The City of Belton has been officially certified as a Scenic City.  Belton has earned the designation, granted by Scenic Texas through its Scenic City Certification Program, by demonstrating its commitment to the highest level of scenic standards for its public roadways and public spaces and maintaining a community with strong quality-of-life standards.  The city has been certified at the “Gold” level.

The Scenic City Certification Program, the first of its kind in the United States, was developed in 2009 and accepted its first applications in 2010.  It recognizes Belton and 13 other Texas cities as the vanguard of municipalities in the state that have adopted and maintain superior urban planning and scenic standards.

"We are so pleased that Belton has earned this recognition and will be certified as a Scenic City in 2010," said Belton Mayor Jim Covington.  "We have a long history of supporting preservation, maintaining parks and enhancing our public spaces to promote a clean, safe, and beautiful environment for our citizens, businesses, and visitors."

Belton earned high points on the Scenic Texas scale for its six protected historic districts, its regulation of on-premises signage and limitation of off premise signage, and its Design Guidelines.

Anne Culver, executive director of the Scenic City Certification Program, said, “Belton is creating an environment where its citizens can enjoy a higher quality of life and its businesses find it easier to attract customers and employees.  This is a win-win situation for the city, its residents and for the promise of future development.”  

The Scenic City Certification Program is unique; other programs exist to recognize achievement for individual aspects of urban design and development, but Scenic Texas is the first to incorporate a comprehensive set of model standards into one program.  Applicant cities present their existing municipal standards for assessment and scoring against the model.  Key elements encourage economic development, improve quality of life, and foster a sense of community and place.  Those with the highest evaluation scores are certified.  

A luncheon ceremony to award Belton and other initial awardees their Scenic City certificates will take place on Thursday, September 16, 2010, at the Hilton Austin Hotel, in Austin, Texas.

Other Texas cities awarded inaugural Scenic City Certification in 2010 include: Bastrop, Flower Mound, Georgetown, Granbury, Horseshoe Bay, Irving, Keller, Mesquite, Missouri City, South Padre Island, Sugar Land, University Park, and Westlake.  Of these, only four were awarded the Gold Level: Belton, Flower Mound, Georgetown, and Westlake.

All Texas cities may apply for Scenic City certification. Applications for 2011 may be submitted to the program beginning January 1, 2011.

For more information on the Scenic City Certification Program, please visit www.sceniccitycertification.org.