Henry B. Iler, AICP
President • Principal in Charge
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Contact: (561) 626-7067 x 101 |
Mr. Iler is a nationally-recognized expert planner with over 30 years of regional and community planning experience. Following 14 years of public sector planning experience, he entered private consulting in 1993 as Planning Services Director with Duncan Associates (DA). After completing a number of comprehensive planning and zoning projects in Florida for DA, he formed Iler Planning Group (IPG) in 1996. IPG has grown to be Florida’s most notable sole planning firm. His vision was to create a firm focused on innovation and implementation, specializing in all elements of urban and community planning, primarily for cities and counties. IPG has achieved that vision and continues to strive to improve and excel. Under his leadership, the company has completed a large number of successful community plans and projects, including:
Recently, he has developed a unique, comprehensive planning approach for communities who want to “go green.” Too many local green initiatives are incremental and disjointed, and address only small impacts on a community’s total carbon footprint. In 2007, Mr. Iler developed the “Green Master Plan” concept to address all greenhouse gas and heat generators within a community. It starts with reducing vehicle miles of travel (top carbon generator) and develops detailed implementation strategies for 10 guiding principles of carbon/heat reduction and resource conservation. IPG is currently preparing a Green Master Plan for the new City of Doral, located immediately west of Miami. His innovative GMP approach was recently showcased at the FAPA Conference in Miami; the slide show Mr. Iler presented is found on our website [www.ipgplan.com]. Mr. Iler is also a legally-recognized expert in comprehensive planning, land use compatibility, community redevelopment and land development codes. He has qualified as a “planning expert” in a number of public hearings, administrative hearings and legal cases. His most notable case occurred in Martin County where he represented the Pinecrest Lakes Homeowners Association versus Martin County and a local developer. The judge, based on Mr. Iler’s testimony, found that the developer’s apartment development was incompatible with the County’s Comprehensive Plan and the established large lot neighborhood adjacent, and ordered the project halted and modified in mid-construction. The verdict was upheld at the 4th DCA and Florida Supreme Court. Other clients who have retained his expert services include:
Most recently, Mr. Iler assisted the Viscaya Museum, Grove Isle and adjacent homeowners in north Coconut Grove (Miami) win recent DOAH and judicial hearing victories to reverse a City Commission land use amendment approval for a 25-story condo project next door. As a planning expert, Mr. Iler seeks to represent citizens, cities and counties who are looking to ensure planned development projects are consistent with local comprehensive plans and codes. He accepts private sector expert work as well when the project is clearly consistent with a community’s vision. Mr. Iler has published planning articles and gives frequent workshops on comprehensive and neighborhood planning, downtown redevelopment and “green” master planning. He recently presented a workshop at the Florida Planning Association Conference in Miami on Green Master Planning. He co-authored an article in the national Planning Magazine entitled “Saving the East Everglades,” which presented a blueprint for changing land uses and land conservation practices to prevent destruction of the Everglades resource and was eventually implemented by Miami-Dade County. He continues to give numerous presentations on Comprehensive Planning, Community Redevelopment and Neighborhood Planning. Prior to 1989, his public sector career spanned 14 years. He spent 2 years as a Regional Planner with the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council, then accepted a Senior Planner position with Miami-Dade County (MDC) where he worked on the East Everglades Resources Planning Project. In 1983, he was promoted to Principal Planner with the Miami-Dade Transportation Administration, as Metro-Rail was being completed and he helped finish a number of rail station area development plans. In 1985, he became Assistant Large-Scale Development Impact Coordinator with MDC, where among many large projects, he directed the County’s review of the Dolphin (Joe Robbie) Stadium Development of Regional Impact Project. In 1989, Mr. Iler was selected as Martin County Growth Management Director, where he oversaw the completion of the County’s awarding-winning Growth Management Plan. While at Martin County, he directed 25 employees and managed the long-range planning, zoning, development review, environmental regulation and code enforcement sections of the GM Department. He is currently working to refine his “green” master planning concepts to focus strongly on the considerable short and long-term budget savings to local governments as various green strategies are implemented. |
