Rockland — At the Oct. 11 annual meeting of Friends of Midcoast Maine, speaker Joseph Minicozzi will discuss “The Smart Math of Mixed Use Development."

He is the principal of Urban3, LLC, a consulting company of the real estate developer Public Interest Projects. He has most recently served as the executive director for the Asheville Downtown Association and the new projects director of PIP.

Most people - business owners, city planners, elected officials, voters, and the like - understand that the communities bring in more tax revenue when it attracts new investment and new development. However, people often overlook the scale of the property tax payoff for encouraging dense mixed-use development. People often overlook the untapped potential of strip developments and single use areas of town.

Many policy decisions seem to create incentives for businesses and property developers to expand just about anywhere, without regard for the types of buildings they are erecting. In this keynote address, Joe Minicozzi will argue that the best return on investment for the public coffers comes when smart and sustainable development occurs downtown and we take actions, public and private, to turn single use development into productive, mixed use areas.

Minicozzi will describe a number of communities across the nation where he has worked. His funny, entertaining presentation will inspire. Learn about opportunities to make the communities more productive.

Before moving to Asheville, Minicozzi was the primary administrator of the Form Based Code for downtown West Palm Beach, Fla. Joe’s cross-training in city planning in the public and private sectors, as well as private sector real estate finance has allowed him to develop specific analytic tools that have garnered national attention in Planetizen, The Wall Street Journal, Planning Magazine, The New Urban News, National Association of Realtors, Atlantic Cities, and the Center for Clean Air Policy’s Growing Wealthier report. His work has been featured at the Congress for New Urbanism, the American Planning Association, and three New Partners for SmartGrowth conferences as a paradigm shift for thinking about development patterns. His entertaining and important talk will resonate with citizens, planners, developers and everyone who cares about the quality of life in the Midcoast.

The annual meeting will be held on Thursday, Oct. 11 at 5:30 p.m. at the Breakwater Marketplace in Rockland. To register for the annual meeting, call 236-1077 or visit friendsmidcoast.org. Space is limited and pre-registration is required.