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Award Winners
The City of Chula Vista and County of San Diego have worked
together to promote development of the Otay
Ranch, a new development whose original goals and objectives
were formulated based on the Ahwahnee Principles, according to
project consultant Anthony Lettieri. The Otay Ranch includes a
series of neo-traditional villages, with each village containing
commercial, civic, high-density residential, recreational and
community uses, such as churches and day care facilities. Transportation
mobility is ensured through light rail transit and local and regional
buses as well as a system of trails through the greenbelt areas
that connect the villages. Over 60% percent of the project’s
23,00 acres - 14,000 acres - will be preserved as open space.
The Pasadena General Plan represents
more than just a new plan, it marks a new way of planning, according
to Mayor Rick Cole. The citizen-driven plan contains an impressive
pedestrian- and transit-oriented circulation system, through which
“Pasadena will be a city where people can circulate without
cars.' A model for making citizens participation in city planning
more accessible and inclusive, the document was the result of
over 3,000 residents involved in an extensive multimedia, trilingual
process to ensure that the new plan reflected a blueprint for
the future of the entire community. The general plan dictates
where new growth should go and states that specific plans will
be prepared for those areas. The plan also call for protecting
the existing housing supply for all income levels and family sizes,
preserving existing open space and promoting new parks, plazas,
and gardens.
The City of Temecula’s Village
Center Concept and General Plan contains eight village centers,
each of which is designed to integrate retail, office, service,
residential, recreational and public uses along with alternative
modes of transportation. The new plan also envisions the integration
of local and regional plans, a future connection with regional
transportation and transit networks, and the protection of surrounding
open space and agricultural areas. Gary Thornhill, with the Temecula
Planning Department, says his city is on the cutting edge of a
community design that points the way toward a better quality of
life for residents and visitors alike.
The Communications Hill Specific Plan
in San Jose, California will guide the design of a currently
undeveloped 500-acre hill near the heart of the city. The Plan
envisions a complete and integrated community that provides a
balance of housing, shops, a school, parks, civic facilities and
jobs. Convenient transportation modes such as bicycles, walking
and public transit are incorporated into the plan for Communications
Hill. “Communications Hill is consistent with virtually every
one of the Ahwahnee Principles and is an outstanding example of
most of them,' say Gary Schoennauer, San Jose Planning Director.
The North Livermore General Plan Amendment
is the first General Plan in the State to incorporate the concepts
of promoting compact, transit-oriented urban growth patterns coupled
with permanent greenbelts and open space protection,' says Susan
Frost, an associate planner with the City of Livermore. At the
heart of the new planning document is a “village concept'
in which compact, mixed use districts will make it possible for
residents to walk and use public transit from place to place.
Under the plan, four such villages will be connected to each other
by pedestrian and bicycle pathways, and the surrounding hillside
will be permanently protected from development. The change in
land use patterns will also reduce traffic congestion, improve
air quality, and provide affordable housing for people who work
in the area.
The City of Sacramento’s North
Natomas Planning Principles will be used to develop the 9,000-acre
North Natomas Community with an integrated mix of residential,
commercial and industrial uses tied together by a network of transit
routes, pedestrian paths, bikeways, and streets. The principles
were created through a unique working group of city staff, developers,
community activists and environmentalists who conducted a year’s
worth of bimonthly meetings to resolve economic, air quality and
traffic congestion issues. A sense of place for the community
will be rooted in the Town Center and extended to surrounding
neighborhoods through the elementary schools and village commercial
centers. “Eighty percent of all residential development will
be within 880 feet of some form of open space,' adds Sacramento
Planning Director Gary Stonehouse.
Awards of Merit
The City of Escondido’s Bicycle
Facilities Master Plan
The City of Santa Barbara’s Eastside
Study Group
PLACES3, a joint effort
of the California Energy Commission, the Oregon Department of
Energy, the Washington State Energy Office, Criterion Inc., and
McKeever/Morris Inc.
The Tri-County Metropolitan District of Oregon’s
Planning and Design for Transit.
Certificates of Recognition
In addition, two Certificates of Recognition were given to communities
that have made great progress towards implementing many of the
Ahwahnee Principles.
The City of Encinitas’ Downtown
Encinitas Specific Plan
The City of Santa Cruz’ Downtown
Recovery Plan
- You can see previous Ahwahnee Award Winners for the following
years:
1999 | 1997
| 1995 | 1994
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