Resources - Planning Commissioner/Zoning Board of Appeals Training Programs

Following is a brief description of major training programs available to planning commissioners and zoning boards of appeal members.

  • MSUE Citizen Planner Training Program

Citizen Planner is a seven-course series leading to an optional certificate of competency awarded by Michigan State University Extension (MSUE).  Earning the certificate involves the successful completion of six core courses and the performance of 30 hours of community-oriented service in land use planning or related activities.  The Citizen Planner core curriculum consists of the following courses:

  • Introduction to Planning and Zoning
  • Legal Foundations of Planning and Zoning
  • Roles and Responsibilities Part I
  • Roles and Responsibilities Part II
  • Land Division Regulations and Development Controls
  • Best Practices for Innovative Planning and Zoning
  • Art of Community Planning

If you have questions about the program or wish to explore the possibility of beginning a course series in your community, contact your local county MSU Extension office. You may also contact the state program office.  http://citizenplanner.msu.edu
For those unable to attend training, the new online option lets you learn at your own pace.  For more informations go to: http://www.cponline.msu.edu

  • MAP Basic and Advanced Training Programs

The Michigan Association of Planning offers both regional and on-site training workshops covering a variety of topics.  Regional workshops are scheduled events available throughout the state.  On-site workshops are a means of bringing one of our instructors to your location to present one of the comprehensive Michigan Association of Planning educational programs.  MAP workshops include:

  • Nuts and Bolts of Zoning Administration
  • New Official Training
  • Advanced Zoning Board of Appeals
  • Site Plan Review Workshop
  • Master Planning Workshop
  • Zoning Ordinance Workshop

For more information about MSP workshops or the annual three-day conference, contact the MAP Director of Education via email at info@planningmi.org or by calling 734-913-2000.

  • MML Training Programs

The Michigan Municipal League offers a variety of educational workshops throughout the year.  MML’s educational workshops include:

    • Site Plan Review
    • Open Meetings Act
    • New Approaches to Managing Traffic
    • How Legal Decisions Affect Zoning
    • Building Construction and its Pitfalls
    • Shaping Your Community’s Image – Signs, Landscaping, and Aesthetics

For more information about MML’s educational workshops, contact the Director of Education at 734-669-6312 or visit the MML workshop calendar on the web at www.mml.org/education/calendar/enc_calendar.htm.

  • MTA Training Programs

The Michigan Townships Association offers training workshops throughout the state, covering such material as Board of Review Training, How Boards Make Decisions, and Making Meetings Work More Effectively.

For information about MTA’s Educational Workshops, call 517-321-6467 or log onto www.michigantownships.org/educational_workshops.htm.

  • APA Training Programs

APA and AICP provide various options for workshops delivered by your chapter or in your community.  AICP packaged workshops include:

  • Planning for a Disaster-Resistant Community
  • Protecting Farm, Ranch, and Forest Land
  • Practical Communications and Public Outreach for Planners
  • Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Skills
  • Eco-Industrial Development
  • Avoiding Zoning Law Pitfalls
  • Negotiation is Good Planning

Some workshops are on-site, others are call-in, plus there is the national conference for five days each Spring.  For more information about APA and AICP training workshops, visit www.planning.org/training/.