NACP News

The NACP 2012 Project Awards Program

Posted in: NACP News by The NACP on December 14, 2011 | No Comments

The APA County Planning Division (CPD) and the National Association of County Planners (NACP) are pleased to announce the opening of their 2012 Project Awards Program application cycle. This program provides them the opportunity to recognize outstanding planning projects from counties around the country at the APA CPD/NACP annual business meeting in Los Angeles at the APA National Conference. The program provides members with the chance to see and learn about development, conservation, government, or environmental projects, where planning has had a positive impact on the outcome. Judges will be looking for innovativeness and quality, and the potential for use in other areas. Read more…

NACP Meeting Minutes July 28, 2011

Posted in: NACP News by The NACP on October 17, 2011 | No Comments

NACP Meeting Minutes May 12, 2011

Posted in: NACP News by The NACP on July 29, 2011 | No Comments

National Association of County Planners and County Planning Division 2011 Membership Evaluation Results

Posted in: NACP News by The NACP on June 29, 2011 | No Comments

2011 Planning Award Winners Announced

Posted in: NACP News by The NACP on April 20, 2011 | No Comments

On April 10, 2011 at the County Planning Division’s Business Meeting conducted at the APA National Conference in Boston, the County Planning Division in conjunction with the National Association of County Planners presented their 2011 Project Awards. This year three awards were presented, one Award of Excellence and two Awards of Merit.

The Award of Excellence was presented to Charlotte – Mecklenburg County, North Carolina in the Small Area/Special Area Planning category for their Area Plan Implementation Program. The Area Plan Implementation Program is a system created to inventory, analyze, track, and implement capital projects as well as other recommendations originating from adopted Area Plans. It began from the need to follow-through on the community’s planning vision that was developed during a lengthy and in-depth planning process. The program established annual bond funding for area plan capital project implementation, enhanced information sharing amongst public service providers, and has resulted in the construction of a number of projects.

The Awards of Merit were presented to Henrico County, Virginia in the Grass Roots Initiative category for their Homeowner’s Enhancement Guide and to Riley County, Kansas in the Best Practices category for their Vision 2025 – A Comprehensive Plan for Riley County, Kansas. The Homeowner’s Enhancement Guide is intended as a means of maintaining the stability and desirability of mature neighborhoods. The Homeowner’s Enhancement Guide is a how-to handbook intended for homeowners and prospective purchasers of older homes, which may be in need of modernization and enhancement. The Guide is a tool for homeowners and prospective purchasers of mature homes that assist in the processes of adding character, modernizing, and improving livability through improvements at various ranges of cost. The Vision 2025 – A Comprehensive Plan for Riley County, Kansas provides the guidance to ensure the continued viability of the agricultural sector within the county while allowing compatible residential growth in appropriate areas. Developed over a 20-month time span by a representative steering committee with the guidance of facilitators and staff, the plan includes unique features such as a statement of property rights principles, an exclusive agricultural district, a uniquely tailored Land Evaluation Site Assessment System and an innovative Surrounding Agricultural Land Easement to protect agricultural operators.

Congratulations to all the winners.

Meeting Minutes January 20, 2011

Posted in: NACP News by The NACP on March 16, 2011 | No Comments

Meeting Minutes October 7, 2010

Posted in: NACP News by The NACP on February 28, 2011 | No Comments

2011 Project Awards Program

Posted in: NACP News by The NACP on February 8, 2011 | No Comments

The APA County Planning Division (CPD) and the National Association of County Planners (NACP) are pleased to announce the opening of their 2011 Project Awards Program application cycle. This program provides them the opportunity to recognize outstanding planning projects from counties around the country at the APA CPD/NACP annual business meeting in Boston at the APA National Conference. The program provides members with the chance to see and learn about development, conservation, government, or environmental projects, where planning has had a positive impact on the outcome. Judges will be looking for innovativeness and quality, and the potential for use in other areas.

Awards of Excellence and Merit

Eligible planning projects are those completed within the last two years. An awards application should include an electronic copy of the planning document, a summary of the project, and responses to the awards judging criteria. Each member of the Awards Committee must receive an award application by February 25, 2011. Incomplete applications or those not received by each juror by the deadline will not be considered. Addresses for each of this year’s Jurors are listed below. The Awards of Excellence and Awards of Merit will be presented to the recipients at the APA CPD/NACP annual business meeting in Boston at the APA National Conference, Sunday, April 10, 2011. The jurors make the distinction between Awards of Excellence and Awards of Merit based on scoring and other factors.

