Listserv Message for July 1, 2008

 1) DOLA Grants Manager, field positions (applications due July 18th)

DOLA is hiring for three grants manager positions. All three positions will be located outside the Denver office: Grand Junction, Loveland and Pueblo. Apply by July 18, 2008.

Job description

2) SPECIAL REQUEST - SURVEY

Please take a few minutes to fill out this survey (link below), which will help us determine training needs. Thank you!! – Office of Smart Growth staff

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Dear Planning Community,

The Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA), the American Planning Association/Colorado Chapter, and CSU Extension are interested in understanding: 1) the current state of knowledge and perceived needs for land use training, 2) people's attitudes toward natural resource use, planning and management, and 3) people's attitudes toward land use issues that continue to impact our communities. We anticipate that participants and others will benefit from this survey as the aggregated data will help us provide effective land use education programs and to estimate potential participation. There are no known risks to survey participants.

You are being asked to participate in this survey because you subscribe to a mailing list at the Department of Local Affair's Office of Smart Growth. Your participation is completely voluntary and you may stop participating at any time. Your responses will be kept confidential and only grouped data will be reported.

We appreciate your giving us input that will allow the Department of Local Affairs and other organizations to better meet your information needs. If you have any questions about this survey and/or how it will be used, please contact Eric Bergman at the Office of Smart Growth, 303-866-4552 or Denise Henasey, American Planning Association, 303.918.6771. The Principal Investigator for this study is Diana Laughlin, PhD, Rural Technical Assistance Program: a Partnership of DOLA and CSU Extension.

Please use the link below to take this survey, which should take about 15-20 minutes to complete. Thank you in advance for your participation.

Take survey

3) CCRA 2008 Downtown Institute Seminar Series (dates and locations vary)

The Colorado Community Revitalization Association’s (CCRA) Downtown Institute focuses on a comprehensive, community-based management approach to bring Colorado’s downtowns and commercial centers back to vitality. The Downtown Institute is taught by trainers with expertise in the specific disciplines essential for success. Those that attend the entire training series will receive a Downtown Institute certification, which CCRA will take into account when considering future Colorado Main Street program applications and annual National Main Street Designation.

July 11: Governor's Awards for Downtown Excellence Nominations Due
July 18: Selling Your Downtown ( Brighton)
Sept. 17-19: CCRA Annual Conference (Steamboat Springs)
Sept. 18: Governor's Awards for Downtown Excellence
November 14: Building the Downtown Economy (TBA)

For more information, contact CCRA at 303.282.0625, events@ccraonline.org or visit www.ccraonline.org

4) Brownfields Workshop: Redevelopment and Revitalization, July 16 (Montrose)

This workshop will provide a forum to learn about buying and selling environmentally impaired property, managing associated environmental conditions and how to obtain financial support. Attendees will learn about brownfields from real estate, legal, environmental and funding specialists. We encourage you to use this workshop as a forum to ask questions, share your experiences, and offer suggestions to other members of the community.

The full day workshop is broken into two half-day portions. The first half ($20) will include a training presented by the Colorado Brownfields Foundation, with the second half ($30 registration fee for entire day) presented by Colorado Community Revitalization Association and Colorado Chapter American Planning Association. Find more information and register on the Colorado Brownfields Foundation website or call Raena Blumenthal at (303) 962-0941.

5) CCRA’s “Selling Your Downtown,” July 18 ( Brighton)

This is the third course of four in the 2008 Downtown Institute Series, offered by the Colorado Community Revitalization Association (CCRA). This full-day course offers sessions on planning special events and programs, promoting preservation through heritage tourism, the art of branding a downtown, and more. Find more information at

NEW Brookings Institution Event on the Southern Intermountain West

With the Intermountain West increasingly in the news, we at the Brookings Institution wanted to invite you to a special luncheon forum in Denver on July 22, 2008 marking the national release of a new Brookings policy report on the region entitled "Mountain Megas: America's Newest Metropolitan Places and a Federal Partnership to Help Them Prosper."

This new report argues that the southern Intermountain West, with its rapid population growth, increasing population diversity; and dramatic shift towards a service- and knowledge-based economy, may be the "new American heartland."  As its projected growth continues, it is also becoming the nation's most urbanized region, as evidenced by the rise of the mega-metropolitan areas of greater Phoenix, Denver, Albuquerque, Salt Lake City, and Las Vegas.  But these mountain megas are at a crossroads, facing serious infrastructure, human capital, innovation, and land use challenges that threaten its-and the nation's-future prosperity. With new leadership in the White House and Congress expected this fall, it is imperative for federal leaders to understand how they can serve as better partners to the Intermountain West so this important region continues to prosper.

