Five innovative planning initiatives and four leaders in planning were honored at the Westchester Municipal Planning Federation's (WMPF) 38th Annual Awards Dinner Thursday, June 2.
Among the honorees were the county Planning Department-managed Stormwater Management and Natural Resources (Aquatic) Restoration Program and former Commissioner of Planning Gerard E. Mulligan.
Three other projects received Planning Achievement Awards at the event, which will took place at Whitby Castle at Rye Golf Club in the City of Rye.
The stormwater restoration program received a Planning Achievement Award. The county Department of Planning teamed up with municipalities, state and federal agencies and others on a multitude of projects that improve water quality, restore natural resources and lessen the impacts of flood waters through innovative and traditional storm water management practices.
"I thank the Federation for recognizing the county's efforts with this award," said County Executive Robert P. Astorino. "We are proud of the stormwater management and aquatic restoration design projects that contribute to maintaining clean and healthy water sources for our residents, mitigating stormwater runoff and serving as educational sites for county residents to visit and perhaps replicate in their hometowns."
The other projects earning honors are:
- GreeNR- The City of New Rochelle Sustainability Plan, 2010-2030. This plan recognizes the need at the local level to address the global challenges of resource depletion, climate change and social progress and offers scores of specific, achievable recommendations aimed at improving the environmental, economic and social health of the city over the next 20 years.
- Town of Yorktown Patriot Garden. This project refurbished and reused Yorktown's historic train station turntable, by incorporating this former device for changing the direction of trains into the landscape design of the North County Trailway and transforming the site into an inviting public garden in Yorktown's downtown area.
- Town of Cortlandt Youth and Recreation Center. This 5,400-square-foot green building is located on Memorial Drive near the Metro-North train station. An excellent example of responsible environmental design and construction, the center contains an indoor rock climbing wall, a state-of-the-art conference room, computer lab, workout room, a large recreational space and a kitchen.
Mulligan, who worked in the Department of Planning for 30 years and was commissioner of planning for six years, until his retirement in 2009, will receive a President's Award. A similar award will be bestowed posthumously to Joshua A. Moreinis, an urban planner and community volunteer in Croton-on-Hudson.
At the dinner, WMPF also presented Distinguished Citizen Planner Awards to two municipal planning board members who have promoted best land-use practices over many years of volunteer service. The awards went to Gary Zuckerman of the Village of Rye Brook Planning Board and to Dwight Douglas, who serves on the City of Peekskill Planning Commission and the Westchester County Planning Board.
"This year, a Special Regional Commendation will be awarded to Scenic Hudson's Revitalizing Hudson Riverfronts plan, acknowledging the excellence of the plan's conservation and revitalization strategies to create healthy and prosperous communities along the waterfront," said WMPF President Andrew V. Tung.
The project support a regional vision that directs new growth to municipal centers near transit stations with existing infrastructure and strives to increase public access and recreation along the waterfront.
Tung, Rye Mayor Douglas H. French, and Westchester County Deputy County Executive Kevin J. Plunkett offered the evening's welcoming remarks.
The Westchester Municipal Planning Federation (WMPF) is a voluntary association of officials representing the county's 45 municipal governments, zoning and planning boards and land use consultants including lawyers, engineers, architects and planners. The non-profit organization's purpose is to "create an effective and permanent countywide organization for the exchange of information on matters of planning interest."