As reported last month, NKAPC implemented new software in July that tracks and coordinates the activities of staff in a more comprehensive manner. TRAKiT makes this possible through the use of iPads for all field inspection activities. The iPads facilitate activities being more integrated, allowing staff to communicate better with one another on related activities, as well as to be more knowledgeable and productive in their responsibilities.

The TRAKiT program covers NKAPC’s responsibilities for building and zoning permits, building and engineering inspections, zoning code enforcement efforts, subdivision plans and plats, as well as planning and other large-scale projects.

“The use of the iPads is changing how we perform inspections”, said Brian Sims, CBO, Director of Building Codes Administration. “No longer are we needing to carry multiple folders out in the field with us each day, we only need our iPads. We're able to see previous inspection notes, plan review notes, conditions on the permit, and depending on size, the approved plans.”

Because the iPads store all of the previous history of a project, inspectors can be better prepared in the field to deal with changing situations.

“Before we started using the iPads, inspectors had no way to readily access information in the field about a past incident or inspection without coming back to the office to search through paper files”, said Scott Hiles, CPC, Director of Infrastructure Engineering.

“Because we have multiple engineering inspectors and multiple subdivisions under development at any one time, it’s virtually assured that more than one inspector will pursue inspections within a particular subdivision at some point. Now, regardless of who is on site he’ll have access to all of the previous inspection results at their fingertips.”

An additional benefit across all the departments that are using this new technology is the ability for the program, whether being used in-house or in the field, to identify conflicts and automatically alert the user. This helps reduce human error when resulting inspections using the iPad.

Martin Scribner, AICP, Director of Planning and Zoning adds, “The new technology helps streamline our process in many ways, such as providing automated results to inspections and adding photographs to files, all while out in the field, which means we’re not duplicating actions.”

“Prior to the iPad, we collected all of the data we needed from the field and then came back to the office to enter the results, which amounts to doing the same work twice. Only having to enter the data once has certainly made us more efficient,” he concluded.

iPad technology creates a streamlined, efficient process that leads to better prepared inspectors which results in more efficient and thorough inspections in the field.

Governor Steve Beshear recently appointed Jeff Bechtold, NKAPC senior building official, to a seat on the Kentucky Single Family Dwellings Advisory Committee. The appointment runs through June 30, 2016.

In his appointment of Bechtold, the governor wrote, “I diligently strive to appoint individuals who will be fair and honest and who will always act in the best interests of the Commonwealth. I have every confidence in your abilities to serve our fellow Kentuckians with the honor and respect they deserve.”

The Kentucky Single Family Dwellings Advisory Committee was created nearly 20 years ago to provide the Department of Housing, Buildings, and Construction with input on a wide range of single family residential construction issues. Members of the committee represent all aspects of constructing single family homes.

“I’m looking forward to working with the committee and board on single family residential issues,” said Bechtold. “The committee provides everyone interested in single family issues with an optimum opportunity to collaborate. I’m excited that I’m being given an opportunity to participate and to help the committee to continue its positive impact.”

The Kenton County Planning Commission unanimously approved a new statement of goals and objectives on July 9. Action on this all-important policy statement shifts now to Kenton County’s 20 local jurisdictions. Each has 90 days to take action on the recommended language. If a jurisdiction fails to act by October 7—the 90th day—the jurisdiction will be deemed as having approved it.

“This process has been an excellent example of our community coming together to find common ground on some of today’s most diverse issues,” said Paul Darpel, chair of the Kenton County Planning Commission (KCPC). “We hope the Planning Commission’s action paves the way for Kenton County’s first totally new comprehensive plan in over 40 years.”

The development of these goals and objectives involved extensive public input and coordination over an 18 month period. One of the most discussed topics toward the end of that timeline was that of private property rights, the single issue that dominated the June 6 public hearing before the Kenton County Planning Commission. Following over three hours of testimony that evening, the KCPC directed staff to work with those who felt that the protection of property rights hadn’t been made strong enough.

