WELCOME + HOW DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES CHANGE AFTER DISASTER: RESILIENCE THROUGH RECOVERY

While Louisiana communities have learned from past disasters – including Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav, Isaac and the BP Oil Spill – disasters are occurring more frequently and resilient design is more important now than ever. Preparing for Louisiana’s future will include working collaboratively, being ready for new challenges and adapting to changing conditions. Hear about the response to the 2016 floods, securing funds for local recovery, what policies and programs have been developed to prepare for the future, and the importance of thinking regionally.

Pat Forbes
Executive Director, State of Louisiana's
Office of Community Development

Camille Manning-Broome
Senior Vice President, Center for Planning Excellence

Jeff Hebert
Deputy Mayor, Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Resilience Officer, City of New Orleans

Moderator: Jessica Kemp, PhD
Vice President of Policy and Advocacy, Center for Planning Excellence

FROM ENTERGY TO ELECTRIC DEPOT: PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS IN ADAPTIVE REUSE

A much anticipated project which adaptively reuses the former Entergy site on Government Street is finally under construction. Hear from the team that is making it happen about the design and legal challenges, along with details about project financing, including tax credits, and other aspects of this complex project.

Gwen Hamilton
President & CEO, East Baton Rouge Redevelopment Authority

Amanda Spain Wells
Of Counsel, Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC

J. Dyke Nelson
Founder/Lead Designer, DNA Workshop, LLC

Moderator: Ryan Benton
Project Manager, Center for Planning Excellence

COASTAL COMMUNITIES: MITIGATING RISK & INCREASING RESILIENCE

Louisiana's changing coastlines present opportunities for communities to think differently about the future. To ensure that all residents have voices in shaping their futures, the State of Louisiana’s Office of Community Development and local organizations are working with residents across six parishes to develop strategic adaptation plans for a more vibrant future. Attendees hear about the state’s initiative and its inclusive process to plan how communities can successfully adapt to coastal challenges.

Mathew Sanders
Resilience Program and Policy Administrator,
State of Louisiana's Office of Community Development

Maria Papacharalambous
Architect / Project Manager, Waggonner & Ball

Camille Manning-Broome
Senior Vice President, Center for Planning Excellence

Moderator: Pam Jenkins, PhD
Research Professor of Sociology, University of New Orleans

KEYNOTE: REIMAGINING THE CIVIC COMMONS FT. CAROL COLETTA

Carol Coletta is a senior fellow with The Kresge Foundation’s American Cities Practice. She is leading a proposed $40 million collaboration of foundations, nonprofits and governments to demonstrate the ways in which a connected set of civic assets – a civic commons – can yield increased and more widely shared prosperity for cities and neighborhoods.

Carol Coletta
Senior Fellow, The Kresge Foundation's American Cities Practice

Moderator: Cordell Haymon
Senior Vice President, SGS Petroleum Service Corporation
Board Chair, Center for Planning Excellence

Making it Happen: Bold Moves, Great Cities

Great cities don’t just happen. Great cities are the result of strong leadership and dedicated citizens. Local leaders highlight their communities’ planning processes and how strong leadership drove the implementation, as well as successes and challenges they have faced along the way. They touch on creating vibrant downtowns, tackling stormwater issues, coordinating infrastructure initiatives, and updating zoning.

Jacques M. Roy
Mayor, City of Alexandria

Ronny Walker
Mayor, City of Ruston

Chip Johnson
Former Mayor, Hernando, MS

Jackie Baumann
Chief Engineer, City of Gonzales

Moderator: Janet Tharp
Director of Planning, Center for Planning Excellence

FUTURE TRENDS: RISING WATER, AUTONOMOUS CARS & THE SHARING ECONOMY

What are the zoning and planning case law issues that have been impacted by recent rulings over the past year? Highlighting both Louisiana and national examples, new trends are examined, including short-term rentals, autonomous vehicles, and recent flooding in Louisiana, along with the impacts on planning, zoning, and enforcement.

Christopher J. Tyson
Newman Trowbridge Distinguished Associate Professor of Law, LSU Law Center

Moderator: Donna D. Fraiche
Senior Counsel, Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC
Board Member, Center for Planning Excellence

BUILDING HEALTHY HOMETOWNS

How did Hernando Mississippi get named the Healthiest Hometown in the State in 2010? The former Mayor of Hernando, MS touches on the city’s efforts under his leadership to create better health outcomes for its residents, as well as growing the city’s economy. He connects the dots between planning, economics, health, and rural prosperity.

