APA-Iowa announces recipients of 2011 Iowa Planning Awards

Each year, the Iowa Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA-Iowa) asks its more than 350 members to nominate plans, projects, and individuals deserving recognition by the professional organization. Award nominees can be recognized in thirteen categories ranging from planning excellence to distinguished leadership. Based on an independent review by a jury of professional planners from the Nebraska Chapter of the APA, five nominees have been selected to receive APA-Iowa Awards in 2011. Descriptions of these awards, taken from their applications, can be found below.

Daniel Burnham Award for a Comprehensive Plan – City of Ames, City of Gilbert, Story County – “Ames Urban Fringe Plan and 28E Implementation Agreement”

The Ames Urban Fringe plan and accompanying 28E Implementation Agreement describe a shared vision for the two-mile fringe of Ames. The City Councils of Ames and Gilbert and the Board of Supervisors of Story County adopted the Plan in July 2006 and the Agreement in July 2011. Together, these two documents provide a comprehensive land use plan as well as an improved process for implementing that plan.

The Plan creates a shared set of land use and development policies for all three jurisdictions. These policies identify areas of the fringe that are intended to be preserved for agricultural production, natural areas in which development is precluded, areas for rural estate development, and areas adjacent to Ames and Gilbert where development of a more urban character will occur.

Subdivision review authority is one of the more important tools that jurisdictions have to control and influence the location and character of development. The Plan describes subdivision policies as it relates to infrastructure requirements to ensure that development in the fringe adjacent to cities will readily and seamlessly integrate into the corporate limits, either as a precondition for development or at some future moment in time.

While the Plan provides the vision for the fringe, it is the agreement that provides the details of implementation. With the approval of the Agreement in July of 2011, the three governing bodies have instituted a process unique to jurisdictions in Iowa. In summary, the three jurisdictions commit to the following:

• The cities agree to waive review of subdivision plats and plats of survey in those areas of the fringe in which agricultural activities are to be protected (Rural Service and Agricultural Conservation areas).

• In those areas of the fringe intended to be annexed by the cities (Urban Services areas), the county agrees to waive review of subdivision plats.

• In those areas in which development can occur in anticipation of later annexation (Rural Urban Transitional areas), cities and the county retain joint review authority. A simplified application, review, and approval process is spelled out in the agreement.

• As cities grow, the extraterritorial review authority will not expand. The limits of the fringe are determined by the Plan. To extend the fringe requires an amendment to the Plan.

The Plan and the Agreement have several positive impacts on stakeholders. For all, the shared vision of future development removes inconsistencies among jurisdictions for industrial, commercial and residential development. The vision also preserves two of Iowa’s outstanding assets – its agricultural resources and natural areas.

For owners and those seeking development, it offers a simplified review and approval process for much of the fringe area. Review by just a single authority reduces uncertainty and time.

And for the staffs and governing bodies of the three jurisdictions, the Plan and Agreement provides for coordinated review of subdivisions, and acknowledgement of each other’s interests in rezonings and site plan reviews.

For more information about the Ames Urban Fringe Plan and 28E Implementation Agreement, contact Charlie Kuester at 515-239-5400 or ckuester@city.ames.ia.us.

Daniel Burnham Award for a Comprehensive Plan – City of Ankeny and RDG Planning & Design – “Ankeny Comprehensive Plan”

The Ankeny Plan is a truly collaborative effort, led and managed by Ankeny’s planning director of 30 years, John Peterson. The City assembled a team of planning consultants and engineers with demonstrated expertise in understanding the impact of land development on the natural environment, especially the natural drainage system. Working together as equal partners, the team guided the Steering Committee in creating a document that serves as a template for preparing a Comprehensive Plan that accommodates development while working with the natural environment.

Ankeny was one of the fastest growing communities in Iowa between 2000 and 2010. Its population jumped from 27,117 in 2000 to 45,582 in 2010 for an increase of 18,465 people. In terms of new residential construction starts, Ankeny experienced 23% of total metro growth during the last decade. At the same time, the South Delaware corridor developed into a regional retail center.

This growth verifies that Ankeny continues to be a strong, rapidly expanding community that combines a number of major assets – a desirable quality of life, important academic resources, a strong economy, and a prime location within the Des Moines metropolitan area. The 2010 Comprehensive Plan builds on concepts and actions introduced in the previous plan to preserve these attributes as Ankeny continues to grow. Clearly, Ankeny is doing something right and that “something” has resulted in great success in attracting growth.

