PREVIEW
SHARECourse Info
7 video lessons (70 Mins)
Published
2026
Trending
Preview Course
Browse Course Chapters
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1.Introduction
2 mins
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2.Setting The Stage
13 mins
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3.Understanding the Planning Commission's Role
12 mins
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4.Preparing for the Meeting (Where Success Starts)
17 mins
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5.Delivering a Strong Staff Presentation
8 mins
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6.Handling Questions, Public Comments & Curveballs
11 mins
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7.Wrap Up + Confidence Reset
5 mins
What You Will Learn
Explain the role and responsibilities of planning commissions within the local land use decision-making process. Apply effective presentation and communication techniques when delivering staff reports and recommendations in public meetings. Demonstrate strategies for responding to commissioner questions, public comments, and challenging meeting dynamics in a professional setting. Describe the typical structure and flow of a planning commission meeting, including agenda items, staff presentations, public hearings, and decision-making processes. Prepare clear, concise, and well-organized staff reports and presentation materials that support informed decision-making. Analyze common types of questions and concerns raised by commissioners and the public to anticipate and effectively address them during meetings. Apply techniques for maintaining professionalism, neutrality, and composure in high-pressure or emotionally charged public meeting environments. Evaluate your role as a planning professional in facilitating transparent, equitable, and effective public decision-making processes.Course Description
For many early-career planners, the first planning commission meeting can be intimidating. You may be responsible for presenting staff reports, answering questions from commissioners, responding to public comments and explaining complex planning policies—all while managing political dynamics in a public setting.
This course prepares new planners to confidently navigate their first planning commission meeting and understand the role these meetings play in the broader planning and decision-making process.
Participants will learn how planning commission meetings function, what commissioners expect from staff presentations and how planners can effectively communicate recommendations. The course also explores common challenges planners face during meetings, including responding to difficult questions, addressing public concerns and managing unexpected changes in discussion.
Through practical examples and real-world scenarios, participants will gain strategies for preparing clear staff reports, presenting information effectively and maintaining professionalism during high-pressure discussions.
By the end of the course, participants will feel more confident participating in planning commission meetings and better prepared to support decision-makers and the public in a transparent and effective planning process.
Learn these skills
- Career Development
- Communications & Media
AICP CM
This course is approved for 1 AICP CM Credit.
