3.

The environmental planning process

Contents
3.1 Introduction
3.2 The Planning Process
3.2.1 Process planning/ Scoping
3.2.2 Data Collection - Description and documentation
3.2.3 Data Analysis
3.2.4 Plan formulation - prescription
3.2.4.1 Developing an environmental vision, Goals, and Objectives
3.2.4.2 Formulating alternatives and Identifying Environmental Solutions
3.2.4.3 Assessing and evaluating impacts: Environmental Impact Checklist for
Reviewing Proposed Development Projects
3.2.4.4 Selection of Plan
3.2.5 Plan Implementation
3.2.6 Monitoring
3.2.7 Evaluation
3.2.8 Review
3.2.9 Participants and Roles in Environmental Planning and Management
3.3 Types and examples of Environmental Plans
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 3.1 Introduction
• Environmental planning is deciding how to use
natural resources, financial capital, and people to
achieve and maintain a high quality of life.
• Environmental planning can help communities to
avoid or minimize air and water pollution, loss of
wildlife, the conversion of farm and forestlands, and
degradation of the built environment.

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 3.1 Introduction
The environment is made up of three main land uses:
1. Natural areas that provide environmental services, including
wildlife habitats, wetlands, water supplies, most coastal and
riparian regions, national and state parks, and wilderness areas;
natural areas that also contain lands that pose environmental
constraints, such as natural hazards, including floodplains and
landslide areas;
2. Working landscapes, including farms, rangelands, forests,
mines, and recreation areas, that provide jobs and contribute to
the health of rural economies; and
3. Built environments of cities, suburbs, and towns that involve
the design, siting, and type of buildings, transportation systems,
sewer and water facilities, and public spaces and parklands.
• How these three land uses interact with one another will affect a
community's appearance, size, functioning, and environmental
quality. Deciding how, when, and where these land uses should or
should not change is the primary challenge of environmental
planning. 3
 3.1 Introduction
• Environmental plan expresses the goals and objectives
of a society that will guide the allocation of functions
within the land-use system to produce a desired future
state.
• A plan can be thought of as a blueprint for the future. It
presents general goals and objectives of the community
and blends them with specific policy recommendations
developed with the single purpose of moving the
community closer to some desired future.
• Typically, time is expressed in a plan using increments of
10 to 25 years and sometimes longer. However, in all
cases, the expectation implied in a plan is that the goals
expressed within it will be realized gradually over this
time horizon.

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 3.1 Introduction
• It has often been stated that the essential characteristics of a plan are that it is
comprehensive, general, and long range.
• The term "comprehensive" suggests that, to be useful, a plan should encompass all
geographical parts of the community and all functional elements that influence physical
development. If the plan is not complete in its characterization of the planning area,
and if certain critical features are omitted from consideration, it will not provide the
guidance or detail needed to direct change. A partial plan has limited value given the
connectedness that defines the planning area, its environment, and the complexities
that describe human interaction within this mix.
• Similarly, the term "general" implies that, to be effective, a plan should summarize
policies and proposals, but not provide specific locations or detailed regulations. If a
plan introduces too specific design it leaves little room to adapt to changes that may
result over the time horizon. By maintaining a more generalized posture,
recommendations can suggest specific changes that policy-makers can enforce through
existing laws and regulations, or identify gaps where new laws or regulations may be re­
quired.
• Finally, the concept of a long range directs the plan and all involved in its creation to
look beyond the foreground of pressing current issues and consider instead the
problems and possibilities 10, 20, 30 years into the future. Long-range thinking directs
focus on proactive decision ­making. A plan that does not assume a proactive stance
provides little guidance to those who must decide on the allocation and distribution of
scarce resources, or to those concerned with management of a sustainable land-use/
environmental system.

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 3.1 Introduction
Basic elements of a plan
• Land use
• Transportation & Circulation
• Natural resources
• Public safety - Natural hazards
• Conservation and open space
• Environmental quality
• Housing
• Community facilities
• Utilities
• Regardless of contents, certain analytical inputs are common to
all elements that comprise a plan, and these guide its physical
development.

