Mitra Mehta-Cooper
Land Use and Building Director
Elmore County, Idaho
Mitra Mehta-Cooper, AICP, CFM is the Land Use and Building Director for Elmore County, Idaho. She started her career as a young architect in Ahmedabad, India, more than 25 years ago “to improve quality of life of its inhabitants”. She has carried forward that vision for more than 20 years in rapidly growing rural and urban communities in the United States. Mitra values and extends fiscal discipline, environmental resources, and mutual respect in every decision. As a result, she has managed to promote economically successful communities in two states and three counties – the City of Eastvale, Temecula Valley Wine Country, Dry Creek Ranch Planned Community, and Mayfield Planned Communities.
Session(s):
Managing the Pressures of a Planning Office »
2023 Fall Conference, September 28, 2023 2:00 pm
Cities and towns across the country are facing an unprecedented amount of growth which is directly reflected in the huge influx of development applications being received by local governments. Most planning and zoning departments don’t have the staff available to accommodate timely review of all applications in addition to working on special projects to continue to plan for the future. To compound the issue, many of these same cities and towns are developing under outdated regulatory and policy documents leading them to navigate the storm without the necessary tools to achieve desired development goals. This session will provide some insight into how the public and private sector can work together to realize these goals, what managers/directors can do to set everyone up for success, and tools for planners to manage their workload and stress.
= Keynote
