Upfront Planning Podcast

Architect Ben Ayers comes back to join us about his favorite discussion, Reuse.  Reuse of buildings and sites is not new, but becoming more common in Arizona as its aging and we are seeing more and more infill.  Listen in as Ben discusses with us the things you may have not thought about when trying to convert a building’s use from one thing to another and how sometimes design and zoning code may...

Hannah Whitwer from The Society of St. Vincent de Paul and Joe Cable, PE from Bowman Consulting and an active Bishop and church member within the Church of Latter-Day Saints join us to talk about the ways nonprofits are trying to help address the housing and homelessness issues in Arizona.  This enormous topic is more than just a single fix, but engagement with the community and volunteers across...

Amber takes the lead in this episode interviewing Jessica as they discuss one of the hardest things to personify to people: Character, Morals and Ethics.  Listen in on this interesting and introspective episode with a little ranting, ethics and moral discussion and why we are the way we are and a few things you may have not known about us.?

Listen in on this really educational episode with Pinal County Engineer Chris Wanamaker, PE, CFM, CPM and Wilson & Company’s Drainage Practice Lead Rob Scrivio, PE, CFM as they talk to us about why water is not just water but a powerful force to be reckoned with.  Arizona land can be a complex terrain to work with due to soil, topography, climate and more.  Hear how we are not like Michigan, one s...

Upfront Planning Principal and founder Jessica Sarkissian, AICP is joined by Upfront’s planners Victoria Chavez and Amber Knapp as they discuss how they got to where they are, their backgrounds and who and how they got to where there are.  Hear about the best ways to get to those next steps and different ways to network and grow your career with certifications and being an active part of numerous...

CAWCD (Central Arizona Water Conservation District) Board members Ben Graff and Pinal County Supervisor Stephan Miller join us to discuss what it is like on the Board, what they do for the CAP (Central Arizona Project), a 336-mile-long aqueduct system in Arizona.  This episode goes over the lobbying efforts to keep Arizona at the forefront of the discussion in the delegation of the Colorado River...

Prepare for the next AZ Legislative Session when it reconvenes at the end of the month with Dorn Policy Group’s Cole Libera and Snell & Wilmer’s, Ryan McCann joining the podcast to talk about what big changes happened at the AZ State Legislature with resignations and retirements.  Hear the discussion as to what has been going on with all these housing bills from the Planning perspective and why th...

Tricia Gomes, Deputy Director and Amanda Leon, Planner III from the City of Phoenix talk to us about Land Planning 101 and the difference between their upcoming General Plan Update and the Zoning Ordinance. Hear about Variances, Site Plans and the best ways to get public engagement during development projects. Hear ways the public can get involved and how plans get from first discussions to approv...

Jessica and Amber are joined by Terri Hogan and Sandra Hoffman of Logan Simpson who are also former public sector planners who recently retired at the top of their game.  Learn the basics or long-range planning and what a general or comprehensive plan is and what is required to make them the community policy documents they are.  Better understand what is and is not required by state law as well as...

Jessica and Amber debrief the 2023 Annual Arizona State Planning Conference in Litchfield Park, Arizona in this episode.  Hear about the good and possibly lacking sessions as well as well as who had the best booth at the conference during the Planner’s Bazaar and how they rated the Opening Reception.  Hear if this event hit the mark or what they hope for next year in Tucson.

Ryan Smith and Tony Bianchi discuss the history and growth of Phoenix Mesa Gateway Airport in Mesa.  Hear how the airport stays successful as one of the few military base airports to successfully convert to commercial operations and the large impact it has on the growth and expansion of not only the east side of the Valley but the entire state with the inclusion and expansion of the foreign trade...

Jessica and Amber go over the 2023 Annual League of Arizona Cities and Towns Conference in Tucson, Arizona and discuss the highlights of the event and the things they could have done without.  Listen in as the tell you about their first time attending this event and how this differs from other organization conferences they have attended as well as the Parade of Flags Celebration for this primarily...

