2025 Annual Awards for Excellence in Planning

Let's Celebrate Successful Planning and Showcase Your Projects!

Joint APA/PAW Award 

Call for Nominations 

Sponsored by:
The Washington Chapter of the American Planning Association and 
the Planning Association of Washington

The Washington Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA WA) and the Planning Association of Washington (PAW) are pleased to announce the 2025 Awards Program.

For the 40^th year, the associations will jointly honor outstanding contributions to the field of planning in Washington State. The award program’s goals are to recognize great planning efforts in our state, promote excellence in public and private sector planning and increase public awareness of the roles APA-WA and PAW play in supporting outstanding planning in Washington. 

Nomination Form

Applications must be received by 5:00 pm on Monday, March 3, 2025

Awards will be presented at the Planning Association of Washington (PAW)

2025 Annual Conference in Chelan, WA

 Campbell’s Resort, April 23 - 25, 2025

Celebrate successful planning and showcase your projects! 

2025 award winners will have their projects featured in the Western Planner Magazine, the Washington Chapter of the APA Newsletter and the PAW newsletter, as well as on each organization’s website.

I. Award Categories

Select the award category that best fits your project. Nominations should be made for one category only. Listing of one secondary/alternate category is permitted. Final determination of the most appropriate category will be made by the award jury.

The award categories are as follows:

• Students – Any project completed as part of an undergraduate or graduate program, including team efforts. Projects awarded in this category should demonstrate a positive contribution to the planning community.

• Implementation – Examples of projects awarded in this category include site selection, site plans, constructed projects, project delivery or evaluation, capital improvement programs, shoreline management projects, projects linking planning and public health, and success in implementing Growth Management Act comprehensive planning.

• Comprehensive Planning/Development Regulations-Large Cities & Counties – (Cities >40,000 population and Counties >60,000) Master plans, urban design standards or guidelines, comprehensive plans, downtown improvement plans, revitalization plans, historic preservation plans, natural resource plans, development codes, economic planning, strategic planning, etc.

• Comprehensive Planning/Development Regulations-Small Cities & Counties -  (Cities < 40,000 population and Counties <60,000 population) Master plans, urban design standards or guidelines, comprehensive plans, downtown improvement plans, revitalization plans, historic preservation plans, natural resource plans, development codes, economic planning, strategic planning, etc.  This is a broad category that includes planning efforts underway across rural areas of Washington State, such as rural elements, natural resource land plans, subarea plans, and local areas of more intensive rural development (LAMIRDS).

• Transportation Plans – Transportation planning, corridor studies, transit planning, non-motorized plans, pedestrian plans, and transportation demand management.

• Community Involvement – Outreach, participation or education efforts related to planning programs or constructed projects, relationship and acceptance of community stakeholders; this includes projects working with special populations such as youth or communities not typically engaged in planning.

• Sustainability – Creating and/or implementing plans, initiatives, programs, and projects related to sustainability and climate change.

II. Review Criteria:

The nominated plan or project must demonstrate how it meets the following criteria:

1. Outstanding application of planning principles:  How does the project meet or exceed best planning principles and practices?

2. Implementation of community values: How well are community values (contained within a planning document/vision statement) reflected in the plan or project?

3. Contribution to specific planning technologies: How does the project use emerging technologies and/or techniques, and could it serve as a model or be applied by others in the planning profession?

4. Furtherance of the Growth Management Act: How does the project advance the goals of the GMA?

5. Suitability of the solution to the problem or context:  Does the project provide an appropriate approach to an issue? How well has it has been embraced or implemented by the community/client?

6. Innovative and/or creative solution or project, and demonstration of applicability to other projects:  How does the project use a new or rarely used approach to solving a problem and how transferrable is this innovation to other planning scenarios?

Nominated projects must also comply with the following eligibility requirements:

• Regional projects or plans that extend beyond Washington State may be eligible but must have a substantial nexus to planning in Washington.

• All plans must have been completed, meaning a document has been finalized for formal consideration by local government (i.e., Planning Commissions, Councils or Commissioners) or has been adopted.

• For construction projects, improvements must be substantially complete by March 1, 2025.

• For student projects, submittals must reflect any requirements of the associated degree or program.

III. Submittal Process

1. Nominations shall be submitted electronically via the link provided. The nomination will be judged solely on the electronic submittal.

2. Submittals shall be a maximum of 12 single-sided 8 ½ ″ x 11” electronic document pages, with a minimum 11-point font. In addition to the 12 single-sided pages, up to 5 letters of endorsement and up to 5 graphics as large as 11″ x 17″ may also be submitted. Submittals exceeding these page limits will not be considered.
3. Winning submittals will be retained for archival purposes and are subject to public disclosure.

4. The Awards Committee will attempt to notify applicants of the jury’s decisions on or before Friday, April 4, 2025.

5. Award recipients will be contacted by the award co-chairpersons for details on the awards ceremony, which will be held in-person during the PAW Annual Conference (Wednesday, April 24 thru Friday, April 26, 2025) in Chelan, WA on the second day of the conference; Thursday, April 24, 2025.

IV. Payment

Payment will be requested as part of the online submittal and may be made through the online form or by requesting an invoice. Payment is non-refundable.

Fees (per application):

• Students and non-profit organizations: $25.00
• APA or PAW member $150.00
• Non-members $200.00

Questions regarding payment should be directed to:

(206) 682-7436

Email: [email protected]

NOTE: Award nominations must be received by 5:00 PM on Monday, March 3, 2025.  Late submittals will not be considered.

American Planning Association: www.washington-apa.org
Planning Association of Washington: www.planningpaw.org

Our thanks to this year’s APA/PAW Awards Committee Co-Chairs: