J. Wayne Oldroyd
Advocate for sustainable resilient development, transparency in government
In 2017, after two decades of serving as the planning director for the community of Maryland Heights in the St. Louis region, I retired. It was time for me to return to the Jersey shore where I grew up (Long Branch/Red Bank Catholic). I chose to live in Shadow Lake Village in Middletown to be closer to my grandchildren. After more than 40 years of working in the planning profession, it is difficult to simply stop being publicly engaged. As I packed my bags to return, I rediscovered my notes and manuscripts from my teaching assignments. For a moment, I had grand visions of writing a book on planning.
Books are no longer a popular form of communication or education today. We now turn to Facebook, twitter and other social media to learn what is going on. Great source of communication and disinformation, resulting in discussions, agreements and disagreements about community issues that are not founded on facts or knowledge about the subject. (I’m tempted to quote the old saw about opinions).
Over the last four decades. I have had the opportunity and pleasure of working with planning board/commission members in New Jersey and Missouri to help them understand the process and issues associated with the preparation of a Master/Comprehensive plan. I have taught courses on both zoning issues and planning issues. For the most part, these courses have dealt with technical issues, such as the mechanics of zoning; the practical application of planning techniques and zoning administration. Other than just those that who have been appointed to a planning board I believe that all residents, in this case Middletown, need broader knowledge and understanding of the issues associated with developing communities, or place making.
In my opinion, good municipal planning gives all residents a chance to participate in making their community a better place. Therefore, this blog is directed to diverse audience with interest in land use planning, but it may be foolish for you to proceed to invest your time reading a blog that doesn’t address your interests. However, since you’ve landed on the site, I will share a few of my assumptions about you, the reader.
First, you have some interest in the development of Middletown. When you start thinking about why development is occurring, either too little, too much, the wrong place etc. then you have started down the path of being a citizen planner. Likely, you do not have the credentials associated with being a professional planner. However, interest or curiosity will suffice at this point.
Second, you have determined that it is your civic responsibility to become engaged in the future planning of your community. In that case, you may be looking for background on the planning process. In my opinion you need to develop the vocabulary that allows a more meaningful participation in the process. You also should know what the existing master planning regulations exist in Middletown.
Lastly, you may be a resident who is part of a special interest group related to community development, either from concerns about neighborhood character, redevelopment of the business corridors, transportation improvements, the preservation of the natural environment, needs for recreational activities. Thus I have set up a series of resource pages together with some commentary on the politics of land-use.
So this blog is designed to be most useful to citizen planners without specific training in preparing comprehensive plan. The planning process itself is explained to help the reader understand it, prior to becoming involved in the master planning process.
.To develop and implement a comprehensive plan effectively, there must be understanding of the process and issues related to that process. My objective is to provide that guidance to the future citizen planner in their efforts:
To maintain and enhance the quality of the existing community.
To create a vision, clearly stated and shared by all, which describes the future of the community.
To ensure that Private property rights are protected.
To encourage and support Economic development that complements and serves the goals
To ensure that there is more certainty about where development will occur, what it will be like, when it will happen, and how the costs of development will be met.
