About 600 planners from across the state are expected in State College for the 2017 conference of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Planning Association. Hot topics will include medical marijuana, transportation planning and protecting water quality.
Ed LeClear, planning director for State College, is one of those involved in getting ready for the conference.
“The focus for this conference, I think, is really adaptability and innovation. We’re dealing with everything from climate change to fiscal distress in many of our communities, and how do we adapt to that.”
He says there will be sessions on the nuts and bolts of planning and opportunities to learn about timely topics. Those include balancing development so communities can grow without losing what they care about and statewide issues such as what Pennsylvania’s legalization of medical marijuana means for towns and cities.
The conference will run Oct. 22 to 24 at the Penn Stater in State College.
