APA Orange Section

Congratulations to the LSA as well as the City of Lake Forest, CA and Toll Brothers, for their collaborative efforts on the Nakase Nursery/Toll Brothers Project, now known as the Meadows! The APA Orange Section has awarded them the Award of Excellence - Environmental Excellence Award in recognition of their efforts. 🎉 The Environmental Impact Report (EIR) prepared for the project as well as the project itself represent an important achievement in CEQA compliance and the development of an environmentally sensitive master-planned community in one of Southern California’s fastest growing areas. The project also provides nearly 800 units of new housing that will be credited toward the City of Lake Forest’s housing production goals. The EIR contained a programmatic environmental analysis of an Area Plan submitted to the City of Lake Forest by Toll Brothers in 2017 and was certified in January 2020. The Area Plan was intended to facilitate the development of the 122-acre Nakase wholesale plant nursery near the intersection of Rancho and Bake Parkways in Lake Forest with a new master-planned community that would consist of up to 675 single‐family residential units in five distinct neighborhoods, up to 101 affordable housing units for senior citizens, an elementary school, parks and open space, and an internal circulation system. The substantial effort that was put into the preparation of the EIR by LSA, City staff, the Applicant’s representatives, the City Attorney’s office, and the Applicant’s various consultants is truly worthy of recognition by our colleagues in the planning community. Please join us in celebrating their achievements here and at the OC-APA Awards Night on Thursday October 24, 2024! 🏆 Registration is still open! Link here: https://lnkd.in/g-9wTWf3 Tickets: APA members: $50 Non-APA: $70 Students: $35 Event Sponsorships are also being sold! See Registration link for more info.

Congratulations to the City of Tustin as well as Donna Marsh Peery from the Tustin Area Historical Society and Brian Sjoberg from the Tustin Preservation Conservancy, for their collaborative efforts on the Tustin Historic Preservation Week! The APA Orange Section has awarded them the Award of Excellence - Cultural Heritage Award in recognition of their efforts. 🎉 The nomination for Historic Preservation Week exemplifies outstanding contributions to historic and cultural preservation. This initiative, led by the City of Tustin, celebrates and promotes Tustin’s rich history over the course of a week-long event. The project has been nominated for its exceptional efforts in protecting and enhancing the cultural and historical character of Tustin, embodying the essence of the Cultural Heritage Award. Historic Preservation Week showcases various activities such as a virtual walking tour, museum visits, and guided tours, all aimed at engaging the community and fostering a deeper appreciation for Tustin’s heritage. By collaborating with local historic preservation partners and implementing creative strategies, the project not only preserves but also revitalizes historical and cultural landscapes. It effectively engages the community in preservation efforts, ensuring the legacy of Tustin’s history for future generations. Historic Preservation Week serves as a model for celebrating and revitalizing a place's unique cultural identity while infusing it with new life, making it a deserving nominee for the Cultural Heritage Award. Please join us in celebrating their achievements here and at the OC-APA Awards Night on Thursday October 24, 2024! 🏆 Registration is now open! Don't miss out - RSVP by October 10th! Link here: https://lnkd.in/g-9wTWf3 Tickets: APA members: $40 Non-APA: $60 Students: $25 Event Sponsorships are also being sold! See Registration link for more info.

🌺🌴 Tropical Vibes are Coming Your Way! 🌴🌺 As the holiday season approaches, we’re bringing a splash of Hawaiian fun to Orange County! The APA and AEP Orange Sections are getting ready to host their Annual Holiday Mixer. 🏝️🎉 Picture vibrant sunsets, festive aloha spirit, blended with a touch of holiday cheer. 🍍🌊✨ Get ready to mingle and soak up those warm, tropical vibes amidst the holiday hustle. 🌟🎶 Stay tuned for more details and let’s get ready to celebrate the season Hawaiian style! 🌺🎄 

