Scorecard Frequently Asked Questions

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2.  What is the Smart Growth Scorecard?
Arizona’s Smart Growth Scorecard is a community self-assessment tool to help cities, towns, counties, and Tribal governments evaluate their growth planning efforts by a set of smart growth criteria and performance indicators.  The Scorecard was designed with significant input from public and private stakeholders to strengthen the ability of local officials to plan for future growth and developement and to adopt comprehensive and regional planning strategies.  State discretionary grant and funding programs will use a community's completed Scorecard to award additional incentives to communities growing smarter and technical assistance to those needing support.  The intent is to recognize quality planning efforts and focus state assistance efforts around this self-evaluation guide for growth preparedness.  

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3.  What framework was used to develop the Scorecard?
The Growing Smarter Guiding Principles, Arizona’s planning statutes, and the implementation of smart growth techniques and tools (such as mixed use zoning, pedestrian oriented design, focusing growth in areas around transportation, and regional planning) provide the foundation for Arizona’s Smart Growth Scorecard.

Arizona's Growing Smarter Guiding Principles were developed by the Governor’s Growing Smarter Oversight Council through an extensive statewide process and provide a vision for managing Arizona’s rapid growth and long term planning for the next 100 years. The Guiding Principles are organized into six major categories which provide the basis for the Scorecard:

• Responsibility and Accountability
• Preservation of Community Character
• Stewardship of Natural Resources
• Opportunity for Broad Choices
• Essential Service Infrastructure
• Economic Development

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4.  Are there other states that use a Scorecard?
Yes, The following states use scorecards:

• Massachusetts uses a scorecard, called the Commonwealth Capital Program, to distribute state funding to cities and towns that are engaged in smart growth. (To find scorecard information, enter Commonwealth Capital Program in their search box). 
• Vermont has a scorecard that allows communities to assess their ability to handle growth and development and provides communities with resources and suggestions for smart growth.
• Colorado’s scorecard, similar to Vermont’s, alllows a community to assesses their situation, and opt to make changes based on the conclusions generated from answering the questions. 
• New Jersey has a scorecard both for communities and for specific projects within communities. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Smart Growth provides information on Scorecard programs nationwide.

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5.  How does the Scorecard work?
The Scorecard is an incentive-based tool to help cities, towns and counties evaluate their growth planning efforts. Entities applying for grants and loans from participating state discretionary funding programs must reference a Scorecard. A list of participating state agencies is available on the Department of Commerce website. When citizens, non-profit organizations, special districts, and other community groups apply for applicable state discretionary loans or grants, they will reference the Smart Growth Scorecard of the community or county closest to their proposed project. This approach encourages citizens, non-profit organizations, and other entities to talk with their community leaders, make sure a Scorecard is filled out, and ultimately encourage them to implement smart growth practices. If a project spans more than one jurisdiction, the applicant can choose the best score for their application.  Incentives and assistance will apply depending on the score.  The granting agency will provide specific direction for how this will work within their application.

The Scorecard status of all communities is available on the Arizona Department of Commerce website. It is only necessary to state in the grant application which Scorecard is applicable to fulfill the requirement. An applicant cannot reference an incomplete Scorecard.

Communities - cities, towns and counties
Counties and incorporated cities and towns must complete and submit their own Scorecard.

Citizens, non-profit organizations, special districts, and other community groups
When citizens, non-profit organizations, special districts, and other community groups apply for state discretionary loans or grants, they need to reference the Smart Growth Scorecard of the community closest to their proposed project. If a project spans more than one jurisdiction, the applicant can choose the best score for their application.

Tribal governments and Tribal political subdivisions:
Tribes and Tribal subdivisions may complete and submit their own Scorecard, use a scorecard of the county they are located within, or use a nearby community’s scorecard.

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6.  Who should complete a Scorecard? 
Cities, towns, and counties must complete a Scorecard to apply for state discretionary funding.  Tribal governments are encouraged to complete a Scorecard.

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7.  Which state funding programs use the Scorecard?
Click here for information on the state agencies for participating in the Scorecard program and contact information.

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8.  How should the Scorecard be completed?
An online, interactive Scorecard has been created, so all questions and supporting documentation can be submitted electronically. It is preferable that the Scorecard be submitted online; however, it may also be printed and submitted via fax or regular mail to the Office of Smart Growth. For those communities seeking assistance in completing the Scorecard, the Arizona Department of Commerce Office of Smart Growth in conjunction with other state agencies can provide assistance in the form of materials and workshops.

Each Scorecard question allows the user to explain their answers and to upload supporting documentation.  With a state as diverse as Arizona, it would be difficult to capture every community's  set of circumstances in every question, so the opportunity to provide comments and additional documentation allows communitis to expand concepts, highlight achievements and regional partnerships, point to specific information, and alleviate potential discrepancies for unique situations.


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9.  Are there differerent criteria for different size communities?
Smart growth criteria and indicators are applied differently to each of the three size categories of community and county populations as devised in the Growing Smarter statutes (A.R.S. §9-461.05 and §11-821) using current state population estimates (see Arizona Department of Commerce, Population Statistics Unit for estimates) to reflect current growth trends. The state population estimates for the last five years determine rates of growth.  The Office of Smart Growth website provides community size delineations by city/town, county and Tribal governments. The larger the jurisdiction, the more criteria will apply. Tribal government (and Tribal political subdivisions) fit within the small category.