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 3.1 Introduction
• While plans will vary in content and format, certain elements are common and form the
main characteristics of a plan and its focus. These fundamental topics of interest and
concern include: -
– Land use - describing the current characteristics of the land-use system, future
conditions that may arise, together with policies and programs directed at specific
land-use issues or development goals.
– Transportation and circulation - explaining the existing road network, traffic
conditions, and anticipated future conditions with policies and programs designed to
address specific transportation needs and goals.
– Public safety - characterizing natural and human-made hazards including geology,
floods, hazardous materials, wildfires, and other potential sources of risk within the
planning area, along with policies and programs designed to reduce human injury,
loss of life, property damage, and socio­economic dislocations due to these events.
– Conservation - describes existing natural resources within the planning area and
presents goals and policies designed to enhance the conservation and management
of natural resources and open space, the preservation and production of resources,
the promotion of outdoor recreation, and the protection of public health and safety.
– Environmental quality - discussing pollution factors and concerns such as those
affecting noise, air, water, and soil with specific reference to existing pollution levels,
comparison to standards, identification of sensitive receptors, and goals, policies, and
programs targeted at major environmental quality issues.
– Other elements may also be found in a plan, including sections devoted to the
analysis and assessment of housing, education, or public facilities.
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 3.2 The Planning Process
The basic process in a simple form:
 Inventory (What do we have?).
 Needs assessment (What are our problems, needs,
objectives?)
 Management strategies (What should we do?)
 Implementation and monitoring (Let's do it!)
• Although the environmental planning process appears
as a sequential process, in reality it is somewhat
iterative, as all steps are considered simultaneously,
with changing emphasis as the process proceeds.
• The process is always open to new information about
subsequent or previous steps at any time.
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 3.2 The Planning Process
• Planning begins with scoping, a key first step to identify
stakeholders and develop a work-plan.
• It continues with data collection and analysis: Defining
community needs and develop a factual base of
environmental conditions and analyze the information and
identification of Issues, Opportunities and Concerns (IOC)
• Plan Formulation
– Draft a vision statement, goals, and objectives
– Formulating alternatives,
– Assessing and evaluating impacts
– Selection of Plan
• Implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the
performance of the Environmental Plan through an annual
review, and make revisions and updates /modification as
needed.
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 3.2 The Planning Process
3.2.1 Process planning/ Scoping
a) The public and elected officials recognize the need for environmental planning: To
start the environmental planning process, elected officials must be convinced that
certain environmental problems exist or are potential threats to public health,
safety, and welfare. It helps if interest groups, business leaders, and the general
public recognize the need for environmental planning and voice their concerns to
the elected officials.
b) Officials then commit people and funding to the environmental planning effort,
and appoint an environmental advisory committee to assist the planning
commission.
c) The planning commission, staff, and the environmental advisory committee
conduct an Environmental Needs Assessment Survey and solicit public input. An
Environmental Action Plan must involve broad and meaningful participation from
the public and various interest groups.
d) Draft preliminary work plan for process.
e) Draft preliminary design for stakeholder involvement and participation
f) Analysis of Planning Situation
 Scope of data gathering and analysis
 Identify data limitations and uncertainties
 Participation tools (workshops, surveys)
 Conflict resolution and negotiation tools (advocacy) depending on degree of
controversy
 stakeholders, opportunities for participation, needs for conflict resolution, and
needs for data and analysis 10
3.2.2 Data Collection - Description and documentation
Defining community needs
• Need, in this context, explains those features of the
environment that are of greatest concern.
• Defining community needs require the planner to:
Establish the boundaries of the environmental
planning area.
Review the environmental regulations that affect the
planning area.
Identify the environmental problems that threaten
environmental quality.
Evaluate the effectiveness of existing environmental
management facilities and infrastructure.

