“It provides us with networking and educational opportunities,” said Paula Danelouk, APA member.

Selected by a five-member jury panel led by APA Awards Director Nikki Zanchetta, this year’s award recipients demonstrated creative problem-solving and visionary thinking to tackle complex planning challenges.

Among the evening's top honors, the Transportation Planning Award of Excellence went to the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) Regional Mobility Hubs Design Guidance. This project aimed to figure out how transportation could be improved to reduce mileage.

“The mission is to create accessible transportation hubs,” said Chelsey Norton, a representative from SACOG. “We want to create environments where people are able to move freely and efficiently.”

The Comprehensive Plan Award was awarded to Marysville 2050: General Plan and Downtown Specific Plan. 

“[This plan] addresses housing, multimodal transportation and historic preservation,” said JT Lee, an APA board member who presented the award.

Marysville, a town north of Sacramento, is landlocked due to levees and therefore hasn’t been able to grow or expand outwards. In addition, there are two major highways that bisect the city, which makes mobility restricted.

“It’s a snapshot in time,” Lee said. 

The core vision establishes a framework for a diverse and economically sustainable community with active downtown spaces, minimized vacancies, affordable housing options and expanded park and recreation access. This is the first time a plan to grow Marysville has been updated since 1985.

The Planning Excellence Award went to the SACOG 2050 Blueprint. What makes this plan special is that it gathered data and input from over 6,000 residents, which is more data than a typical plan would collect. 

“Our success depends on planning and acting together,” said Lisa Lind, blueprint manager at SACOG.

The next award presented was the Planning Agency Award of Merit, which recognizes an agency that shows both innovation and implementation in city planning. This was awarded to the Citrus Heights Community Development Department (CHCDD) for their commitment to translating long-term goals to meaningful actions.

“Never underestimate the power of a bold vision,” said Casey Kempenaar, community development director at CHCDD.

Afterwards followed the Planning Agency Award of Excellence which went to the Sacramento County Planning and Environmental Review. Next was the Planning Firm Award of Excellence which went to Mintier Harnish.

Another Planet Entertainment (APE) and SKK Developments received the Local Vision Award. This award, which honors projects with out-of-the-box thinking or an unconventional vision, was given to them for their Channel 24 project. This project turned an industrial warehouse into a concert venue because many touring musicians have to skip Sacramento due to there not being an appropriately-sized venue for them to play. 

“APE wanted an opportunity to bring live music to Sacramento,” said Sarah Ellis, the architect who designed the venue.

The Emerging Planner Awards were awarded to Nikki Zanchetta and Hannah Woolsey of Mintier Harnish for their promising contributions early in their planning careers.

The highest individual honor was the SVS Legacy Award, which is for “honoring an SVS professional showing exemplary commitment to the planning and practice [of urban design].” This award went to Kacey Lizon of SACOG. 

“Kacey is a competent and warm leader,” said Bernadette Austin, CEO of CivicWell who presented the award to Lizon.

In her speech, Lizon reflected on the honor and the inspiration provided by her peers across the Sacramento region.

“My heart is full tonight,” said. “It makes me want to step up my game.”