FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - December 2, 2009

For further information, contact:
Paul Niedzwiecki, Executive Director
Sharon Rooney, AICP, RLA, Chief Planner
Phil Dascombe, AICP, Senior Community Design Planner
Sarah Korjeff, Historic Preservation Specialist
Cape Cod Commission
(508) 362-3828

BARNSTABLE COUNTY, MA -- The Cape Cod Commission's newest manual, "Contextual Design on Cape Cod: Design Guidelines for Large-scale Development," has just received the 2009 Outstanding Award for a Planning Project, awarded by the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Planning Association.

Executive Director Paul Niedzwiecki received notice of the award on November 30. "We are pleased to receive this recognition for the excellent work of our planning staff," he says. "The new design manual is a valuable resource for Cape Cod's developers of large projects and for municipalities managing their review. It will help the region retain what is best suited for -- and best loved about -- Cape Cod buildings and sites."

The document is an addendum to Cape Cod Commission design guidelines first published in 1994. "Contextual Design on Cape Cod" is intended to provide specific guidance to developers and designers of large-scale buildings on the Cape to ensure that new construction respects and responds to its surroundings and the region's traditional development patterns.

The document represents the culmination of a significant amount of research and practice by Cape Cod Commission planning staff members. Sarah Korjeff, Philip Dascombe, and Sharon Rooney were the principal authors of the award-winning publication. Ten architects with experience in large-scale developments in the region assisted the staff by reviewing various stages of the publication.

The award will be presented at the joint holiday luncheon of the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Planning Association and the Massachusetts Association of Planning Directors on Friday, December 18, 2009, in Boston.

The Commission staff has begun to distribute the "Contextual Design on Cape Cod: Design Guidelines for Large-scale Development" document to town planners and review boards. The document is also available as a color PDF file from a link on the Cape Cod Commission's web site: www.capecodcommission.org

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