man speaking before a group of people seated in chairs in front of him

Land Use and Environmental Planning Certificate Program

Program at a Glance

  • Complete in as few as 36 months
  • 14 courses
  • $7,250-$8,050

Learn How to Plan Like a Pro

Planning professionals come from a variety of backgrounds—social science, natural science, engineering and even the humanities, facilities and interior design. Regardless of your background, the UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education’s Land Use and Environmental Planning Certificate Program will give you the foundation you need to master the body of knowledge every planner should have. Through theory and practice, this program delivers—addressing practical aspects of planning in the context of larger issues, future implications of present decisions and processes for examining alternatives.

What You’ll Learn

Through comprehensive training from industry experts, you’ll:

  • Broaden your conceptual framework in land use planning
  • Develop ideas, strategies and skills for more effective job performance
  • Learn to work more effectively within the increasingly complex regulatory and environmental context of planning
  • Improve your ability to solve problems and work with a wide range of constituencies

What You’ll Get

Our program offers:

  • UC-quality courses that are approved by UC Davis and count toward professional association credits through AICP and MCLE
  • One-on-one interaction with veteran planning professionals from a variety of industries
  • Unique networking opportunities with instructors and fellow students that can help advance your career
  • Class projects and case studies that provide dynamic, real-world training in emerging best practices and new planning theory
  • Practical planning knowledge and regulatory updates that can be applied immediately to your job

This program is designed for professionals in disciplines associated with land use policy, analysis or development, including:

  • Planners
  • Resource managers, administrators and analysts
  • Environmental consultants
  • Engineers
  • Lawyers

You must complete 20 units of required core coursework and eight elective courses with grades of "C" or better.

Other than the required courses listed below, all courses in the Planning and Sustainability area of study count as an elective towards the Land Use and Environmental Planning Certificate. If you have questions, please contact us.

Course content is frequently revised to ensure that the program is up-to-date with the latest industry standards. For this reason, you must complete all of the course requirements of your certificate within five years from the day you enroll in the first course. A certificate will not be awarded if the requirements are not completed and your application for candidacy is not received within this timeframe.

Required Courses

Community Involvement and Communication in Planning
Quarter Academic Credit
2
Planners use zoning plans, spatial data, and population projections to design land use plans and revitalize physical spaces. Planners decisions can have important and long-lasting impacts on many people. Municipal planners often confront conflict, often about deeply controversial issues.  Elected officials, civil servants and professional experts have long played an important role in how these decisions are made, but advocacy organizations, civil society groups and individual activists have become increasingly effective at influencing decision-making in the public sphere. This means that the role of planners is often to determine how diverse groups of people can effectively make decisions about the places and spaces they seek to improve? This course teaches students how to design and implement participatory planning processes in a democratic context.
Course Code
506539
Financial Aspects of Planning
Quarter Academic Credit
4

Gain an understanding of how planning decisions impact the economic feasibility of a proposed project for the public agency and developer.  Learn how money flows into a governmental agency, what they can or can’t do to increase that flow and how debt fits into the whole equation.

Topics in this course include:

  • Fiscal impact analysis and its importance
  • Local government revenues
  • Public debt and its alternatives
  • Fiscal and financial analysis and how they fit into the planning process
  • A developer's perspective of how planning decisions affect the bottom line 
  • The balance between the goals and objectives of public and private-sector participants

Approximately 20 hours of study and full attendance to all course meetings are required. 

Course Code
154370
Planning in California: An Overview
Quarter Academic Credit
4

Learn the concepts, structures and processes of land use planning and development decisions. This four-day course delivers an overview of general plans, zoning ordinances, subdivision regulation, permit processes, property rights, environmental review, public finance, natural resources and urban design. The instructor and guest presenters place these topics in wider contexts, valuable for both experienced planners who need a review and others who want solid introductions.

