The California County Planning Commissioners' Association is a volunteer-based membership association, formed June 28, 1930 at Santa Barbara, and almost exclusively composed of the active planning commissioners from the 58 California counties.
Our purpose is to better educate and inform ourselves, the membership, of the issues and circumstances surrounding the field of planning as it relates to the performance of our appointed duties.
Articles of Incorporation as a non-profit organization were filed with the state of California in 1979, and the CCPCA was granted tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code, in 2004.
Every county planning commissioner throughout the state of California is a CCPCA member. Our base of financial support comes from membership dues which are paid by each California county on behalf of its commissioners, and whereby voting rights are conferred only to those commissioners from their respective counties whose dues are paid.
Additional funding is received from nominal registration fee contributions, which help to defray the expenses of the conferences themselves. We also accept donations from individuals and organizations who wish to support our mission.
While there are other entities involved in the training of planning commissioners, the term “training” implies the issuance of a set of instructions laying out the procedures and limitations of authority in the execution of their tasks, i.e. "how to follow the rules." While legal compliance is essential, commissioners must go beyond mere rule-following in their assessment of planning issues.
The CCPCA is not an advocacy group, and does not espouse any particular business or political motives. We are an association of, and for, planning commissioners.
Our aim is to inform and educate our fellow commissioners on trends and best practices in the planning environment, and to foster a free exchange of ideas that will ultimately assist our arrival to optimal planning decisions.
A president is elected each year, whose task is to organize a General Conference. The President and his Executive Committee are responsible for selecting a location and theme for the conference, and engaging presenters who will provide current and relevant information on facets of planning.
Field trips highlight real-world examples in the setting of the immediate region where the conference is being held.
While the General Conference is generally held each year in the fall, the Directors of the CCPCA Northern, Central, or Southern Districts may choose to organize Spring Conferences within their own districts.
Rotating our leadership provides that every annual General Conference focuses on a different planning aspect and geographical area.