Awards

Orange Section Awards.

Each year, APA Orange Section recognizes and celebrates outstanding planning work throughout Orange County. The Planning Awards honors innovative plans and projects, distinguished individuals, and other contributions to the planning profession.

We are seeking applications that demonstrate the power of great planning. If you’ve been involved with or are aware of a recent noteworthy project or activity, please consider submitting a nomination. Award nominations will be evaluated by a jury of experienced planning professionals, and recipients are recognized at the annual awards event held in May.

The awards program will celebrate the outstanding work, organizations, and leaders that have contributed to creating great communities and strengthening the planning profession.

IMPORTANT LINKS:

Nomination Guidelines (Updated February 15, 2023)
Downloadable 2023 Awards Application Form (Word Document)
2023 Awards Application Form (PDF file)
Dropbox Submittal Portal (All nomination application materials shall be uploaded here.)

Call for Nominations.

The 2023 APA Orange Section Awards call for nominations period is now open! We need your help in identifying and nominating outstanding planning projects, activities, and individuals in Orange County. Nominations will be accepted until Friday, March 17, 2023.

To learn more about the award eligibility requirements, CLICK HERE to download the Awards Program policies and nomination guidelines .

All applications must be submitted via Dropbox and include all required application materials. Please read the instructions carefully so your nomination is properly filed. To view the submittal instructions, CLICK HERE to download the Awards Application Form.

All documents must be uploaded to Dropbox using the correct naming convention: Dropbox Submittal Portal.

The 2023 Orange Section Award winners will be invited to proceed to the Statewide competition. Please note that in order to be eligible for a Chapter award, nominees must first submit an application to the Orange Section, and receive an award of excellence or merit at the Section level.

For any questions on the 2023 Orange Section Planning Awards or nomination process, please contact Awards Co-Chair, Amy Vazquez, at: avazquez@sagecrestplanning.com. Best of luck!

Become A Juror.

We are looking for diverse planning professionals to serve on our Awards jury! Juror tasks include reviewing all submitted award nominations, participating in jury deliberations to vote on the winning nominations, and attending the in-person Planning Awards scheduled in May. Jurors will participate in a 2-3 hour Jury Dinner Deliberation Meeting (date TBA).

To become an Awards Juror, please email a short statement of interest and your resume to the APA Awards Co-Chair, Amy Vazquez, at: avazquez@sagecrestplanning.com.

Awards Categories.

APA Orange Section invites you to submit an awards nomination in the following categories:

Academic
Advancing Diversity and Social Change
Best Practices
Communications Initiative
Comprehensive Planning: Large Jurisdiction (pop. >100,000)
Comprehensive Planning: Small Jurisdiction (pop. <100,000)
Distinguished Service
Distinguished Contribution
Economic Planning and Development
Emerging Planning and Design Firm
Grassroots Initiative
Hard-Won Victory
Implementation: Large Jurisdiction (pop. >100,000)
Implementation: Small Jurisdiction (pop. <100,000)
Innovation in Green Community Planning
Opportunity and Empowerment
Planning Advocate
Planning Agency (public sector)
Planning Firm (private sector)
Public Outreach
Transportation Planning
Urban Design
Making Great Communities Happen (Section-Only Award)

Projects and programs that receive an award of excellence or merit in the categories listed above will be eligible to submit to the Chapter Awards when applications open later this spring. Chapter award applications are due between April 15- May 15, 2023.