By the end of the course, the participants will:

  • Understand the basic legal tools of land use planning and decision making
  • Be able to apply those tools to specific problems facing California communities
  • Understand the connections among land use, public finance and governance
  • Demonstrate insight into how public policies affect land uses
Course Code
154290
Environmental Planning and Site Analysis
Quarter Academic Credit
4

Examine the major components of physical planning and site design as they relate to achieving planning objectives. Review regional landscape analysis, physical and man-made factor analysis and watershed and program analysis. Special focus is given to analyzing site suitability and sensitivity for development, site selection and feasibility studies and conceptual design that responds to site conditions.

In this course, you will:

  • Develop an understanding of how to conduct site opportunity and constraint analysis that contribute to good land use decisions.
  • Understand the basic natural and cultural components of a site and region and how these components are interrelated.
  • Achieve basic skills necessary to evaluate and compare the value of mapped data.
  • Acquire critical thinking skills to be able to use complex data, synthesize information and select that which is most significant for decision making.
  • Learn graphic methods of compiling, recording and displaying information on environmental, cultural and economic factors. 
  • Understand the value and importance that analysis of the natural and the manmade environment have in planning, design and environmental decision-making.
Course Code
154360
Planning and Environmental Law
Quarter Academic Credit
3

This course provides students with the skills and knowledge needed to navigate the legal framework in planning and environmental careers. The course reviews the various legal sources of planning and environmental law, including statutes, regulations, and case law. It provides students with a working understanding of how to apply planning and environmental legal requirements, especially within the context of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the State Planning and Zoning Law, and other local, state, and federal environmental laws. Students will also learn how and when to coordinate with, provide support to, and get support from lawyers throughout the planning process.

    • Students will develop a working knowledge of where to find applicable policy guidance, statutes, regulations, case law, etc. when approaching planning tasks and environmental review in California.
    • Students will be introduced to CEQA, NEPA, State Planning and Zoning Law, and other environmental laws.
    • Students will learn how to review and analyze judicial rulings, discuss salient legal points in a professional manner, and communicate legal principles with members of the public, decision-makers, and other planners and governmental counsel.
    • Students will understand when and how, as part of their chosen profession, to communicate and work with attorneys to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and to assist attorneys with defending lawsuits.

 

Approximately 20 hours of project work and regular attendance are required. 

Course Code
350050
Urban Planning and Design Studio
Quarter Academic Credit
3

Receive hands-on practice in professional urban planning and design skills in a studio/lecture format. Immerse yourself in planning and design principles, examples and case studies for today's communities. Critique land use plans and site designs, create and prepare site plans, and analyze and develop planning staff reports. Emphasis is placed on urban infill and sustainable community design, and the challenges and complexities of planning and urban design in growing communities. In-class studio work and critique, as well as guest lectures, a hands-on downtown design modeling charrette and field visits are also included. There will be a minimum of 24 hours of planning and design work conducted outside of class.

Course Code
346540

Elective Courses

Annual Land Use Law Review and Update

Stay up-to-date on recent developments in California law affecting land use, planning and environmental compliance. Experts from the field provide succinct and practical analysis on recent case law and significant legislative and administrative changes that took effect this year.

Topics include:

  • General Plans, Specific Plans and Zoning
  • The Subdivision Map Act
  • CEQA
  • Affordable Housing
  • Takings, Exactions and Dedications
  • Greenhouse Gas Regulation and Environmental Analysis
  • School Fees
  • Wetlands and Protected Species
  • Land Use Litigation

Participate in discussions and get answers to your questions. Take home a legal syllabus of cases discussed and prepared by the law firm of Perkins Coie, LLP.

Course Code
100810
CEQA Update, Issues and Trends

Implementation of CEQA continues to be a challenge for professionals due to annual legislative, regulatory and judicial developments. CEQA practice is constantly evolving, raising new issues and revealing new trends. Learn recent developments and emerging trends, and exchange ideas about handling key issues in the environmental review process. Examine recent CEQA legislation, as well as recent and upcoming regulatory changes. 

