Mountlake Terrace has received the Governor’s 2014 Smart Communities Award for the Puget Sound Regional Council Growing Transit Communities Partnership.

City Manager Arlene Fisher presented the award to the City Council at its Aug. 4 meeting and for the community at National Night Out on Aug. 5. This annual awards program recognizes achievements by local leaders who promote smart growth planning and projects that contribute to quality of life in Washington State.

“These projects help create and sustain a thriving economic climate and strengthen our ability to lead in the global economy,” said Governor Jay Inslee. “Washington is a great state in which to live and do business thanks to these examples of leadership and innovation in community planning and development.”

PSRC’s Growing Transit Communities Partnership was recognized for its strategy to attract growth, and provide more housing choices near transit and improve equitable access to economic opportunity.

The Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) is the metropolitan agency that includes all cities and counties in the King-Snohomish-Pierce-Kitsap region.

Mountlake Terrace’s “Housing Choices Program”, which received a Governor’s Smart Communities Award in 2009, reflects the codes and standards adopted by the City Council in 2008 to encourage more housing choices, walkability, and a livable community.

The Governor’s 2014 Smart Communities Awards were announced May 29 at the PSRC’s annual general assembly in Seattle.