News and Announcements:

Name the Journal Contest!! SDAPA is redesigning our website. As part of this redesign, SDAPA's Planning Journal will become more integrated with our website, instead of being a stand-alone PDF document. This will allow our members to engage with the journal online and share and contribute to the journal's articles. We look forward to this exciting transition and are asking our members to be a part of the new face of SDAPA's Planning Journal. Enter our contest and submit your recommendation for the new name of the Planning Journal! The Prize: FREE admission to this year's SDAPA Annual Awards Ceremony Submit your entry

11th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth Conference! - Registration is now open for the 11th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth: Building Safe, Healthy and Livable Communities Conference, February 2-4, 2012, in San Diego, CA. The conference will feature over 100 plenaries, breakouts, workshops and trainings, as well as strategies and implementation tools that address the challenges of implementing smart growth development principles. Visit the conference web site for more details! Conference Website

Announcing DesignCollab, San Diego's Virtual Design Community SDAPA has recently joined several organizations in DesignCollab, a new virtual community of design professionals. DesignCollab was created in December 2011 to fill a void in the design community. DesignCollab provides a central clearinghouse of information and connectivity for planners, architects, landscape architects and other professionals committed to enhancing the lives of citizens via the built environment. As a virtual web-based community, it can be accessed by anyone. If you are tired of managing your calendar of events from various organizations, this is the place for you! One of DesignCollab'sgreatest features is a master calendar for all events put on by the collaborator organizations, such as SDAPA. Why Should I Become A Subscriber? Although DesignCollab can be accessed by anyone, only subscribers can take advantage of the interactive capabilities, such as providing comments to calendar events and blog postings. Becoming a subscribers is easy and affordable at only $1/month, or $12 for an entire year. DesignCollab

Planners Night Out - 5:30 PM March 6, 2012 The Next Planners Night out will be at Urbn in North Park. Se the RSVP link below, and more details to follow. RSVP

Director Message - Dear Members of the San Diego Section of the American Planning Association, Happy New Year. We have a few important announcements to share with you to start off the new year. First, we are pleased to announce that you have elected long time SDAPA Board member Greg Konar as our next Section Director. Greg will serve as Director-Elect for 2012 and then Director for the two year term starting January 2013. Greg has over 25 years of public and private sector planning experience with emphasis in policy planning, specific plans, zoning ordinances, housing elements, general plan amendments, and entitlement processing. Mr. Konar currently serves as a Senior Associate with J.H. Douglas Associates (formerly Conexus) and provides project management, analysis, and program development support for housing element updates throughout California. Greg has also served as Webmaster of the San Diego Section for over 10 years, and has also initiated and coordinated many APA events. Greg's commitment, creativity and continuity has and will continue to serve our Section and region well. We would like to thank Stephen Haase for also running in the election and thank him for his commitment to assist the SDAPA Board and our members going forward. Additionally, Elisa Marrone was re-elected as Treasurer of the San Diego Section and will continue to help keep our finances in excellent shape. We are also pleased to announce the return of former SDAPA board member Betsy McCullough back to the SDAPA board as our next Awards Director. Betsy will be taking over for Dana Spaccarotella who has done an outstanding job with our annual awards event the last two years. In other election news, we are very proud and excited to report that our immediate past Section Director Brooke Peterson has been elected as our next President of the California Chapter of APA. Brooke will serve as President Elect for 2012 and then as President for 2013 -2014 and will do a great job representing the San Diego region and our state. We have a busy schedule of events planned for the coming year and look forward to providing you with increasingly useful and meaningful members services. As always, we are an organization of volunteers. If you have any ideas, comments or suggestions for improving service to our members, or would like to get more involved with APA, please contact me or any other Board member. Please help me congratulate, welcome and thank all of our new, past and current Board members and volunteers as we work toward a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year and assist you in Making Great Communities Happen. Sincerely, Dan Wery, AICP, LEED APDirector, San Diego Section 2011-2012

2012 AICP Exam Training Sessions The San Diego Section of APA is proud to offer a series of four AICP Exam Training Sessions beginning February 18, 2012 with the last session to be held on March 31, 2012. The AICP examination is in May 5-18. Registration is due February 14, 2012, so please see the registration link and flier, and act fast. Register Online Flier for more details

2011 Sustainability Showcase Awards - The CA Sustainability Alliance program is we are currently accepting applications for the 2011 Sustainability Showcase Awards. The Sustainability Showcase recognizes organizations throughout the state which have adopted policies or programs to increase their sustainability and are leading the way to a sustainable future for California. Now in its fourth year, the Sustainability Showcase Awards honors leaders in four categories: Local Government, Commercial Buildings, Water Agencies, and Multifamily Housing. Applications will be accepted until midnight on January 20, 2012. Winners will be honored at the 2011 Sustainability Showcase Awards luncheon in May 2012. Flier http://sustainca.org/

