PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release:

CHICAGO – Nan Stolzenburg, of Wright, Schoharie County has achieved the planning profession’s highest honor by being named to the prestigious American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) College of Fellows for her outstanding achievements in rural and environmental planning.

Fellowship is granted to planners who have achieved certification through the American Planning Association’s professional institute, the American Institute of Certified Planners, and have achieved excellence in professional practice, teaching and mentoring, research, public and community service, and leadership. Invitations to join the College of Fellows come after a thorough nomination and review process, ensuring the candidate has had a positive, long-lasting impact on the planning profession.

“Individuals who make up the College of Fellows are the true leaders of the planning profession,” said past AICP President Valerie Hubbard, FAICP. “These individuals have made lasting contributions to the profession and have inspired generations of new planners. They are truly awe-inspiring.”

Ms. Stolzenburg has dedicated her long career to improving the vitality, resiliency, and environmental health of New York’s small and rural communities. She is owner and principal planner at Community Planning & Environmental Associates, located in Schoharie County.  The Fellowship designation recognizes her accomplishments in helping rural communities with their goals related to economic development, environmental protection, and implementation of appropriate rural and farm friendly land use techniques. She has advanced environmental planning throughout the State through her work the State Environmental Quality Review workbooks used by New York State and has successfully guided dozens of rural communities to implement comprehensive planning, land use regulations, and use of innovative planning tools.

Stolzenburg is one of 53 inductees into this year’s College of Fellows. Inductions are done biennially. This year’s formal induction will take place during APA’s National Planning Conference in San Diego, on Sunday, May 1, 2022.

APA and its professional institute, the American Institute of Certified Planners, are dedicated to advancing the art, science and profession of good planning — physical, economic, and social — so as to create communities that offer better choices for where and how people work and live. The American Institute of Certified Planners provides recognized leadership nationwide in the certification of professional planners, ethics, professional development, planning education, and the standards of planning practice. For more information, visit www.planning.org.

 Some thoughts from Hugh Clark, Deputy Town Supervisor and Zoning Revisions Committee Chair, who has worked closely with Nan

for the past 15 years:

This is wonderful news.

            Nan Stolzenburg has been working with the Town of Ancram since July 2007 when we retained her to assist us with the development of a Comprehensive Plan. Nan deftly guided us to complete that Plan in 2010 and then to further refinements in 2019. 

To complement and implement the Comp Plan, Nan also steered a wholesale revision of the Town’s 1972 zoning law. At her suggestion, we revised zoning in stages between 2010 and 2014, and then consolidated all zoning changes into a new zoning law that we adopted in 2014, augmented in 2020, and further refined within the past year. 

In addition to developing the Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Law, Nan was our navigator as we initiated an Agriculture and Farmland Protection Plan, a Community Development Strategic Plan, and stand-alone laws governing solar generating systems, non-commercial wind power facilities, telecommunications facilities, land subdivision, the right to farm, and a local SEQR Type I list. 

There are several reasons for Ancram’s extended relationship with Nan. One is her broad knowledge. She understands the varied constituencies that tend to occur in small communities and articulates their concerns, their hopes, and the information they need to understand options being considered. A second reason is her disciplined approach to land use issues. She consistently recognizes that decisions are the province of community members and their elected representatives. She has an exceptional ability to lead, aid, and counsel local leaders at all levels. With new issues constantly emerging, there is always the need for training. Once again, our “go to” person is Nan Stolzenburg.

Her contributions throughout the past 15 years have been essential in keeping us on track, focused, productive, and successful.

Therefore, we are thoroughly pleased, but not at all surprised, to learn that Nan has been named to the American Institute of Certified Planners College of Fellows. She is the only inductee from New York State this year and is one of only 53 inductees from throughout the nation.