CNU may announce new director at DC gathering

Possible move of headquarters and proposed “democratization” of the organization stir debate. The new executive director of the Congress for New Urbanism will probably be announced during the organization’s next annual conference, CNU XI, which will run from June 19 to 22 in Washington, DC. “We’re bowled over by the number of great people who have expressed interest in the position,” said Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, head of the board of directors’ search committee. Shelley Poticha, executive director since 1997, will step down July 1 to head the new Center for Transit Oriented Development. She is only the second executive director CNU has hired, having followed Peter Katz, who held the position from 1995 to 1997 (the first CNU meeting took place in 1993). The new executive will work from CNU’s headquarters in downtown San Francisco. But questions have been raised about whether that might change. On the Pro-Urb listserv, Andres Duany recently suggested that it might make sense to move the headquarters to another city — probably the nation’s capital. The main reason for initially basing CNU in San Francisco was that Katz lived in that city, running the fledgling operation from his own apartment. Several members argued on Pro-Urb that if the headquarters shifted to Washington, staff would enjoy easier access to lawmakers and federal agencies, and could confer frequently with trade organizations and other groups whose interests overlap with CNU’s. A huge number of organizations have their main offices in Washington, including the National League of Cities, US Conference of Mayors, National Governors Association, American Public Transportation Association, Institute of Transportation Engineers, Urban Land Institute, National Association of Home Builders, American Institute of Architects, and Brookings Institution. Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist, who chairs the CNU board, told New Urban News that when Duany suggested relocation during a board meeting, some board members, including Todd Zimmerman, said Washington seemed a logical choice. Norquist said several board members, including Daniel Solomon and Jean Driscoll, voiced “a mild reaction against” a move. “People are thinking about it,” Norquist said. “I think it’s appropriate for the board to take it seriously.” organizational concerns An important factor, Norquist said, is whether relocation would disrupt the organization by causing the loss of San Francisco-based staff members, most of whom are not interested in moving. “The views of the staff need to be respected,” he said. Excluding Poticha and communications director Steven Bodzin, who is planning to leave for graduate school, CNU has four staff members, all in San Francisco, plus a small stable of temporary employees in the Bay Area who are familiar with the organization’s databases. No formal discussion of the headquarters location among the entire CNU membership is scheduled during the Washington conference. But the issue is expected to be discussed by board members during a board meeting beginning at 7:30 a.m. Friday, June 19, at CNU XI. That meeting is open to all CNU members. On Pro-Urb, Duany also raised the question of whether the organization should pursue “democratization” by having board members run for election by the entire CNU membership rather than being appointed by the existing board. He suggested that this would encourage “the healthy initiatives of [CNU] members.” Jennifer Hurley, a CNU member in Philadelphia, said, “To continue forward momentum, CNU will have to let some new blood in and become more democratic.” Saying he was not writing as a board member, Duany declared, “We simply cannot remain the hierarchical, controlling, income-starved organization of the upcoming Chapters fiasco.” He was apparently referring to the board’s decision that chapters would have to pay $10,000 to CNU in return for relying on CNU staff assistance during their start-up period. Some believe the fee will be an impediment to getting the chapters established. A few have said the fee should not be charged on top of what individual members pay to join the organization. Norquist noted that Jim Murley is currently trying to organize a Florida chapter, and he suggested the experience there will indicate whether the $10,000 chapter fee is a problem. As for direct election of the board, Norquist said, “There aren’t a lot of 501c3’s where they do that kind of thing.” The typical nonprofit 501c3, like CNU, has the board select its own successors, he said.