IPG has been selected to conduct a seminar on Green Planning strategies at the 2008 Florida Chapter of the American Planning Association (FAPA) Annual Conference.

The conference titled “Sustainability. Just Plan It.” will run from September 10th to 13th at the Intercontinental Miami, in downtown Miami, Florida. The focus of this year’s event will be on the environment, economy, transportation, society, and sustainable planning initiatives. IPG will conduct its Green Planning session during the conference on Friday, September 10th, at 9:30 am.

The Green Planning session, moderated by Henry Iler, AICP, President and Principal of IPG, will convey the master planning process, its methodology and how it works at the local level, using actual case studies. It will present general scientific concepts central to global warming, resource conservation and environmental processes. It is expected to address comprehensive plans and land development codes, and their role in green master planning and implementation, and familiarize participants with local government practices that have adverse global warming consequences.

“Our little town is changing,” says Epling, president of the Homestead-based Community Bank of Florida for the past three decades and a resident of the town for most of his life. “The face is changing. Its a community in transition.”

If you haven’t been to Homestead in a few years, you might not recognize it. Nearly 10,000 new families have moved into the area since 2000, a growth rate of 32 percent, or almost triple the county average. Now retail shops are moving in, and city leaders are looking to attract offices and industrial businesses.

Before Hurricane Andrew walloped Homestead in 1992, the city’s two principal industries were farming and the Homestead Air Force Base, which then employed close to 10,000 people.

After the storm, the military reduced the site to an Air Reserve Base. The facility has taken on more personnel in recent years, but its still nowhere close to pre-storm levels. It now has around 1,100 full-time workers, plus about 1,200 reservists who come to perform monthly drills. An additional 175 full-time workers are expected to arrive soon.