This event, which represents the formal unveiling of the new report, will take place on
Tuesday, July 22 from 11:15 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. at the law offices of Moye White on the sixth floor of 1400 16 th Street in downtown Denver.  A lunch buffet will be available starting at 11:30 and the main event will start at noon.

The program will begin with welcoming remarks from Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter will provide an initial reflection. Brookings vice president Bruce Katz and lead report author Robert Lang, director of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech, will then provide a lively overview of the report and its policy recommendations. Following that, a panel of distinguished Mountain region leaders from state and local governments and the business sector will provide their responses to the report before they open the floor to any and all questions.

This event is an activity of the Blueprint for American Prosperity, a three-year initiative of the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings focused on aligning federal policy with the needs of American metropolitan areas to ensure U.S. metros grow in ways that are economically productive, socially inclusive, and environmentally sustainable.

Registration is required, so please register online as soon as you can at www.regonline.com/denverimw .    Agenda

6) RMLUI Call for Conference Session Submissions (due July 18)

The Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute is accepting conference session submissions for its 18th Annual Land Use Conference entitled, "Sustainability: Beyond the Platitudes.” The conference will be held in Denver March 5-6, 2009. To submit a session proposal, please visit http://law.du.edu/forms/rmlui/conference.cfm

7) Western Planners Conference, August 5-8 (Cheyenne)

This year's Western Planners Conference will be held in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Rendezvous 2008 is promising to be a big draw! This year’s annual Western Planner Conference is
being held in an excellent location, Cheyenne, Wyoming, at a top notch facility—The Plains Hotel in the heart of downtown. An impressive list of sessions is already in place, which are sure to have something for everyone.

• The New West: Navigating Political Planning Landscapes in Rural Western Towns
• Planning Across Boundaries: Laramie Foothills, Mountains to Plains
• The Quiet Side of the Tetons
• Sustainable Community Plans
• Planning and Zoning Commissioner Training
• Green Building/LEED/Sustainable Design
• Mixed Use: Embracing Density
• Keynote Speaker: Bob Hunter, FAICP, APA President
• Keynote Speaker: Bob Bradshaw, Historian
• The Energy Boot Region: Coping With Uncertainty
• Downtown Historic Preservation
• Designing Collaborative Planning Processes
• Small Wind Power in Western Communities
• Hazard Mitigation: Multi-jurisdictional Planning
• Poster Sessions by UW and UNL Graduate Students
• What They Didn’t Teach in Planning School: New Professionals
• Working Successfully With Tribes in Application of State/Local Laws
• Ins, Outs, Ups and Downs of a Small Planning Department
• Land Use Planning and Sustainable Development in the Rural West: Role for County Extension and Universities
• Safety and Mobility: The Bonuses of Access Management
• From CFIs to Bowties: Innovative Solutions for Busy Intersections

A few more sessions are pending although not confi rmed yet. If you are interested in submitting a proposal as well, get in touch with Joanne Garnett and she will send you a conference abstract form for completion and submittal as a proposed session. E-mail Joanne or call her at 307-367-6548.

AICP Certification Maintenance Credits will be offered at no additional registration cost. No matter what, plan to be in Cheyenne, August 5-8, 2008, for another in a series of GREAT Western Planner regional conferences!

http://www.westernplanner.org/2008conf.htm

8) DRCOG's Infill and Redevelopment Series: Rooftops and Retail, Aug. 8 (Denver)

Rooftops and Retail is the second in a series of infill and redevelopment issues workshops for elected officials offered by DRCOG and the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver. The workshop will take place at DRCOG's office from 730am to 1030am. Register ($20) by August 1st.

9) DOH’s Developer’s Toolkit, Aug. 19-20 (Grand Junction)

Join the Colorado Division of Housing for an exciting two-day workshop designed to enlighten participants about the art and science of affordable housing development. Through role-playing, participants will attempt to solve the housing challenge facing a typical Colorado community. Hands-on exercises will provide a working knowledge of the critical steps necessary to develop an affordable rental housing community.

CDOH will be presenting the Developer's Toolkit on August 19-20 in Grand Junction, at the Whitman Educational Center (map).   Brochure/registration form

Please forward this to anyone you think might want to attend. Registrations are due on July 30th. This class often fills up, so register soon! Please e-mail Denise Selders 303-866-4650 with any questions.

