A city staff member delivered a resource briefing to the Centennial Planning and Zoning Commission on July 23, highlighting conferences, journals, websites and local news outlets commissioners can use to broaden expertise on land‑use matters.

"Planners' first and foremost job and responsibility is provide options," Staff member Grama told commissioners, urging them to consult a range of sources to better evaluate development proposals.

Grama recommended regional and national conferences including the Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute at the University of Denver and the Colorado chapter of the American Planning Association, and noted publications and online outlets such as PlannersWeb, the Journal of the American Planning Association, Bloomberg CityLab, Governing Magazine, Strong Towns and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. He also pointed commissioners to more locally focused resources including Developing Denver, Naked Denver and local newspapers such as The Denver Post, The Colorado Sun and the Colorado Real Estate Journal.

Grama emphasized staff is an on‑call resource for commissioners, and he said many items highlighted are free or covered under existing memberships. He also suggested commissioners use local coverage to track large site vacancies and potential redevelopment opportunities, citing recent reporting that King Soopers would close at Arapahoe and Holly and saying such vacancies can prompt zoning and planning questions.

As part of ongoing education, Grama announced the commission's annual planning and zoning tour is scheduled for Aug. 27 and will focus on housing projects currently under construction in Centennial. He said tentative agenda items are slated for the Aug. 13 meeting and invited commissioners to ask staff for links and materials presented.

Commissioners asked about outreach and communications; Grama said the city's communications team issues press releases and works with aggregators and publications, and he encouraged commissioners to share positive developments publicly when appropriate.