of City Planning," Local Planning Administration, Mary McLean, ed. (Chicago: The International City Managers Assoc., Third Ed., 1959). Meyerson, Martin, "Building the Middle-Range Bridge for Comprehensive Planning," Journal of the American Institute of Planners, Vol. 22:2 (Spring, 1956). Michigan Department of Economic Expansion, Planning Division, Final Project Completion Report, Community Questionnaire. , Project Completion Report, Consultants' Questionnaire. , Professional Competency Standards for Planning Contractors (Mimeograph publication, March 1964). , Project Completion Report, Evaluation Check LiSto , Urban Planning Assistance Project Contract (October, 1963). 190 Mills, W. Raymond and Israel Stollman, Development of Criteria for Professional Review of City and Regional Planning Work Performed in Ohio Under the Local Planning Assistance Program '701' (Mimeograph report, March 16, 1965)} Mitchell, Robert B., "The New Frontier in Metropolitan Planning," Journglof the American Institute of Planners, Vol. 27:3 (August, 1961). Monaghan, George J., The Functions and Achievements of City Planning Agencies: The Development of a Question- naire (Unpublished Thesis, M.R.P., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1960). New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Develop- ment, Division of Economic Development, Urban Planning Assistance Program: Standard third party consultant contract (I964). , Completion Report, Urban Planning Assistance Project N.H.P.-l4 to the U. S. Housing and Home Finance Agency (December 19647. , Completion Report, Urbaanlanni g Assistance Project N.H.P.-ll to the U. S. Housing and Home Finance Agency (January 1965). President's Advisory Committee on Government Housing Policies and Programs, Recommendations on Govern— ment Housing Policies and Programs--A Report to the President of the United States (December 1953). Press, Charles 0., Main Street Politics: Policy Making at the Local Level (East Lansing: Institute for Community Development, Michigan State University, 1962). Public Act 195, Michigan Public Acts of 1931. Public Act 302, Michigan Public Acts of 1947. Public and Local Acts of the Legislature of the State of Michigan, Public Acts of 1963, Act 116. Public Law 83—560, "Housing Act of 1954," 83rd Congress, 2nd Session (August 5, 1954). Public Law 89-117, "Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965," 892 Congress (August 10, 1965), Title x1, Section 1102. 191 Roman, William C., State Planning in Michigan (Unpublished Thesis, M.U.P., Wayne State University, Detroit, November 1964). Smith, Herbert H., "The Planning Consultant Looks at '701'," Urban Problems and Techniques No. 1, Perry L. Norton, Ed. (San Francisco: Chandler— Davis Publishing Co., 1959). Walker, Robert A., The Planning Function in Urban Govern- ment (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1941, Second edition 1950). Williams, Oliver P. and Charles R. Adrian, Four Cities (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1963).