Barry and Kay Beard, Terri Vela, Evalyn Moore, Jessica Duet and Gary Smith.
Richmond was recently presented with the Scenic City Certification at the Hilton Austin in conjunction with the Texas Municipal League’s Annual Conference. City officials and business leaders were on hand to recognize Richmond, which was among 23 cities that earned certification or recertification for the 2015-2020 period.
The Scenic City Certification Program draws a direct correlation between the success of a city’s economic development efforts and the visual appearance of its public spaces and recognizes municipalities that implement high-quality scenic standards. Understanding that the more a community does to enhance its unique set of assets, the better positioned it will be for growth, the City of Richmond recently adopted its new Unified Development Code (UDC). This UDC sets the course for Richmond’s planning, zoning and ordinance development. One result of the UDC is that in its Scenic City assessment, Richmond earned Scenic City Certification at the Bronze level.
Earning certification is straightforward: A city must meet three criteria before applying to the program including having a strictly regulated and enforced sign code, a ban on new billboards and a landscaping and tree planting program. Then, a city’s existing standards are assessed and scored based on a model of over 70 possible criteria ranging from percentage of park and open space, strong litter enforcement laws and more.
“Scenic City Certification signifies Richmond’s strong commitment to high-quality standards for public roadways and public spaces,” said Anne Culver, executive director of The Scenic City Certification Program. “This recognition goes a long way in boosting Richmond’s image, which in turn spurs economic development.”
“What a wonderful honor for Richmond to be named a Scenic City of Texas,” said Mayor Evalyn Moore. “We were one of only eight new cities so recognized, which I am very proud of, as can be our residents. Our City administration worked very hard to achieve this goal. I applaud their efforts.” Visit www.sceniccitycertification.org for more information.