Leave Urban Planning for Professionals?

Authors Gideon Kanner and Michael Practice Berger are land use attorneys at Berger & Norton in Santa Monica and write that they have been struck by the increase in citizen control over land use decisions. "[Citizens] wouldn't dream of writing the city's fire code but, when it comes to land use, everyone's a maven." The authors cite the example of pending legislation in Orange County over Measure F, which would give the public control over the reuse of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. The authors point to the planner's training and experience with land use and legal issues and AICP certification from the American Planning Association.