Review the latest CEQA court decisions and their practical implications, including:

  • "Common sense exemption"
  • Categorical exemptions and exceptions (including the recent Calif. Supreme Court decision Berkeley Hillside Preservation v. City of Berkeley)
  • Negative declarations and mitigated negative declarations, as well as the fair argument standard and when a record contains “substantial evidence”
  • Environmental impact reports and the adequacy of impact analysis (including impacts to agricultural resources) 
  • Mitigation measures, agency rule-making requirements and agency requirements to mitigate per Legislature’s directive (including recent Calif. Supreme Court decision City of San Diego v. Board of Trustees of the California State University)
  • Trigger for supplemental or subsequent CEQA documents (versus addendums)
  • Tiering from functional equivalent documents or General Plan EIR
  •  Litigation matters
Course Code
100820
CEQA: A Step-by-Step Approach

Clarify and deepen your understanding of CEQA and the implications it has for your organization, plan or project. Discuss the latest changes to the state CEQA guidelines, new case law and legislation.

Topics include:

  • CEQA's legislative history
  • An overview of CEQA requirements
  • Steps in the CEQA process and when projects are exempt
  • The threshold decision: Is an EIR required?
  • Negative declarations and mitigated NDs
  • How to determine the scope and content of an EIR
  • Public notice and review requirements
  • Agency decision-making under CEQA
  • Mitigation monitoring and reporting
  • When to prepare supplemental EIRs
  • Judicial review of CEQA decisions
Course Code
313790
Community Design and Public Health

There are strong connections between the built environment and public health. Land use and public health professionals are working together to develop a framework for understanding how land use decisions can improve public health and how the public health profession can support healthier community planning. Learn about the historic and present connections between planning and public health and the most recent efforts by public health to inform land use policy and practice. Delve into projects at the grassroots, local and state public health department levels and learn from practitioners at all levels. Examine new tools that local public health departments have devised to work collaboratively with land use and transportation planners including, the General Plan "Health" Element, Health Impact Assessments and health indicators. Apply your experience and knowledge using the public health lens on specific project examples.

This course is designed for land use and transportation planners, city and county staff and planning commissioners interested in improving the public health of their communities and working with their public health systems. Public health and health professionals and students interested in reducing chronic disease through community design and environmental policy will also benefit from learning these innovative approaches.

Course Code
356390
Complete Streets: From Adoption to Implementation

Local jurisdictions are increasingly recognizing the economic, social and environmental benefits of planning, designing and building Complete Streets, streets that accommodate a wide range of community transportation needs and all users. In-class exercises will be used to define Complete Streets design policies and practices and suggest methods for shifting agency procedures so as to incorporate Complete Streets design strategies into land development, maintenance and capital improvement projects. Participants will learn:

  • What are the different types of Complete Streets and what are their benefits
  • How performance measures can help implement Complete Streets
  • Street designs that support walking and bicycling
  • Strategies for finding room on existing streets to make them more complete
  • How to change project development processes to support Complete Streets
Course Code
391430
Developing and Writing Effective CEQA Documents
Learn a step-by-step approach to preparing and writing CEQA documents. Project managers will learn how to set up their projects to improve author efficiency, effectiveness and client satisfaction. CEQA authors will gain skills for writing clear, concise CEQA sections that address client needs. Editors will receive a complete overview of the document preparation process and their role in that process. In this activities-based workshop, you will discuss outlining, write sections, develop techniques for tracking references and critique project start-up packets and other materials.
Course Code
342960
Endangered Species Regulation and Protection

Review current federal laws, regulations, policies and practices concerning threatened and endangered wildlife and plants. Gain practical advice for resolving endangered species conflicts with proposed projects. Examine key aspects of the federal Endangered Species Act and agency policies and guidelines on:

  • Section 4(d) rules
  • Section 7 consultation and biological assessments
  • Section 10(a) incidental take permits
  • Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs)
  • Safe Harbor policies
  • No Surprise policies