The City’s commitment to providing first class public facilities, partnering on development initiatives, and supporting a quality school system is all a part of the growth success formula. Underlying these components of success is a commitment to quality growth through planning. Ankeny leaders firmly believe that quality communities don’t just “happen”;’ they are the result of numerous incremental development decisions that lead to quality if made under the umbrella of a community vision whose physical aspects are laid out in a good comprehensive plan.

Ankeny’s 2010 Comprehensive Plan was not about creating a document under the heading of “Smart Growth” or “New Urbanism” or other trendy planning mantras. It was about thinking deeply about Ankeny’s growth issues and bringing together a set of professionals who were able to pull from the best of what we know about planning practice to deal with these issues.

For more information about the Ankeny Comprehensive Plan, contact Gary Lozano at 515-288-3141 or glozano@rdgusa.com.

Excellence Award for Best Practice – City of Davenport – “Davenport in Motion”

Davenport In Motion is a visionary comprehensive plan that scripts a detailed manner for revolutionizing the way we plan and build cities. It foretells a bustling city where people are fitter, richer, greener and happier. DiM is a true multi-modal transportation plan that tempers automobile use with innovative and compelling strategies for cycling, walking, and straphanging. It deftly presents the inextricable connections our mobility choices have on our health, our environment, and our bank account. DiM is medicine for the obesity epidemic; remediation for environmental degradation; and money for shrinking budgets.

Unlike most transportation plans, which are undertaken by engineers and administered by a municipality’s Public Works Department, DiM is entirely the work of planners and smart planning principles. The City of Davenport’s Community Planning Department administered the DiM contract and managed the planning process to ensure results that addressed land use, building density, greenhouse gas emissions, economic reinvestment, safety and happiness. This is not a “traffic plan” in disguise. This is a comprehensive plan that provides what all cities should: diversity of choice.

The DiM Comprehensive Plan is divided into chapters dedicated to the following:

Downtown Parking: Parking is essential to economic vitality. Yet you cannot provide an abundance of free parking and expect people to walk, ride, or straphang. DiM outlines strategies for proper pricing of parking, advocates for better on-street parking and less off-street parking, and proposes turning parking lots into community green spaces.

Land Use and Density. If cities continue to develop at two dwelling units/acre, transit cannot be successful. DiM proposes corridor improvements to generate higher density infill development, while also laying out a smarter transit-oriented master plan for twenty square miles of the City.

Integrated Bicycling. Concerns over safety are the biggest reasons people eschew cycling for transportation. DiM provides an integrated, highly connected bicycle network where cyclists have their own space, be it on dedicated on-street bicycle lanes or off-street multi-use paths.

Primary Transit Service. By focusing on bus routes along major spines of residential, commercial, and retail, Davenport is now poised to offer something not seen in over half-a-century: frequent, 15-minute headway service for transit.

Walker’s Paradise. Street designs, generated by the renowned New Urbanist Jeff Speck, propose walking environments that are safe, interesting, beautiful, and joyful. Street with bulb-outs at each corner to shorten crossing distances; planted medians in busy arterials to slow traffic and provide refuge to crossing pedestrians; one-way streets converted back to two-way; and judicious use of trees and diagonal parking to buffer pedestrians from moving cars are just a few of the strategies in DiM.

For more information about Davenport in Motion, contact Darrin Nordahl at 563-888-2252 or dnordahl@ci.davenport.ia.us.

Excellence Award for Public Outreach – City of Davenport – “Davenport NEW/Planning Area 2 Action Plan”

The Davenport NEW (Neighborhood Empowerment & Wellness) process was the product of a collaborative effort of a group composed of planning staff, key staff from other departments, neighborhood residents and leaders, representatives of public service agencies and the business community, and elected officials. The goal was to seek out and utilize the best practices in neighborhood and sub-area planning, public engagement and participation, and action plan development and implementation.

Davenport NEW public outreach activities included a round of 14 citywide workshops in 2009, ongoing semi-annual Neighborhood Summit public forums with focused discussion topics, a NEWsletter that is distributed to past NEW participants and as a marketing tool, and a Neighborhood Resident Leadership Certificate Program that provides skills training and additional resources to leaders from Recognized Neighborhoods to increase the capacity of those neighborhoods to participate in a Planning Area Action Plan development process.

