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Self Parking: Complimentary for guests staying at the hotel Daily Parking (per day): $12.00
Nearby airports include:
Oakland International Airport (OAK): 23.3 miles
Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC): 34.6. miles San Francisco International Airport (SFO): 42.4 miles
Stockton Metropolitan Airport (SCK): 51 miles
Schedule V
Wednesday, March 16 J
Registration Open
9:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Pre-Conference: City Center Walking Tour
10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Explore San Ramon's new downtown area on this guided group tour and get an inside look at the latest developments since the 2016 Planning Commissioners Academy. Experience the new 300,000 square foot City Center, designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop, which opened in the fall of 2018 and offers a range of dining, shopping, and entertainment options. Learn about planned updates to the Bishop Ranch Business Park with the recently approved CityWalk Master Plan which will guide the development of
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addition of up to 4,500 dwelling units over 25 years; a 169-key hotel; 166,000 square feet of commercial uses, and more than 38 acres of parkland.
Walking Tour Leads
Lauren Barr, Planning Manager, San Ramon
Jeff Doda, Senior Vice President, Retail, Sunset Development Company
Jerry Engen, Senior Vice President, Development and Construction, Sunset Development
Pre-Conference Workshop: Understanding Public Service Ethics Laws and Principles (AB 1234)
10:00 a.m.-12:00p.m.
State law requires elected and appointed officials to receive two hours of training in specified ethics laws and principles every two years. Newly elected and appointed officials must receive this training within one year of becoming a public servant. Join us to learn from an expert on how to navigate ethics laws and principles.
Speaker
Nicholaus Norvell, Partner, Best Best & Krieger LLP
Pre-Conference Workshop: Harassment Prevention Training for Supervisors and Officials (AB 1661)
10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
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#Me Too movement, and teach officials and supervisors how to identify, prevent, and properly respond to workplace harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and abusive conduct in order to avoid personal and agency liability in compliance with AB 1825, AB 2053, AB 1661 and SB 396.
Speaker
Heather R. Coffman, Associate, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore Opening General Session
1:00-2:30 p.m.
Creating a City Where People Want to Live: Why Working Together is so Important
Session description coming soon.
Welcoming Remarks
Debbie Chamberlain, President, Planning and Community
Development Department, League of California Cities and Community Development Director, San Ramon
David Hudson, Mayor, San Ramon
Keynote Speaker
Mick Cornett, Mayor of Oklahoma City, 2004-2018
Concurrent Sessions
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Fundamentals Session
Commissioners will learn the basics about planning laws, typical planning documents, and how they fit together. Speakers who have worked as planning staff, planning commissioners, and consultants will introduce the nuts and bolts of general plans, housing elements, specific plans, zoning codes, subdivision ordinances, design review, and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Understand the typical project review and decision-making processes that commissioners need to be successful. Participants will also learn how plans, codes, and regulations can be written to ensure that principles of sustainability, equity, and community-building are incorporated in new development.
Presider and Speaker
David Early, Senior Advisor, PlaceWorks
Speakers
Anders Hauge, Planning Commission Member, Placer County Marc Roberts, City Manager, Livermore
An Irregular Meeting of the City Council of Dysfunction Junction Planning Commission
Emerging Issues Session
Enjoy a popular depiction of a planning commission meeting gone awry and learn from its mistakes.
Speakers
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Concurrent Sessions
4:15-5:30 p.m.
CEQA: An Introduction
Fundamentals Session
Hear an introduction about the role of the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in the planning process, as we cover the basics in this dynamic session. Join us as we pull back the curtain on parts of the process, including the types of documents you will see, how environmental decisions are made, and the responsibilities of staff and the commission at each stage in the process. The tools and approaches taken by those who prepare the documents for your review will also be discussed, with an opportunity to ask questions throughout the session.
