American Planning Association AICP Exam Questions

Scenario

The local YMCA is proposing to build a swimming pool next to their existing facility in your medium-sized town. You are a planner and must review the development proposal. The wife of one of the senior planners is the YMCA director. The husband of the planning director is the Chair of the Board of Directors for the YMCA. Everybody on the YMCA board is a family friend to both the senior planner and the planning director. What might you do?

Which Act created the HOME program?

Scenario: Negative Comments about Consultant Work

At a recent national planning conference, you hear some very negative things about the quality of work done for clients by a well known consulting planning firm. Some of the comments are from people who may not have first-hand information At least one of the critical statements was made directly by a former client The firm, by coincidence, has now submitted a proposal to do work for your community. You call all of the references supplied by the consultant They check out fine. What should you do next?

Ethical Issues: How do you make sure that you don't pass on gossip, but do respond to legitimate issues affecting foe expenditure of public dollars?

Action Alternatives:

1. You have checked the references and they were fine. The folks you talked to are reasonable and had direct knowledge of the consultant's work. You do not want to appear to be looking to make trouble for yourself or anyone else You decide no further action is necessary.

2. When spending public money, you have a responsibility to make sure that the public will get the best value. This requires you to be zealous in determining whether there are any reasons for not hiring the consulting firm. After all, consulting firms do not ever list clients who they think might give them a bad reference. You call for references checking with names not on the list provided by the firm.

3. Other

Commentary: Negative Comments About Consultant Work

Code Citations:

C .1 A planner must protect and enhance the integrity of the profession and must be responsible in criticism of the profession

C .2 A planner must accurately represent the qualifications, views, and findings of colleagues.

C .3 A planner who reviews the work of other professionals must do so in a fair, considerate, professional, and equitable manner

Scenario

You are a planner in a city that has recently opened a new shelter for homeless people. The shelter opens each evening during the winter and provides a place for people to sleep during the night in dormitory-style rooms with cots. Some community members would like the shelter closed because they feel that the large number of people who congregate on the sidewalks near the shelter as they wait for it to open pose a threat to public safety. Your planning director decides to address these concerns by classifying the shelter as a hotel. The planning director knows that the zoning ordinance specifies that a hotel must provide private sleeping quarters, which the shelter does not. By classifying the shelter as a hotel, the planning director is taking steps to close the shelter based on the ground that it is in violation of the zoning ordinance. Suppose you have reviewed the situation carefully and believe that the director made an unethical decision. What might you do?

Scenario

You are a planner in a community with a new sign ordinance that prohibits banners from being strung across the road. The ordinance was adopted in response to several unattractive advertising banners that had frequently been strung across local roads and often become entangled with electrical wires. On your way to work one morning, you see that a community group has strung a banner across the main street that advertises an upcoming charity event that will generate thousands of dollars for needy families. You know that the money is greatly needed and that local officials and residents support the event. What might be your first reaction?