NKAPC staff invited representatives from Kenton County’s 20 local jurisdictions to a June 26 meeting to discuss two specific concerns as directed by KCPC. Several cities’ representatives had been very vocal on property rights protection during the June 6 public hearing. Nine cities attended the meeting.

Discussion during this forum dealt with two issues: the guiding principle on property rights; and, an objective stating that unnecessary and burdensome regulations should be removed to promote job creation, attraction, and retention. After much discussion, those in attendance were able to agree on the language that was presented to and approved by the KCPC on July 9th.

“Approval of this statement of goals and objectives was a huge accomplishment,” said Dennis Gordon, FAICP, executive director. “Members of the planning commission and staff have every reason to feel extremely proud. With over 80 public meetings and numerous other public engagements behind them, these individuals brought a diverse community together to discuss—and ultimately agree on—a number of critical issues facing Kenton County.”

Adoption of the statement of goals and objectives paves the way for crafting a totally new comprehensive plan for Kenton County. The plan will build on the statement of goals and objectives by providing more detailed recommendations on land use, transportation, and community facilities’ issues. It will also include data collected by staff through research and analysis on local population, housing, economics, community facilities, health, agriculture, transportation, and the environment as required by state statutes.

Crafting the new comprehensive plan is anticipated to take six to nine months and will include even more opportunities for public involvement.

This month we highlight studies cited on a Washington State Department of Transportation page showing that accidents on roundabouts are less frequent and not as serious as at traditional four-way intersections.

According to the website, roundabouts reduced injury crashes by 75 percent at intersections where stop signs or signals were used previously for traffic control, according to a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Studies by the IIHS and Federal Highway Administration have shown that roundabouts typically achieve a:
• 37 percent reduction in overall collisions;
• 75 percent reduction in injury collisions;
• 90 percent reduction in fatality collisions; and a
• 40 percent reduction in pedestrian collisions.

An attendant YouTube video provides substantiation for these numbers.

Views expressed in this article do not reflect an official position or policy of the NKAPC. The article is presented here to provide input for those interested in land use planning issues.

NKAPC’s budget for Fiscal Year 2013-2014 is built on a number of trends related to both revenues and expenditures for the organization. Those trends were highlighted for city and county elected officials last month during the discussion that led to them approving it.

According to Dennis Gordon, FAICP, NKAPC’s executive director, the organization’s new fiscal year budget “continues a trend the NKAPCommission initiated in FY08 and accelerated in FY10.” Gordon cited numerous public meetings of elected and appointed officials to substantiate his assertion. In the end, all agreed that the budget had been thoroughly vetted.

“For those who see this downward trajectory and conclude it was prompted by the 2011 petition drive, note that cuts to the budget and staff were initiated three years before (emphasis added) that effort… and have been continued for the past two years since it failed,” asserted Gordon.

Among the many trends illustrated for the elected officials was an overall decrease in the budget’s bottom line. “This new fiscal year budget is only a little larger than our Fiscal Year 2005 budget,” said Gordon. “This represents a $1.1 million decrease in the organization’s budget since our Fiscal Year 2008 high.”

“Perhaps more importantly,” he said, “this represents a meager 7.1 percent budget increase over the past ten years—or put another way—an average annual increase of just 0.07 percent.”

Gordon used charts to illustrate other aspects of the FY14 budget. He took particular pride in highlighting the ten-year trajectory of the organization’s health care costs which he asserts would not have been possible without the full-scale dedication of the NKAPC staff.

Of the new budget’s total decrease, close to half of it came from tax revenues which have also trended downward since 2009, according to Gordon. He attributed that fact to local elected officials’ action to control tax revenues, explaining that the FY14 budget is the fourth consecutive year that city and county elected officials have trimmed the total tax dollars that fund NKAPC.

The Kenton County Planning Commission’s Subdivision Regulation Committee held a second roundtable forum in May. The agenda included the one subject that is precluding action on Kenton County’s new subdivision regulations: upgraded design standards for new Kenton County streets. Since no consensus was reached, a third roundtable forum is scheduled for 2 PM on July 16th at NKAPC.

