TRENTON, Jan. 14 — New Jersey Future Planning Manager David Kutner, AICP PP, who directed the organization’s local recovery planning manager program in six coastal towns after Hurricane Sandy and who has led New Jersey Future’s advocacy work on planning for resiliency, is the 2019 recipient of the American Planning Association-New Jersey chapter’s Budd Chavooshian Award. The award is given to a professional planner for sustained contributions to the profession through distinguished practice, teaching or writing.

In the award notification, Chapter President Charles Latini and Executive Director Sheena Collum praised Kutner for his commitment to planning, saying it “has been a blessing for us all that have been part of it. The service and dedication you provide to the APA NJ community and the communities that you have worked for, past and present, is truly noteworthy. Your work on climate change post-Sandy has moved the needle in this important venue and it is appreciated more than you are aware.”

“I’ve been very fortunate to have worked on a variety of interesting and challenging projects in New Jersey,” said Kutner. “APA NJ’s acknowledgement with the Budd Chavooshian Award is gratifying, appreciated, and a wonderful surprise.”

“David is a highly respected expert who can communicate to both policy makers and local leaders, and is a staunch advocate for community-level education and action,” said new Jersey Future Executive Director Peter Kasabach. “As part of his local recovery planning work he led the development of an innovative analysis approach that linked projected flood damage to loss of municipal tax revenue, which proved a powerful organizing and educational tool.”

In addition to his post-Sandy recovery and resilience work, David leads New Jersey Future’s Places To Age initiative, which provides municipalities with assessments and recommendations for making themselves more welcoming to older residents. He is the author of several reports on coastal resiliency, and he co-authored the Resiliency Planning chapter of the 2018 edition of the Complete Guide to Planning in New Jersey, which the chapter publishes.

In addition to his role at New Jersey Future, Kutner has been one of APA NJ’s regional representatives and has served on its Urban Design and Recovery Planning and Hazard Mitigation committees.

The award will be presented at the association’s annual conference luncheon Jan. 24.