Congratulations to Morris Mills for their academic work on Creating a Curb Inventory Methodology for Long Beach, California! The APA Orange Section has awarded them the Award of Excellence - Anteater Academic Award in recognition of their efforts. 🎉 An overwhelming majority of curb space is used for vehicle parking and loading. However, the rise in e-commerce, ride-sharing services, micromobility, and parklets has increased competition for curb space, which is fixed in supply. Cities have begun to consider how to more thoughtfully allocate how curb space is used, a process referred to as curb management. Before creating curb management strategies, it is essential to first have an accurate picture of existing uses and demand, commonly referred to as curb inventory. This project generates a sample methodology for a digital curb inventory using test sites in Long Beach, reviews relevant city regulations, and uses secondary demographic indicators to assess curb demand. Curb management represents a significant challenge in Orange County. This project thoughtfully approaches this planning issue using available University resources and in-person field testing. Please join us in celebrating their achievements here and at the OC-APA Awards Night on Thursday October 24, 2024! 🏆 Registration is now open! Don't miss out - RSVP by October 10th! Link here: https://lnkd.in/g-9wTWf3 Tickets: APA members: $40 Non-APA: $60 Students: $25 Event Sponsorships are also being sold! See Registration link for more info.

Congratulations to the City of Dana Point, as well as RRM Design Group, for their work and collaboration on the Visioning Phase of the Dana Point General Plan Update! The APA Orange Section has awarded them the Award of Excellence - Public Outreach in recognition of their efforts. 🎉 The City of Dana Point has embarked on a General Plan Update, which has been segmented into two phases: visioning phase and plan development. The General Plan Update visioning phase, which took place between fall 2022 and summer of 2023, was conducted to capture the community’s collective vision and thoughts to develop a framework to guide the plan development phase. The City of Dana Point and RRM Design Group conducted a robust community-based participatory process, consisting of a combination of communication tools, and in-person and virtual engagement activities designed and deployed to reach a wide range of community members to understand their needs, and priorities. Over 8,000 data points were collected during the process from all methods. The results of the visioning phase were captured into a vision statement, guiding principles, and key themes and topics, which established the foundation for the next phase of the General Plan (currently underway). Please join us in celebrating their achievements here and at the OC-APA Awards Night on Thursday October 24, 2024! 🏆 🚨Registration is now open! Don't miss out - RSVP by October 10th! Link here: https://lnkd.in/g-9wTWf3 Tickets: APA members: $40 Non-APA: $60 Students: $25 Event Sponsorships are also being sold! See Registration link for more info.

Congratulations to the City of Garden Grove Planning Division for their dedication and hard work in the community! The APA Orange Section has awarded them the Award of Excellence - Planning Agency Award in recognition of their efforts. 🎊 The City of Garden Grove's Planning Division consistently demonstrates leadership in issues of local and Statewide importance such as addressing the housing crisis and community engagement, especially in diverse and disadvantaged communities. The team led Orange County with 1,046 Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) permitted over the past three years and 1,088 ADUs constructed over the past five years; secured State approval of its 2021-2029 Housing Element despite being allocated 19,168 Regional Housing Needs Assessment units (approximately 38% of the City’s current dwelling units); conducted extensive outreach to its diverse and disadvantaged communities for its Housing Element update; and engaged over 3,500 community members over two years through numerous events held about its downtown Civic Center Revitalization Project. The Planning Division’s holistic approach to excellence and service sets a benchmark for the Planning profession, meeting the Planning Agency Award criteria through quality, meaningful outreach and engagement, innovation, and impactful implementation. Please join us in celebrating their achievements here and at the OC-APA Awards Night on Thursday October 24, 2024! 🏆 Registration is now open! Don't miss out - RSVP by October 10th! Link here: https://lnkd.in/g-9wTWf3 Tickets: APA members: $40 Non-APA: $60 Students: $25 Event Sponsorships are also being sold! See Registration link for more info.

