PATHWAY CONSULTING
SERVICE, LLC
Consulting: Integrated Planning and Review™
“People want the most effective, productive, and rewarding way of working together to achieve a common end. They want the process and the relationships forged therein to meet their personal needs for belonging, meaningful contribution…[and] having the opportunity for personal growth…Understanding and accepting diversity allows us to acknowledge that each of us has a need to be needed, to contribute in some way. It also enables us to begin admitting that we do not and cannot know or do everything and that we must rely on the strengths of others with complete trust.”
Dr. Chris Maser, “Resolving Environmental Conflict: Towards Sustainable Community Development,” DelRay Beach, FL, St. Lucie Press, 1996.
The Team of Environmental Planning Strategies, Inc and Pathway Consulting Service LLC helps you productively untangle and negotiate the process webs of obtaining land use permits, rights-of-way, and cost recovery agreements, and conduct environmental reviews and NEPA compliance
Avoid delays, conflict, unnecessary costs, and constantly changing projects, processes, and permitting while leveraging the expertise of your professionals and contracting
We partner with permitting agencies, applicants and contractors to increase your productivity, strengthen your strategies, and lower your costs
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF INTEGRATED PLANNING AND REVIEW?
TYPICAL PROCESS
INTEGRATED PLANNING REVIEW
Productive Engagement of Agencies and Applicants
Applicants depend on agencies to provide guidance
Agencies and applicants work together to understand
Which may change over time and with differing personnel
Agency regulator requirements for permitting, obtaining rights-of-way, and environmental compliance and review
Applicants try to guess what agencies want in a complete
application, and must submit multiple applications to meet
agency requests and requirements
Agencies and applicants work together during the pre-application and the application processes to ensure regulatory compliance and complete applications the first time
Applicants and contractors and sometimes even agency
employees do not understand agency authorities and
responsibilities for permitting, environmental review, and
obtaining rights-of-way
All parties are clear throughout the application and pre-application processes on roles, responsibilities, and authorities
Cost recovery and responsibility Memoranda of
Agreements take forever, and are sometimes never
authorized
All parties negotiate responsibilities, authorities, duties and cost recovery agreements responsibly and efficiently
Efficient Interdisciplinary Planning
Stovepipes interactions within and among applicant and
agency organizations
Collaborates with disciplinary professionals and managers to understand the issues and options
Ignores other reasonable alternatives
Recognizes and investigates effective ways to meet applicant objectives while reducing environmental and social impacts
Focuses on interests and positions, causing conflicts within a bartering negotiation
Focuses on underlying needs and issues (cause-and-effect relationships) to create common understandings and collaborative solutions, minimizing the risk of conflict
Compliance with other regulations and laws occurs
piecemeal, independently, and consecutively
Compliance is integrated seamlessly into planning during pre-application, application, and environmental review processes
Mitigation is not commensurate with the level of specific impacts
Mitigation is developed using site-specific cause-and-effect relationships, commensurate with impacts in
time and space
Building Consensus and Accountability
Agency and applicant turf wars, conflict, resistance, and disrespect
All parties share information, ask questions, and create understanding in a respectful and supportive way
Costly delays and time needed due to “repeat planning” and applicant/agency misunderstandings and slowdowns
Planning progresses smoothly, collaboratively, through the permitting processes
Winners and losers are often defined by their persistence and endurance
Relationships within and among applicants and agencies support productive planning, informed decisions, and environmental and social sustainability, with all parties being winners
Applicants and agencies communicate using paper and email
Applicants and agencies meet and openly discuss proposed projects, issues, alternatives, mitigation, and potential conflicts, focusing the planning and permitting
Planning and Permitting that Builds for the Future
Projects are designed and constructed focused on the action proposed by the applicant
Projects are designed with long-term land use, appropriate environmental protections, and social sustainability always at the forefront
For more information on additional services provided by Environmental Planning Strategies, Inc related to planning, NEPA, the Facilitated Planning Process and Informed Facilitation, environmental and planning document review, conflict resolution, and NEPA applied to many sectors, please see www.jlee-eps.com