AICP Code of Ethics 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the AICP Code, which statement best describes the relationship between a planner's obligations to their employer and to the public?
- Obligations to the public supersede obligations to the employer when they conflict (Correct answer)
- Obligations to the employer always take precedence as the planner's primary client
- The two obligations are equal and must be balanced case by case
- Obligations to the employer supersede public obligations in private-sector work
Correct answer: Obligations to the public supersede obligations to the employer when they conflict
The AICP Code establishes a clear hierarchy: public interest comes first, then obligations to employers and clients.
Question 2: An AICP member who serves as a planning commissioner is approached by a developer for paid consulting on a project not before the commission. The planner should:
- Decline or fully disclose and recuse from any commission matters involving that developer (Correct answer)
- Accept because the projects are separate
- Accept only if the consulting work is in a different jurisdiction
- Accept and recuse only if the developer submits an application during the engagement
Correct answer: Decline or fully disclose and recuse from any commission matters involving that developer
Paid consulting relationships with developers create conflicts of interest that require disclosure and recusal from related commission matters.
Question 3: The AICP Code defines 'special responsibility' to which of the following in the context of planning advocacy?
- The needs of the disadvantaged who may have limited access to the planning process (Correct answer)
- Developers who fund public infrastructure improvements
- Property owners with the most invested in planning outcomes
- Government officials who set planning policy
Correct answer: The needs of the disadvantaged who may have limited access to the planning process
The Code recognizes that planners have a special responsibility to advocate for those with limited power and access to the planning process.
Question 4: When a planner disagrees with a policy direction taken by their agency, the AICP Code suggests the planner should:
- Express disagreement through legitimate professional and political channels (Correct answer)
- Implement the policy publicly while undermining it privately
- Immediately resign in protest
- Comply silently without expressing any disagreement
Correct answer: Express disagreement through legitimate professional and political channels
The Code supports expressing professional disagreement through legitimate channels while continuing to carry out lawful duties.
Question 5: Which of the following scenarios best illustrates a planner violating the AICP obligation to 'maintain the respect owed to others'?
- Publicly demeaning community members who oppose a planning project at a hearing (Correct answer)
- Recommending denial of an application despite the applicant's emotional plea
- Enforcing a zoning violation against a popular local business
- Advising a client that their project is unlikely to receive approval
Correct answer: Publicly demeaning community members who oppose a planning project at a hearing
The obligation to maintain respect requires treating all persons—including opponents—with dignity in professional interactions.
Question 6: The AICP Code requires that planners 'provide full, clear, and accurate information.' This obligation is violated when a planner:
- Selectively presents data to support a predetermined conclusion in a public report (Correct answer)
- Recommends a project the planner personally opposes based on objective analysis
- Discloses uncertainty in projections made in a planning document
- Presents multiple scenarios including unfavorable ones to decision-makers
Correct answer: Selectively presents data to support a predetermined conclusion in a public report
Selectively presenting data to reach a predetermined conclusion violates the obligation for full, clear, and accurate information.
Question 7: A planner is asked to sign off on a colleague's work that the planner has not personally reviewed. Under the AICP Code, the planner should:
- Refuse to certify work they have not independently reviewed (Correct answer)
- Sign off as a professional courtesy if they trust the colleague
- Sign off with a notation that the review was cursory
- Sign off only if the work involves a minor technical matter
Correct answer: Refuse to certify work they have not independently reviewed
Planners may only certify work they have personally reviewed; signing off on unreviewed work misrepresents their professional judgment.
AICP Code of Ethics 5
Under the AICP Code, which statement best describes the relationship between a planner's obligations to their employer and to the public?