Projects must fall under one of the following categories:

• Planning Project Award: To a specific planning project conducted by a county that is in the process of being constructed or has been constructed within the last two years.
• Best Practices Award: For a specific planning tool, practice, program, project, or process that is a significant advancement to specific elements of planning. This category emphasizes results and demonstrates how innovative and state-of-the-art planning methods and practices helped to implement a plan. Nominations may include such things as regulations and codes, tax policies or initiatives, growth management or design guidelines, transferable development rights program, land acquisition efforts, public/private partnerships, applications of technology, handbooks, or efforts to foster greater participation in community planning.
• Grassroots Initiative Award: For an initiative that illustrates how a community utilized the planning process to address a need that extends beyond the traditional scope of planning. Emphasis is placed on the success of planning in new or different settings. Nominated projects should expand public understanding of the planning process. This could include such efforts as community policing or drug prevention, neighborhood outreach initiatives, programs designed for special populations, rural development, public art or cultural efforts, community festivals, environmental or conservation initiatives, summer recreational initiatives for children, or focused tourism ventures.
• Small Area/Special Area Planning Award: This award will go to a small area/special area plan, program, design, or related effort that demonstrates innovative planning principles and measures that create sustainable communities that have lasting value.

Nominations will be evaluated for the award category in which they are submitted. However, the Awards Committee may upon majority vote move a nomination to a different category, if appropriate. Only one Award of Excellence and one Award of Merit may be granted per category each year. If the Awards Committee finds that none of the nominations in a particular category meets the desirable standards, they may grant no award in that category for that year.

A Complete Award Package must include the Following Documents:

1. The planning document or project submitted on CD or provided by a webpage link.
2. A brief description of the project, including the setting, time frame, significance to the planning field, innovations in theory, methodology and/or practice and other unique aspects to the application.
3. A brief discussion demonstrating how the project meets the following criteria:
   • Innovation – Introduction of an original concept or a refinement of an existing technique or procedure.
   • Transferability – Potential applicability in other areas of the state or to other planning projects.
   • Quality – Excellence of analysis, writing, graphics and character of presentation.
   • Implementation – Effectiveness of the work – i.e. proposals have been carried out or show promise of being carried out in the near future.
   • Comprehensiveness – Planning principles have been observed, especially in considering a project’s effects on other public objectives and the surrounding environment.
   • Responses to items 2 and 3 should total no more than four pages.
4. A 2-3 sentence project summary to be used for the award handout at the annual business meeting.
5. At least four graphics or images (jpg format) that illustrate the planning area or project that is being submitted.
6. Name, address, daytime telephone, email, and FAX numbers of the person(s) to contact regarding the application: project author(s), and project client.
7. Application fee: Free for members of the APA CPD and/or NACP. Non-members must submit either $50 for an award application or $35 for membership in NACP, payable to NACP and mailed to Tim Brown at the address below. Please notate the project name on the check.

A complete award package must be received by each juror either by regular mail or electronic mail no later than 5:00 p.m., Friday, February 25, 2011 (no exceptions). Please direct any questions about the awards program to Tim Brown, Chair, Awards Committee at (334) 615-3416 or by email to [email protected]

County Planning Awards Jurors

Download the 2011 Project Awards Program announcement via Scribd.com

Meeting Minutes August 12, 2010

Posted in: NACP News by The NACP on October 18, 2010 | No Comments

2010 County Planning Awards Announced

Posted in: NACP News by The NACP on April 17, 2010 | No Comments

The County Planning Division of the American Planning Association and the National Association of County Planners (an affiliate of the National Association of Counties) presented their first annual “Excellence in County Planning” awards during their annual meeting in New Orleans on April 11. The selection committee received numerous submittals from counties across the United States, and ultimately selected three projects for recognition.

Pictures from Awards Ceremony

Gwinnett County

Gwinnett County, located in the greater Atlanta area, was recognized for a very ambitious and detailed 2030 Unified Plan that incorporates excellent data and implementation steps to address a variety of issues that this high-growth area currently faces. The awards committee was particularly impressed with the scope of the project, as well as the outreach efforts including the website. Nancy Lovingood, manager of long-range planning for the county, accepted the award along with project consultant Holiday Collins Storck from PB Placemaking, and delivered a presentation that provided additional details about the planning process and current status of the plan implementation.

Click here to see the Gwinnet County Presentation.

Gaston County

Gaston County, located in the growing Charlotte metro area, was recognized for a Unified Development Ordinance that was established through an inclusive process involving a wide variety of stakeholders. The awards committee was impressed with the county’s effort to move ahead, while retaining history and character through creative implementation of planning principles and public participation. David Williams, the Gaston County Planning Director, accepted the award and said the expectations for the project were high. “We were charged to “raise the bar” by enhancing development standards to promote quality development, livability, consistency with other existing policies while protecting our tax base.”