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3.2.2 Data Collection - description and documentation
Defining community needs
Bounding the planning area
• Delineating the planning area concentrates efforts on including problem areas that
have actual or potential public-health and ecological impacts, critical resource areas
that serve the community and require protection and preservation, and facilities used
to protect public-health or environmental qualities. Boundaries can be defined in
several ways. Some of the more common methods/Approaches used to define
boundaries are:
– Town or village boundaries
– Service area boundaries
– Special districts
– County boundaries
– Physical characteristics.
Existing environmental regulations
• There are nu­merous state and federal regulations aimed at an array of environmental
factors. These regulations can influence and help define key environmental needs.
Regulations that can be used to address best management practices in the plan are:
– Drinking water quality
– Safe Drinking Water Act
– Wastewater treatment
– The Clean Water Act
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 3.2.2 Data Collection - Description and documentation
Defining community needs
Identifying existing environmental problems
• This step in defining need concerns efforts to devise a listing of any and
all environmental problems that represent serious threats to health and
ecosystems in the planning area. Possible threats may include unsafe
drinking water, specific pollutants or pollution sources, or natural
resources that may be affected by pollution.
• A sample Environmental problems checklist list:
o Air quality
o Chemical hazards/releases/spills
o Drinking-water quality
o Ecosystem/habitat quality
o Flood hazard
o Hazardous waste sites
o Nonpoint pollution
o Pesticides
o Solid waste
o Surface water
o Wellhead/watershed protection
o Wetlands 13
 3.2.2 Data Collection - Description and documentation
Defining community needs
Effectiveness of existing facilities
• An important step in identifying need involves the critical
evaluation of the community's environmental facilities such as
landfills, incinerators, transfer stations, recycling centers, water
treatment plants, wells, waste­water collection and treatment
centers, as well as buffer zones, wet ponds, and swales for runoff
management.
• The purpose of this review is to determine whether a facility is
performing effectively and is capable of meeting present and
future demand.
• Inadequate performance may indicate that operations may be
functioning beyond carrying capacity and require modification.
Therefore, evaluating facility performance helps to
o identify potential risks and
o determine whether the community is in compliance with
local, regional or federal regulations.
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 3.2.2 Data Collection - Description and documentation
Natural and Built-up (Technological and Cultural)
Environmental Data
• The factual base should include a Natural Resources Inventory
and a Built Environment Inventory.
• The factual base will help to answer a variety of questions, such
as:
– What is the quality of the community's air and water?
– What type of wildlife and wildlife habitats exist?
– Where are the best farming and forestry soils in the community?
– What is the suitability of lands and water resources in the community
for different types of development?
• Federal, regional, and local governments are good sources of
information. Universities and nonprofit environmental
organizations may also be helpful. Private consultants may be
useful for specific tasks.

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3.2.2 Data Collection - Description and documentation
• Description implies the careful collection and selection of data on the general
social, economic, and environmental characteristics of the community that
will effectively characterize the important features, qualities, and quantities
that will be discussed in the plan.
• Description involves several interrelated purposes. At the most basic level,
description enables the decision-maker to "see" the characteristics of the
objects and features under consideration.
• Description may not demand a detailed geography of every topical area that
might define some aspect of the planning area, but it should be systematic,
organized, and allow someone not familiar with the planning area to gain a
reasonable understanding of the subject matter.
• the natural resources, including various categories of land cover, native
plants, native fauna, historic sites, and amenities, would be described in the
form of maps and diagrams. For each factor, description would concentrate
on the location of these resources, the site and situational factors that
characterize their location, and their physical presence in the landscape.
• In addition, factors such as soils, agricultural lands, groundwater recharge
zones, and recreation areas may also be included in a description part. 16
3.2.2 Data Collection - Description and documentation
A. Natural Resources Inventory
• Natural resources include air, water, soils, geologic formations, farmlands,
forests, minerals, wetlands, and plant and animal species.
• The inventory should identify the location, quantity, and quality of these
resources, and their vulnerability to development or overuse.
• The inventory should also identify natural hazards and development
constraints, such as steep slopes and floodplains.
Natural environmental features to be shown on the natural resources
inventory maps
1. Land, Soils, geology, and topography
2. Watersheds, streams, water bodies, floodplains, and wetlands
3. Aquifer recharge areas and delineated wellhead areas
4. Wildlife habitats
5. Vegetation (forest cover, croplands, pastures, etc.)
6. Natural hazards

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3.2.2 Data Collection - Description and documentation
Land
• The use of the land is perhaps the most significant driving force in human
impact on the natural environment.
• Land development for human settlement and resource production poses
critical impacts on the land and their habitat, but also on water, air, and
materials and energy use.
Basic Land Elements
Topography
• Topographic maps will show plains, ridges and steep slopes and reveal
storm water drainage patterns.
• A study of topography will also be helpful in viewshed analysis
• Slope Analysis
• The slope map shows the relative steepness of the land. Terrain steepness
or slope is expressed most often as percent slope, degree, etc,.

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 SLOPE MAP
• Slope maps distinguish
areas of different
steepness or classes of
slope such as flat areas
(e.g., 0-10% slope) and
steep areas (e.g.,
greater than 20%
slope).
• Slopes of more than
15% should be avoided
for building sites.