Presider and Speaker
Mark Teague, Managing Principal, PlaceWorks
Speaker
Shannon George, Vice President/Principal, David J. Powers & Associates
Tools for the Trade: New Resources for Planning
Commissioners
Emerging Issues Session
Planning commissioners must balance the needs of their city, the vision of their community members, and state and local
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effective leaders. Join a panel of planning experts to hear about emerging issues and trends in the planning field and new resources that can help you do your job better and with more confidence.
Moderator
Melissa Kuehne, Senior Program Manager Institute for Local Government
Speaker
Eric Nelson, Department Director, Planning and Community Development Department, League of California Cities and Planning Commissioner, Dana Point
Jenni Byers, Community Development Director, Läkeport
Peer-to-Peer Connections
5:30-6:30 p.m.
Take this opportunity to network with your peers from throughout the state after a full afternoon of educational sessions.
Thursday, March 17 v
Registration Open
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7:45-8:45 a.m.
Understanding and Navigating SB 9 (Atkins, 2021) in Your City 9:00-10:15 a.m.
Joint Session
SB 9 (Atkins, 2021) allows "upzoning" of single-family
neighborhoods irrespective of zoning codes, community input, and environmental review. As planning commissioners, you may have questions: Does SB 9 override Common Interest Development or Homeowner Association restrictions? How can municipalities preserve local control? How does SB 9 interface with Accessory Dwelling Unit laws? Must a city approve eight units on a single- family lot (a duplex and two granny units on each parcel after a lot split)? Or may cities approve only four of those units? Discover the answers to these questions and more as we assist planning commissioners in navigating the intricacies of implementing SB 9.
Moderator
Eric Nelson, Department Director, Planning and Community Development Department, League of California Cities and Planning Commissioner, Dana Point
Speakers
Joan Cox, Partner, Burke Williams & SorensenBarbara Kautz, Partner, Goldfarb & Lipman LLP
Concurrent Sessions
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Planning Staff
Fundamentals Session
As a city official, there will be various competing values and priorities that drive you and your colleagues within your city. Your success on the planning commission requires an effective relationship with your planning staff and city council, where everyone's values are respected and represented. Learn how to work together while cultivating each of your diverse roles.
Moderator
Meghan McKelvey, Department and Member Services
Manager, League of California Cities
Speakers
Debbie Chamberlain, President, Planning and Community
Development Department, League of California Cities and Community Development Director, San Ramon
Eric Nelson, Department Director, Planning and Community Development Department, League of California Cities and Planning Commissioner, Dana Point
David Sander, Council Member, Rancho Cordova
CEQA: Advanced
Emerging Issues Session
This session assumes some familiarity with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Hear an in-depth discussion
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why CEQA documents look the way they do, the role of findings, and what to do with late-hit letters. Finally, some of the more technical sections of the document will be demystified.
Presider and Speaker
Mark Teague, Managing Principal, PlaceWorks
Speaker
Shannon George, Vice President/Principal, David J. Powers & Associates
Networking Lunch
11:45 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Streamlined Housing Laws and New Housing Legislation
1:15-2:30 p.m.
Joint Session
Learn about the recently adopted laws SB 35 (Weiner, 2017) and SB 330 (Skinner, 2019) that provide for expedited processing and approval of qualifying housing projects, review recent court cases interpreting SB 35 and the Housing Accountability Act, and provide an update on new pro-housing legislation signed by Governor Newsom, including SB 9 (Atkins, 2021) and SB 10 (Weiner, 2021).
Planning commissioners are tasked with understanding how to consider and process streamlining applications. Speakers will review whether planning commissioners have the authority to approve or
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applications.
Moderator
Debbie Chamberlain, President, Planning and Community
Development Department, League of California Cities and Community Development Director, San Ramon
Speakers
Amara Morrison, Partner, Wendel Rosen LLP
Patricia Curtin, Attorney, Wendel Rosen LLP
Concurrent Sessions
2:45-4:00 p.m.
