Planning for the Future: Celebrating National Community Planning Month

October is a time to celebrate our communities and National Community Planning Month honors the tireless efforts of urban planners and community members dedicated to crafting thriving neighborhoods. This month-long campaign recognizes how planners work to improve the well-being of all people living in our communities by taking a comprehensive perspective.

With an unwavering commitment to planning excellence, community engagement, sustainability, and innovation, Southlake continues to ensure community vitality, proving that a well-planned city can play a key role in enhancing citizens’ quality of life.

To highlight the City’s achievements in planning excellence, the City of Southlake was recently honored with the prestigious Richard R. Lillie Planning Excellence Award, bestowed by the American Planning Association Texas Chapter. This award recognizes communities that exemplify outstanding planning efforts and are dedicated to creating thriving, sustainable, innovative urban environments.

The goals of the program include:

· Increasing community awareness of the importance of planning.

· Recognizing planning departments that meet specific professional requirements.

· Recognizing planning efforts that have achieved community support.

· Encouraging the funding of professional training for planning commissioners and staff.

· Aiding economic development and community image.

This marks the nineteenth consecutive year that the City of Southlake has been recognized for this award. Some of the evaluation criteria to receive the award include level of training of Planning Commissioners and professional staff, professional qualifications of the planning staff, formulating and updating master plan components, and completion of other planning related projects.

“We enjoy making this community a great place to live, and by recognizing the importance of comprehensive planning and community-focused initiatives, we can enhance the spaces where people work, live, and play” Dennis Killough, Director of Planning and Development Services said.

To learn more about Community Planning Month, please visit American Planning Association’s website. For more information about planning efforts for the City of Southlake, visit our website or give us a call at (817) 748-8621.