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 3.2.2 Data Collection - Description and documentation

Soils.
• Soils information should include slope, erosion-potential,
wetness, strength, depth to bedrock, shrink-swell, prime
agricultural soils, forest soils, and suitability for on-site septic
systems.
• Shallow depth to bedrock, poor drainage, and wet soils can
hamper the construction and stability of buildings.
• Low weight bearing soils, which might support development of
single-family houses, might not be able to support heavier
commercial, industrial, or institutional buildings.
• Septic systems in porous soils run a high risk of polluting
groundwater, while septic systems in heavy clay soils may result
in the back-up of effluent to the surface.
• Soil types inappropriate for buildings, agriculture, or forestry
can be designated for uses that are appropriate to the particular
conditions, such as parks, wildlife habitats, and other open
space uses
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 3.2.2 Data Collection - Description and documentation

Geology
• The geology of the area or region includes underlying rocks and
mineral and aggregate deposits, and the topography of the
landscape.
• Geology can help to identify areas likely to have productive
groundwater aquifers and areas vulnerable to groundwater
contamination.
• Geology and underground faults that could lead to subsidence,
landslides, or earthquakes should be mapped. There may also
be unique geological features such as caves, hills, and rock
outcroppings that should be noted.

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 3.2.2 Data Collection - Description and documentation

Water Resources
• Important water resources include ground and surface water sources,
public water supplies, wetlands, and floodplains. Communities should
obtain or draft maps on the location and extent of water resources as
well as watershed and aquifer boundaries.
• Current water system use and treatment capacity should be noted.
• Use of water for wildlife, recreational purposes, and energy use should
also be described, along with minimum stream flows to sustain these
uses.
• If there are known pollution problems that could threaten water
supplies, they should be explained and noted on a map. For instance,
known hazardous waste sites and landfills should be mapped and
nearby groundwater tested.
• The quality of surface and groundwater resources should also be
described.
• Identifying floodplains is important to avoid building in these dangerous
areas.

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3.2.2 Data Collection - Description and documentation
Wildlife Habitat and Vegetation
Wildlife Habitat
• Significant wildlife habitat, migration routes, nesting areas, and
feeding spots should be described and mapped. Wildlife habitat
can be identified and habitats should be rated for importance and
vulnerability.
• Any rare and endangered plant or animal habitats should be
generally identified so as to protect species from possible
poaching or habitat destruction.
Vegetation
• Lands in forest cover, farm use, or other type of vegetation should
be described and mapped. Sources of information include satellite
imagery and aerial photos.

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3.2.2 Data Collection - Description and documentation

Air Quality and climatic elements

• An inventory of air quality should include average
measurements of carbon monoxide, particulates,
nitrogen dioxide, lead, ozone, and sulfur oxides,
which are the main air pollutants
• Mention should be made of how many days each
year the air quality fails to meet one or more of the
standards for the above six pollutants.

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3.2.2 Data Collection - Description and documentation
The elements of climate which are important with respect to
environmental planning include:
• Temperature (minimum, maximum and mean)
• Rainfall pattern (amount -mean seasonal and annual,
intensity, reliability, etc)
• Evapotranspiration,
• Altitudinal condition;
• Humidity level;
• Sunshine hours,
• Prevailing winds (direction, speeds (velocity) and intensity/
strength);
• Agro-climatic zones classification based on altitude, temp,
rainfall
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 3.2.2 Data Collection - Description and documentation
B. Built Environment Inventory
• A Built Environment Inventory can show the location, number, age, and
condition of the housing stock, commercial and industrial buildings, parks,
and public buildings. The inventory should also include the location and
condition of public infrastructure, including roads, sewer and water lines,
schools, landfills, and police and fire stations.
• The built environment has important connections with the natural
environment. The amount of developed land, land with development
potential, and the location of different land uses have implications for storm
water management transportation and energy use, and air and water
quality.
• The Built Environment Inventory should identify and map buildings and
neighborhoods with historic and cultural value, public buildings and spaces,
streetscapes, and blighted areas. These are all areas with potential for
improving the quality of life for residents in the neighborhood.
• Public buildings and spaces draw people together and create a sense of
community. Open spaces and greenways provide parklands, wildlife
habitats, filter runoff, and buffer watercourses.

