APA WA PAW Joint Awards 2024

The 2024 Excellence in Planning Awards were given out during the American Planning Association – Washington Chapter (APA-WA) annual conference in Bellevue on Thursday, October 17th. There are seven categories of awards: 1) Students, 2) Implementation, 3) Comprehensive Planning/Development Regulations – Large Cities and Counties (city pop. > 40,000, county pop. > 60,000), 4) Comprehensive Planning/Development Regulations – Small Cities and Counties, 5) Transportation Plans, 6) Community Involvement and 7) Sustainability. The planning jury chose winners in three (3) categories: Implementation, Comprehensive Planning/Development Regs—Large Cities and Counties, and Comp Planning/Development Regs—Small Cities and Counties.

The winner in the Implementation category was the City of Vancouver, in association with First Forty Feet of Portland for The Heights Bike Garden in Vancouver. The bike garden is a miniature streetscape designed for community members to learn about cycling and pedestrian safety in a fun, interactive environment free from cars. This art-filled and educational space activates a former mall property prior to its redevelopment into a vibrant, mixed-use walkable neighborhood. As the applicants noted, The Height Bike Garden has proven to be more than a temporary installation; it has become a cornerstone for community engagement and a catalyst for positive change. The awards jury felt this outcome embodied the best of a successful implementation strategy.

The awardee in the Comprehensive Planning/Development Regulations, Large Cities & Counties category was the City of Pasco, in association with Framework for the Pasco Downtown Plan and Implementation. As APA-WA Co-Chairperson Darby Galligan, AICP, noted, the Downtown Pasco Master Plan provided a vision that is place-specific, with key action items and an implementable plan to invigorate this distinctive downtown and bring out its enormous potential. The jury was impressed with the implementation focus of the plan, and that it leads with culture. Some innovations included using drones to collect real-time parking data, code amendments to inspire artwork and commerce, a lighting safety activation plan and [adaptive] reuse of historic buildings.

The third winner was in the Comp Planning/Development Regs—Small Cities and Counties category. The award went to the City of Chelan and the Historic Downtown Chelan Association (HDCA), in association with the Beckwith Consulting Group for Imagine – Downtown Chelan Enhancement Project. After previous attempts to engage the community in proposed upgrades to downtown Chelan failed, the applicants undertook, as they noted, an extensive outreached process include[ing] sessions with city staff, user organizations and interest groups, 5 interactive workshops and 5 accompanying online surveys with property owners, businesses, customers, residents and tourists, a field demonstration of alternatives and monthly workshops with the Historic Downtown Chelan Association (HDCA) and City Council. This intensive approach proved successful, with City Council unanimously approving the proposed downtown enhancement project.

The 2025 Excellence in Planning Awards will be given out at the Planning Association of Washington (PAW) Annual Conference in Chelan, April 23-25 2025. Details will be out soon on submittal instructions and deadlines, per PAW Co-Chairperson Jonathan Kesler, AICP.