Chip Johnson
Former Mayor, Hernando, MS

Moderator: Jessica Kemp, PhD
Vice President of Policy and Advocacy, Center for Planning Excellence

GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE SOLUTIONS

Green infrastructure can help manage climate change, subsidence and flood risk. Speakers present examples, including a green street pilot project in Washington, D.C. and multiple projects in New Orleans, and review metrics reinforcing the financial benefits of greening infrastructure.

Kurt Culbertson
Chairman & CEO, Design Workshop

Tyler Antrup
Urban Water Program Manager, City of New Orleans

Moderator: Haley Blakeman
Director of Implementation, Center for Planning Excellence

CLOSING PLENARY: THE POWER OF GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY TO ALIGN EFFORTS FT. DENICE ROSS 

Specializing in data transparency and civic engagement, with a focus on action at the local level, Ms. Ross highlights the importance of having diverse stakeholders working together to tackle different parts of complex city problems. She highlights how networks are critical for learning from others already doing work to accelerate progress, and the need for Louisiana to share what our state is accomplishing. She discusses her experience using open data to transform education and civic engagement, and the applications relevant to rural areas and small towns.

Denice Ross
Public Interest Technology Fellow, New America

Moderator: Ashley Shelton
Executive Director, Power Coalition
Board Member, Center for Planning Excellence

TECH & TOOLS: MAKING CITIES SMARTER - PART 1

This opening session in the Smart Growth Summit’s "Smart Cities track" features an overview of Smart Cities efforts, along with the tools and applications available for communities to improve safety, efficiency, and performance using open data and integrated platforms. Hear about OpenCounter, which builds user-friendly interfaces to complex regulatory procedures; how partnerships are being built by connecting business and industry to LSU’s research expertise; and The Water Institute of the Gulf's forecasting and modelling tools.

Joel Mahoney
Co-founder, OpenCounter

Justin Ehrenwerth
President & CEO, The Water Institute of the Gulf

Greg Trahan
Director, Office of Research and Economic Development,
Louisiana State University

Moderator: John Snow
Partner, Emergent Method

DUE DILIGENCE IN REAL ESTATE TRANSACTION (TITLE, SURVEY,
ENVIRONMENTAL, GEOPHYSICAL, ZONING)

If you are engaged in the complex issues around property transactions, this session is for you. Learn about due diligence as it pertains to zoning – including base zoning and overlay districts – and comprehensive planning; historic preservation; anticipating extractions, proffers, development conditions and impact fees; outreach to public agency staff, stakeholders and elected officials; vested rights and due process in land use law.

Andre Rodrigue
Principal, Stantec

Jason E. Engen
Director of Client Development, Southern Earth Sciences, Inc.

Moderator: Charles A. Landry
Partner, Fishman Haygood L.L.P.

TECH & TOOLS: MAKING CITIES SMARTER - PART 2

The second session of the “Smart Cities track” explores tools and applications available for communities to improve safety, efficiency, and performance using open data and integrated platforms. Speakers discuss SmartProcure: providing government procurement efficiency through invaluable local, state and federal historical purchasing data analytics — driving informed procurement decisions and significant cost savings; the office or anywhere, on-demand and on their schedule; and work in New Orleans around open data’s impact on disaster recovery, workforce development, blight reduction and racial disparity indicators.

Steven Bryan
VP of Government Division, SmartProcure

Lamar M. Gardere
Executive Director, The Data Center

Dave Baxter
Director of Strategic Alliances, Sparkhound

Moderator: John Snow
Partner, Emergent Method

CONSERVATION EASEMENTS: A CREATIVE STRATEGY FOR LANDOWNERS, DEVELOPERS & OPEN SPACE

Conservation easements are a specific land use tool that can be used to preserve green space or conserve critical areas for the long-term benefit of our communities. Speakers present examples of how this tool has been implemented in St. Martinville to protect the Black Bear population; how land is valued and appraised with and without restrictions; potential liabilities; and issues of land ownership, community, state and agricultural benefits.

Lisa Creasman
Associate State Director, The Nature Conservancy

Boyd A. Bryan
Partner, Jones Walker LLP

Moderator: Jay Noland
Attorney and Developer, Noland Development
Board Member, Center for Planning Excellence

special presentation

Downtown Development District's 30th Anniversary

KEYNOTE: THE NEXT GENERATION OF SMART CITIES FT. ANDY BERKE

Chattanooga has become a great place to live no matter residents’ zip codes. Through planning, innovation districts and the city’s focus on implementation, Chattanooga continues to attract new residents and businesses. Mayor Berke talks about strategies that address early education challenges and crime, programs to create connectivity and walkable communities, the affordable housing PILOT program, and unique partnerships that result in successful projects. 

