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What Counts Most as a Planning Commissioner?
by Elaine Cogan
Recently, I was asked by a
group of planning board mem-
bers from different parts of the
country to name the three most
important attributes of a com-
missioner. We had been talking
about the need to understand
planning terms; to be neutral and
fair; to pay attention at meet-
ings; and other such important,
matters. But when pressed to
name the three most important
asppects of their Jobs, I surprised
at least some of them by answer-
ing, "patience, persistence and
passion." Here are my reasons. I
will be interested in hearing
whether these attributes seem
reasonable to our readers.
Patience is an essential attribute
if you are to be an effective de-
cision maker, especially in the
contentious situations that often
confront the planning board.
You need to exercise patience
over your own desire to rush to
judgment after a cursory review
of the "facts" as they are pre-
sented by staff, or seem to be
borne out by your own experi-
ence. You also need to be pa-
tient with other board members
who may have a different per-
spective or be slower to grasp
complicated concepts. Most im-
portantly, you must be patient
with the public at that inevita-
ble public hearing or meeting.
Though citizens often care
deeply about a subject, they
may become excited and emo-
tional or express themselves in
less than perfect grammar or
syntax. This is not to excuse
rude or disruptive behavior,
which must, of course, be con-
trolled.,However, do not exhibit
your impatience. Tapping a
pencil on the desk, whispering
to a nei~libor, interrupting or
answering rudely are common
habits that should be avoided.
Each citizen deserves to be
heard with patience, no matter
how misguided you may think
they are.
Have patience with the plan-
ning process, and with the citi-
zens to whom it is important,
and you may be surprised how
often the quality of your final
product is improved.
Persistence is the second of
these important traits of a plan-
ning commissioner. In some
ways, this may seem to be the
reverse of patience, because it
infers a certain amount of will-
ingness to keep espousing a
point of view m light of opposi-
tion. But, whereas patience is a
commodity that cannot be over-
used, persistence should be used
sparingly. A commissioner who
is stubborn and entrenched can
qquickly become ineffective.
"We all know Joe. He never has
an open mind on anything."
Thus, the board may hear you
but not listen, because they
know you are not really listen-
ing to them. a
However, there may be times
when you have weighed all the
information, listened patiently
to the public, and come to a
conclusion that still is not popu-
lar or supported by the majority.
If your colleagues respect you,
they will respect your persis-
tence. You may even win them
over.
In your striving to be dispas-
sionate, that is, fair and open, it
is easy to dismiss passion, but
they are not the same. Yes, you
must always be an active lis-
tener to different points of view,
but this should not mitigate hav-
ing areal passion for planning
as a vital contribution to your
community's livability and fu-
ture.
Planning commissioners should
Continued on page 3...
be advocates for an orderly process that has the best interests of the
community as its overriding goal. They should be passionate about
the values that make their community a special place and vigor-
ously oppose the forces that would seem to undermine it.
you are not passionate about your willingness to devote many
curs to a non-paid, often thankless job, why do it?
triad of traits can be the basis of a truly effective planning
1 member. What are yours?
Special thanks to Elaine Cogan. Elaine is a partner in the Port-
land, Oregon, planning and communications ftrm of Cogan Owens
Cogan, a consultant to many communities undertakk~rng strategic