LAND USE PUNNINO -^7 ^"^in^o" Weydemeyer 



(Inasmuch as Larvi Use Planning Is a concern of 

 SWCD Supervisors in developing district programs, 

 you will be especially interested in the follow- 

 ing surainary of Land Use Planning which was the 

 theme of the recent Montana Conservation Council 

 Annual Meeting.) 



I. The program opened with a planned conflict 

 or contrast, in attitudes toward planning, 

 projected by Dr. Will Clark and Dr. Norman 

 Taylor. 



This factor of conflict was evident in 

 much of the discussion on the what, why, 

 when, and how of land use planning. 



II. What is Land Use Planning? 



1, An attempt to resolve conflicts in land 

 use demands. As Dr. Taylor pointed out 

 conflicts arise because land is limited 

 land use is unlimited. 



2, An attempt to try to arrive at a logi- 

 cal course of action to best adapt 

 land resources to human needs. 



3, An orderly procedure for solving land 

 use problems. 



4, A conscious effort to direct human en- 

 ergy to secure a rationally desirable 

 end. 



5, It was suggested that in some cases 

 planning may be carried out largely for 

 the sake of planning itself. 



til. Why Land Use Planning? 



1. To assume a need for planning implies 

 that the existing or probable use of 

 resources is not making or will not 

 make the maximum contribution to the 

 general welfare. 

 2* Population pressures and increasing 

 conflicts between desired land use 

 make planning essential. 



IV. Planning - Whose Job is it? 



1. Some conflict in opinion was evident. 

 Dr. Taylor: Individual planning sel- 

 dom recognises public welfare. 

 Qladwin Young » Use of land for the 

 greatest economic return by private 

 owners is generally in the public in- 

 terest. 



2. Planning involves individuals and 

 groups of citizens at all levels, from 

 city, county, district, state, region- 

 al, to national. 



3. The need for cooperative planning has 

 been hij^ly emphasized by nearly all 

 program participants. 



4. It has been saggested that the role of 

 government agencies is to provide 

 society with objectives, guides, and 



methods; and to attempt to promote 

 understanding by the public and to 

 secure effective cooperation among 

 groups. 

 5. Public opinion should be given full 

 consideration by the snail minorities 

 who have the main responsibility for 

 planning. 



7. Problems of Planning 



1. Problems may be political, social, 

 economic, legal, technical, psycho- 

 logical. 



2. Psychological aspects often present 

 the greatest problem. People are 

 creatures of prejudice and attitude 

 habits; they do not readily yield to 

 p]?oposals which curtail their indi- 

 vidual freedom: the urge for individ- 

 ual freedom exerts a stronger influ- 

 ence than the concept of public wel- 

 fare. As Bill Fox pointed out, rather 

 than talking of Ideals, it is more 

 effective to convince citizens that 

 the results of planning will benefit 

 them as individuals. 



3» As Herschell Hurd pointed out, in sane 

 eases a major problem is to determine 

 and agree upon the capabilities and 

 hazards of the land involved. Pro- 

 moters and pressure groups sometimes 

 ignore or fail to recognize facts, 



VI. Basic Requirements for Sound Planning 



1. The plan must be susceptible to public 

 support. Effort will be wasted unless 

 the public can be induced to "buy" the 

 plan. 



2. To be susceptible to public support, 

 the plan must be compatible with 

 American democratic principles and 

 processes. 



3. The plan must be economically feasible. 



4. The plan must be administratively 

 workable. 



VII. Steps in Planning . 



1. Identify objective s . 



2. issesB the present situation and de- 

 termine how it must be changed. 



3. Consider alternate methods of accom- 

 plishing objectives, 



4. Selsct the most desirable method. 



5. Develop a blueprint for action. 



Action itself is a separate step from planning. 

 Action may be carried on by a different level or 

 agency or government, or by individuals or groups 

 not directly involved in the process of planning. 

 Generally, however, it is highly desirable that 

 those to be affected by the action be involved at 

 all stages of the planning* 