Andy Berke
Mayor, City of Chattanooga

Moderator: Elizabeth “Boo” Thomas
President & CEO, Center for Planning Excellence

ESSENTIAL PLAYERS IN MAKING TECHNOLOGY WORK

The City of Lafayette has made great strides in becoming a Smart(er) City through its plans, practices, policies and partnerships. The City of Lafayette is partnering with the University of Lafayette and CGI in an ongoing partnership that will integrate information systems and enable open data initiatives, and will also leverage the emerging information technology sector in Lafayette, along with the educational resources of the university.

Joel Robideaux
Mayor-President, Lafayette Consolidated Government

Will LaBar
Vice President, CGI

Ramesh Kolluru, PhD
VP for Research, Innovation and Economic Development;
Professor, School of Computing and Informatics; UL Lafayette

Moderator: Charles A. Landry
Partner, Fishman Haygood L.L.P.

PLANNING & REGULATING SHORT-TERM RENTALS IN NEW ORLEANS

Short-term rentals have proliferated in New Orleans and in many other cities, and cities have had to develop new regulations to regulate this new market.  Learn about best practices, along with a recent study of how short-term rentals could be regulated with public input.  New Orleans stakeholders discuss the negotiation by the Mayor's administration with larger rental platforms, the modified version of the plan that was adopted and the challenges in implementing new regulations.

Robert D. Rivers
Executive Director, New Orleans City Planning Commission

Jared E. Munster, PhD
Director of Safety & Permits, City of New Orleans

Moderator: Frank M. Duke
Director, Baton Rouge City-Parish Planning Commission

FUELING THE FUTURE: URBAN MOBILITY AND THE INTEGRATION OF DATA

Look into a crystal ball and see how technology and data are fueling the future of urban mobility. Hear from national experts about the impact intelligent transportation system (ITS), shared mobility, transit, and autonomous vehicles are having on the future of transportation planning and systems.

Jim Barbaresso
Senior Vice President, HNTB Corporation

Jeff Sauser
Senior Urban Planner, Stantec's Urban Places

Seleta Reynolds
General Manager, Los Angeles Department of Transportation

Moderator: John Spain
Executive Vice President, Baton Rouge Area Foundation
Board Member, Center for Planning Excellence

ETHICS IN WORKING WITH GOVERNMENT ACTORS AND ATTORNEYS

Ethics issues can be murky - or are they? This session focuses on a number of ethical issues commonly faced when working with government representatives and attorneys.

Scott L. Sternberg
Partner, Sternberg, Naccari & White, LLC

Moderator: Randy Roussel
Partner, Phelps Dunbar LLP
Board Member, Center for Planning Excellence

INNOVATIVE RESPONSES TO BLIGHT AND NATURAL DISASTERS

After major disasters, one of the lingering issues is blighted property. Learn about the various mapping tools available and how they have been instrumental in responding to natural disasters and blighted properties. Case studies are presented on blight reduction work in Detroit, and assessments in post-tornado New Orleans East, following the Great Flood of 2016 in East Baton Rouge Parish, and now following Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.

Jerry Paffendorf
CEO & Co-Founder, LOVELAND Technologies

Nick Popovich
Account Executive, Esri

Warren Kron
GIS Manager, City of Baton Rouge - Parish of East Baton Rouge

Moderator: Justin Kozak, PhD
Researcher and Policy Analyst, Center for Planning Excellence

LEGAL AND PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS OF ANNEXATION

Annexation can bring us together or create further divides. This session gives an update on key issues in annexation law,
pros and cons of annexation, including: the impact on services (police, fire, planning, parks, etc.), costs, revenues
from annexed property, impact on zoning and land use. Challenges are also be explored, presenting Broussard – Lafayette annexation as a case study.

Michael D. Hebert
Attorney, Becker & Hebert, LLC

Moderator: Charles A. Landry
Partner, Fishman Haygood L.L.P.

CLOSING PLENARY: CLEARING THE ROADBLOCKS TO SMART INFRASTRUCTURE FT. SELETA REYNOLDS

Where are trends heading for the future of mobility and livability? Learn about the direction Los Angeles is heading, along with the National Association of City Transportation Officials’ (NACTO) new focus on urban design. Hear about the role public engagement plays in finding champions, and the benefits of demonstration projects such as Open Streets, play streets, parklets.

Seleta Reynolds
General Manager, Los Angeles Department of Transportation

Moderator: Rachel DiResto
Executive Vice President, Center for Planning Excellence