The Awards Committee of the Arizona Chapter of the American Planning Association has announced that Matrix Design Group’s City of Page 2040 General Plan was named an Honorable Mention winner for 2023. Matrix representatives accepted the award — in the category the APA calls “Regional or General or Comprehensive Plan (49,999 or less)” — at the APA Arizona State Planning Conference, held September 6-8, 2023, in Litchfield Park, Arizona.

A statement from the APA noted that the selection of Honorable Mention winners is based on innovation, transferability, quality, comprehensiveness, public outreach, the role of the planner, and the overall effectiveness of the project.

The Page 2040 General Plan met those criteria by addressing, in addition to other issues, ways that the City, which is situated next to Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, can reinvigorate tourism and restore the public perception of the community in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Page has also had to contend with the closure of the nearby Navajo Generating Station and the subsequent loss of 588 jobs.

“The process of developing our General Plan with Matrix was educational and inspiring,” said William Diak, Mayor of Page. “We confronted our challenges, and the goals and policies that emerged are proof positive of the Plan’s success. Within six months of the Plan’s adoption, seven of the 27 recommended actions have been completed.”