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Compass Blueprint Awards 2012

 

Watch the videos produced for the awards program and top winners!

SCAG, along with Renovate America, hosted over 700 awardees, sponsors and guests at the 6th Annual Compass Blueprint Recognition Awards Program  on April 4, 2012 at SCAG’s annual Regional Conference & General Assembly in Los Angeles. Compass Blueprint Recognition Awards were presented to ten organizations for plans and projects that demonstrate excellence and achievement in the four key elements of Compass Blueprint planning: Livability, Mobility, Prosperity and Sustainability.

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The 2012 Awards go to...

President's Award for Excellence
Visionary Planning for Mobility, Livability, Prosperity & Sustainability

City of Glendale
Safe & Healthy Streets Plan

The Safe and Healthy Streets Plan was adopted unanimously on April 19, 2011 and promotes a vision of Glendale where residents live safer, healthier lives by walking and riding a bicycle for transportation and recreation. The plan lays out a blueprint to develop a multi-modal road network that addresses the needs of all users through a combination of education, encouragement, enforcement, engineering and evaluation policies.

Developing a Citywide network of Neighborhood Greenways, the plan will connect major civic, educational, recreational and commercial destinations in Glendale. The City of Glendale collaborated closely with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC) to create the policy, work with advocates, and develop overwhelming community and residential support.

Milestones:
•    Over 230 Bicycle racks installed
•    3.5 Mile Greenway completed
•    New local chapter of Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition – Walk Bike Glendale

Notable Facts:
•    Proposes 66 miles of bike routes, 19 miles of bike lanes and 14 miles of bike paths
•    Pedestrian & Bicyclist Coordinator position created
•    City dedicated Pedestrian & Bicycling website

President's Award for Excellence
Visionary Planning for Mobility, Livability, Prosperity & Sustainability

Western Riverside Council of Governments
Home Energy Renovation Opportunity (HERO) Program

The Western Riverside Council of Governments (WRCOG) is implementing the nation’s largest program with an investment of $325 million to provide financing to residential and business property owners for the installation of energy efficient, renewable energy, and water conservation improvements on their properties. With a target of 13,500 participants, financing for the program is to be repaid by the property owner through property tax assessments.

The WRCOG HERO Program aims to create hundreds of new jobs, putting people back to work in the region. For the initial launch of the program, WRCOG worked with area contractors to provide training and co-market the program. The listing of program improvements available for financing includes over  200,000 energy efficient products such as lighting control systems, heating and air conditioning systems, windows, solar panels, and pool equipment. Additional benefits of this program include the reduction of green-house gases, lower utility bills, increased property values, and improvements to air quality.

Benefits:
•    4,000 new jobs
•    13,500 Residential & Commercial Retrofits
•    15 million kWh of Energy Savings

Notable Facts:
•    Public/Private Partnerships built with asset-backed bonds of $325 million
•    Initiated in December 2011, 23 residential projects totaling $700,000 have been funded
•    $5 million in requests for commercial projects
Excellence Awards:

Visionary Planning for Mobility Award

Orange County Transportation Authority
4th Supervisorial District Bikeways Collaborative

The 4th Supervisorial District Bikeways Collaborative closes the gap in the existing bikeway network to provide access to key destinations and promote a countywide transit-oriented community. Facilitated by the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) and championed by Orange County Supervisor and OCTA Board Member Shawn Nelson, many stakeholders worked together towards a common goal including: Caltrans, County of Orange, AQMD, various Bicycle Advocacy groups and the cities of Anaheim, Brea, Buena Park, Fullerton, La Habra, Placentia and Yorba Linda.

The Collaborative identifies ten regional bikeway corridors that will connect and provide safe and direct access to major employment centers, transit stations, colleges, and universities. Designed to promote walkable communities while enabling prosperity, the Collaborative is an excellent example of key Compass Blueprint core values.

Visionary Planning for Livability Award

City of La Mirada
Imperial Highway Specific Plan

Exemplifying the Compass Blueprint Principle of Livability, the Imperial Highway Specific Plan helps the City of La Mirada fully realize its land use and economic potential. With approximately 40,000 to 60,000 vehicles traveling through the Imperial Highway corridor daily, the Specific Plan is intended to promote the corridor as a commercial, mixed-use and business point of entry for the City of La Mirada.

The Specific Plan initiates development in three distinct planning areas by altering existing density requirements and setbacks, relaxing parking standards, and promoting lot consolidation as well as other land use sustainability measures. By establishing a theme and design for future development that includes a variety of public amenities, the Specific Plan enhances the corridor’s sense of place with strong connectivity between people, uses and buildings. The City of La Mirada’s Imperial Highway Specific Plan serves as a model for other jurisdictions seeking an innovative plan to revitalize their regional corridor.

Visionary Planning for Livability Award

City of Irvine
Irvine Business Complex Residential/Mixed Use Vision Plan

Exemplifying the Compass Blueprint Principle of Livability on a larger scale is the Irvine Business Complex Residential/Mixed Use Vision Plan which provides a plan and development standards to facilitate the continued evolution of the Irvine Business Complex from primarily office and industrial uses into a fully mixed-use business and residential community. Through the creation of an overlay district, the plan promotes “live place/work place” neighborhoods by giving property owners the option to develop residential units in what was once a traditional industrial and office-oriented area.

