2017 APA Florida Project Awards Winners

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daytona beach 2017 APA FLORIDA ANNUAL CONFERENCE OVERVIEW

SEPTEMBER 5-8, 2017 - OCEAN CENTER THE DIPLOMAT APA FLORIDAHOLLYWOOD, PROJECT AWARDS FL FLORIDAPLANNING.ORG/CONFERENCE

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2017 APA FLORIDA PROJECT AWARDS AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE Sarasota County Comprehensive Plan Category: Comprehensive Plan (Large Jurisdiction) Planning for the future begins with capturing the community’s vision. The Sarasota County Comprehensive Plan is a roadmap to the vision of Sarasota County, to guide development of land, economic growth, resource protection, and the provision of public services and facilities in Sarasota County. The Plan underwent a major overhaul; allowing the public and staff to transition a siloed Plan into a new user‐friendly Plan, using a system of overarching thematic Elements, highlighting synergies and Core Principles throughout the Plan’s 15 chapters. The resulting Comprehensive Plan provides the framework and direction which will enable the county to achieve its desired goals.

Downtown Ocoee Master Plan Category: Neighborhood Planning In 2016, the City of Ocoee worked to develop an ambitious plan for their downtown neighborhood including the historic main street, lakefront, adjacent residential, and interchange area. Though it has always been the civic and cultural heart of Ocoee, the downtown had, in many ways, been left behind and lacked infrastructure and investment to make it a desirable destination. It was only through the vision of the community and the leadership of the elected officials that a real path forward to a revitalized downtown could be charted – a downtown that the people of Ocoee can enjoy and be proud of.

Polk County Neighborhood Mobility Audit Category: Best Practices The Polk Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) has implemented a new planning tool to ensure its most vulnerable residents have access to jobs and essential services. Neighborhood Mobility Audits use a combination of GIS analysis, field review and public outreach to evaluate mobility in traditionally underserved areas. Low-income households are 2-3 times more likely to use public transportation or alternative modes of transportation, so the audits focus on the potential for bicycle, pedestrian and transit access. Over 250 mobility improvements have been identified in fifteen different neigborhoods and, to date, more than $10 million has been allocated to programmed projects.

2017 APA FLORIDA PROJECT AWARDS AWARDS OF MERIT Capital Cascades Trail Segment 3/FAMU Way Category: Planning Project Capital Cascades Trail/FAMU Way are Tallahassee’s newest, premier infrastructure accomplishments in the heart of the downtown and college districts. Funded primarily by the local option penny sales tax, the facilities combine multi-modal design, recreational amenities (multi-use trail, playground, and market square), environmental improvements, and community culture and arts to create a project that embodies the Blueprint mission. After years of planning, CCT Segment 3/FAMU opened to the public October 2015, attracting numerous visitors ever since. The facility now serves as a gateway to the FAMU community and has greatly increased the area’s sense of plan and quality of life.

Hialeah Transit Oriented Development Category: Neighborhood Planning The Hialeah Transit Oriented Development Plan will transition two of the city’s car-dependent suburban, underutilized warehouse districts into vibrant, mixed-use, compact communities served by premium commuter rail. The fully-adopted zoning will create 313 acres of walkable, urban development in a working-class community that has not benefited from major economic development in decades. These TOD regulations will reduce the cost of living in Hialeah, which recent studies found to be second-worst city in America in terms of income gap applied to housing affordability. Collaborating with the City Planning and Zoning Department, the complex project was completed in seven months.

Voluntary Resolution for Universal Design and Visitability Category: Innovations in Planning for all Ages Sarasota County is Florida’s first World Health Organization Age Friendly Community.

Among the many aspects of this community based effort was an incentive program to increase inclusion of age-friendly design standards in new housing developments.

Sarasota County’s Universal Design and Visitability program: 1) sets standards for accessible housing units through “checklists”; 2) incentivizes builders with fast track permitting and marketing; and 3) recognizes builders through certification stickers and awards. The voluntary program is cost-neutral and easily replicable, integrating into existing permitting processes and community education efforts. Partnerships with industry and advocacy groups have resulted in strong community interest.

Village of Tequesta US 1 Master Plan Category: Best Practices The Village of Tequesta US 1 Corridor Master Plan and Complete Streets Project proposes the first-ever lane elimination in Palm Beach County by decreasing vehicular lanes from 6 to 4, adding protected bike lanes, improving safety, and increasing connections to local, regional and national pedestrian and bicycle networks. The Master Plan resulted from a comprehensive public involvement campaign led by the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, and the Village seizing an opportunity to implement their vision by leveraging FDOT’s scheduled Resurfacing, Restoration, and Rehabilitation (RRR) maintenance project for the US 1 corridor. Construction is scheduled for the fall of 2017.

2017 APA FLORIDA PROJECT AWARDS AWARDS OF MERIT Vision Winter Park Category: Best Practices Clarifying shared preferences for the future, the City of Winter Park engaged residents and businesses in an intensive public involvement campaign and celebration of the city. Vision Winter Park was directed with a community steering committee and included mailings, social media outreach, questionnaires, and over 60 events ranging from neighborhood gatherings to educational, entertaining forums to ensure participation across all neighborhoods and age groups. The exciting result was Vision Winter Park. The broad-based community awareness of planning possibilities and support for the vision themes guided the Comprehensive Plan update and has initiated other vision inspired projects.

Eatonville Capacity Building Project Category: Grassroots Initiatives Building on years of involvement supporting health and wellness with the Town of Eatonville, the oldest incorporated black municipality in the country, the Winter Park Health Foundation determined that funding a capacity building program was essential to the economic future of the community. The Healthy Eatonville team proposed a partnership with the Town of Eatonville Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) to assist in their efforts to create a vision for the Town of Eatonville that ensures the Historic Town of Eatonville supports a healthy, livable, workable and sustainable future for its residents and visitors. The partnership cracked the code on historic inaction by focusing on training people to breakdown tasks and achieve goals – a hallmark of grassroots efforts to get things done! The goal of the work and partnership was to support an initiative providing substantive and organizational skill-building, partnership development and strategic planning for the town during a crucial time of the town’s future development.

St. Johns County Passive Park and Recreation Masterplan Enhancement Category: Student Project The St. Johns County Park and Recreation Masterplan Enhancement project engaged residents and visitors in a collaborative planning process to evaluate and enhance the County’s passive park system. Utilizing an extensive public engagement process and LOS analysis, the student team from the FSU Department of Urban and Regional Planning identified strategies and recommendations for meeting the recreation needs of underserved areas and developing connections between existing parks and trails. In this way, this project supplied St. Johns County with a toolkit to update its Parks and Recreation Master Plan and to capitalize upon the significant ecotourism opportunities provided by its abundance of natural and historical assets.

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