Citing Agenda 21 fears, a Kansas county declines to join a $1.5 million, five-county planning effort, reports Deb Gruver.
United Nations goon squads won't be forcing drivers in Sumner County, Kansas, out of their cars any time soon, after county commissioners voted not to join as official partners in a five-county regional planning effort. Commissioner Dave Unruh of Sedgwick County, which joined the planning grant over the opposition of two commissioners, told the Witchita Eagle that the concerns were motivated by fear that the planning grant was part of an Agenda 21 plot.
"'They think they can connect to the dots to all that,' Unruh said of opponents' drawing parallels between the grant and Agenda 21. 'It's a difficult conversation. They have stimulated concern among the Farm Bureau that the government is going to come in and confiscate their farmland.'"
"A lot of folks get emotional, and they are just assuming this is the beginning of world-centralized government that is going to be oppressive," said Unruh.
He sees the grant simply as an "effort to make decisions about our future for us and our future generations that will save money, conserve resources and be the best solutions for all the folks in our region."
Sedgwick County Commissioner Richard Ranzau, who recently attended a National Association of Counties meeting in Pittsburgh to advocate for an anti-Agenda 21 resolution, said his intent was to kill the regional planning effort.
The grant, which comes from the "U.S. Department of Health [sic] and Urban Development," will move forward with four other counties as official partners. The vote to not officially join does not prevent Sumner County from participating in the effort.
Thanks to Rachel Proctor May
FULL STORY: Sumner County isn't on board with feds' sustainable communities planning grant

Florida Considers Legalizing ADUs
Current state law allows — but doesn’t require — cities to permit accessory dwelling units in single-family residential neighborhoods.

HUD Announces Plan to Build Housing on Public Lands
The agency will identify federally owned parcels appropriate for housing development and streamline the regulatory process to lease or transfer land to housing authorities and nonprofit developers.

Has President Trump Met His Match?
Doug Ford, the no-nonsense premier of Canada's most populous province, Ontario, is taking on Trump where it hurts — making American energy more expensive.

San Francisco Announces Plan to Overhaul Homelessness Strategy
Mayor Lurie’s three-phase plan promises 1,500 new shelter beds and a restructuring of outreach teams and supportive service programs.

$5 Billion Rental Assistance Fund Set to Run Out of Cash
“No additional funding from HUD will be forthcoming,” HUD announces.

Denver Could Eliminate Parking Requirements
The city could remove parking mandates citywide to reduce the cost of housing construction and ease permitting for new projects.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Florida Atlantic University
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service