e-Newsletter Volume 29, Issue 3, Fall 2015
Our First e-newsletter! The NY Upstate Planner is going digital for the first time with the Fall 2015 issue. Please note that future newsletters will have less text and more redirects to the NY Upstate website but for now enjoy reading! 
President's Message - Katie Evans, Chapter President

Holiday greetings to you and your loved ones!  Hopefully this newsletter finds you all doing well as we close out 2015.  You might consider taking a few minutes to look back at your accomplishments this past year. Whether you are a student, new professional, mid-career, management, or retiree consider how your efforts have impacted those around you, the communities you have worked in, and the connections you have made over the past year.  The work of a Planner provides value, right?

The NY Upstate APA Chapter Board met for a retreat on November 5th and 6th in Ithaca to generate a focused vision for the Chapter. The Board is working to reorient ourselves to be more outcome based in effort to best serve the membership:  What do we want to accomplish, how are we going to do it and are we providing value to our members? 

The Board's focus areas were member services and advocacy.  Member services concentrated on an annual work plan and budget template for to assist Sections, survey members’ interests and needs, and generate a continuity notebook to aid in Chapter Board succession planning and annual activities.  This could also be used in a similar format at the Section level if desired.  Advocacy concentrated on template/brand consistency, school engagement, legislative platform, and cross-professional development.  Communication internal and external to our organization is a strong overlapping theme.

Working together we would like to increase the visibility of our profession and provide the resources you seek from your membership.  Each of you bring diverse attributes and interests to the table that through volunteerism will play a major factor in what we can achieve.  Please consider this article as an open invitation to you all to participate in increasing the visibility of our profession and enhancing member services.  Do you have an idea to share?  Do you have a project to celebrate?  Do you have experience in any of the sub-topics mentioned above and want to help?  Do you have an idea for professional development?  Do you have a suggestion of a different platform to communicate on?

You, our members, are our greatest asset.  Let’s work together to bring visibility to the value we as planners contribute.  Looking forward to your input and participation in 2016.  Have a safe and happy holidays!  

NY Upstate APA Award Winners !
At the Fall Planners' Day Event held in Syracuse on September 18th thirteen individuals and organizations were presented with awards for their outstanding planning projects:

Comprehensive Planning
Winner : Niagara Falls City in a Park Master Plan
Honorable Mention : Town of Southport Final Comprehensive Plan

Best Practice
Winner: One Region Forward (Buffalo - Niagara)
Honorable Mention: West River Wall Master Plan (City of Rochester)

Public Outreach
Pathways to Progress: A Course for the Adirondack Gateway Region (Adirondack Gateway Council)

Great Places
Winner – Streets : University Avenue Improvement and Art Walk Extension Project (City of Rochester)
Winner - Neighborhoods : Corning Southside Neighborhood

Distinguished Leadership – Elected Official Mayor William Krebs (Springville, NY)

Distinguished Leadership – Planner Emeritus
Donald R. Canfield (Former Jefferson County Planning Director)

Distinguished Leadership (Michael J. Krasner) – Professional Planner
Bradshaw Hovey, PhD (UB Regional Institute)

Outstanding Student Projects
NYS Canal Recreation Plan Update (UAlbany))
Urban Renewal Reconsidered and Renewed (UBuffalo)

Krasner Scholarship Nathan Aldrich (UBuffalo)  

See the Presentation here
Fall Planners Day in Syracuse
The NY Upstate Chapter of the APA presented Fall Planners’ Day at SUNY ESF in Syracuse on September 18th including presentations on Energy and Transportation developments. More than 80 planners attended the full day event.

Chris Carrick, Energy Program Manager at the CNY Regional Planning and Development Board provided information on how New York State’s Renewed Energy Vision (REV) Plan can be used to revitalize communities: “Sustainable energy and urban planning often ignore one another, despite being closely interrelated.”  REV is an entirely new approach for New York and it has involved reshaping the State’s approach to clean energy by developing policies to support the market instead of being the market including  NYSERDA’s NY SUN initiative, The NY Green Bank, and Distributed Energy Systems (DER).

The second presentation focused on Enhanced Transit Plans in Syracuse, Buffalo, and Albany. The Syracuse Metropolitan Transportation Council  ( SMTC ) is developing an enhanced transit plan to encourage redevelopment along Interstate 81 through the City of Syracuse. The Niagara Transportation Authority, on the other hand, is evaluating route options for extending the light rail transit line from Buffalo to suburban Amherst based on the market, travel patterns, existing ridership, and service effectiveness. Finally, the Capital District Transportation Committee and the Capital District Transpiration Authority (CDTA) provided information on their plans for construction of  infrastructure to support a new Bus Rapid Transit system

The final speaker of the day was Bruce Zaretsky of Zaretsky and Associates, Inc. who discussed strategies and pitfalls of green infrastructure.  

2015 Northeast APA Planning Conference a Huge Success!
After a year of planning by dedicated volunteers in the Capital District more than 500 planners from the Northeast descended on historic Saratoga Springs to enjoy the City and learn from a great selection of sessions and speakers. THANK YOU to all that made the conference a reality and special thanks to the co-chairs of the host committee Jackie Hakes and Patricia Tatich!
Planning in the News . . .
How Trees Improve Health : A recent New Yorker article describes a study that demonstrates that an additional 10 trees in a block improves residents' health by one percent  Go to website

NYC Plants 1 Million Trees! : New York City has planted 1 million trees to combat greenhouse gas emissions, improve resiliency and upgrade parks  Go to website

A Shortage of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Leads to Conflict : The number of electric cars in California is outpacing the number of vehicle charging stations  Go to website

Ian McHarg Remembered : George McKibbon recalls his experiences with Ian McHarg (see second page of the WNY APA Planner)  Go to website

Don't cut those trees just yet! - The U.S Fish & Wildlife Service has issued new rules for cutting trees to protect the Northern Long Eared Bat:  Go to website

Save the Dates!
September 28- 30, 2016 - Annual NY Upstate APA Planning Conference, Buffalo, NY

March 18, 2016 (Tentative) - Spring Planners' Day

 NY Upstate Chapter of the American Planning Association | www.nyupstateplanning.org