Also examine the most recent case law and policies regarding California's implementation of the Endangered Species Act, including:

  • Section 2081 incidental take permits
  • The California Native Plant Protection Act
  • Endangered species provisions of CEQA
  • The Natural Community Conservation Planning Act
Course Code
101290
Habitat Conservation Planning and Natural Community Conservation Permitting

Under the Endangered Species Act, Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) are becoming increasingly common regulatory necessities and planning tools for many, including joint-powers agencies, cities and counties, local districts and state agencies, energy companies and private developers in California. Recent listings of threatened and endangered species have resulted in conflicts with existing and planned land use and water projects.

Gain an overview of state and federal endangered species laws and recommendations for best approaches to conservation planning. Explore case studies of simple single species and complex multispecies HCPs. Topics include:

  • Endangered Species Act Section 10 requirements for HCPs and conservation planning guidelines
  • California Natural Community Conservation Planning Act process guidelines
  • Regional conservation plans and low effect HCPs
  • Integrated compliance with Section 404 of the Clean Water Act wetlands and stream regulations
  • No surprises, safe harbors and candidate conservation agreements
Course Code
205450
Habitat Conservation Plan Implementation

Examine the techniques and best practices for implementing Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs), Natural Community Conservation Plans (NCCPs) and other types of regional conservation plans for endangered species. Learn how to address the challenges of implementing a plan. Topics include:

  • Key implementation challenges
  • Program administration and reporting tools and tips
  • Land acquisition and conservation techniques, issues and solutions
  • Cost-effective habitat management and restoration planning and execution
  • Species and habitat monitoring
  • Permit compliance tools and tips
  • Compliance monitoring, tracking and reporting
  • Plan amendments
  • Implementation lessons learned that help prepare a better plan

Note: This course is distinct from the course Habitat Conservation Planning, which covers how to prepare HCPs and NCCPs.

 

Course Code
365610
Groundwater Law and Hydrology

This course is essential for professionals working in water resources in California. Effective groundwater management requires a combined understanding of the legal principles and physical characteristics of the resource. Acquire a working knowledge of groundwater law and hydrology, and discover new developments in case law, legislation and practice.

Receive thorough instruction on the physical characteristics of groundwater and the fundamental tenets of California groundwater law, including distinctions between percolating groundwater and surface water, the definition of basin boundaries, interrelated concepts of safe yield and overdraft, and different categories of groundwater rights. Examine alternative problem-solving approaches to address specific groundwater allocation and quality problems, such as management plans, physical solutions and court adjudication. You will also review case studies from groundwater disputes throughout California. Participants are encouraged to relate their own case studies and specific problems during the course.

Course Code
204830
Overview of California Water Law and Policy

Understand the complex and contentious process of allocating California’s water resources. Gain a comprehensive overview of the legal and regulatory framework for surface water and groundwater rights, as well as the environmental laws that regulate water use. Topics include:

  • Allocation of surface water through appropriative and riparian rights
  • California's system of groundwater rights
  • Authority of the State Water Resources Control Board
  • Protecting Northern California’s area of origin laws
  • Environmental protections under the public trust doctrine, the Endangered Species Act, CEQA, Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Fish and Game Code
  • California water institutions: the Bureau of Reclamation, Department of Water Resources and local water agencies
  • Federal Reclamation Law and the Central Valley Project Improvement Act
  • Legal constraints on water transfers
  • Allocating interstate rivers: Colorado River Basin and Klamath River Basin
  • California's water hub: understanding the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay-Delta and its regulatory and planning context
Course Code
296390
Streambank Assessment and Restoration
Learn the concepts of natural channel form and function in streambanks, and how to determine which restoration methods are most suitable for different types of sites. Case studies and discussions will emphasize the importance of channel cross-section and landform geometry as they influence a stream's connectivity with its floodplain. Students will learn how to evaluate channel conditions and assess restoration potential. Techniques for bank stabilization using natural materials and native vegetation will be discussed, including the use of various types of low rock and log toe structures, redirective techniques (vanes and weirs) versus resistive techniques (riprap and gabions), and biotechnical/bioengineering methods.
Course Code
292420
Successful CEQA Compliance: An Intensive Seminar

CEQA is the state's most comprehensive environmental law. Its requirements influence virtually all prospective land use and public agency projects.

