Pioneer Valley
Planning Commission

Eric Carle Museum, Amherst, MA

Press Release

CONTACT: Christopher Curtis, PVPC Chief Planner, (413) 781-6045

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 23, 2008

Valley Vision 2 Regional Land Use Plan Receives National Award

The Pioneer Valley Planning Commission has been selected as the recipient of the 2008 Medium Metro Achievement Award by the National Association of Regional Councils (NARC). PVPC will receive the award in February, 2009 at the National Conference of Regions in Washington, D.C.

The award recognizes Valley Vision 2, the new regional land use plan for the Pioneer Valley region. Valley Vision 2 is a smart growth plan that promotes compact, mixed use growth in and around existing urban and town centers, while promoting protection of open space and natural resources outside developed centers. Valley Vision 2 consists of the plan, map, smart growth toolbox, Memorandum of Agreement, Valley Development Council and pilot projects, website, and public outreach and technical assistance.

The innovative Valley Vision 2 is the first regional plan in Massachusetts to identify locations for new smart growth districts under the state’s Chapter 40R housing program. The plan was adopted through a unique intergovernmental compact approved by chief elected officials in 40 of the region’s 43 communities. It employs a public-private advising group, the Valley Development Council, to bring together planners, builders, architects, and others to guide the plan’s implementation. The plan includes an interactive CD-based smart growth toolbox with fact sheets, case studies, and model bylaws for more than 30 smart growth strategies. PVPC has provided technical assistance to 26 communities to date to implement Valley Vision strategies.

The National Association of Regional Councils (NARC) serves as the national voice for regionalism by advocating for regional cooperation as the most effective way to address a variety of community planning and development opportunities and issues. In service to this mission, the NARC Achievement Awards recognize excellence in programs and services of regional councils and metropolitan planning organizations across the United States, thereby contributing to better and more efficient government.

In past years, PVPC has submitted successful NARC annual award nominations for the Plan for Progress, the region’s economic development plan (in 2005) and on behalf of the Massachusetts Association of Regional Councils (MARPA), of which PVPC is a member (in 2004).

For more information about Valley Vision 2, contact PVPC’s Christopher Curtis at (413) 781-6045 or visit www.pvpc.org.