Program2018

Conference Program

The PDF conference program (link at right) has been finalized as of October 1, 2018. The content below has been updated to agree with the print program. Certification Maintenance (CM) credits listed below each session are those we've applied for.


DAY 1 - Wednesday, October 3

8:00 AM - On-Site Registration Opens

On-site registration will be available the day of the conference but some selections - such as mobile workshops - may be limited and you definitely will have missed the early bird discount. Our volunteer staff will have laptops available to receive your online payments via credit or debit cards, and log your selections with the Planning.org event portal. They can also receive your purchases of additional tickets for your guest or new

8:00 AM - Chapter Business Meeting

Magnolia Room

Members are strongly encouraged to attend this annual meeting of the full membership of APA LA. Chapter President Derek Chisholm will review critical events of the past year and present possible changes in 2019 for discussion with the membership. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear what is going on and to have your voice heard!

- - 15 Minute Break --

9:15 - Conference Welcome and Plenary Session

Magnolia Room

This official start of the 2018 APA Louisiana Conference will include a welcome to Shreveport-Bossier and to the conference. Welcome addresses will be received from Mayors Ollie Tyler of Shreveport and Lo Walker of Bossier City, and also from the APA Louisiana Chapter President Derek Chisholm.

10:15 AM - Wednesday

Session 1: Promoting Inclusiveness in Preservation Planning

Arkansas Room, [1.5 CM]

Professional planners must work to develop plans that both acknowledge and respect the wide array of cultures, histories, and identities present in our communities. Learn how planners and community partners in St. John the Baptist Parish are lever aging the power of historic preservation and cultural identity to build social capital and promote inclusive revitalization parish wide.

  • Moderator: René Pastorek – St. John the Baptist Parish Planning & Zoning Manager
  • Panelist 1: LaVerne Toombs - Chief Administrative Officer, St. John the Baptist Parish
  • Panelist 2: Julia Remondet – Councilwoman, District II, St. John the Baptist Parish
  • Panelist 3: Jennie Garcia – Doctoral Student of Design and Cultural Preservation, LSU

Session 2: Cool Tools for Planners

Louisiana Room, [1.5 CM]

The Face of Planning and Planning Organizations increasingly rely on digital solutions to accomplish our tasks. In this session, numerous digital tools will be shared. Applications showcased will include outreach, GIS, data collection, and visualizations. The costs, limitations, and other issues with each tool will be systematically covered.

  • Moderator: Chris Petro, AICP – MPO Deputy Director, Northwest Louisiana Council of Governments
  • Panelist 1: Adelee LeGrande, AICP – Chief Strategy Officer, Vice President, Transdev
  • Panelist 2: Adam Bailey – Community Planning & Design Manager, Shreveport-Caddo MPC
  • Panelist 3: Bobby Evans, AICP – Community and Transportation Planner, AECOM

 
 

12:00 noon - Keynote Luncheon

Magnolia Room

Paul Farmer, FAICP, is a native of Shreveport and a graduate of Jesuit High School, where he discovered city planning. He received his B.A. and B.Arch degrees from Rice University before doing his Masters and Doctoral work in city & regional planning at Cornell University. Paul taught planning and architecture at Cornell and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for a decade; practiced city planning for two decades as deputy planning director in Pittsburgh, Planning Director in Minneapolis and Executive Director of Planning and Development in Eugene, Oregon. He was CEO of the American Planning Association for almost fifteen years. He has also held faculty appointments at the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon, Georgia Tech and the University of Oregon. He has been a consulting planner on six continents. Paul continues to write, lecture and practice from Paris to Singapore and through out the U.S. He is an honorary member of ASLA and RTPI and an Honorary Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia. He and his wife, Connie, live in Chicago and they are currently restoring their home in Shreveport which was built in 1908 by Paul's grandfather.

2:00 PM - Wednesday

Session 3: AICP Ethics Session - The Planner of a 1,000 Faces: A Hero’s Journey Through Ethics

Louisiana Room, [1.5 CM Ethics]

This session presents the ethical career journey of every planner through review of AICP Code of Ethics, case studies, and breakout sessions. It presents an opportunity for self-reflection and consideration of reactions to situations and scenarios involving ethical dilemmas encountered by planners over the course of their careers.

  • Speaker: Sean Daly, AICP – Chapter Professional Development Officer / Senior Planner, Iteris, Inc.