Learn how to clearly understand and comply with CEQA guidelines in this interactive seminar, designed to assist public agency staff, consultants, attorneys, developers, members of environmental organizations and others. 

The first portion focuses on:

  • The background and implementation of CEQA
  • The preliminary review process
  • Determination of an environmental document
  • The negative declaration process and document content
  • The Environmental Impact Report (EIR) process

The second portion focuses on development of exceptional impact analysis and mitigation measures and the integration of other environmental programs. Specific topics include:

  • Impacts and mitigation
  • Integration with NEPA, water quality, wetlands and endangered species regulations, and historic preservation programs
  • Judicial review
  • EIR management issues
Course Code
101930
The Intersection Between Transportation and Land Use

Land use and transportation planning fields have been rapidly evolving due to new legislation on sustainable communities and climate change and an increased emphasis on complete streets and multi-modal analysis. Explore the inextricable link between transportation and land use in the development of general plans, community plans, site plans and environmental impact analyses. Learn best practices, examine case studies and gain practical knowledge and skills to put to use in your community.

This two-day interactive course focuses on new policies, technical approaches, models and tools for managing challenging land use and transportation issues. Key topics include:

  • Level of Service (LOS) policies and thresholds: Why vehicle LOS may be obsolete for your community and the consequences and choices to consider when selecting new performance measures and thresholds.
  • The new transportation planning paradigm: Why public agencies should shift their paradigms and the financial, transportation and land use consequences if they don’t.
  • Financial constraints and priorities: Why we pay more annually for TV, mobile phone service and mochas than gas tax, and what it means for your general plan.
  • Travel forecasting models and their blind spots: What planners need to know about travel forecasting models especially when using them to evaluate VMT, GHG emissions or smart growth plans.
  • Legal defensibility versus level of confidence: The difference between these two terms and why it makes a difference in your land use and transportation plans.
  • Completing the streets: Essential factors for creating livable streets, making modal trade-offs and examples of what to avoid.
  • Big data: How the proliferation of new data sources, such as cell phone origin-destination data, GPS speed data and satellite photos are changing land use and transportation planning.
  • CEQA and the General Plan: How to get the most out of General Plan updates and accompanying EIRs.

This course is for those interested in the consequences of SB 743, the world of GHG forecasting, the connection between general plans and CEQA, determining SCS consistency, knowing more about layered networks and the 15 new multi-modal LOS methods in practice, obtaining greater value from those expensive EIRs or just improving planning outcomes in the community.

Enjoy two intensive, interactive days with other professionals and obtain 14 hours of AICP or MCLE credit toward your professional development. 

Course Code
385160
Thresholds of Significance in Environmental Planning

Determining the significance of environmental impacts under CEQA is one of the most difficult and important decisions agencies must make, yet many agencies have not developed a consistent approach to judging significance and agonize over this issue on a project-by-project basis. Thresholds of significance are a proven method of streamlining the CEQA process. Learn about significance thresholds, the process for developing them and success stories.

Topics include:

  • The concept of "significance" under CEQA
  • The definition of environmental thresholds
  • Advantages and disadvantages of developing thresholds
  • Criteria for determining significance
  • Reliance on other agencies' regulatory standards
  • Adopted thresholds
  • Legal problems
  • Discussing thresholds for greenhouse gases
  • Developing thresholds for any impact discipline
  • The relationship between thresholds, planning policies and standards
Course Code
101990
Water Quality Regulation and Permitting

Review California water quality regulations, relevant provisions of California state law and regulations and the federal Clean Water Act. During this interactive workshop, instructors will provide case studies, strategies and recommendations for effectively meeting agency requirements. Topics include:

  • A regulatory overview of the federal Clean Water Act
  • The California Porter-Cologne Water Quality Act
  • Basin planning and waste discharge requirements
  • National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits
  • The jurisdictions of key agencies such as the California Environmental Protection Agency and state and regional water boards

This course will also cover recent updates and changes in California water quality regulations.