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3.2.3 Analysis of the Natural Resources Inventory and
Built Environment Inventory
The analysis of the Natural Resources Inventory and
the Built Environment Inventory consists of five
parts:
1. Land and Water Suitability Analysis;
2. Environmental Quality Analysis;
3. Current Trends Analysis;
4. Projection; and
5. Prescription

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3.2.3 Analysis of the Natural Resources Inventory and Built
Environment Inventory
Land and Water Suitability Analysis
• A key product of the Natural Resources Inventory is a Land and
Water Suitability Analysis, which identifies those areas that are
appropriate for development, places that have moderate
limitations for developments of various types, and areas that
should be protected in their natural state because of severe
environmental constraints.
• Overall, the Land and Water Suitability Analysis can provide
important information on the carrying capacity of the area; that
is, how many people and how much development the area can
sustainably support before serious negative impacts on the
natural environment occur.
• For this reason, the Land and Water Suitability Analysis is a
primary building block of the Development plan.

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30
3.2.3 Analysis of the Natural Resources Inventory and
Built Environment Inventory
Rating Natural Resources and Development Suitability
• The Land and Water Suitability Analysis should use a method
to rate or classify the development potential of different lands.
• Development constraints and natural hazards can be identified
with a color code (i.e. red for severe limitations, orange for
moderate limitations, and yellow for few limitations) or a
numerical points system, with developable lands receiving
higher points than lands with development limitations.
• Natural resources worthy of preserving should be identified
using a separate color code, such as shades of green. For
instance, high-quality, actively farmed land and land managed
for timber production might be identified on the land
suitability map by different green colors.

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 3.2.3 Analysis of the Natural Resources Inventory and
Built Environment Inventory
Rating Natural Resources and Development Suitability.
Natural resources should be prioritized for protection according
to:
1. whether the resource is renewable or irreplaceable (if
irreplaceable, the resource is more valuable); the rarity of the
site (the less common, the more valuable the resource,
particularly in the case of habitats of rare and endangered
plant and wildlife species);
2. the size of the site (generally, the larger the site, the more
important it is);
3. the diversity of plants, wildlife, scenic views, and other
natural features (the greater the diversity, the more
important the site is); and
4. the fragility of the site, including the quality of the
undisturbed site and human threats to the site.
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3.2.3 Analysis of the Natural Resources Inventory and
Built Environment Inventory
Environmental Quality Analysis.
• This analysis compares regional and federal environmental
standards with actual conditions in the community. For
example, local air and water quality are measured against air
and water pollution standards.
• This analysis provides baseline information that can help a
community rank its natural resources for protection, identify
environmental quality problems, evaluate alternative
solutions, and set priorities for action. The baseline
information can be used to set environmental quality targets
and can be readily updated to measure progress toward
environmental quality benchmarks.

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3.2.3 Analysis of the Natural Resources Inventory and
Built Environment Inventory
Current Trends Analysis.
• Recent trends in population growth, land area developed, land
area in public parks, vehicle miles traveled (VMT), recycling
efforts, loss of endangered plant and animal species, air and
water quality, and water use give indications of the direction of
environmental quality.
• The Current Trends Analysis asks the questions:
– Where are we going in terms of population growth, land development,
and environmental quality?
– Are these trends sustainable?
– What will be the environmental costs if these trends continue?
– What will be the economic costs?
– Will new sewer and water facilities have to be built?
• A Current Trends Analysis should project recent environmental
trends to help answer these questions.

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3.2.3 Analysis of the Natural Resources Inventory and
Built Environment Inventory
Current Trends Analysis.
• The Current Trends Analysis should discuss the environmental strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to the community or region based
on the information provided in the Natural Resources and Built Environment
Inventories together with population projections.
• Strengths for a particular community might include a pleasant setting with
scenic views, good quality water, etc.
• Weaknesses might feature poor air quality and a lack of public
transportation.
• Opportunities might include creating a greenway along a riverfront and
rehabilitating historic buildings for commercial purposes in the city center.
• Threats might include flooding, sprawling development, and loss of open
space.
• The Current Trends Analysis will be useful in drafting the environmental
vision statement for the community together with broad goals and specific
objectives to achieve that vision.

