Sunset Gardens Wins “Smart Partnership Award”

The Washington State Department of Commerce last week announced the 12 winners of the 2024 Governor’s Smart Communities Awards.

Presented annually since 2006, the awards recognize local governments and their partners for exceptional land use planning and development projects.

Awardees this year span the state. Awarded projects range from an affordable housing building in Renton to a solar panel initiative for five industrial buildings in Clark County.

SMART VISION AWARD

This award recognizes a local comprehensive plan, subarea plan or specific planning policies.

Winner: Airway Heights Comprehensive Plan Update — city of Airway Heights

Airway Heights is located near Spokane. The city’s 2023 Comprehensive Plan update focuses on accommodating growth through rezoning, a greater variety of housing types and facilitating an urban growth area land swap.

The city was commended for engaging the community in the update process via a user-friendly web portal available on mobile devices.

SMART PARTNERSHIP AWARD

Recognizes a joint public project that implements a comprehensive plan.

Winner: Lacey MakerSpace Expansion — city of Lacey

The city of Lacey was awarded for a major expansion of the Lacey MakerSpace, which it achieved alongside several community partners.

The Lacey MakerSpace opened to the public in 2019. There, community members can access high tech fabrication tools alongside craftsmanship education resources and workforce training.

The expansion project was completed this year. It has significantly increased space for manufacturing equipment, welding, wood working, textiles and 3D printing.

It was a joint endeavor between the city of Lacey, Saint Martin’s University and the Thurston County Economic Development Council, and cost $1.4 million.

Winner: Sunset Gardens — city of Renton Community and Economic Development Department

Sunset Gardens is a new four-story mixed-use building with 76 affordable apartment units for veterans, persons with disabilities, and seniors who earn less than 50% of the area’s median income.

The apartments are located at 2900 N.E. 10th St. in Renton’s Sunset neighborhood. Construction began in June 2022 and was completed in April 2024. The building was designed by SMR Architects and built by Andersen Construction.

The project is the result of a collaborative private and public partnership between the city of Renton, Renton Housing Authority, JP Morgan Chase Bank, King County and the state Housing Finance Commission.

In addition to the housing units, Sunset Gardens is the new location for the Renton Housing Authority Administrative offices.

The city of Renton plans to host a ribbon cutting for the new building later this year.

Sunset Gardens cost $50 million.

SMART PROJECT AWARD

Recognizes a local project that implements a comprehensive plan.

Winner: Little Bear Creek Advance Mitigation Site — Snohomish County

The Little Bear Creek Advance Mitigation Site (LBCAMS) is a six-year project created by Snohomish County to compensate for impacts associated with future roadway projects identified in the county’s comprehensive plan.

For the project, Snohomish County Public Works acquired four parcels of land, totaling 17 acres, that have now been transformed into a wetland mitigation bank. The project restored wetlands and stream habitat on the site, preserved other areas, and enhanced some areas using non-linear planning and field-fit designs.

Project costs totaled $4.2 million through 2023. With an ongoing maintenance cost of $400,000 over the next 10 years, the project is expected to save $30 million for at least 10 transportation projects already identified in the comprehensive plan.

Winner: Cochran Basin Stormwater Improvement Project — city of Spokane

The Cochran Basin is the largest stormwater basin in Spokane and encompasses residential, commercial and light industrial areas. The improvement project integrates stormwater management facilities into infrastructure and park facilities while enhancing and protecting the environment and saving millions of gallons of water.

The project includes two stormwater treatment facilities with technically engineered landscapes that support recreation, including disc golf, non-motorized boating and community trails.

SMART HOUSING STRATEGIES AWARD

Recognizes creative plans, policies, programs and/or actions.

Winner: Anacortes Housing Action Plan — city of Anacortes

Led by strong community feedback and over a thousand responses to a community survey, Anacortes adopted a new Housing Action Plan (HAP) in 2023. Using the housing plan to guide the city’s 10-year update to their comprehensive plan, the HAP has led to multiple new city ordinances all designed to accommodate a variety of new housing types.

Winner: Housing Stability Program (HSP) — city of Bellevue

Bellevue’s Housing Stability Program (HSP) is a dedicated taxation program developed to generate capital for projects that serve the city’s most vulnerable residents. The HSP provides funding for construction, acquisition, operation, maintenance and on-site support services. Using the 0.1%tax option, the HSP has provided $16 million in project funding over the last two years for construction and preservation, serving households earning 30 percent or less of the area median income.

Winner: Middle Housing and Low-Density Residential Code Amendments to Implement HOSAP — Clark County

Clark County recently adopted code amendments in low-density residential to provide expanded access for ADU’s, multiplexes, townhouses and cottages with the goal of increasing diversity in housing and affordability within the greater Vancouver Urban Growth Area.

SMART CLIMATE STRATEGIES AWARD

Recognizes local plans, policies, programs and/or actions addressing community climate impacts.

Winner: Community Solar East Project — Port of Camas/Washougal

Started in 2022 and completed in early 2024, the Port of Camas/Washougal partnered with Clark Public Utilities to install $1.4 million in solar panels on five industrial sites on port land. Using a concept known as “virtual net metering,” the new panels mean customers can now participate in a renewable energy solution that pays them back with financial energy credits toward their electric bill.

SMART EQUITY STRATEGIES AWARD

Recognizes community plans, policies and programs and/or actions addressing equity.

Winner: Equity Pilot: Empowering Community to Elevate Equity in PSRC’s Federal Transportation Funding Competition – Puget Sound Regional Council

Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) staff collaborated with their board and their Equity Advisory Committee (EAC) to pilot equity in the agency’s transportation funding competition. The board raised $6 million to help test strategies for improving equity in the distribution of transportation funding.

Using a pilot program, the EAC developed policy recommendations that were adopted by the PRSC board for future transportation funding competitions. This will strongly influence how transportation investments are identified and implemented to support communities, helping to incorporate equity into $300 million in annual federal transportation funding.

JUDGES MERIT AWARDS

Recognize success in more than one judged category.

Winner: Clark County Aging Readiness Plan: 10-year Update — Clark County

Clark County’s Aging Readiness Plan was first developed in 2012 to support the county’s growing number of older residents. The update is a long-range planning document that outlines recommendations within the ARP focused on addressing missing or lacking public infrastructure, identifying support for social services, and recognizing the need for zoning and planning standards that encourage age-friendly communities where older adults can thrive.

Winner: Eastrail Wilburton Framework Plan — King County/city of Bellevue

The Eastrail Wilburton Framework plan was jointly developed by King County Parks and the city of Bellevue. It provides a roadmap for a more than 100-foot-wide linear park through Wilburton that is being developed as part of the Eastrail multi-use trail corridor.

At completion, the 42-mile Eastrail will connect South and East King County communities to Snohomish County with a spur to Redmond.

King County Parks is the lead agency for developing parts of the Eastrail, including a 7-mile section that runs through Bellevue and encompasses the Wilburton portion.

Sunset Gardens

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