 

Mobile Workshops [2 - 4 PM]

Meet in lobby, [2 CM]

Tour 1 - Port of Caddo-Bossier (ticketed event)

  • Facilitator: Eric England – Executive Director, Port of Caddo-Bossier

[Port of Caddo-Bossier]

Tour 2 - Texas Street Downtown (ticketed event)

Facilitator: Liz Swaine - Executive Director, Downtown Development Authority

[700 - 800 blocks of Texas Street]

- - 15 Minute Break --

 

3:45 PM - Wednesday

Session 4: Short Term Rentals - Revisiting the Regs in New Orleans

Arkansas Room, [1.5 CM]

New Orleans began regulation of short term rentals a year ago but is considering revising these rules. Proponents and critics of STRs are weighing in now as the City Council and Planning Commission sort things out. This Session will look at the growth in numbers of STRs, their impacts, and what new regulations the City Council will likely adopt.

  • Speaker: Robert D. "Bob" Rivers – Executive Director, New Orleans City Planning Commission

Session 5: Promoting Resiliency through Science-based Eco-Engineering in a Coastal Louisiana Parish

Louisiana Room, [1.5 CM]

Terrebonne Parish strives to build a resilient coastal environment through deployment of a “multiple lines of defense” strategy with six components, utilizing both natural and manmade features. While few people in Terrebone actually reside near the Gulf of Mexico, the areas outside the hurricane levee serve to protect the urban environment further inland, as well as the parishʼs vast and vulnerable oil and gas infrastructure.

  • Speaker: Mart Black, AICP – Terrebonne Parish Government, Director: Office of Coastal Restoration and Preservation

 

6:00 PM - Chapter Reception

Marlene Yu Art Museum

Artwork of Marlene YuCome socialize with other members at the Marlene Yu Museum located at 710 Travis St, Shreveport. The museum features work of Tiawanese-born Asian-American artist Marlene Tseng Yu, who's large scale works often synthesize Chinese landscape painting and American abstract expressionism. A complimentary drink ticket is included with your conference registration.

 

 


DAY 2 - Thursday, October 4th

7:30 AM - Continental Breakfast

Magnolia Room

8:00 AM - Onsite Conference Registration Opens

8:30 AM - Thursday

Session 6: Pecha Kucha - A series of 7-minute presentations

Arkansas Room, [1.5 CM]

Pecha Kucha is a fast and content-packed presentation format in which each presenter has seven minutes and 20 slides to fully present their topic. We debuted this format at the 2017 conference in New Orleans' City Park and are bringing it back because it expands our capacity to provide public speaking opportunities for our members. Pecha Kucha is perfect for topics that may not warrant a full 1-1/2 hour session, yet are of interest and deserve to be heard.

  • Claiborne Corridor Innovation District: Lydia Jemison, AICP, CFM – Jemison & Partners, Inc.
  • The Healthy Block Initiative: Vivek Shah, AICP – Chief, Planning & Policy, Adaptation Strategies and Felice Lavergne - Project Mgr., Urban Conservancy
  • APA-LA Communications in 2018: James Taylor, AICP and Evelyn Cade Campo, CFM 
  • Port NOLA PIER Plan: Amelia L. Pellegrin, AICP, LEED AP – Director of Sustainable Development, Port NOLA
  • Why Does My Complete Street Feel Incomplete?  Carlee Alm-LaBar - Director of Traditional Neighborhood Developments, Iteris, Inc.
  • Middle Modalism: Ebikes, Scooters, and Truly Complete Streets: Derek Chisholm, AICP, ENV SP, LEED GA – Chapter President
  • Deliveries!  Are you Planning for Them?: Sean Daly, AICP – Iteris, Inc.

Session 7: AICP Test Cram Session

Louisiana Room [no CM]

One month away from the November AICP Certification Exam test window and you're worried about something you missed in your studying? Need some extra studying support? Then come to this session where you and your fellow test-takers can engage in an intensive, detailed session meant to get you prepared for the home-stretch of studying and identify any need areas before you take the November exam.

  • Speaker: Sean Daly, AICP – Chapter Professional Development Officer

 

- - 15 Minute Break --

10:00 AM, Thursday

Session 8: 2018 Mayors’ Roundtable

Louisiana Room, [1.5 CM]

Mayors from north Louisiana will discuss what “faces” they are planning for, what projects have either been proposed or in progress for these different faces of their communities and what successes or failures you have had with these projects. Learn more about who other communities are planning for and how they are planning for them.