This separate application of criteria acknowledges that planning techniques and funding to support smart growth may differ by the growth pressures facing your community and that the level of technical and financial resources available to small, mid-size or large towns, cities, counties, and Tribal governments may be significantly different in a state as diverse as Arizona. The Scorecard will indicate where each criterion applies to different sized communities.

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10.  Can small and medium category communities answer additional questions?
Small and medium communities are encouraged to complete the entire Scorecard to access their strengths and challenges for managing future growth, but the stated discretionary loan and grant process will only consider questions appropriate to community size in determining incentives and assistance.  The online application will not tally the points for additional questions in the overall score however the responses will be viewable in the community's online Scorecard.

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11.  When is the Scorecard due?
The Smart Growth Scorecard should be submitted before applying for state funding from participating grant and loan programs.  Consider that private applicants may also need to reference your community's Scorecard to apply for funding so submitting it in a timely manner is recommended.

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12. What happens when the Scorecard is submitted? 
When a community submits its Scorecard, it is automatically considered complete and it becomes publically available on the Commerce website. The community submitting the Scorecard receives a confirmation email that their Scorecard has been submitted and is available online.  A multi-agency review panel is being created to randomly audit some questions.


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13.  What happens if the Scorecard is not submitted?
The Scorecard is an incentive based tool; completion is not mandatory.  However, certain state grant and loan programs may require it as part of the application.  Some programs require only that the Scorecard be submitted as part of a administrately complete grant or loan application regardless of a community's score, whereas others use the score to provide additional technical assistance or financial and other incentives.  Click here for information on the Scorecard in participating programs.  

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14.  How do we find out if our community's Scorecard has been completed?
The main page of the online application links to a list of all of Arizona's communities.  This list identifies the status of each community's Scorecard.  A submitted status means that the Scorecard has been sent to the Arizona Department of Commerce Office of Smart Growth for approval.  A completed status indicates that the community's Scorecard has been received and approved and is available to the public.  The primary accountholder will receive an email when your community’s Scorecard has been accepted and is available online.

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15.  Will the Scorecard replace existing grant application criteria?
No. Existing agency grant program guidelines and standards stay the same; however, the score determines whether financial incentives or technical assistance will be provided by the granting program.

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16.  How are the scores determined?
The Scorecard is comprised of 50 questions based on the six Growing Smarter Guiding Principles and associated smart growth and planning indicators. The overall calculation of answers to these criteria and indicators is used to obtain a score for a community or jurisdiction. Between 1 and 3 three points can be earned for each question. Compare the total overall score to the three scoring categories shown below.

Small Communities:  24 questions
    58 - 72 points (80% - 100%) = smart growth
    43 - 57 points (60% - 79%) = in transition
    42 and below (0% - 59%) = needs attention

Medium Communities:  42 questions
    100 - 126 points (80% - 100%) = smart growth
    76 - 100 points (60% - 79%) = in transition
    75 and below (0% - 59%) = needs attention

Large Communities:  50 questions
    120 - 150 points (80% - 100%) = smart growth
    90 - 119 points (60% - 79%) = in transition
    89 and below (0% - 59%) = needs attention

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17.  What does my community's score indicate?
In assessing your overall scores, we suggest you consider these basic messages:

Smart Growth: Scores in this category indicate that a community has taken initiative to implement smart growth policies in a positive direction.

In Transition: To move in the smart growth direction, look at your weaker section scores. Study individual results and identify steps that can lead you to achieve a higher score.

Needs Attention: It is important to analyze the results carefully to evaluate specific challenges and areas for improvement. Identify steps that will get you on the path for wiser planning and development. The state offers opportunities that can help increase your planning capacity. Contact state planning assistance programs like the Arizona Department of Commerce Office of Smart Growth or the Center for Housing Affordability and Livable Communities (CHALC) at the Arizona Department of Housing for assistance.

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18.  Will the results of the Scorecard be available to the public?
Yes. A community’s answers and resulting scores are posted online and available to the public. To review a community’s Scorecard, follow this link and then double click on the community’s scorecard you are interested in viewing.

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19.  How do the financial incentives work?
For smart growth communities, a variety of incentives are available depending on the individual funding agency and program. A few examples include additional funding, basis points off loans and lower interest rates.  The granting agency will provide specific direction within their application how this will work within their respective programs.  To learn more, contact the specific state agency.  Click here for contact information.

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20.  How does the technical and financial assistance work?
For communities that are transitioning toward smarter growth and development (i.e. a community that has a score that could use improvement), the state granting agency may offer technical and/or financial assistance. Note that a low score may also give an entity priority for certain grants, such as technical assistance grants, depending on the grant program.  The granting agency will provide specific direction within their application how this will work within their respective programs.  Click here for contact information.

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21.  How do I attach supporting documentation?
Each Scorecard question allows the user to upload supporting documentation.  Simply select Browse button at the end of the question, found under the header Upload Related Documents.  You will be able to browse through your files to find the approprpriate document.  Click on Open to attach the file.  Too add an additional document, click on the Add Document button and use the same procedure as above.  Be sure to click the Save Changes button before moving on to the next question.  Your document will be included with the Scorecard submittal.  Please note that only PDF documents can be uploaded. 

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22.  Who can we contact for assistance or additional information?
The Arizona Department of Commerce Office of Smart Growth is available to assist with any questions or concerns:

Office of Smart Growth
Arizona Department of Commerce
1700 West Washington Street, Suite 420
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Phone (602) 771-1191
Fax (602)771-1210

Kristen Keener Busby, AICP, Director, Arizona Office of Smart Growth
Erika Green, Senior Planner
Lori Sherill, Projects Coordinator

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