And the winners are:

The 2003 annual meeting in Lake Placid provided an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of NYPF members and their contributions to the field

Heissenbuttel Award for Planning Excellence
Kent Johnson, Pawling Planning Board

The New York Planning Federation’s Heissenbuttel Award for Planning excellence is given to an individual, municipality or agency for outstanding or innovative accomplishment in the planning field, or for consistent support of the New York Planning Federation in its efforts toward better planning.

This year’s award recipient is Kent Johnson, Chairman of the Town of Pawling Planning Board, who was nominated by Frank Fish of the planning firm Buckhurst Fish & Jacquemart. Mr. Johnson has served as Chairman of the Planning Board for the past two decades, during which the Town adopted a new comprehensive plan as well as a comprehensive update of its zoning code. According to Mr. Fish, Mr. Johnson epitomizes the type of citizen-volunteer who has taken the time and effort to constantly improve his knowledge of planning and who exhibits both skill and fairness in his dealings with numerous applicants before his Planning Board.

Mr. Johnson’s cooperative relationship with the Dutchess County Planning department over the years exemplifies an ideal blend of home rule prerogative and a consciousness of regional issues and the resources of a county planning department. He has taken an active role in the model Harlem Valley Watershed study, the Harlem Valley Partnership, and the Hudson River Valley’s first Countywide Greenway Compact.

Known as the “prime mover and shaker” in the Pawling planning process, Mr. Johnson has been a leader in the development and adoption of numerous progressive measures to protect Pawling’s water resources, scenic roads, and other environmental assets at a time when the Town has been experiencing significant population growth. While Pawling grew by 28 percent over the last decade, it has done so using only three percent of its open space.