How to Prepare Findings and Conditions of Approval
Fundamentals Session
As a planning commissioner, your decision to approve an application is based on whether you can make the required findings and draft conditions of approval that can be
implemented. Learn the reasons why findings are so important in rendering a decision on a project and what conditions of approval are and how to prepare them.
Moderator
Joel Rojas, Immediate Past President, Planning and
Community Development Department, League of California
Cities and Development Services Director, San Juan
Capistrano
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Speed Sessions
Moderator
Meghan McKelvey, Department and Member Services
Manager, League of California Cities
Post-COVID-19 Zoning Playbook: Value Capture Meets
Quality of Life.
Emerging Issues
The post-COVID-19 world's economy is being driven by
consumer preferences and online retail, private sector
investment has shifted from retail and office to residential and industrial. Urban is moving to suburban, and rooftops
(housing) now yield more economic impact given work and consumer buying activity. To counter losses, sales tax, zoning, and entitlements can generate currency when used to capture value via entitlement agreements that use density and financing tools in exchange for amenities and
infrastructure. Learn about the "development currency and value capture" tools that cities can use to reset local economies and maximize community and fiscal benefits
through land use, zoning, and entitlement tools.
Speaker
Larry Kosmont, Chairman & CEO, Kosmont Companies
Wildfire Planning in the General Plan
Emerging Issues
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Responsibility Area or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones to address and incorporate specific information regarding wildfire hazards. This includes the risk, policies, and programs to address and reduce unreasonable risks
associated with wildfire. The specific requirements are codified in GC § 65302(g)(3) and 65302.5(b). Learn about this important law before a wildfire occurs in your city.
Speaker
Brian Barkley, Fire Captain, CALFIRE
Burning Questions, No Judgement
Emerging Issues
Have a question that you are afraid to ask in a public meeting, or feel that you should already know the answer to? Join us in a safe environment to receive answers to your most burning questions and hear questions from your colleagues.
Speakers
Debbie Chamberlain, President, Planning and Community
Development Department, League of California Cities and Community Development Director, San Ramon
Robert Combs, Planning Commissioner, Danville
What Planners Need to Know About City Finance Today
4:15-5:30 p.m.
Joint Session
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commissioners. Hear about the rules and trends in taxes, fees, and other city revenues; the relationship with the state budget; and problems and prospects for reform. Explore the valid relationship of city finances with land use planning, and get your questions answered about the most pressing fiscal issues facing cities.
Speaker
Michael Coleman, CaliforniaCityFinance.com
Friday, March 18 V
Registration Open
7:45 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Networking Breakfast
7:45-8:45 a.m.
Legislative Update
9:00-10:15 a.m.
Joint Session
Learn about recent bills that have passed, as well as top issues that are trending in the legislature, and their significance for planning commissioners.
Speaker
Jason Rhine, Assistant Director of Legislative Affairs, League of
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10:30 a.m.-12:00p.m.
How Planning Commissioners Can Be Leaders for Equitable and Engaged Communities
Fogbreak will share how Planning Commissioners can promote equity and be inclusive leaders. In this one-and-a-half-hour talk, organizational change and leadership expert, Berké Brown, will present a research-based and human-centered approach to meaningful leadership. Equity, diversity, and inclusion have become words that are used so often that sometimes the meaning behind them loses their power. If we dig deeper and understand that it is truly about being humane and empathetic, we can turn the tide from "checking off boxes" to making small but impactful actions that create equitable communities. Berké Brown will share and lead a workshop about the tools and strategies - derived from the model of procedural justice — leaders can use in everyday interactions with community members to make this vision a reality.
Closing Remarks
Cindy Silva, President, League of California Cities and Mayor Pro Tem, Walnut Creek
Debbie Chamberlain, President, Planning and Community
Development Department, League of California Cities and Community Development Director, San Ramon
Keynote Speaker
Berké Brown, Partner, Fogbreak Justice
Adjourn