10) CCRA Annual Conference, Sept. 17-19 (Steamboat Springs)

The Colorado Community Revitalization Association (CCRA) is hosting its annual conference in Steamboat this fall. During the conference the winners of the Governor’s Awards for Downtown Excellence will be announced. Nominations for this award are due July 31. Find more information about the awards program and the conference at http://www.ccraonline.org/. Note: CCRA and CML will be offering a pre-legislative forum for development and improvement districts in October or November. Watch CCRA’s website for details. Also coming up: Main Street Institute Session IV: Building Main Street’s Economy, November 14th.

11) Governor’s Conference on Managing Drought and Climate Risk, Oct. 8-10 (Denver)

This 2 ½ day conference will help water providers, planners, managers, and agency officials assess drought risk, impacts, and preparedness in Colorado and the improvements that may be needed for management under different conditions such as

climate change. Conference goals are to share information and experience on drought preparedness and information services needed, and to identify pathways for adaptation to the impacts of climate change and demand on water resources in the State.

Featured Speakers:
• Governor Bill Ritter
• Harris Sherman, Executive Director, Department of Natural Resources
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Authors

$100 registration fee (available online June 16). Visit www.cwcb.state.co.us for more information and to register, or contact CWCB at 303.866.3370.

12) CRDC's Entrepreneurship Marketplace, Oct. 10 (La Junta)

The Colorado Rural Development Council, in partnership with the Center for Rural Affairs, will host the first ever "Colorado Entrepreneurship MarketPlace" on October 10th in La Junta. Only $25 registration fee for a full day of speakers and workshop sessions. Visit the Entrepreneurship MarketPlace page of the CRDC website.

13) Save the Date: WaterSmart Innovations Conference, Oct. 8-10
(Las Vegas)

WaterSmart Innovations welcomes Dr. Jonathan Overpeck, keynote luncheon speaker, Thursday, October 9. The myriad effects of climate change on water supplies-ranging from drought to rising sea levels-are imposing an expanding new set of burdens on water professionals worldwide. To help us all better understand these challenges and how to confront them, WaterSmart Innovations is pleased to welcome Dr. Jonathan Overpeck, coordinating lead author for the United Nations' Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment, as the keynote luncheon speaker on October 9.

Don't miss this once in a lifetime opportunity; visit www.WaterSmartInnovations.com to register. Early Bird Registration open until July 11.

14) Save the Date: Housing Colorado NOW! Conference, Oct. 14-17 (Breckenridge)

Save the date for this important annual conference. Find more details at Housing Colorado's website.

15) Community Matters 2009, Nov. 10-12 (Denver)

16) Save the date: Colorado State Brownfields Conference, Nov. 20-21 (Denver)

Save the date!! Find more information on Colorado Brownfield Foundation's website.

17) Nature Conservancy Position Opening, Land Conservation Program Manager (Applications due July 11)

The Land Conservation Program Manager is responsible for furthering the Conservancy’s strategic goals by initiating and completing land conservation transactions in priority areas across Colorado.  Working closely with community based program staff, s/he will implement the full range of protection tools, including conservation easements, fee purchase and options both directly and through other partners.   The Program Manager represents the Conservancy in relationships and negotiations with land owners, government agencies, public and private funders, land trust partners and community based groups. S/he assists in securing public and private funds for land protection and in creatively structuring individual transactions.  The Manager acquires and maintains local market knowledge of real estate transactions and conducts ongoing research of land ownership information for tracts identified as potential acquisition projects.  Frequent travel throughout the state, occasionally on weekends, is required.  The Program Manager is supervised by the Director of Land Conservation. BASIC QUALIFICATIONS • BA/BS degree in natural resources management, conservation, business, law or another related field of study and minimum  of 3 years of related work experience in conservation, real estate, fundraising or other related.
• Proven ability to work on diverse teams and coordinate internal resources to achieve goals.
• Experience negotiating complex agreements
• Familiarity with land and conservation easement acquisition.  Transactional experience preferred.
• Proficiency with Excel spreadsheets. Experience with data base programs preferred.

https://careers.nature.org/psp/P89HTNC_APP/APPLICANT/HRMS/c/HRS_HRAM.HRS_CE.GBL

18) Plains Conservation Center Job Openings

Director of Development job description

The Director of Development will work to grow PCC 's special events, membership program, and community visibility while creating and implementing a comprehensive individual, corporate, and foundation fundraising strategy . The position works closely with the Executive Director and Board of Directors to build the culture of fundraising throughout PCC .

Director of Education job description

The Plains Conservation Center (PCC) seeks an Education Director with vision and leadership to develop, implement and manage all aspects of our year-round, multifaceted environmental education program. This senior level manager will play a leadership role in an organization ready to develop into a regional resource for prairie protection and education.