Following the success of the 2009 Davenport NEW workshop where Planning Area 2 had one of the highest attendance totals, there was an initial public input session to kick off the action plan development process for Planning Area 2 in April of 2010. This was followed by many meetings of steering and technical committee members through which a draft of an action plan was created. This draft plan was then brought back out for public comment and then sent to Davenport City Council as a resolution and was adopted as an amendment to the Davenport 2025 Comprehensive Plan on January 26, 2011. The more detailed process is now the model for action plan development for all of Davenport’s 13 planning areas.

Pairing a comprehensive public engagement strategy like Davenport NEW with an inclusive planning process like that which led to the Planning Area 2 Action Plan to be extremely effective. Neighbors will have worked together with staff to proactively resolve issues and to identify what is important to their neighborhoods; A plan will be prepared that will include a snapshot of the neighborhood, conditions as compared to the City as a whole, and a plan of action to address immediate and longer term needs. The plan will help provide the basis for future decisions to be made by the City Council regarding land use, infrastructure needs, additional studies, and program needs.

For more information about Davenport NEW/PA2 Action Plan, contact Roy DeWitt at 563-888-3440 or rdewitt@ci.davenport.ia.us.

Distinguished Leadership Award for a Planning Advocate – Mayor Roy D. Buol, City of Dubuque

Roy D. Buol was first elected Mayor of Dubuque, Iowa in 2005, and re-elected in 2009. He previously was elected to the City Council in 1995, and re-elected in 1999 and again in 2003. During his tenure on the City Council, he served on the Long Range Planning Advisory Commission; Community-based Task Force on Gangs, Drugs and Youth Violence; Dubuque Racing Association Board; Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce Board; Dubuque Initiatives Board; Every Child Every Promise Board; Safe Community Task Force; and Greater Dubuque Development Corporation (GDDC) Board and Executive Committee. He has chaired GDDC’s River Valley Initiative Foundation, Dubuque Metropolitan Area Transportation Study (DMATS) Policy Committee, City Conference Board, and the City’s 175th Anniversary Planning Committee.

During his mayoral campaign in 2005, Roy Buol’s platform was based on “engaging citizens as partners,” and what he heard from thousands of citizens was a consistent theme surrounding water quality, recycling, green space, public transit, cultural vitality, accessibility, and downtown revitalization. Under his leadership, the City of Dubuque seeks to build on long-standing commitments to planned and managed growth, downtown and neighborhood revitalization, riverfront development, economic growth, and cultural diversity to become a sustainable, green community.

Since 1995, Dubuque has implemented plans and policies that enhance development of fringe areas and avoid unregulated sprawl, as well as invested in public infrastructure to meet our projected needs for compact urban growth. Concurrently, Dubuque has continued and strengthened our commitment to funding and partnerships for downtown and riverfront revitalization under his leadership.

The 1995 Dubuque Comprehensive Plan was updated in 2002 and again in 2008 while Buol served as City Council Liaison to the Long Range Planning Advisory Commission. In each update, the City received input from hundreds of people at public meetings and open houses.

Since 1997, the City has spent over $13 million for land acquisition, utility extensions, new streets, and site development costs for industrial parks to open up thousands of acres to meet development needs through planned and managed growth.

For more information about this award for Mayor Roy Buol, contact Laura Carstens at 563-589-4210 or at lcarsten@cityofdubuque.org.

Awards Announcement

The results of the 2011 APA-Iowa Awards will be officially announced at the Awards Lunch during the Upper Midwest Conference, which will be held from October 19-21, 2011 at the Quad Cities Event Center in Davenport.

About APA-Iowa

The American Planning Association-Iowa Chapter provides leadership in the development of vital communities by advocating excellence in community planning, promoting education and citizen empowerment, and providing the tools and support necessary to meet the challenges of growth and change. APA-Iowa members consist of planners and other professionals involved in the development and sustainability of Iowa communities.

The awards will be presented on October 20, 2011 during the APA Upper Midwest Conference in Davenport, Iowa.

If you have questions, please contact Naomi Hamlett at 515-273-0770 or naomi.hamlett@wdm-ia.com