Listen in on this engaging episode as we talk all things commercial from the realtor side finding a site to the financial side and what makes a project pencil or not.  This is not your normal episode and rants will be shared with lots of great discussion and learning that a commercial/ industrial lease or sale is NOT the same as applying for a home mortgage.  Hear what really goes on behind the sc...

How does the SRP system work and how do we possibly have enough water in Arizona?!  We talked with water geeks Patty Garcia-Likens and Christa McJunkin from SRP to ask the good questions and learn how those earlier policies get implemented and explain why Arizona is really at the forefront of water management in the United States and why Arizona has room to grow.

Mayor Brigette Peterson and Arizona Corporation Commissioner Kevin Thompson join us to talk to use about their experiences running for public office and what goes into the process. We talk about the requirements, obstacles, political parties and what they actually do in their positions as Councilmember, Mayor and Corporation Commissioner.  A great interesting discussion also to explain “what does...

Jen Ruby and Jamie Blakeman join Upfront Planning to talk about their experience working through the development process.  From working through municipal staff comments to dealing with neighbors and being accused of murder.  What they feel are the best practices and how we can all create better projects through collaboration.

Deanna Villanueva-Saucedo and Genessee Montes join Jessica to talk about how schools and land planning work together to provide future communities in Arizona the education and workforce needed to sustain future teachers and school employees for a stronger community.  Discussion also goes into the collaboration between Cities, school, Community colleges and what the bond measures and overrides mean...

Why are architect’s so sensitive?  We’ve got Ben Ayers and Dane Astle, both Arizona Architects who tell us about why they are the way they are in this entertaining episode.  They will tell us what creates good looking projects and how we can get more of those great designs and places.  We will talk about what’s hot and what’s not in their eyes of architecture and what new trends are coming up.

Tempe Mayor Corey Woods and City of Phoenix Planning Director Josh Bednarek join the Upfront Planning podcast to talk about the big housing issue and what needs to be done locally, at the state and federal level to get housing opportunities and costs for everyone back on track.  Discussion goes further into why there is so much opposition to housing and what is at the heart of the matter.

Listen as the ladies of Upfront Planning discuss what it is like to be a new planner in the field.  Learn the ins and outs and how to network and land that first job.  Lots of good stories and hear what works for the public and private sector to start working after you’re ready to get your feet wet in development.

Carolyn Oberholzer of Bergin, Frakes, Smalley & Oberholtzer and Lindsay Schube of Gammage and Burnham join the podcast to talk about what its like to be a zoning attorney and what even is a zoning attorney.  Learn what makes land attorneys so cool and why they need to be so different then what you may think an attorney is. Listen in as we hear about all their crazy stories as these two friends joi...

Heidi Kimball of Sunbelt Holdings and Jill Hegardt of DMB talk about how they started out in the development world, what has changed since then and what projects they are most proud of.  We will talk a little bit of the changing of the guard from the way things used to be done to how Arizona has become at the front of land development and growth in the US.  Listen in as we get carried away and thi...

Cheryl Lombard and Grady Gammage Jr. join the Upfront Planning Podcast to discuss water in Arizona and where we stand in water policy and forward-thinking water management.  Arizona has long understood the complexities and importance of water long before it was required regulation.  Learn how Arizona is at the forefront of the water discussion in policy to ensure Arizona continues to thrive and gr...

Jessica’s former bosses Sherri Koshiol and Troy Peterson join us to talk about the 2008 downturn and how they rose from starting again in 2008 to starting their own firm and teaming with Bowman Consulting and grow it to be a successful firm and hire all the best people of course.  And of course, be on the listen for the occasional zinger from Troy to always harass one of his favorite people Sherri...

Listen in on engaging and fun conversation with Amy Malloy ad Heather Personne from Evolve Ventures as we talk about how they got to where they are and why and how did they start Evolve.  Lots of fun from these ever-engaging rock star ladies tell us how to have fun while working or kind of working.