Course Code
276000
Wetlands Regulation and Mitigation

Learn about the regulation of activities affecting wetlands, permitting for activities in wetlands and wetlands mitigation planning. Gain an overview of federal and state laws and regulations protecting wetlands and other bodies of water, with a special emphasis on Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Topics include:

  • Biological and legal definitions of wetlands
  • Consistencies and differences among various federal and state agencies
  • Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act
  • Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and recent legal interpretations
  • Section 1600 of the California Fish and Game Code
  • Wetlands under the California Environmental Quality Act and the National Environmental Policy Act
  • EPA and USACE Mitigation Rule
Course Code
102180
Writing for Planners, Engineers and Policymakers

Engineers, planners and other professionals require a high degree of technical writing skill to prepare a variety of documents including reports, proposals, formal letters and emails. However, they often lack training in the craft of effective writing. Gain the necessary skills for communicating through clear and concise language in effective documents. Discover how to increase clarity in technical documents by learning skills related to audience needs, document organization, paragraph development and using powerful sentences. Acquire practical skills that you can use immediately to prepare high-quality documents. Strengthen your skills through a series of short writing exercises, and analyze examples of good and bad writing and the effect that both can have on the success of a project.

Note: Please bring a sample of your writing to class so you can practice your new skills.

Course Code
327280

Other than the required courses listed below, all courses in the Planning and Sustainability area of study count as an elective towards the Land Use and Environmental Planning Certificate. If you have questions, please contact us.

View courses currently open for enrollment

Required Courses

Required Courses Units Fall Winter Spring Summer
Financial Aspects of Planning 4 Online
Planning in California: An Overview 4 Online
Environmental Planning and Site Analysis 4 Online
Planning and Environmental Law 3 Online
Urban Planning and Design Studio 3 Online
Community Involvement and Communication in Planning 2 Online

Elective Courses

Elective Courses Units Fall Winter Spring Summer
Annual Land Use Law Review and Update
CEQA Update, Issues and Trends
CEQA: A Step-by-Step Approach
Community Design and Public Health
Complete Streets: From Adoption to Implementation
Developing and Writing Effective CEQA Documents
Endangered Species Regulation and Protection
Habitat Conservation Planning and Natural Community Conservation Permitting
Habitat Conservation Plan Implementation
Groundwater Law and Hydrology
Overview of California Water Law and Policy
Streambank Assessment and Restoration
Successful CEQA Compliance: An Intensive Seminar
The Intersection Between Transportation and Land Use
Thresholds of Significance in Environmental Planning
Water Quality Regulation and Permitting
Wetlands Regulation and Mitigation
Writing for Planners, Engineers and Policymakers
  • At Your Own Pace: Take individual courses for a total cost of $7,250-$8,050, depending on when you enroll.
    • A one-time, non-refundable registration fee of $125 must also be paid in order to receive your certificate.
  • Textbooks are not included in the tuition fee.

Here are your options:

Ready to enroll in the certificate program?

  • Register. Fill out a brief certificate registration form. By doing so, you declare your intent to complete the program in 5 years or less, lock in program requirements and will be contacted by a program adviser who will work with you to map out your academic path.

Not ready to commit yet?

  • Enroll in an individual course. Check out individual courses that are currently open for enrollment. Courses will be applied to the program if you later decide to complete your certificate.
  • Sign up for an information session. Learn more about the program by enrolling in a free information session. If an information session for this program is not currently open for enrollment, click on “notify me,” and we’ll contact you when the next one becomes available.

Questions? We’re here to help. If you’ve got a question, email us or call (530) 757-8777.

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