Delaware Planning Education Program
Listing of Events | Course Topics/Descriptions | The Program and Course Costs
INTRODUCTION
Delaware’s municipalities are increasingly being asked to focus
much of their attention on the state’s expected new growth and development.
Municipalities must make difficult decisions that can have long-lasting impacts on the community’s character, economy, and quality.
The Delaware Planning Education Program is a voluntary certificate
program comprising an organized series of educational courses designed
to meet the responsibilities of municipalities as partners in planning
Delaware’s future. The program is offered in partnership with the Office of State Planning
Coordination and the Delaware Chapter
of the American Planning Association.
The program format includes regularly scheduled training with a
group of core courses offered every year and a menu of “electives” offered periodically. Some training topics include:
- what is a comprehensive plan and why it is important; the
legal context for planning in Delaware;
- the roles and responsibilities of those involved in the process;
and the components of a comprehensive plan
- the variety of tools available to local governments to deal
with land use and growth issues
- understanding the community’s historic pattern of development
and the importance of design in the mix of local controls
 WHAT IS THE DELAWARE PLANNING EDUCATION PROGRAM (DPEP)?
DPEP is an educational response tailored to meet the professional
needs of Delaware’s local planning staffs, planning and zoning commissioners,
and local elected officials in carrying out their planning and land
use management responsibilities. This voluntary certificate program
will:
- increase the understanding of local planning and land use
responsibilities,
- ensure compliance with relevant state planning, zoning and
related statutes,
- provide a basis for more informed decision making,
- enhance the capacity of local officials to effectively manage
future development, and
- recognize local officials for their voluntary educational
efforts through the awarding of appropriate certification.
Upon completion of a total of 15 hours of specifically directed
education and training sessions in the Delaware Planning Education
Program within a two-year period, local officials will be awarded DPEP
certificates. Twelve of the required hours are from courses 101–104 (see descriptions below). The additional three required hours can be earned by taking one 200-level elective (see descriptions below).
WHAT ARE THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROGRAM?
No additional cost is associated with the awarding of this certification.
Customary registration fees (beginning at $40) will be charged for
participation in most of the individual education and training courses.
COURSE TOPICS AND DESCRIPTIONS
Planning Your Community’s Future (“Planning 101”)
This course will provide valuable information for all elected officials who have to consider and act upon comprehensive plans, land use and zoning matters, and other growth issues. Participation will also be important for planning and zoning commissioners, board of adjustment members, and others who take part in community planning and land-development matters.
Covers:
- Delaware Planning and Zoning Statutory Requirements
- The Elements of a Comprehensive Plan
- The Basics of Land Use Control
- The Role of the Planning & Zoning Commissioner
You Can Manage Growth: The Local Planning Toolbox (“Planning 102”)
This course introduces the variety of controls typically used at local levels and available to local governments to deal with land use and growth issues. Included are zoning, subdivision, site plan, community design, performance controls, overlay districts, tax policy, and other approaches.
Covers:
- Basic Terms and Concepts
- A Summary of Tools
- Zoning, Subdivision, and Site-Plan Review
- Other Approaches to Land-Use Control
Land-Development Administration (“Planning 103”)
This is a hands-on course that has been designed to build the skills required to apply municipal zoning codes to day-to-day development activity. It will also involve the reading and review of development plans, with a focus on their relationship to municipal zoning and subdivision regulations. In-class exercises will engage course participants in the review of actual planning documents. There will also be a discussion of the linkage between zoning and subdivision codes and a municipality’s adopted comprehensive plan.
Community Design (“Planning 104”)
This course will explore the concepts of community design, based upon the framework of the report Better Models for Development in Delaware, which is part of the Livable Delaware Initiative. Discussion will focus on the integration of the comprehensive plan, subdivision and zoning codes, and community-design principles. An in-class exercise involving the review of a community-design problem will engage participants in a demonstration of the skills needed to ensure the proper coordination of community-design principles with municipal-development goals.
Mobility-Friendly Design (“Planning 205”)
Your new Comprehensive Development Plan identifies the need to revise your codes to be more pedestrian- and mobility-friendly.
Why is it important, what does that mean, and how do you go about doing it?
This course will address the key components of walkable communities and considerations to maximize the advantages of transit.
Coverage of each component will include examples, specific dimensions and standards, and where and how to implement them.
Board of Adjustment Issues - Virtual Seminar (“Planning 206”)
The Board of Adjustment is an important quasi-judicial municipal body. This seminar will provide an overview of:
- proper composition of the board of adjustment
- jurisdiction of the board
- proper board procedures for conducting hearings and rendering decisions
- use and area variance standards
- and an overview of appellate review standards for board action
 Housing for Delaware: Balancing Community Needs (“Planning 207”)
This course explores the housing challenges Delawareans face and the resources and tools available to address these challenges. An up-to-date overview of the needs for housing in Delaware will be provided, particularly the needs of our low- and moderate-income households. The Delaware State Housing Authority’s (DSHA’s) “Toolbox” to assist local governments in addressing their housing needs will be discussed, together with the new comprehensive-planning guidelines regarding affordable housing. This material will be of value to elected officials, county and local staff, and any others concerned about housing.
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Planning Your Community’s Future (“Planning 101”)
a workshop for credit towards the Certificate in Local Government Leadership and the Delaware Planning Education Certificate
held January 22, 2008 | University of Delaware Paradee Center | Dover, Del.
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You Can Manage Growth: The Local Planning Toolbox (“Planning 102”)
a workshop for credit towards the Certificate in Local Government Leadership and the Delaware Planning Education Certificate
held February 20, 2008 | University
of Delaware Paradee Center | Dover,
Del.
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Land-Development Administration (“Planning 103”)
a workshop for credit towards the Certificate in Local Government Leadership and the Delaware Planning Education Certificate
held March 20, 2008 | University of Delaware Paradee Center | Dover, Del.
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Community Design (“Planning 104”)
a workshop for credit towards the Certificate in Local Government Leadership and the Delaware Planning Education Certificate
held April 22, 2008 | University of Delaware Paradee Center | Dover, Del.
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Mobility-Friendly Design (“Planning 205”)
a workshop for elective credit towards the Certificate in Local Government Leadership and the Delaware Planning Education Certificate
May 6, 2008 | University of Delaware Paradee Center | Dover, Del.
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Board of Adjustment Issues - Virtual Seminar (“Planning 206”)
a workshop on two DVDs with supplementary data CD
Available for sale now! - $50
Download order form - PDF 
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Housing for Delaware: Balancing Community Needs (“Planning 207”)
a workshop for elective credit towards the Certificate in Local Government Leadership and the Delaware Planning Education Certificate
November 6, 2008 | University of Delaware Paradee Center | Dover, Del.
9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon
Register online | registration deadline October 30
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Board of Adjustment Issues (“Planning 206”) updated session including a mock hearing
a workshop for credit towards the Certificate in Local Government Leadership and the Delaware Planning Education Certificate
Wednesday, December 10, 2008 | University of Delaware Carvel Research and Education Center | Georgetown, Del.
9:00 to noon
Register online (coming soon) | registration deadline December 3 |
For more information, contact Doug
Tuttle at 302-831-0718 or dougt@udel.edu.
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