Beside committee members, those in attendance represented: the Kenton County Mayors’ Group, the Northern Kentucky Homebuilders Association, the Northern Kentucky Society of Professional Engineers, and Henry Fischer of Fischer Homes.

While consensus was not achieved on the larger issue, it was reached on several components of it: 1) only crushed limestone aggregate will be permitted in concrete to reduce D-cracking and surface deterioration; 2) a higher quality of expansion material will be required at all expansion joints to increase their effectiveness and longevity, and to reduce street creep; 3) joints must be skewed to reduce wheel loads; 4) asphalt testing standards must be increased; and 5) detailed pavement analyses must be performed by a geotechnical engineer for all projects to determine any other pavement and drainage enhancements that should be required.

The Subdivision Regulation Committee directed staff recently to address the issue of subsurface drainage by crafting language requiring edge drains under all street curb where 51 percent of the adjoining lot drains toward the street, and in street sag locations extending 50 feet from either side of the sag. These requirements for edge drains are similar to a design proposal made by the Northern Kentucky Society of Professional Engineers. Not all groups in attendance at the May forum agreed on this point.

The Mayor’s Group for example believes strongly that edge drains should be provided under all portions of new street and that a full drainage blanket should be required under all street pavements.

“Committee members agreed that drainage blankets are needed in certain situations,” said Scott Hiles, CPC, NKAPC’s director of infrastructure engineering, “but they believe that rather than require them everywhere as a minimum standard, they should let the geotechnical engineer decide precisely where they are needed as part of the required pavement analysis.”

In addition to requiring a drainage blanket, the geotechnical engineer could require additional drainage improvements such as more edge drains or longitudinal drains, according to some committee members.

Staff is hopeful that this third roundtable forum will produce the needed consensus so the committee can give staff a final directive on what design proposals are to be included in the draft regulations. If that takes place, the last step in the long process will be to take the final draft to a public hearing before the Kenton County Planning Commission.

It isn’t possible to project when that might occur until consensus is reached among members of the committee.

NKAPC implemented new software last month which better tracks and coordinates the activities of the agency; this includes: building and zoning permits; building, zoning, and infrastructure inspections; zoning and property maintenance code enforcement actions; subdivision platting and related infrastructure construction plans; and, planning and other large-scale projects.

These activities were tracked previously with a variety of software products, some of which carried growing annual costs, were incompatible, and required additional equipment to be maintained off-site.

The new software package, named TRAKiT, allows for all these activities to be integrated on a GIS base, allowing NKAPC staff and outside agencies to communicate better with one another on related activities. It also facilitates all agencies involved with Kenton County development to be more knowledgeable and productive in their responsibilities. And most importantly, the system allows staff to get needed information quicker, reducing times for plan review and increasing customer service satisfaction.

“TRAKiT is working great so far for all the new engineering data we’re collecting”, said Scott Hiles, CPC, NKAPC’s director of infrastructure engineering. “It appears now that it’ll have the ability to track development information more efficiently than we’ve ever been able to before.”

While NKAPC has been the long-time managing partner of a robust geographic information system (LINK-GIS), there has always been a disconnect between that system and those that track permits, projects, and code enforcement. TRAKiT sets atop LINK-GIS data, allowing information from different activities to be coordinated by address. This makes the GIS data all the more valuable to Kenton County communities and makes development and code enforcement data more accessible, both to staff and to the public.

TRAKiT also allows all the agency’s field inspectors to use iPads in the field to keep track of inspection activities and report results in real time. This permits inspectors to streamline their efforts, reduce time needed to input data, and ultimately to save the agency and the taxpayers money.

The software package includes a public web portal which allows contractors and citizens to access information regarding development and code enforcement activities. While the nkonestop.org website previously included access to information, this new portal expands the agency’s online capabilities, making it possible to apply for certain permits, pay for them using a credit card, schedule inspections, report a problem, and review inspector’s field reports all directly from that website.

“TRAKiT is going to facilitate coordinating all our responsibilities,” said Dennis Gordon, FAICP, executive director. “That coordination is going to allow staff to be more efficient and effective. It’ll also make us more transparent in our duties because most of our records will be available online via the public web portal.”

