Community Planning Services

For over 15 years, LIAA has been involved in the formulation and development of land use policy as well as the recommendation and implementation of tools to better inform and manage the community planning process. With innovative project and ideas and funding provided by forward-thinking foundations and communities, we take theory and put it into action.

Community Planning and Research Services
Tell us about your vision and objectives and let us do the research for you. We’ll find out what other communities are doing or have done that can help inform your decision-making. Our skilled staff has their hands on ‘best practices’ and current research on a wide variety of topics including:

• Multi-jurisdictional planning techniques and tools
• Zoning and other ordinances
• Preliminary planning studies
• Resource inventorying and documentation
• Master Plans
• Interactive web-based governance
• Project planning strategies, and more

Visioning and Goal Setting
LIAA’s trained professionals can help your community start thinking constructively about the future. How might things be different in 5 years? 25 years? 100 years? We have designed unique community building exercises and group activities to encourage and support public participation in community asset mapping and future land use planning. We can help stimulate ideas, help diverse interests decide upon common goals, suggest strategies for reaching those goals, and facilitate public dialogue on these issues.

Asset Based Community Development
Let us help identify and uncover hidden local resources that are potentially available to contribute to a community empowerment effort. This method highlights assets rather than problems and comes up with innovative strategies for using them. We can also help identify groups or individuals that should be invited to your table as well as strategies for keeping them engaged.

Workshop and Forum Facilitation
We have guided and facilitated projects around the country. From groups of 10 to groups of 100, we can help your project and your group process and make it run smoothly. Sometimes it is more effective to have an ‘outsider’ lead a group – especially when the process is likely to be controversial. LIAA’s staff is skilled in a variety of facilitation techniques and can also offer training to your local facilitators. Meetings can be designed to cover a couple hours or a couple of days.