Announcing 2008 Compass Blueprint Awards Recipients

At the 8th Annual Housing Summit, the winners of the 2008 Compass Blueprint recognition awards were announced!

The 2008 Compass Blueprint awards recognize the great planning and development work occurring throughout the region. These plans and projects coordinate land use and transportation actions, demonstrate excellence in planning and design, and most importantly, work towards improving the mobility, livability, prosperity and sustainability of our region.

And the awards go to....

	President's Excellence Award Visionary Planning for Mobility, Livability, Prosperity & Sustainability City of Pasadena Central District Specific Plan "Pasadena is a leader in promoting innovative planning and development. The Central District Specific Plan is an example of how a community can implement Compass Blueprint by targeting future growth into key activity centers and transportation corridors, and encourage land use and growth patterns that complement the region's transportation investments."
	Distinguished Leadership Award City of Riverside General Plan 2025 Program "The City of Riverside is one of the region's leading proponents of Compass Blueprint Principles for enhancing transportation and housing choices to meet the needs of a growing and increasingly diverse population in the Inland Empire. Built on Compass Blueprint and smart growth principles, Riverside's General Plan 2025 Program is not only an antidote to urban sprawl, but the epitome of neighborhood livability."
	Visionary Planning for Sustainability Award SE Corporation & City of Corona Dos Lagos "The SE Corporation and the City of Corona promote sustainability for future generations in Dos Lagos by preserving environmentally sensitive areas and by providing leadership in energy and environmental design. Dos Lagos is a model for how communities can implement the Compass Blueprint Sustainability Principle through the use of green development techniques."
	Visionary Planning for Mobility Award City of Rialto Downtown Vision and Strategic Plan "The Downtown Rialto Strategic Plan is a targeted, realistic and strategic approach to implementing the Compass Blueprint Mobility Principle. The Plan improves mobility through transportation improvements, clustering of jobs and housing, transit oriented development and a variety of travel choices for everyone who lives, works in or visits the area."
	Visionary Planning for Prosperity Award City of Irvine Housing Strategy "Irvine demonstrates the Compass Blueprint Prosperity Principle by planning for a full spectrum of housing throughout the community, even in the Irvine Business Complex (IBC), an area where market prices are extremely high. If more cities used similar strategies for affordable housing, it would have a profound effect on the entire region's prosperity.
	Visionary Planning for Livability Award City of Azusa General Plan and Form-Based Development Code "The City of Azusa's General Plan and Development Code is an excellent example of the Compass Blueprint Livability Principle. The Plan provides a blueprint for transforming Azusa, from a down on its luck blue collar community to a model of 21st century livability."

Achievement Awards

Mobility

City of Buena Park
Buena Park Transit Village

"Following the implementation of a new Metrolink station, the City of Buena Park took bold action to develop a true transit village by acquiring surrounding property and converting it from industrial use to moderate and affordable housing, including transit oriented development and open space."

City of Ontario
Town Center Project

Ontario's Town Center Project brings infill development and revitalization to the City's downtown, which was first developed over 100 years ago. With the area's close proximity to the TransCenter, Amtrak and potential future Metrolink service, the City's strategic planning efforts represent an exemplary linkage of transportation and land use.

Prosperity

National Community Renaissance
& City of Bell Gardens
Park View Terrace

Park View Terrace exemplifies the Compass Blueprint Prosperity Principle by providing high-quality housing for low income seniors. The project addresses a growing need, while creating a well-designed community for seniors to live and thrive that includes attractive units, outdoor paths and walkways, a reflection pool, patio area and senior center.

City of El Centro
Project SHAPE

Project SHAPE represents forward-thinking planning by the City and the community-at-large to define a downtown vision and set a strategic path to enhance and reassert the area's economic vitality. Long-term prosperity is sought by encouraging infill development that preserves the downtown's historic character and creates a people-oriented economic hub for a rapidly growing part of our region.

Livability

City of Ventura
Downtown Specific Plan

The newly adopted Downtown Specific Plan exemplifies livability with its focus on infill and mixed-use development to enhance a highly vibrant and walkable downtown. This is further bolstered by a commitment to preserve the unique character of Ventura, weaving art and culture into the fabric of everyday life in downtown.

City of Claremont
Village Expansion Project

The City of Claremont is commended for transforming an under-utilized and largely vacant industrial area near the City's downtown and transit services into an exciting walkable mixed-use district with centralized parking facilities and enticing streetscapes, paseos and public gathering places.

Sustainability

Ventura County Civic Alliance
& the Ventura Council of Governments
A Compact for a Sustainable Ventura County

This County-wide Compact involved leaders, stakeholders and hundreds of citizens all committed to Ventura's long-term sustainability. The effort yielded consensus towards shared goals such as: 1) an effective multimodal transportation system; 2) a sustainable and healthy agricultural industry; 3) affordable housing for all residents; 4) protected open space and energy conservation; 5) a diversified economy; and 6) continued education about sustainability and challenges to the region.

City of West Covina
Sportsplex Mixed-Use Project

West Covina's Sportsplex Multi-Use Project addresses all aspects of sustainability, focusing on an economically impoverished neighborhood and transforming a former landfill site into a landmark project with open space, recreational activities, retail shops and professional offices. The project also includes a 47-acre natural preserve and multi-use recreational trail connecting to a regional trail system.