As former Chair of the Santa Monica Planning Commission, Gwynne Pugh was a key figure in the City’s undertaking of the Land Use & Circulation Element Update, conducting a 25-year review of the general plan and zoning code for the City.

In this role, he worked closely with City staff, guiding them and reviewing their work product. The Update involved extensive community outreach, interactions with the public with 30-40 workshops as well as continuous review through the Planning Commission meetings. This review has become the basis for the generation of a new code for the City that will encourage design excellence in future developments and provide public benefit to the community. With the effort completed in 2010, LUCE won the Outstanding Comprehensive Planning Award for a small jurisdiction from the California Chapter of the American Planning Association.