BEEP San Diego Call for Volunteer Instructors! – The Built Environment Education Program (BEEP) is an award winning program with roots in the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the California Architectural Foundation (CAF), and the San Diego Architectural Foundation (SDAF) that has evolved into a new independent organization, BEEP San Diego, with a Steering Committee comprised of leadership and representatives from the American Planning Association (APA) San Diego Section, the AIA San Diego Chapter, SDAF, and the University of California, San Diego. BEEP San Diego’s program is launching in San Diego schools in the 2011-2012 academic year. The organization is seeking Architects, Landscape Architects, Urban Planners, and other Allied Professionals to volunteer as Instructors in San Diego classrooms. The BEEP San Diego Volunteer Instructor will teach lessons and concepts developed by BEEP San Diego at Partner Schools during the school day. Volunteers are requested for lesson teaching and support on a lesson-by-lesson basis, which typically entails visiting the Partner School / classroom between one and three times weekly for up to three weeks. The Volunteer Instructor will be teamed with an Emerging Professional to help with in-classroom teaching and to provide general lesson and logistical support. For more information, please see flyer. To volunteer please contact: BEEP San Diego, Attn: Wendy L. Tinsley Becker beepsandiego@gmail.com / (619) 302-0425 Beep San Diego Flier

-

Pay Your APA Dues in Installments - Apply for APA’s electronic dues payment program. It’s automatic. It’s convenient. It’s free! APA now offers more affordable options for members to manage their annual dues. If you are joining or renewing your APA membership, you qualify to pay for your membership and other services provided by APA electronically by monthly deductions from your U.S. bank account or charge to your credit card. You can elect to pay your annual fees in as many as 12 equal installments. Follow link below for more information. More Information General Membership Information

AICP CM Credit Status - AICP CM Credits are now available for: - Pruitt-Igoe Myth Screening (2.0) - Perth Austrailia: A Case Study in Parking and Public Transit (1.5) - Is Redevelopment Dead? What's Next for San Diego Redevelopment (1.5) - 2011 California Conference - What's Planning Got to do With It? - Planning in San Diego (1.5) - Ethics in Planning CD ROM (1.5 ethics credits) - Enter "15234" in Search after selecting Distance Education "browse" option. This item is not listed on the calendar. - North Park San Diego Revitalization Tour (1.5) - National APA and AICP Leadership Dialog (1.0) - From Planning to Reality: Transforming San Diego into a Bicycle Haven (1.5) - Land Use Mediation (1.5 law) - 2010 California Conference To enter your credits use link below. Use search word "San Diego Section" to bring up list of all San Diego events (list may involve more than one page) . Enter Credits

PlanIt San Diego - The Summer 2011 issue of the City of San Diego City Planning and Community Investment Department's e-newsletter, PlanIt San Diego is now available. Download PlanIt San Diego

Mail-List Receive the latest SDAPA and news and job announcements by subscribing to our e-mail list. No charge. Subscribe

Jobs Available - Check here for the latest San Diego planning jobs.

Students, Join APA for $5 a month! - Join APA as a student for $5/month ($60/year) and remain as a student member for 3 years, whether or not you are still a student. Then, transition to a New Professional Rate for 2 years -- a total of 5 years of discounted membership! More details: http://goo.gl/FxcBu Questions? E-mail Alex Hempton at sdapamembership@gmail.com.

Unemployed? APA Offers Discounted Membership Dues - Active (current and continuous) paid APA membership for the past 3 or more years entitles you to 1 year of membership dues at the unemployment rate for a maximum of 5 years (15 years of active service). This is not a billable rate, so you will have to request the unemployment rate every year upon renewal. Unemployment rates: APA dues $50, Chapter dues $10, AICP (if applicable) $25. All publications and divisions are at regular price. Call 312-431-9100 or e-mail customerservice@planning.org. Subject to APA staff approval.

SDAPA Corporate Sponsors Our current corporate sponsors are: URS (6-12) AECOM (6-12) HDR (6-12) DUDEK (6-12) GEPermit (6-12) KTU&A (6-12) LL&G (6-12) Parsons Brinckerhoff (6-12) RBF (6-12) RECON (6-12) The Planning Center/DCE (6-12) Rick Engineering (6-11) ERA (6-11) Greystone (6-11) Hofman Planning Associates (6-11) The Lightfoot Group (6-11) Project Design Consultants (6-11) PMC (6-11) DWG Consulting (6-11) Dyett & Bhatia (6-11) ESA (6-11) Many thanks to the Sponsors of the 2011 APA Awards Event held at the North Park Birch Theatre Menu of Sponsorship Opportunities