With trends towards digitizing plans and documents, as well as streamlining processes, this new technology may eventually lead to a completely paperless mode of business.

In the spring of 2003 gasoline prices hit a near-record high of $1.72 a gallon nationally, light rail transit was a regional hot button topic, and the global economic crisis was still five years away. It was against this backdrop that Kenton County adopted a new transportation plan—a document that guides transportation projects and provides the basis for federal funding. A lot has changed since 2003; the transportation plan hasn’t, until now.

NKAPC and the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI) are embarking on a year-long process to update the Kenton County Transportation Plan. “A lot has happened in Kenton County that impacts transportation needs. Our intent is to take a comprehensive multimodal look at current needs and what is anticipated over the next 30 years,” said Robyn Bancroft, AICP, Strategic Planning Manager for OKI.

Work on the new transportation plan coincides with the Direction 2030 process that is currently examining all aspects of Kenton County’s growth and development.

“We’ve heard lots of comments in numerous Direction 2030 meetings about mobility,” said Sharmili Reddy, AICP, NKAPC’s planning manager. “Transportation is one aspect of daily life that affects everyone whether they walk, ride a bicycle, drive, or take the bus. We’re going to use all the information we have collected to date to help paint a picture of what mobility means today and what people want in the future.”

Aside from looking at mobility issues, this new transportation plan will seek to identify the impacts adjoining land uses have on the transportation network. Future anticipated land uses will be studied and included as a metric to help score and prioritize recommendations.

James Fausz, AICP, NKAPC’s lead on the project elaborated. “Hypothetically, let’s say an area is somewhat rural now but is anticipated to grow within the next ten years. Our goal is to identify areas like these, examine appropriate future recommended land uses, and help plan for what mobility upgrades might be needed.”

Ultimately, the document will produce a prioritized list of projects that will describe potential funding sources, a timeline for implementation, and agencies responsible moving parts of the plan forward. Projects contained in the plan will be considered for inclusion into OKI’s Regional Transportation Plan, which allocates funding for improvements.

When asked about project financing, Bancroft added, “Funding today is tight and we have to make smart decisions about where to invest to best meet the needs of our citizens and businesses. We want a healthy and prosperous Kenton County.”

The plan officially kicked off on July 1 and will continue through June, 2014. An extensive outreach campaign is planned for the project that will include traditional public meetings, social media events, and electronic surveying.

Villa Hills City Council and the Northern Kentucky Area Planning Commission entered into an interlocal agreement effective May 28th that delegates the city’s building, electric, property maintenance, and zoning codes administration to NKAPC. Villa Hills is the 15th Kenton County jurisdiction (out of 20) to be part of NKAPC’s collaborative One Stop Shop program.

The program also provides staff support for Villa Hill’s board of adjustment and code enforcement board. The program is built on NKAPC’s “critical mass” of professionals, providing economies of scale that are impossible for local jurisdictions to match and levels of service the local jurisdictions can’t afford.

“We’re pleased to welcome Villa Hills to the program,” said Dennis Gordon, FAICP, executive director. “Mayor Mike Martin and City Clerk Craig Bohman have given us marching orders regarding the city’s priorities; we understand code enforcement is a top priority.”

Filing code enforcement complaints, seeking information about building or electric inspections, and searching for a property’s zoning classification is now one phone call away for Villa Hills residents. NKAPC can be reached at 331.8980 between 8 and 5 Monday through Friday. Considerable information in this regard is also available on the NKAPC website and the brand new One Stop Shop website.

“The One Stop Shop program has helped a number of cities increase service levels for their citizens and reduce costs since 2004. We’re looking forward to providing those benefits to Villa Hills and its citizens,” concluded Gordon.

On Sunday, June 2 at 11 AM, Commissioner Diane Brown and NKAPC Planning Manager will be on WKRC Local 12 Newsmakers with Dan Hurley. They will talk about Direction 2030, its goals and objectives, and specifically the Kenton County Planning Commission public hearing on June 6.
If you miss it, previously aired interviews are usually posted here: www.local12.com/content/newsmakers/default.aspx