The Vision Plan’s development standards emphasize community principles that result in providing jurisdictions with an excellent example of how to expand residential land use while decreasing traffic, enhancing pedestrian mobility and stimulating economic development to revive a key district of a city.

Visionary Planning for Prosperity Award

City of La Quinta
Wolff Waters Place Affordable Housing Complex

The Wolff Waters Place Affordable Housing Complex is an excellent example of successfully advancing the prosperity of disadvantaged members within a resort community. Otherwise referred to as the “Gem of the Desert”, the City of La Quinta worked closely with the community to develop affordable units indistinguishable from market rate projects that are designed for lower income families and include superior educational, financial and child care services. The “Santa Barbara” style buildings are energy efficient with LEED Silver and Gold certifications.

The community features a “Green Space Core” pedestrian promenade and (unusual in the desert) underground parking that freed up an additional acre of open space for courtyards and recreation areas such as a basketball court, three tot lots and community pool. Centrally located nearby are transportation hubs, job centers, medical facilities, schools and shopping opportunities. Designed by the Interactive Design Corporation, and professionally managed by the Coachella Valley Housing Coalition, the Wolff Waters Place Affordable Housing Complex is fully occupied with proud residents and represents another “gem” in the City of La Quinta.

Visionary Planning for Sustainability Award

City of Long Beach
4th+Linden Adaptive Reuse Project

The 4th+Linden Adaptive Reuse project is phase one of three architectural and urban design efforts that will revitalize a set of unattractive and inactive buildings in an economically challenged portion of downtown Long Beach. The completed first phase of the project includes the rehabilitation of three existing commercial buildings for creative office use and an adaptive reuse of a pre-war commercial building to accommodate a café and a record store.

The adaptive reuse project was the first to comply with the City of Long Beach’s Voluntary Green Building Policy. Various sustainability strategies were incorporated along with a strong emphasis on the creation of public open spaces and pedestrian friendly amenities. The project was spearheaded by a group of architects and funded primarily with local private investors and small façade improvement grants from the City. By improving public safety and property values in the neighborhood, the development serves as an economically efficient model demonstrating the benefits of adaptive reuse, sustainable building and community driven development.

Achievement Awards:

Achievement in Livability

City of Artesia
Artesia Boulevard Corridor Specific Plan

The Artesia Boulevard Specific Plan aims to guide growth and development along a key artery to encourage economic revitalization and create a lively center of activity for the City. The Specific Plan identifies underutilized opportunity sites ripe for potential redevelopment and adaptive reuse. A central focus of the plan is on mixed used development with walkable environments that tie into and preserve the surrounding neighborhoods while creating economic opportunities. The Specific Plan anticipates full build-out/redevelopment by 2030 with a mix of development that would result in 30% residential use and 70% commercial use, and intensification of residential uses by approximately 10% and commercial uses by 40% along the Corridor. The plan featured extensive coordination between Hogle-Ireland, Inc., the City of Artesia Planning Department, Redevelopment Agency, Chamber of Commerce, and numerous stakeholder groups. Input from residents, business operators, and property owners was collected and incorporated into the Plan through a multi-layered outreach program. The Artesia Boulevard Corridor Specific Plan represents a bold stride to establish a healthy and diverse commercial and residential corridor.

Achievement in Prosperity

City of Los Angeles
Bonnie Brae Village Senior Community

The Bonnie Brae Village Senior Community provides permanent supportive housing to low-income and homeless seniors. Reviving a previously abandoned redevelopment project, the Alternative Living for the Aging (ALA) partnered with Enhanced Affordable Development and PATH Ventures along with support from the Los Angeles Housing Department to jointly create a viable financing package that allowed the complex to be converted into a building suitable for senior housing. The project features sustainable building methods and a rooftop solar system to enhance the livability, quality of life and prosperity of the residents. By providing residents with access to public transit, social services, health facilities and cultural activities, the project provides significant benefits to the surrounding local community. The Bonnie Brae Village Senior Community is acknowledged for their success in creating an integrated community of formerly homeless and low-income seniors who can now fully immerse themselves and become an active member of a local neighborhood.

Achievement in Sustainability

City of Chino
Re-Envisioning Chino: Implementing the 2025 General Plan

Re-Envisioning Chino: Implementing the 2025 General Plan targets the redevelopment of existing infill and underutilized properties within the City of Chino. The general plan designated three special study areas that were believed to have the greatest potential for change in the next 20 years based on their potential for overall improvement and proximity to major arterials, as well as existing residential and commercial developments. The City conducted extensive economic analyses on each site with the goal of developing a plan for housing types and densities that would facilitate private development without public subsidy. A Development Scenarios Guidebook illustrates and analyzes potential development scenarios for specific parts of each study area, while an Economic and Market Analysis provides a forecast of future market demand and develops the analysis that evaluates the financial feasibility of the development scenarios in the Guidebook. Re-Envisioning Chino: Implementing the 2025 General Plan is acknowledged for creating a guide in redeveloping infill sites driven by the economic market.