Click here to see the Gaston County Presentation.

The Mountain Landscapes Initiative

The Mountain Landscapes Initiative, a project managed by the Southwestern Commission and consulting firm The Lawrence Group, developed a detailed reference guide for local governments, officials, citizens, and developers to improve development practices in six rural counties located in western North Carolina. The project was recognized for its extensive public engagement process and transferability to other rural areas. Judy Francis, County Planning Division Chair-Elect, accepted the award on behalf of the Southwestern Commission and the Lawrence Group, and commented that “creative land use planning is not just a function of the metropolis. Some of the best work being done throughout the country is in rural areas that have never undertaken comprehensive planning before, but are now concerned about the impacts of inappropriate development on dearly loved landscapes.”

Click here to see the Mountain Landscapes Initiative Presentation.

Meeting Minutes January 21, 2010

Posted in: NACP News by The NACP on April 13, 2010 | No Comments

Annual Meeting in New Orleans

Posted in: NACP News by The NACP on March 10, 2010 | No Comments

The National Association of County Planners and The County Planning Division of the American Planning Association invite you to attend their annual meeting on Sunday, April 11, 2010 (11:45-12:45) during the Annual Conference of the American Planning Association in New Orleans, Louisiana. Please refer to your conference agenda for the specific room location. Items on the meeting agenda will include announcing the awards for “Excellence in County Planning.”

The 2010 Outstanding Achievement in County Planning Awards

Posted in: NACP News by The NACP on February 2, 2010 | No Comments

The National Association of County Planners and The County Planning Division of the American Planning Association are accepting nominations for The 2010 Outstanding Achievement in County Planning Awards.

The National Association of County Planners and the County Planning Division of APA are teaming up to recognize excellence in county planning and plan implementation.

Eligibility

Nominations may be submitted for a county plan / implementation (adopted within the last five calendar years) that demonstrates leadership, innovation, and commitment to ethical planning principles and civic engagement.

Judging Criteria

Submittals will be reviewed by a panel of members from the National Association of County Planners and the County Planning Division of APA and evaluated according to the following criteria:

• Originality – To what extent does the submission present a visionary approach or innovative concept that results in a meaningful advancement of the planning process?
• Transferability – To what extent is there a potential application in other areas or to other projects? How does this work increase our understanding of planning principles?
• Quality – To what extent is there excellence in thought, writing, analysis, graphics, and ethical planning principles?
• Implementation – To what extent is the plan or program effective as evidenced by its degree of post-completion or post-adoption activity?
• Comprehensiveness – To what extent have planning principles been observed, especially in considering the plan’s / project’s effects on other public objectives?

Nomination Submittal Must Include (digital submittals encouraged)

• Complete name and contact information for the nominator and nominee. Also include a brief description (urban / suburban / rural)  and size category for the county (small = pop. under 150,000, medium = pop. between 150,000-499,999, large = pop. over 500,000)
• List of other contacts including media
• 5 hard or electronic copies of a narrative (not to exceed 3 letter-sized pages) describing the plan and associated implementation activities which describe the setting, process, significance to planning, innovative achievements, and outcomes
• 5 hard or electronic copies of the planning document and any other relevant support materials

ALL MATERIALS MUST BE RECIEVED BY 5:00 PM EST ON MARCH 5, 2010.

Please send all nomination materials to: Judy Francis, AICP, NCDENR, 2090 Hwy. 70, Swannanoa, NC  28778

Winners will be notified by March 21 and invited to attend the awards presentation at the Annual Conference of the American Planning Association on April 11, 2010.

APA CPD and NACP Election Report

Posted in: NACP News by The NACP on October 26, 2009 | No Comments

RFP: 2010 APA National Conference Presentations

Posted in: NACP News, Resources by The NACP on September 21, 2009 | No Comments

TO: Membership of the National Association of County Planners (NACP)

The 2010 Annual Conference of the American Planning Association will be held in New Orleans, LA on April 10-13, 2010. We strongly encourage conference participation from NACP members, so please consider preparing a presentation proposal. The deadline for submitting presentation proposals is August 18, 2009. Please follow this link for submittal guidelines for APA members and non-members:

http://www.planning.org/conference/proposals/index.htm

You do not need to have all of your speakers identified and confirmed in order to submit a proposal. Proposal acceptance letters will be sent out in November, 2009. You will have until January to finalize your proposed speakers. All speakers must register for the conference by February 18, 2010.

Once you have submitted your proposal, please notify James Davenport, NACo / NACP liaison at [email protected] and include your name and session title so we know what the NACP membership has submitted.

Thank You!