Please submit, in confidence, a letter expressing your interest and a current resume to Tudi Arneill (Executive Director) at tarneill@plainscenter.org (in Microsoft Word format). Both positions are open until otherwise posted. 4/8/08

19) GOCO Trail and Open Space Grant Projects (Applications due July 1)

Great Outdoors Colorado is announcing grant opportunities for Trail and Open Space projects throughout the state. Additional information specific to each grant program follows:

-Trail Projects-
GOCO is offering a one-time trail grant opportunity to all cities, counties, and park and recreation special districts throughout Colorado. Applicants may request between $50,000 and $750,000 to develop, improve, extend and enhance trails throughout the state. Funding will also be available for the acquisition of property through fee title or easement for eventual trail development. GOCO REQUIRES that all interested applicants contact Program Manager Aimee Wesley to receive a grant application and/or to request information and technical assistance. Aimee can be reached at 303.226.4523. Please note the following important cycle dates:

Applications Due: July 1, 2008
Grant Decisions: October 3, 2008

-Open Space Projects-
In response to overwhelming support from our stakeholders, the GOCO Board has decided to grant fall Open Space awards during its October Board meeting. Important cycle dates are provided below. Applications will be available online. Please contact Kathleen Staks with any
questions about the cycle or the application at 303.226.4515 or kstaks@goco.org

Applications Due: July 1, 2008
Grant Decision: October 3, 2008

-GOCO Website Registration-
Please take a moment to register on the GOCO website if you haven't already done so. By registering on our site, you enable us to develop an accurate list of eligible applicants seeking GOCO information. This allows us to communicate more efficiently via e-mail about grant
opportunities, thereby reducing printing costs and saving paper. If you encounter any problems registering on the GOCO website, please contact Emily Davies at 303.226.4531.

20) New Grant and Technical Assistance to Encourage Community Centered Schools (Applications due July 14)

Concerned about the abandonment of older neighborhood schools and the siting of new schools outside of communities, the National Trust is offering an opportunity for organizations and coalitions in up to five states to analyze their state’s current policies and develop an educational outreach program with policy recommendations to help citizens and officials make informed choices when spending their limited dollars on school facilities.

Selected organizations will receive a year of technical assistance and a $6,000 grant to: 1) research state policies and practices; 2) convene a policy summit to develop recommendations; 3) develop educational materials; and 4) hold a press event to announce policy findings. By participating in this program, organizations will secure community-centered schools for their state through the implementation of state-level policies. The proposal deadline is July 14, 2008 at 5:00 p.m. eastern.

For more information about this issue and details about applying for this new grant opportunity, visit http://www.preservationnation.org/issues/historic-schools/ or contact Renee Viers Kuhlman, Director of Special Projects, Center for State and Local Policy, at 202-588-6234.

21) Colorado’s Affordable Housing Gallery Accepting Submissions (due July 25)

Please consider submitting a nomination for Colorado’s new Affordable Housing Gallery. The Gallery will be hosted by Housing Colorado, a statewide education and advocacy organization serving a network of over 4000 housing professionals. The Affordable Housing Gallery is an online showcase featuring quality design and innovative development solutions from across Colorado. By showcasing affordable housing design accomplishments from across the state, the gallery will offer;

• a resource to developers interested in learning about new models;
• a public education tool for policymakers interested in learning about award-winning developments in their communities and how different subsidy streams are utilized to make these developments possible;
• a public education tool for citizens concerned about affordable housing quality and design.

The gallery will include property photos, profiles, search features by region and development type, and resources for developers. The submission deadline is Friday, July 25, 2008. Self-nominations are encouraged. A nomination form is available for download in the News section of the Housing Colorado web site. Please send your nomination materials to Kirsten Vermulen, Program Manager, Housing Colorado. Please e-mail or call 303.863.0125. Please submit forms and photos electronically.

22) COSA Blue Gramas Award Nominations (Due Aug. 1)

Every year the Colorado Open Space Alliance (COSA) is acknowledges outstanding projects through the Blue Grama awards. Blue Grama is Colorado’s state grass: Gramas, Grammys—get it? We need you to nominate projects in the four categories: 1&2) Outstanding Achievement for organization and individual, 3) Outdoor Recreation Program, 4) Ecological Management Program. Awards will be presented at the COSA annual conference in Estes Park, September 15 – 17, 2008. Nomination rules. The same nomination information is posted at the COSA website

Questions - e-mail: JonesM@bouldercolorado.gov, LJeanStrand@comcast.net, dan.wolford@ci.longmont.co.us, or heidea@ci.breckenridge.co.us.

FINAL NOTE

Smart Growth Network’s Citizen’s Guide to Planning, “Choosing Our Community’s Future”
Visit SGN’s website to download a copy of this handbook for citizens, and for many other helpful resources!