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3.2.3 Analysis of the Natural Resources Inventory and
Built Environment Inventory
Projection
• As a document designed to guide the long-range management of
a community's land and natural resources, a plan employs
numerous methods of forecasting to complete and evaluate
various problem scenarios.
• For example, trends in economic growth and job creation may be
used to develop future population growth. Those projections, in
turn, may be used to estimate anticipated demand for
residential land use. Estimated changes in residential land can be
used to project changes in open space, zoning, resource use,
utility demand, and energy consumption.
• In each case, effects can be evaluated and policies or programs
can be developed to address each new situation in relation to
the goals expressed in the plan.
• A variety of topics may be subject to some form of projection
into the future. Typical features of the planning problem subject
to projection include land use, transportation, population, air
and water quality, noise levels, and employment. 36
3.2.4 Plan formulation - prescription
Stages in the plan formulation process.
Stage 1: Direction-setting
• Describing existing and emerging conditions and cause
• Setting Goals
• Formulation of general policies
Stage 2: Land classification
• Analyzing basic land demand and supply
• Designating areas for natural processes
• Designating areas for urban use
• Designating areas for agricultural production
Stage 3: Land-use design
• Analyzing detailed land demand and supply
• Designating locations for employment and commercial centers
• Arranging residential communities and facilities
• Designating locations for infrastructure and community facilities
Stage 4: Development management
• Analyzing implementation factors
• Setting procedural goals
• Specifying components of the plan
• Specifying standards and procedures
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 3.2.4 Plan formulation - prescription
• In planning, to prescribe means to direct the use of land and
other resources as a remedy for specific social, economic, or
environmental problems. As a sequence of actions that become
realized in the plan, prescription defines a multistage process
that involves:
– Exploring the problem and forming a basic understanding of the relevant
objectives and values.
– Producing a set of alternative choices.
– Identifying the adverse and beneficial properties of the alternatives.
– Evaluating alternatives.
– Recommending the "best" alternative as the optimal solution.
• The solution is generally some form of regulatory policy or
program that may be expressed as either an objective that can
be maximized or a constraint that can be minimized. Given the
reality within which planning operates, each objective and con­
straint carries a political weight, whether stated explicitly or not,
and that weight can influence how the 'best" alternative is
defined.
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3.2.4 Plan formulation - prescription
3.2.4.1 The Vision Statement, Broad Goals, and Specific Objectives

Vision
• The planning commission and advisory committee combine input
from the public Environmental Needs Assessment Survey and the
analysis of the factual base data into a vision statement for the
community or region.
• The vision statement describes what the quality of the natural,
working, and built environments of the community or region should
be in 20 years.
• The vision statement serves as an overall policy directive for the local
government, and as the foundation for a variety of environmental
goals and objectives.
• The vision statement typically advocates four outcomes:
1. compliance with regional and federal environmental
standards;
2. a healthy, sustainable environment;
3. a sustainable economy; and
4. a good quality of life for all citizens.
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 3.2.4 Plan formulation - prescription
3.2.4.1 The Vision Statement, Broad Goals, and Specific Objectives
Setting Goals and Objectives
• Next, articulate environmental goals and objectives that reflect
community desires and priorities, and provide direction for elected
officials on public spending, taxation, and land use regulation. This is the
first step in making the environmental vision a reality.
• The goals and objectives must be based on a solid technical analysis of
the natural and built environments, realistic costs, and an understanding
of relevant regional and federal environmental requirements.
• A common problem is that a goal or objective may be deemed
"politically unfeasible," even though it would significantly improve or
protect environmental quality.
• Goals and objectives should address the full range of environmental
issues facing the community or region, and should build on strengths
(such as a good water supply) as well as address weaknesses (a lack of
parkland), opportunities (wildlife and ecotourism), and threats
(groundwater pollution).

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3.2.4 Plan formulation - prescription
3.2.4.1 The Vision Statement, Broad Goals, and Specific Objectives
Goals
• Goals are broad statements reflecting a community's desires.
Because they provide direction to local officials in their decision
making, they should be clear and decisive.
• The goals expressed in a plan emphasize a vision of the future
and a means to attain that vision.
• Sample environmental goals might include the following:-
I. to ensure compliance with regional and federal
environmental standards for air and water quality;
II. to increase the recycling of trash into useful products;
III. to conserve the amount of land used for development by
promoting compact, mixed use development;
IV. to expand mass transit and thus reduce reliance on the
automobile and air pollution;
V. to increase the amount of public parkland; and
VI. to protect farmland from conversion to nonfarm uses. 41
3.2.4 Plan formulation - prescription
3.2.4.1 The Vision Statement, Broad Goals, and Specific Objectives
Objectives
• Objectives spell out specific ways in which goals can be attained.
More than one objective per goal is often needed. The following
sample objectives would help meet each of the goals above,
though additional objectives would also be needed:
a) Adopt a wellhead protection ordinance to limit development near public
water supplies.
b) Contract with a private recycling firm to increase the amount of trash
recycled.
c) Revise the zoning ordinance to allow smaller minimum lot sizes and a
mix of commercial and residential uses.
d) Explore funding for additional buses or the construction of a commuter
light-rail system.
e) Revise the subdivision ordinance to require mandatory dedication of
parkland or fees in lieu thereof.
f) Explore the creation of a local purchase or transfer of development
rights (TOR) program to preserve farmland.
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 3.2.4 Plan formulation - prescription
3.2.4.2 Formulating and Identifying alternative Environmental
Solutions
• There are a variety of options for achieving envi­ronmental goals.
• Options can be eliminated based on their degree of feasibility.
• Options may also be eliminated due to cost considerations.
• Finally, options may be eliminated because they require advanced technical
skills beyond that which can be accessed in the community, or because
they are too complicated to be administered successfully.
• After a list of possible options has been reduced to a more feasible set, the
planner must review each and clarify precisely what each solution will
achieve.
• During this review and evaluation, sev­eral of the remaining solutions may
be rejected.
• The strategy to remain focused on is to never re­move a potential solution
without an assessment of its performance capabilities.
• In many situations it may be necessary to employ a combination of
solutions, and frequently different solutions can complement one another
and net an overall greater benefit.

