It is our pleasure to see all of you join your peers, colleagues and business partners in Spearfish, SD, for the 2017 Western Planners and South Dakota Planners Association annual conference, being held September 12-15, 2017. The conference theme is “Partners in Progress.” We have worked hard to design an agenda which will inspire and educate all of you! We pulled from AK, CO, FL, ID, MN, MT, ND, OR, SD, WY, OR, and even Nairobi, Kenya to bring you some amazing speakers and create a well rounded agenda!

This year's event will take place September 13-15, 2017, at the Spearfish Holiday Inn, Spearfish SD.  The theme of this year’s conference is “Partners in Progress." Register online or via mail today! 

The conference theme is “Partners in Progress” …… working together to create community. We want this conference to provide an excellent opportunity for you to make contacts with professional planners from throughout the western United States and support the communities we are striving to create!

Heavenly Mountain Resort was the first Lake Tahoe resort to propose activities under a federal bill that allows the Forest Service to review and accept non-ski-related activities. by Nick Exline, AICP, Zephyr Cove, Nevada

More frequent and intense climate events result in increased demand on our emergency response systems, greater financial impacts, and greater public health impacts. The challenge is to effectively communicate the ever-increasing demands these events place on our communities and get individuals, communities, and government to prepare. by Katherine Mortimer, Santa Fe, New Mexico

This article looks at the methods and tools available to help cities become resilient for the imminent changes ahead. by Gretel Follingstad

While interest in fostering walkable communities in Utah has grown in recent years, the longer-term trend is showing that people are walking less. This article describes an analysis of the factors that impact walking. The principle data source for this analysis was the 2012 Utah Household Travel Survey (UTHS). by Jonathan Larsen, PE, Andy Li, Ph.D., and Callie New

Oregon has taken a holistic approach to building bicycle tourism, looking to provide a complete package. by Catherine Corliss, AICP, Matt Hastie, AICP, and Laura Krull

The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC) has entered into a data-sharing partnership with Waze to arm residents with information about current road conditions and construction projects to ease their commutes around the valley.

The residents in and around the City of Sierra Vista, Arizona value their dark skies and the ability to observe celestial phenomena, so much so that this area has attracted numerous amateur astronomers from all over the country. When a local business owner requested a code amendment to allow Electronic Message Center (EMC) signs, which had been prohibited, the city created a sign task force to develop Sign and Outdoor Light Control amendments. Carefully crafted ordinancesgo a long way to protecting this important regional asset. by Jeff Pregler, AICP

The City of Williston, North Dakota needed a larger overhaul of sign regulations that truly took into account the wide variety of development types occurring in Williston as well as modernizing regulations. Education was a huge component of the ordinance effort. In the end, the city ended up with an ordinance that allows for more permanent signage for most properties, allows for more temporary signage, creates allowances for non-residential residentially zoned properties such as churches, creates flexibility for large commercial and campus-style properties, and represents and accommodates the needs of stakeholders. by Rachel Laqua

Small towns face enormous hurdles in enforcing code. This article highlights the importance of small towns having strategies that work for their unique situation.  Although this article is directed to small-town leaders, the principles inherent in code enforcement strategies can benefit leaders, planners, and code enforcement officers in any community. by Kyle Slaughter