By Danae Hall, AICP, Awards Program Director, and Carlina Rose, Regional Activity Coordinator – Monterey Bay, April 2024
Each year, APA California — Northern bestows Planning Awards to honor the most outstanding efforts in planning in the Section. This year, we received over 35 applications. The jury was impressed with the high quality of applications across the board. After careful deliberation, the results are in, and we are excited to share them with you.
Congratulations to the winners and thank you to everyone who applied!
| Awards Category | Organization | Name of Project | Award: Excellence/Merit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academic | UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies | Assessing Public Outreach about Slow Streets in San Francisco | Excellence |
| Academic | UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies | Using Data Science for Equity at SFMTA | Merit |
| Best Practices | Community Planning Collaborative | Mother Lode ADU | Excellence |
| Best Practices | Rincon Consultants | Napa Sonoma Collaborative, 4LEAF, and Rincon Consultants/Housing Connect | Merit |
| Communications Initiative | City of Concord | City of Concord/Planning Division/Concord Community Academy | Excellence |
| Comprehensive Plan | Community Planning Collaborative | Moffett Park Specific Plan | Excellence |
| Comprehensive Plan | Dyett & Bhatia, Urban and Regional Planners | Napa 2040 General Plan (General Plan Update) | Merit |
| Economic Planning and Development | City of Berkeley | Zoning Amendments for Berkeley Business | Excellence |
| Economic Planning and Development | Rhoades Planning Group & Lexington Planning | Old Town Newark Specific Plan | Merit |
| Hard-Won Victories | Raimi + Associates | Downtown Watsonville Specific Plan | Excellence |
| Opportunity/ Empowerment | City of Oakland – Planning and Building Department | Team: City of Oakland Planning and Building Department, Dyett and Bhatia, Deeply Rooted Collaborative/Oakland 2045 General Plan Update Phase 1 | Excellence |
| Planning Agency (public sector) | City of Campbell | City of Campbell Planning | Excellence |
| Public Outreach | Town of Corte Madera | Town of Corte Madera Housing Element Update (2023 – 2031) | Excellence |
| Public Outreach | Dudek | Underrepresented Communities Technical Assistance Program: Communication, Engagement, Facilitation, and Technical Assistance for Tribal Governments, Unrepresented Communities, and Small Socially Disadvantaged Farmers | Merit |
| Resilience and Sustainability | WRT | Reimagine San Geronimo: A Vision Framework | Excellence |
| Resilience and Sustainability | Rincon Consultants, Inc. | Sonoma County Carbon Inventory and Sequestration Potential Study | Merit |
| Transportation Planning | City of San Pablo | City of San Pablo Contra Costa College Mobility Hub Plan | Excellence |
| Transportation Planning | Fehr & Peers | City of San Jose / San Jose Downtown Transportation Plan | Merit |
| Urban Design | CMG Landscape Architecture | San Francisco Civic Center Public Realm Plan | Excellence |
| Urban Design | Dyett & Bhatia | Sonoma Developmental Center Specific Plan | Merit |
In addition to the aforementioned awards, the Northern Section Director bestows these following Special Recognition Awards:
- Special Recognition Award: Emerging Planner – Carlina Rose
- Special Recognition Award: Mid-Career Planner – Omar Masry, AICP
- Special Recognition Award: Distinguished Planner – Darcy Kremin, AICP
The Northern Section Board would like to extend a huge thank you to our panel of jurors for taking the time to review each application thoroughly and for engaging in thoughtful deliberation. Our 2024 jurors include:
- Anne Hersch, AICP, Land Use Planning Manager, City of Berkeley
- Audrey Maria Zagazeta, Chief Executive Officer, Circlepoint
- Kim Walton, Senior Transportation Planner, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
- Timothy Rood AICP, LEED AP, Community Development Director, City of Hercules
- Veronica Tam, Owner, Veronica Tam and Associates
We look forward to seeing you at our annual Awards Gala, where our 2024 APA California – Northern Section Awards recipients will be celebrated. The Gala will tentatively be held in September 2024. More information will be shared once it becomes available.