Compass Blueprint Awards 2009

And the Excellence Awards go to...

	President's Award for Excellence Visionary Planning for Mobility, Livability, Prosperity & Sustainability City of Los Angeles The South Collection: Elleven, Luma, and Evo The vision for the South Collection was to create an environmentally sustainable and pedestrian-oriented neighborhood on a series of surface parking lots located a few blocks east of the Staples Center. This vision has been realized today. Collectively, these buildings constitute the fi rst ground-up residential construction in Downtown Los Angeles in more than 20 years. "Any visitor to the South Collection project will see first-hand the promise of Compass Blueprint, in a future with excellent amenities, urban design, and public spaces necessary to achieve a vibrant neighborhood."
	Distinguished Leadership Award Harry L. Baldwin During his five years of service to the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) Harry L. Baldwin displayed an energy, vigor and dedication that inspired others to be bold and engage in regional planning. He gave serious, thoughtful consideration to the critical regional planning policies he helped develop for the future of Southern California. He challenged staff and his colleagues on the Regional Council to think big and to move forward with policies and practices that truly support the Compass Blueprint principles.
	Visionary Planning for Mobility Award San Bernardino Associated Governments SANBAG Transportation and Land Use Integration Project The SANBAG Transportation – Land Use Integration Project provides the San Bernardino Associated Governments and the cities of Colton, Fontana, Highland, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, and Rialto, with land use and economic development direction for seven opportunity sites near potential transit station locations. Each site is envisioned as a compact, pedestrian friendly transit village with multimodal connections to the surrounding communities.
	Visionary Planning for Livability Award City of Oxnard The Village The Village project is proposed on a 64 acre industrial and commercial property within the City of Oxnard. The Project will redevelop the area by constructing 1,500 multi-family dwellings along with 50,000 square feet of commercial retail/offi ce, a multi-modal transit center, and 7.3 acres of recreation. Interconnected and walkable streets, a multi-modal transit center, a neighborhood serving mixeduse center, and a mix of housing types in close proximity to jobs and regional transportation corridors exemplifies the Compass Blueprint Livability Principle.
	Visionary Planning for Prosperity Award Los Angeles Community College District Sustainable Building Program With its $6 billion Sustainable Building Program, the LACCD is realizing its vision of creating a sustainable and secure future. Committed to building higher education facilities that are designed, constructed, renovated, and operated in an ecological and resource-effi cient manner, the District’s modernization program is one of the largest publicly funded sustainable building programs in the country. With more than 90 new buildings completed, under construction or on the drawing board, the LACCD’s Sustainable Building Program is a green leader.
	Visionary Planning for Sustainability Award City of Santa Monica 2008-2014 Santa Monica Housing Element Santa Monica’s Housing Element promotes sustainable land use and design concepts by providing for a range of new affordable housing opportunities within commercial areas, new housing options downtown, and planning for future housing as a component of transit-oriented development along the planned Expo light rail line. As of January 2008, Santa Monica had 1,126 new housing units either “on the ground,” approved, or planned, and will exceed its RHNA requirement of 662 units by at least 464 units. Of this total, 412 will be affordable.

Achievement Awards

Visionary Planning for Mobility

City of El Monte
El Monte Transit Village Specific Plan

The El Monte Transit Village Specific Plan encompasses a 65 acre site which will include 500,000 square feet of retail stores, dining and entertainment venues; 500,000 square feet of office space; 1,850 residential units; a regional education center; a childcare center; a movie theater; a hotel; a conference/exhibition center and reconfiguration to the existing parkland and recreation improvements. The adoption of the Specific Plan was a major milestone on the road to making the vision a reality.

Visionary Planning for Livability

City of Holtville
Holtville Master Plan

The Master Plan has been instrumental in enabling the City to marry forward thinking planning policy with the tools needed to implement real change. The Master Plan will serve as a long-term guide for decision-makers eager to revitalize the City’s key planning areas, while the Downtown Design Guidelines and Form-Based Code will regulate future development in these areas to ensure the City’s desired urban form. The Façade Improvement Program will provide the means necessary to achieve viable revitalization. In turn, all of these components will join to stimulate economic growth, foster livability, improve mobility, promote sustainability, and in the end enable the prosperity of the community of Holtville.

