Navajo Nation Comprehensive Planning Guidelines - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Navajo Nation Comprehensive Planning Guidelines

James

Gardner

Gardner Planning Associates, LLC

www.gardnerplanningservices.com

8/4/14Slide2

Overview

Navajo Nation Planning Framework

Nation-wide Planning

EffortsAgency Level Planning EffortsCommunity Based Land Use PlansDevelopment of Planning GuidelinesThe processVisioning sessionsFocus GroupsInterviewsLGA FrameworkCommunity vs. Comprehensive Planning

Recommended

Guidelines

Mapping/Land Suitability

Public Participation and Pre-Planning

Land Withdrawal, Eminent Domain, and Zoning

Housing

Demography

Regional Planning

ImplementationSlide3

Barboncito

, Navajo Leader 1821-1871Slide4

Navajo Nation Planning Framework

Nationwide

Local Governance Support Centers (Agency-wide)

Community Based Land Use Planning (Chapter Wide)Slide5

Nationwide Planning Efforts

The Division of Community Development (DCD) is a cabinet-level Division in the Navajo Nation.

Five Departments report to the DCD

Capitol Improvement OfficeCommunity Housing and Infrastructure DepartmentDesign and Engineering ServicesLocal Governance Support Centers (LGSCs)Solid Waste Management ProgramThe DCD was the lead agency in coordinating this planning effortTasked with implementing the Local Governance Act (LGA) of 1998 – the seminal act in nation-wide planning in the Navajo NationSlide6

Local Governance Support Centers (Agencies)

The LGSCs are a relatively new phenomenon.

These are offices that employ planners and support specialists.

They serve as regional conduits for communication between Chapters and Navajo Nation depts.LGSCs have been integral to the implementation of certain projects as well as the development of Community Based Land Use Plans (CBLUPs)Slide7

Community Based Land Use Plans (Chapters)

Chapters are the smallest jurisdictions in the Navajo Nation

110 Chapters

98 completed CBLUPs since LGA of 199835 Certified ChaptersChinle, one of our case studies, is certified and pursuing AFOG statusCertification of ChaptersMust meet the five criteria in order to become certifiedCertification affords more autonomy from national government, but is difficult to attain without proper trainingCertification also allows for the formation of Alternative Forms of Government (AFOG)Slide8

Problems with CBLUPs

Community assessment (often based solely on Census data)

Land suitability analysis (unsuccessful in

IDing suitable land for commercial projects)Mapping (mapping is not used in a systematic way, leading to many problems)Scope (the scope is limited to housing)Economic development (economic development must be undertaken in order to increase tax revenue, even if it is at the cost of grazing land). Economic development can be regional to save costs.

Regional Planning (tied to economic development) – should be implemented to save money and reduce redundancySlide9

The development of Planning Guidelines

Process

LGA Framework

Community vs. ComprehensiveSlide10

The Process (public Participation)

Visioning Sessions (Case Studies)

Black Mesa (uncertified, extremely rural)

Few in attendance, informal, and focus was on inadequate infrastructure, housing, and lack of funding for planning/design/build processChinle (certified, relatively urban)Many in attendance, comprised of Chapter staff and leadership, and focused heavily on development of new Justice Center, formation of AFOG, and future strategic and land use planning effortsFocus Groups and InterviewsFocus groups included LGSC members, Chapter Delegates, and NNDCD staff

Interviews were conducted with members of 10 different Chapters, evenly distributed throughout the 5 agencies

Takeaways:

Training needed for capacity building

Land withdrawal is a cumbersome, legally challenging process

Certification is especially difficult because of a lack of training

Land suitability analysis, as required by the LGA for all CBLUPs, is difficult, ill-defined, and can hold up many projectsSlide11

Local Governance Act Framework

The LGA was adopted in 1998 and has guided planning efforts in Chapters since then.

Shonto

Chapter was one of the first to prepare a CBLUP and become certifiedSince, 35 Chapters have become certified by preparing a CBLUP and meeting other requirements which are beyond the scope of land use planningRequirements of LGA for CBLUPs:Include projections of future community land needs, shown by location and extentIdentify areas for residential, commercial, industrial and public purposesBe based upon the guiding principles and vision as articulated by the communityInclude information revealed in inventories and assessments of the natural, cultural, human resources, and community infrastructure as well as consideration for land-carrying capacity.Slide12

Community vs. Comprehensive planning

Community-Based Planning

The Navajo Nation’s current model of planning, which includes as many members of the community as possible.

Developed under the LGA, and requires a quorum of Chapter membersCommunity involvement is integral to the process Comprehensive PlanningThe standard in planning in America.

Several required components:

There should be only one official comprehensive plan

The plan should be formally adopted by the legislative body

There should be a lengthy period of public debate prior to adoption

The plan should be available and understandable to the public

The plan should be formulated so as to capitalize on its educational potentialSlide13

Recommended Guidelines

Mapping/Land Suitability

Public Participation and Pre-Planning

Land Withdrawal, Eminent Domain, and ZoningHousingDemographyRegional PlanningImplementationSlide14

Mapping/ Land Suitability Recommendations

Train employees at all levels of the Navajo Nation (national, LGSC, and Chapter)

Create a centralized

network for quick dissemination of geographic data in order to streamline the process of data collection for the Chapters and LGSCs.Emulate successful approaches elsewherePerform Land Suitability on all sites

Use land suitability as a basis for your community-based land use plans

Once land-use planning is completed, you can begin to master plan – mapping is a major tool in both phasesSlide15

Public Participation and Pre-Planning

Develop a list of requires for public participation in CBLUP process

Implement pre-planning processes such as decision analysis, community education, and identification of institutional constraints

Adapted from (Creighton, 2005)Slide16

Land Withdrawal, Zoning, and Eminent Domain

Mechanize the land withdrawal process by creating a clause allowing for automatic withdrawal upon approval of CBLUP.

Remove the “soft requirement” of consensus from the land withdrawal process by implementing eminent domain

Allow eminent domain to be carried out by Chapters that are uncertified, given direct supervision by the NNDCDExercise the use of zoning for all housing and economic development projects Slide17

Housing

Focus on assessing future housing needs through demographic analysis

Take stock of existing housing

Determine future housing needs by comparing existing stock to population trendsConsider culturally appropriate housing typologies and settlement patterns to provide housing that will be used long-term

A clan-cluster near Black Mesa. Source: Google Maps, 2014Slide18

Demography

Perform demographic analysis using census data and surveys

Employ Navajo Nation resources such as the Chapter Images 2004 book

Make use of widely-used methodology for population projection

Source: (Wang &

Hofe

, 2007)Slide19

Regional Planning

Based on resounding support from Chapter membership as well as LGSC staff, implement a regional planning model

Base planning regions on established geographical/cultural regions in order to encourage participation among all Chapters

Focus on regional projects rather than Chapter-level projects in order to increase the chance of implementation and provide for a larger populationSlide20

Implementation

An implementation plan should be integrated into every CBLUP. This will ensure that the plan is not just another document collecting dust on a shelf.

Implementation should be prioritized by authorizing funding for staff members and by developing a timeline Slide21

Questions? Comments?

Thank you!