Scope of Services and Experience

COUNTY AND REGIONAL PLANNING

Scope of Services

Rural counties, state governments, and other public entities occasionally need to prepare county or regional comprehensive plans.  These plans typically represent a county or regional government vision for a 10- to 20-year period that:

• recommends the type and location of desired land use expansion;

• identifies regional land use expansion policies;

• recommends planned infrastructure development for roads and highways, rail, airport and port facilities, water and sewer systems, and recreational facilities;

•  recommends potential resource conservation areas and,

• outlines needed improvements to land use management systems, planning processes, and inter-agency coordination.

The comprehensive nature of these plans requires a careful examination and forecasting of regional demographic and economic trends, the forecast of anticipated demands for various types of land uses, an evaluation of infrastructure needed to support future land use expansion, as well as an analysis of relevant natural resource trends and issues.  For comprehensive plans to have meaning and serve as a guide to future development of a county or region, it is also essential that substantive approaches are used to involve local communities in the regional planning process.  The development and application of geographical information systems (GIS) is normally made by Pedersen Planning Consultants (PPC) to complete various types of spatial analyses and enhance communications of proposed plans to decision-makers and the general public.

PPC also prepares regulations related to local land use management, such as county zoning and subdivision regulations.  In some cases, PPC develops land use and decision-making planning processes for state agencies that have regional responsibilities for land use management.

Experience

The firm has completed various county and regional comprehensive plans for various public agencies within and outside of the United States.  Examples of our experience  with county and regional comprehensive plans can be reviewed by clicking on the following links to more specific project descriptions.