Honolulu planner honored

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Institute of Certified Planners inducted John P. Whalen, president of PlanPacific in Honolulu, into the elite College of Fellows, an American Planning Association press release states.

Whalen, who was selected as a fellow for individual achievement in the planning profession, was recognized at an April 22 ceremony in San Antonio, Texas, held in conjunction with the American Planning Association’s National Planning Conference.

“The AICP College of Fellows recognizes individuals who’ve made exceptional contributions to the planning profession,” AICP President Sue Schwartz said in the press release. “The Fellows have devoted their careers to excellence in planning and they set the highest standards for professional planners today.”

Of the 15,000 certified urban and rural planners currently practicing in North America and beyond, less than 350 have been elected as fellows. Whalen was one of 45 planners from 22 states inducted in April.

Whalen has used planning to advance the public good throughout his career,” the release states. He has volunteered tirelessly and generously to promote community awareness of planning principles and professional standards, undertaken community-based advocacy and planning initiatives and directed projects and sustained programs assisting people in need.

He developed a first-of-its-kind planning workshop for a citizens’ group in Hawai‘i that the organization later used to successfully challenge the location of a power line along a scenic and culturally significant ridgeline.

Upon leaving his post as director of land utilization for the City and County of Honolulu in 1989 to start PlanPacific, a consulting firm, then Mayor Frank Fasi said Whalen’s selection was “perhaps the best appointment I ever made,” the release states.

Since then, Whalen’s firm has led or played a substantial role in many of the state’s most important planning projects.