City of Clarkston Recognized for Clarkston Greenway Feasibility LCI Study
Back row (L to R): Councilman Perkins; Councilman Carroll: Councilwoman Hood; Councilwoman Bell; Larry Kaiser, City Engineer; Richard Edwards, Planning & Econ Dev Director; Ed Caddell, Sycamore Consulting; Front row (L to R): Kristen Wescott; Vice-Mayor Johnson; Mayor Burks; Sarah McColley, Perkins & Will; Councilwoman Adde; Kristin Allin, Atlanta Regional Commission
On Tuesday, May 6, GPA President Kristen Wescott presented two 2024 Georgia Planning Association Awards for Outstanding Planning Process and Outstanding Public Involvement at the City of Clarkston Council Meeting for the Clarkston Greenway Feasibility LCI Study. GPA customarily presents the annual awards at its Fall Conference. However, in 2024, the Fall Conference was cancelled due to the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene on Augusta, Georgia.
In 2024, the GPA Awards Committee reciprocated evaluation with the North Carolina Chapter of the American Planning Association to review each otherâs awards nominees. GPA received 31 nominations across seven (7) different categories. In addition to Clarkston, five additional communities or planning programs were recognized in 2024.
The Outstanding Planning Process award honors the most comprehensive and holistic overall planning process. This includes the comprehensiveness of technical and data analysis, stakeholder and community outreach, documentation and deliverables, and positioning for implementation.
The Outstanding Public Involvement award emphasizes successful efforts to engage the public, as well as programs to raise the overall level of understanding of planning, economic development, environmental, or integrated issues. Evaluation criteria include dedicated effort to solicit public participation, demonstration of equity, use of technology, and demonstration of collaboration and partnerships.
Awards reviewers noted the Clarkston Greenway Feasibility LCI Study exhibited âcomprehensive data analysisâ and the âfinal document highlights emphasis on public engagement and demonstrates the effective level of communication employed to both educate the public and illustrate how public input shaped the process.â Regarding public outreach conducted for the plan, reviewers noted the plan both âworked with trusted community leadersâ and âServed an extremely vulnerable population.â
Congratulations to the City of Clarkston community, city staff, project partners and team members who brought the Clarkston Greenway Feasibility LCI Study to fruition including the Atlanta Regional Commission, which provided financial support through its Livable Centers Initiative Program and the consulting team led by Perkins and Will with Project Manager Sarah McColley and Ed Caddell from Sycamore Consulting, who was the public engagement lead.