  • Moderator: Joanne Poret, AICP – Director of Planning and Zoning, City of Monroe
  • Panelist 1: Honorable Lorenz James "Lo" Walker – Mayor, Bossier City
  • Panelist 2: Honorable James "Jamie" Mayo – Mayor, City of Monroe
  • Panelist 3: Honorable Staci Albritton-Mitchell – Mayor, City of West Monroe
  • Panelist 4: Honorable Ron Walker – Mayor, City of Ruston
  • Panelist 5: Honorable Jacques Roy – Mayor, City of Alexandria
  • Panelist 6: Honorable Lee Posey – Mayor, City of Natchitoches

Session 9: Justice, Knowledge, and Small “p” Planners [starting at 10:15 am]

Arkansas Room, [1.5 CM]

This presentation will focus on how off-radar community groups and emergency entities can emerge with formal planning process and play key roles in the development of sustainability and resilience for their communities and regions. We will consider how planners with a small “p” are transformative leaders for justice and use their knowledge in ways that may sometimes far exceed the expertise of institutional planners.

  • Speaker: Alessandra Jerolleman, PhD, MPA, CFM – Community Resilience Specialist, The Lowlander Center

 

 

 

 

12:00 Noon: State Planning Awards Luncheon

award

Featuring an address by Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser

Magnolia Room

Each year the APA Louisiana Chapter recognizes the achievements of agencies, companies, groups and individuals as they strive for excellence in the planning profession. General award categories include Planning Excellence (Plan/Implementation/Process/Education or Advocacy), Planning Achievement (for an individual), Student Project Award and Great Places in Louisiana recognition. A presentation of winning submissions will be shared as well as the official ceremony in which winners will receive a personalized award. This year's luncheon will begin with an address from Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser.

 

1:00 PM: Planning Commissioner Training

Louisiana Act 859 and Revised Statute Title 33, 33:103.1 mandates four (4) hours of approved training for planning commissioners, advisory board members, historic district commissioners, and boards of zoning adjustment before or during their first year of public service in this role. This session satisfies this requirement for these public servants.

Louisiana Room

  • Facilitator 1: Joanne Poret, AICP – Director of Planning and Zoning, City of Monroe
  • Facilitator 2: Mart Black, AICP – Director, Terrebonne Consolidated Government, Office of Coastal Restoration and Preservation

 

1:45 PM - Thursday

Session 10: APA Legislative Advocacy

Arkansas Room, [1.5 CM Ethics]

Who better to see the “Faces of Planning” than your elected officials? Learn how to effectively engage elected officials about the 2018 national legislative topics, and what steps the Louisiana Chapter is taking to advocate for planning throughout the state.

  • Moderator: Derek Chisholm, AICP, ENV SP, LEED GA – APA LA Chapter President; Gulf Coast Operations Manager, New Orleans, AECOM
  • Panelist 1: Whitney Hoffman Sayal, AICP – Vice President, APA LA | Downtown Development District of Baton Rouge
  • Panelist 2: Evelyn Cade Campo, CFM – APA LA Outreach & Advocacy Officer | St. John Parish Zoning Administrator
  • Panelist 3: Catherine Hinshaw - APA State Government Affairs Associate, Washington D.C.

 

Mobile Workshops [1:45 - 4 PM]

Meet in lobby, [2 CM]

Tour 3 - Shreveport Common (ticketed event)

  • Facilitator: Wendy Benscoter - Executive Director, Shreveport Common

[ShreveportCommon.com]

Tour 4 - Bossier East Bank District (ticketed event)

Facilitator: Mike McSwain - Owner, Mike McSwain Architect, LLC

[Bossier East Bank District]

- - 15 Minute Break --

 

3:30 PM - Thursday

Session 11: We Grow Together! Planning for a Healthy Regional Food System

Arkansas Room, [1.5 CM]

Learn about the stages in the effective planning and implementation of the "We Grow Together! Health Regional Food System" initiative. Emphasis will be given to the interdependent relationship between effective strategic planning and strong vision-centered community collaborations.

