With falling leaves, cooling temperatures, and high expectations for our annual conference, MAP welcomes the first signs of fall eagerly.  We're planning big events and opportunities in the coming months for you to learn and connect with members and land use professionals and officials around the state.

First up is BOOKS! from MAP's new event series, Breakfast, Books, and Beverages: Planning in Metro Detroit.  For this inaugural meeting of MAP's book group, our first selection is John Gallagher's (Detroit Free Press) Reimagining Detroit, a thought provoking analysis of a city devastated by deindustrialization and with a clear vision for a future Detroit as a smaller, vibrant city.  Plan to meet us at Traffic Jam and Snug (511 West Canfield Street, Detroit) from 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. to discuss and consider the hope of a changing Detroit.  (1.5 CM credits approved)

The end of the month brings the Board of Directors E-lection scheduled for electronic balloting September 28th through October 10th.  This year there are three positions open, including one incumbent running for re-election.  Instructions and candidate position statements are on the Board of Directors home page and can be viewed here.  Voting instructions and a link to the balloting website (www.votingplace.net/map) will be sent via email to members when polls open. 

By now, we hope you're planning to join MAP this October at Grand Traverse Resort in Acme Township for your annual conference experience. 

Check out the Planning Michigan  homepage for information on the upcoming conference and to book your discounted resort room (before the room block lifts on September 24th). Hear what Keynote Speaker Dwight Merriam, FAICP, will discuss in his opening and breakout sessions in the conference spotlight section below. 

Upcoming issues of the Michigan Planner magazine and the Michigan Planner E-dition are in the works.  Our rotating Michigan Planner magazine/E-dition schedule provides regular doses of high level resources and tools.  Make sure to take advantage of all of the information and products MAP offers.  Engage, embrace, and enjoy!  

Michigan Sign Guidebook:

The Local Planning and Regulation of Signs

 By: Larry Kiesling, MAP Life Member 

The new Michigan Sign Regulation Guidebook is a necessary addition to the library of community officials, planners, attorneys, and community activists. Community staff and officials that handle sign cases and assist with writing, administering or enforcing sign regulations will find expert advice in the Guidebook. In addition, the Guidebook is a "must have" for communities that are involved in risk reduction activities in their municipalities. 

The Guidebook addresses local planning and regulation of nearly all types of exterior signs. The discussion focuses on practical, legal and a variety of public purpose considerations. If these considerations are followed within the context of each particular community, then a community should produce fair and defensible regulations that achieve that community's objectives.

Dwight Merriam Esq, FAICP, CRE, a Connecticut land use attorney, planner, and former president of the American Institute of Certified Planners, will leave you captivated and inspired after his Keynote Presentation on Thursday, October 18, at 8:30 a.m. 

A national expert on land-use and planning law; author of The Complete Guide to Zoning; passionate advocate for including vulnerable populations in planning efforts; and founder of Robinson & Cole's nationally recognized Land Use Group in Hartford, Connecticut, Mr. Merriam will impress with his keen understanding of pressures faced by community planners, and his visible passion for the contributions planners make in this world.  Then, don't miss Mr. Merriam's breakout immediately following the opening session, Due Process 101: How to Avoid Those Pesky Little Mistakes, where he will guide participants through an informative, humorous, and evocative role playing exercise that will have attendees nodding in agreement - and sometimes with frustration and despair - as we recognize the folly of our actions, and acknowledge that we all have much to learn.

Plan your conference experience and book your room at Grand Traverse Resort soon! Fall is peak tourism season in Northern Michigan. Secure your discounted room rate at Grand Traverse Resort by booking with the MAP room block before midnight on September 24th.

For additional information on sessions, travel and lodging accommodations, and online registration CLICK HERE!

On-line registration is open! REGISTER NOW for Planning Michigan 2012!   

The Michigan Association of Planning's Social Equity Committee recently completed a draft Social Equity and Planning Fairness Policy and is seeking input to expand, add breadth, and improve this document.  The policy, once adopted by the Michigan Association of Planning's Board of Directors, will be added to MAP's policy book and will be used in MAP's educational programming, publication development, and advocacy and outreach efforts.  Our goal is to help community planners, elected and appointed officials, and other stakeholders understand their role in advancing social equity locally, and their responsibility to be inclusive in planning and engagement efforts.

Your comments, suggestions and input are very important to us.  We are calling upon you, as a community planner or elected and appointed official, to help us create a policy that will help MAP advance this critically important issue, and integrate equity into all local and state level policies and programs. 

Please provide comments by no later than September 28, 2012. 

Once comments have been considered by the Social Equity Committee, and included in the draft policy, the policy will be sent to the Government Relations committee for their input, and then on to the board with a recommendation.

A link to the Policy is HERE.   Thank you for taking the time to review and comment on this new MAP Policy.