Congratulations to City of Anaheim Planning Division: Planning & Building Department, as well as smith-clementi, Fuscoe Engineering, Inc. , Populous, Fletcher Studio, Christine Saunders & Associates, Burton Landscape Architecture Studio, MVE + Partners, Inc., Sagecrest Planning + Environmental, and WATG Architecture and Landscape Architecture for their work in developing OCVIBE! The APA Orange Section has awarded them the Award of Excellence - Urban Design in recognition of their efforts. 🎉 OCVIBE is a visionary project in the heart of Orange County with goals to transform Anaheim into a vibrant hub that seamlessly blends art, community, and nature. The project is designed to foster shared experiences in this combination of urban design and natural harmony, OCVIBE cultivates a vibrant future for Orange County and beyond. The development team collaborated with many community groups to engage in community outreach, truly ensuring that the community was involved through many workshops and neighborhood information sessions. Many residents and stakeholders came out to support the project including tribal groups, union workers, and nonprofit organizations. This outpouring showcase of support and community engagement for the project is a great representation of all the hard work and collaborative efforts that were involved behind the scenes prior to Council approval. Please join us in celebrating their achievements here and at the OC-APA Awards Night on Thursday October 24, 2024! 🏆 Registration is now open! Don't miss out - RSVP by October 10th! Link here: https://lnkd.in/g-9wTWf3 Tickets: APA members: $40 Non-APA: $60 Students: $25 Event Sponsorships are also being sold! See Registration link for more info.

🌟 The 8th edition of CONVERSATIONS is out today! 🌟  In this edition, we are thrilled to highlight an outstanding local planner, Junhyun Kim, and honor our 2024 OC APA Planning Award Recipients, Mia Yuen, Sean Nicholas, and Susan Harden, FAICP, LEED AP, CNU-A — whose contributions are shaping the future of our cities and regions. 🙌 Dive into their stories and be inspired by their excellence and leadership in planning. ✨     Interested in being a part of CONVERSATIONS? Send us a DM to get involved!💬💡    #LegacyBuilders #UrbanPlanning #CommunityImpact #Mentorship #Service

Congratulations to The City of Westminster for their work in developing the Garden Grove Complete Streets Project! The APA Orange Section has awarded them the Award of Excellence - Transportation Planning in recognition of their efforts. 🎉 The Garden Grove Complete Streets Project (Project) utilized Complete Street planning and design principles to implement active transportation enhancements along Garden Grove Boulevard and adjacent parallel roadways Edwards Street and Trask Avenue in the City of Westminster. This Project is a groundbreaking achievement which will greatly improve access and safety for vulnerable roadway users along the corridor. The protected two-way cycletrack follows current best practices in urban bikeway design and aligns with local transportation priorities, serving a corridor that was identified in the City’s General Plan Update (2016) for mobility enhancements. This Project is also significant for the numerous partnerships that were required to secure Project implementation, which allowed numerous stakeholders to collaborate on a quick-build design project providing numerous benefits for the local community. Please join us in celebrating their achievements here and at the OC-APA Awards Night on Thursday October 24, 2024! 🏆 Registration is now open! Don't miss out - RSVP by October 10th! Link here: https://lnkd.in/g-9wTWf3 Tickets: APA members: $40 Non-APA: $60 Students: $25 Event Sponsorships are also being sold! See Registration link for more info.

Congratulations to the City of Garden Grove for their work in creating the Garden Brook Senior Village! The APA Orange Section has awarded them the Award of Excellence - Hard-Won Victories Award in recognition of their efforts. 🎉 The Garden Brook Senior Village stands as a testament that, amidst nearly a decade of economic, legal and construction adversity, resilience and persistence can transform a partially constructed ”Rusty Skeleton” into a vibrant mixed-use development. The Garden Brook Senior Village project overcame significant hurdles, evolving from the ambitious Garden Grove Galleria to the dormant "Rusty Skeleton," and finally to a vibrant mixeduse project with 394 affordable senior units. Despite setbacks, the property owner and lender collaborated with the City to redevelop the project site after it was abandoned by the developer. Creative planning strategies from the City of Garden Grove, including transfer of development rights, density increases, and a state density bonus, facilitated the project’s vision. The project successfully eliminated blight and a community eyesore, and showcases Garden Grove’s collaborative efforts resulting in an affordable senior community that provides desperately needed affordable housing and fosters community pride. Please join us in celebrating their achievements here and at the OC-APA Awards Night on Thursday October 24, 2024! 🏆 Registration is now open! Don't miss out - RSVP by October 10th! Link here: https://lnkd.in/g-9wTWf3 Tickets: APA members: $40 Non-APA: $60 Students: $25 Event Sponsorships are also being sold! See Registration link for more info.