The North Carolina chapter of the American Planning Association presented two awards to the city of Asheville at the association’s recent annual conference in New Bern. 

The first award presented to the City was the 2010 Sustainability Award for the city's Sustainability Management Plan. The judging committee provided these comments, "The Awards Jury was impressed with the Plan.  It is a very original document and at the forefront of work on sustainability principles.  The jury further considered the plan to be a highly replicable initiative.” 

The second award presented to the city was the 2010 Marvin Collins Outstanding Planning Award.  The city’s Downtown Master Plan won the award for comprehensive planning in a large community. The judging committee provided these comments, "The Awards Jury found this to be a strong plan that effectively addresses sound planning principles.  The planning process was highly inclusive, with a series of 14 public meetings to develop the ideas."

“Receiving these awards is gratifying and a reminder of the good work our Council, staff and community members do together,” said City Manager Gary Jackson.  “It also reinforces the importance of implementing our plans, which we are working hard to do even in these tough times.”

The Sustainability Management Plan can be found at

www.ashevillenc.gov/green 

and the Downtown Master Plan can be found at

www.ashevillenc.gov/downtownmasterplan

.  

For more information on the awards, contact Sasha Vrtunski at

svrtunski@ashevillenc.gov 

or Maggie Ullman, Energy Coordinator at

mullman@ashevillenc.gov 

or 271-6141.

This document is a press release from the City of Asheville