MUNICIPAL | Planners In A Pinch

Interim Municipal Planning Services

Interim Municipal Planning
Planning Board Support
Plans Review
Zoning Analysis

Staff turnover is inevitable in every workplace. People retire, take time off to care for a loved one or a newborn or perhaps accept a new position somewhere else. In the private sector, temps are hired all the time to fill in for the short- or long-term. And if a temporary employee is not hired, it is a conscious decision that the work can wait until the position is filled or the original worker returns.

Municipalities often do not have the budget to hire a full-time, short-term replacement. But often the work cannot wait. This is particularly true in Planning Departments because State laws require that a Planning Board, Special Permit Granting Authority and/or administrative reviewer act on a land use project within a proscribed number of days regardless of staffing issues.

If there is no one on staff who understands the impacts of a proposed project or the associated time frame for a decision, municipalities may end up with a project that is not compatible with the community or local land use provisions and, most importantly, one that has no conditions attached that would protect the neighborhood and help mitigate the project’s expected impacts.

This is where Planners In a Pinch, LLC comes in to help. We are urban planners with decades of experience working in the public sector in Massachusetts. We will make “the trains run on time” in your City or Town until a full-time planner is back on board.

We work as part-time consultants so there is no additional strain on the personnel budget. And while we are at it, we can also provide new ideas and approaches that we have seen in the other municipalities where we have worked. Believe us, we’ve seen it all!

What is an effective way to get public input?
How do other municipalities handle site plan review?
How can we make sure that applicants are requesting the appropriate relief from the appropriate Board for their project to cut down on duplicate work or unnecessary delays?
Should there be a system in place to ensure that staff members (Land Use Planners, Zoning Enforcement Officers, Building Inspectors, Conservation Agents, Historic Preservation Planners, Firefighters, Engineers, Transportation Planners, Sustainability Coordinators) can work collaboratively with applicants and the public to satisfy all, or most, of the stated goals and requirements for land use projects in the municipality?