  • Panelist 1: Dr. Grace Peterson – Extension Agent, LSU Ag Center
  • Panelist 2: Stephen Jean, AICP – Deputy Director, Shreveport-Caddo MPC
  • Panelist 3: Angie White – Senior V.P. North Louisiana Economic Partnership; Vice Chair, Slow Food North Louisiana
  • Panelist 4: Cookie Coleman – President, Red River Coalition of Community Gardeners

 

5:30 - 7:30 PM - Thursday - Poolside Social Hour

Pool deck at Sam's Town Hotel ShreveportAfter a full day of sessions and mobile workshops, come join us on the 4th floor of Sam's Town Resort for a poolside social. Rumor has it that chapter officers will be performing a cannon ball contest, so you won't want to miss it!

 

 

 

7:30 PM - Thursday: Thrill on the Hill Dinner

Ticketed Event

Ernest's Orleans Restaurant: 1601 Spring Street

Ernest's Oelans Restaurant, Shreveport (logo)All are welcome to register for this event featuring a dinner at Ernest's Orleans Restaurant, which has been a part of Shreveport's history for over sixty years! Sitting on top of the hill, Ernest's features prime steaks, fresh seafood, and Italian eats. Ernest's Famous Marinated Crab Claws and Red Snapper Ernest are just two dishes that highlight our menu. Table side desserts and after dinner drinks await our guests! 

 


DAY 3 - Friday, October 5

7:30 AM - Continental Breakfast

Magnolia Room

8:30 AM - Friday

Session 12: Trails - The Other T.O.D.

Arkansas Room, [E 1.5 CM]

Veteran trails specialists Bud Melton and Lenny Hughes of Halff Associates, Inc. will share their combined experience of more than 5 decades of successes, near misses and very challenging projects ranging from local urban hike-bike paths to area-wide and corridor plans. Their roles in more than 150 trail planing and/or design projects will provide key insights on public-private partnerships. Hear about successes, near-misses, and a range of challenging projects from local urban hike-bike paths to wide areas and extended corridor studies encompassing bikeway connections to key destinations.

  • Panelist 1: Warren J. "Bud" Melton, III – Special Projects Manager, Halff Associates, Inc.
  • Panelist 2: Lenny Hughes – Vice President and Director of Landscape Architecture, Halff Associates, Inc.

Session 13: Flood Recovery: The Environmental Process Beneath the Distribution of Federal Funds

Louisiana Room, [1.5 CM]

You've seen the news headlines where our elected officials have been instrumental in securing millions of dollars for flood recovery efforts in our state. Do you know what goes on behind the scenes? How does environmental review fit into the process? Come hear about experiences encountered by our members working in this practice area.

  • Panelist 1: Jessica Keasler, AICP – Senior Environmental Planner, Terracon. Inc.
  • Panelist 2: James Taylor, AICP – Planner, Franklin Associates, LLC
  • Panelist 3: Matt Redmond, PE, CFM - Asst. City Engineer, City of Shreveport

 

- - 15 Minute Break --

10:15 AM - Friday

Session 14: Planning Law

Louisiana Room, [1.5 CM LAW]

Join us to find out what has happened in the area of planning law through a review of recent decisions and current cases. During this session, we will review the source of planning in Louisiana, from a legal perspective. This session will build on the basics provided through Louisianaʼs planning enabling legislation and carry through important decisions affecting land use, zoning and eminent domain.

  • Panelist 1: Stephen D. Villavaso, J.D., FAICP – Principal, Villavaso & Associates; Adjunct Professor at both the Department of Planning and Urban Studies at the University of New Orleans and the School of Law at Loyola University.
  • Panelist 2: Ed Elam, III, AICP - Associate & Planner, Burk-Kleinpeter, Inc.

 

Noon - Friday: Closing Session

Session 15: Inclusionary Zoning and Fair Housing

Magnolia Room

This presentation will provide an overview of New Orleans’ efforts to address this housing crisis.  Specifically, it will examine the City Planning Commission’s involvement in developing a “Smart Housing Mix” approach, leveraging the City’s economic growth to create opportunities for affordable housing through density bonuses and mandatory inclusionary zoning. 

Presenter: Robert "Bob" Rivers, Executive Director, New Orleans City Planning Commission

(Note: This is a final lecture session, no meal will be served.)

 

-- 1:00 PM Adjourned --

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Special thanks to all of our sponsors. Without your generosity and commitment to forwarding the advancement of planning in our state and region this event would not be possible.