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 3.2.4 Plan formulation - prescription
3.2.4.2 Formulating and Identifying alternative Environmental
Solutions
Planning solutions to common environmental problems.
Environmental concern and Solution alternative
• Drinking-water quality: Protecting the source; Improving
treatment technologies; Point of use/point of entry fixes
• Drinking-water quantity: Conservation; Leak detection;
Identifying new supply sources
• Wastewater treatment: Use of onsite systems; Cluster
systems; Centralized systems
• Solid waste: Source reduction, recycling, composting Hazardous
waste: Household hazardous waste collection programs
• Nonpoint pollution: Identifying sources; Developing
management strategies; Educating the community

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3.2.4 Plan formulation - prescription
3.2.4.2 Formulating and Identifying alternative Environmental
Solutions
• One of the more critical steps in developing a comprehensive
environmental plan involves the task of targeting the most
important problems that it should address.
• A simple means of establishing a ranking of objectives places
each problem into a subjective categorization based on
relative risk:
1 Urgent - identifying those environmental problems that present the
highest risk to human health.
2 Necessary - defining problems with lower levels of risk and where
regulatory viola­tions exist.
3 Desirable - describing problems that pre­sent no regulatory concern and
exhibit low levels of long-term risk.
• Once the major objectives have been selected and priorities
established, the plan can be formalized into a detailed
statement of the community's envi­ronmental vision. The
planning process can now shift focus to consider the issue of
implementa­tion. 45
3.2.5 Plan Implementation
• The most carefully crafted plan may never achieve its designed effect simply
because it lacked a strategy for implementation.
• For example, a plan for a highway bypass to reduce traffic congestion through
a town generally requires selecting a route, purchasing right of way,
conducting environmental reviews, designing the highway, planning for
construction, and acquiring funding.
• To implement this plan requires a strategy to ensure that everything takes
place in the sequence necessary to produce success. In this sense
implementation explains a set of procedures that can be used to put our
environmental plan into practice.
Guidelines for plan implementation
• Review goals and recommendations
• Identify implementation procedures
• Review identified procedures
• Select procedures deemed effective
• Evaluate advantages and disadvantages
• Eliminate unsatisfactory procedures
• Assess remaining for effectiveness
• Select most appropriate
• Develop a timetable 46
3.2.5 Plan implementation
The Action Strategy
• A plan is only meaningful if it is implemented.
• The main reason to so many Development plans end up sitting
on a shelf is because they do not include a detailed Action
Strategy as follow through to the goals and objectives.
• The successful implementation of an Environmental Action Plan
requires the use of effective spending programs, incentives, and
environmental and land use regulations.
• Above all, it requires cooperation among government,
businesses, citizens' groups, and private individuals.

47
 3.2.6 Monitoring
• Monitoring of the implementation efforts not only points out
successes and shortcomings, but can be the basis for
recommending changes to existing programs as well as the use of
new techniques.
• To monitor the progress of the Action Plan and to keep the local
government accountable, it is a good idea to use benchmarking.
Benchmarks are measurable targets, such as acquisition of a
certain number of hectares of parkland, improvements in water
quality, and slowing the annual loss of open space.
• Each year, the planning commission or elected officials could set
targets tied to specific goals and objectives in the Environmental
Action Plan.
• The planning commission can then assess the progress toward
the benchmarks and publish an annual Environmental Action
Report. The report can indicate which benchmarks were met and
which were not, and suggest needed adjustments in policy
priorities, regulations, and spending programs.
48
3.2.7 Plan Evaluation
Do plans work?
• Evaluation in planning is complex, and embodies a variety of instruments
and methodologies.
• for evaluation to be successful, evaluative criteria must be carefully
selected and defined.
• since plans are formulated with the intent of being implemented, an
evaluative component must be part of the planning process to provide
feedback as to how well the process is working.
• The key to integrating a dynamic evaluation component into the plan rests
on the planner's ability to
– incorporate evaluative methods explicitly, and
– provide a means to measure the achievement of each goal as an
integral part of the plan.
• Once planners know what elements of plans are successfully implemented
and what elements are not, they can move quickly to the next tier of
evaluation.
• This aspect of evaluation directs efforts toward the identification of the
underlying factors associated with successful plan implementation and
where things went wrong.

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3.2.8 Review
• Finally, the Environmental Action Plan should
be reviewed and updated by the planning
commission every three to five years
– to reflect changes in community desires and
priorities,
– to keep the plan responsive to changes in
environmental quality, and
– to keep the community on course toward long-
range goals of sustainability.

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 3.2.9 Participants and Roles in Environmental Planning
and Management
The nature of environmental problems is determined in large
part by the interaction of numerous public, private, non-
governmental, community, and household actors. Some of the
most influential actors with their weakness and/or strength
include:-
Government plays an important role using its "policy power" to
protect public health and welfare to regulate private activity
that affects the environment.
• Environmental management by government has involved all
three levels-federal, regional and local and all three branches
executive, legislative, and judicial.
– The legislature enacts laws, establishing programs and
policies;
– the courts (judicial body) interpret laws; and
– agencies in the executive branch (such as the federal
Environmental Protection Agency or a local planning
department) develop plans and administer programs. 51
 3.2.9 Participants and Roles in Environmental Planning and
Management

• Environmental protection agencies responsible for setting

environmental regulations and standards and for monitoring
and enforcement are relatively weak bodies with only
coordination functions.
• Planning agencies whose staff are often unfamiliar with
environmental analysis and information and how to apply it to
local development planning.
• Politicians, particularly at the local level, who are usually
preoccupied with maintaining their power and influence and
take a short-term view when allocating resources.
• Sector agencies that tend to have little experience in cross-
sectoral collaboration, and give scant consideration to the
interrelations among projects. They will often promote
infrastructure and development projects that lack basic
environmental considerations.

52
 3.2.9 Participants and Roles in Environmental Planning and
Management
• Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that can be effective agents for
building local awareness, for mobilizing community action, and for voicing
local concerns. Often, however, environmental NGOs focus exclusively on
green and global issues and pay insufficient attention to brown issues.
NGOs are usually interested on "mouth work" rather than on the ground
development work.
• Private and informal sector enterprises that generally are concerned about
the constraints placed on their businesses by environmental regulations
and the costs such rules incur.
• The news media who voice concern for the environment and in reporting
on those affected by environmental conditions. This role can be negative,
however, if the tendency is to sensationalize environmental topics rather
than focus on real local priorities.
• The scientific and engineering community, who play a pioneering role in
shaping the environmental agenda. This group often sets its agenda for
environmental research and monitoring on the basis of its own scientific
interests without giving due thought to the needs of vulnerable
populations.
• External support agencies are a key source of funding for large
environmental projects and are important donors of technical assistance
and other support.
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 3.2.9 Participants and Roles in Environmental Planning and
Management
The role of the community
•Concerned residents and community-based
organizations (CBOs) whose members and leaders are
acutely aware of the impacts of environmental
problems at the household and neighborhood level.
•Typically this group has few opportunities to
participate in the preparation of urban infrastructure or
industrial projects that affect them.
•Citizen participation in planning remains a widely
discussed and debated topic. In general, citizen
participation in the planning process is seen as a
positive feature since it provides an important avenue
for the planner to elicit com­munity attitudes and
values.
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 3.2.9 Participants and Roles in Environmental Planning and
Management
The role of the community
•Fostering citizen participation begins first by trying to define
precisely who represents the public.
•A variety of approaches can be offered to encour­age wider public
involvement. These include the use of:
 advisory panels and committees
 open meetings and forums
 press releases and media coverage
 public surveys and questionnaires
 citizen and neighborhood groups
 public presentations and speaking engagements.
•Some combination of these approaches will facilitate dialogue
between the planner and the community. However, no method is
perfect, and many groups may perceive their needs to be under-
served.
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