Visionary Planning for Prosperity

City of Coachella
Southeast Sphere of Influence Sustainability Project

The project studied Southern and South Eastern Sphere of Influence of the City of Coachella consisting of approximately 8,474 acres. As the 6th fastest growing city in the California, Coachella experienced tremendous growth during the recent housing boom, and is wrestling with key planning issues in its sphere of influence.

The Project recommendations include creative solutions, examining the social, economic, and physical opportunities and constraints with local and regional significance. Through a strategic framework session, the City Council, Planning Commission, and building industry professionals discussed key planning issues and exchanged ideas for future growth. A set of guiding principles provided the foundation to three different land use and circulation scenarios incorporating the Compass Blueprint principles. Implementation recommendations for development scenarios such as high performance development, housing prototypes, jobs and economic development, managing growth comprehensively, development incentives, and an Industrial Adjacencies Analysis were also included.

Visionary Planning for Sustainability

City of Long Beach & Studio One Eleven/Interstices
Courtyard Lofts

Courtyard Lofts, located in Downtown Long Beach’s North Pine Avenue District, represent the conversion of an existing parking lot and two abandoned commercial buildings into residential lofts and a verdant communal courtyard. Many features of the original structures were carefully incorporated into the design of the residential units. In addition to the fourteen adaptive reuse units, two newly constructed units were built to enclose the courtyard and define the street edge along Pine Avenue.

Honorable Mention

Furthering the Regional Vision

Coachella Valley Association of Governments
Coachella Valley Workforce Housing Trust

A Workforce Housing Steering Committee comprised of local stakeholders has worked over the past two years to bring about the CV Housing Trust (CVHT). The purposes of the CVHT are to: 1) promote, sponsor, advance, and develop housing accessible to the diverse population of the Coachella Valley; 2) engage in other activities related to workforce housing; and, 3) receive, invest and utilize funds and property acquired though the solicitation of contributions, donations, grants, gifts, etc.

City of Lancaster
Downtown Lancaster Specific Plan

The Downtown Specific Plan area will provide for the opportunity to develop a maximum total of 924,848 square feet of retail service uses, 973,956 square feet of offi ce/civic/public spaces, and 3,525 dwelling units from single family homes to apartment lofts. Development is underway, and within a year, the city expects to see the completed results of its unique approach of preserving traditional elements, while incorporating modern day amenities desirable to a progressive, expanding community.

City of Glendale
Adams Square Revitalization Program

The Adams Square Revitalization Program was initiated from a 1997 study identifying a two-by-four block mixeduse area as an important economic and cultural center for the Adams Hill neighborhood. Revitalization of the area included façade improvements to existing commercial structures, and the adaptive reuse of an old gas station incorporated into an expanded community park.

City of Palmdale
Transit Village Specific Plan

The Palmdale Transit Village Specific Plan is a mixed-use Transit Oriented development in the vicinity of the Palmdale Transportation Center. The 110-acre project area currently consists of residential, commercial, industrial, public and vacant land uses.

City of Malibu
Cross Creek Road Improvement Project

The Cross Creek Road Improvements Project created a beautiful and engaging streetscape while incorporating green development techniques that preserve the environmentally sensitive areas that surround it. As a City approximately 1/2 mile wide and 27 miles long, Malibu sought a central gathering place for its community. These improvements provide pedestrian friendly elements and roadway improvements that define a sense of place, establishing the Civic Center as the heart of Malibu.

Western Riverside Council of Governments
Interstate 15 Inter-regional Partnership

The I-15 IRP is a voluntary compact between local elected officials representing the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), the Western Riverside Council of Governments (WRCOG), the Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC), and the Riverside Transit Agency (RTA). While promoting collaborative strategies in economic development, transportation, and housing, the Partnership seeks to improve the quality of life for residents in both counties by reducing the impacts of interregional commuting and creating a more even jobs-housing balance. These strategies have lead to the beginning stages of developing a Smart Growth Concept Map for Southwest Riverside County.

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