GROWTH PLAN IMPLEMENTATION & PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT TOOLS Purpose of - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

GROWTH PLAN IMPLEMENTATION & PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT TOOLS

Purpose of this Session  Describe changes to the planning framework  Explore public consultation opportunities and strategies  Present ideas for engagement tools  Conduct workshop

THE GROWTH PLAN = SMART GROWTH = HAPPY CITIES

What does Smart Growth mean? Compact neighborhoods Range of housing Mixed land options uses Happy, healthy, fair, affordable and efficient communities! Walkable, Direct transit-friendly development to neighborhood, already built-up range of areas options Preserve open space, farmland, & environmental features

Benefits of Smart Growth  Congestion management  Affordable housing  More transportation options  Lower levels of air pollution and GHG emissions  Improved public health  Allow aging in place  Lower costs  Natural areas and farmland preserved  More opportunities for community involvement

The Changing Planning Landscape & Community Engagement  The 2017 Growth Plan  The new OMB – the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal

The New Growth Plan  Official Plans must be brought into conformity with the Growth Plan within certain time-frames, first upper-tier then lower-tier  Some policies can be implemented through one-off official plan amendments  Others must be dealt with together through a Municipal Comprehensive Review (MCR):  allocation of population and employment growth  identification of growth centres and major transit station areas  intensification and density targets  land budget  identification of expansion areas

MCR background studies, strategies and plans  Intensification strategy  Employment strategy  Housing strategy  Analysis to justify any conversions of employment areas  Analysis to justify any refinements to the Natural Heritage System and/or Agricultural System  Infrastructure plans for water, wastewater and transit  Transportation demand management strategy

Implications for Residents  Influencing downstream decisions requires intervention upstream  MCR generates many entry points for citizen engagement  New Growth Plan gives the upper-tier municipalities a more prominent role in the MCR

LPAT changes:  The types of planning decisions that can be appealed  The types of arguments that can be used in an appeal  The nature of the appeal process The Local Planning Appeal Tribunal

Matters Appealed  No appeal of provincial planning decisions on upper- and single tier plans and MCR decisions  At the lower-tier, no appeal of intensification polices around transit stations

Arguments  The LPAT rules allow only three grounds for an appeal:  Inconsistency with the Provincial Policy Statement  Non-conformity with the Growth Plan  Conflict with an Official Plan.  Only arguments introduced during council proceedings can be used

Process  New procedures favour citizen involvement at LPAT:  Tribunal will explain the process  Local Planning Appeal Tribunal Support Centre

Implications for Residents  More policy-driven planning process  More public control and more opportunities for public input  Consistency with the OP and Growth Plan will be key  Pay attention to the upstream planning process, especially the MCR process at the upper-tier  How to mobilize people for early involvement in the MCR process?

Public Engagement in Municipal Comprehensive Reviews  Statutory consultation requirements  Innovative engagement techniques

Legally required public consultation on OP reviews  The draft plan is released to the public  An open house is held  Notice is given for a public meeting  A special meeting of council is held  The plan is approved by council

Other Options: High-touch  workshops  pop-up kiosks  storefronts  piggy-back presentations  planning advisory committees  walking tours

Other Options: High-tech  surveys  social media  newsletters  web portals  ideas forums  webinars

Public Engagement Beyond the MCR  Community Planning Permit System  Complete Application Requirements

Community Planning Permit System Provisions:  Allows a municipality to “pre - approve” development in a whole district  Municipality must adopt an OP policy then pass a separate CPP bylaw for each area  Normal consultation process on development is suspended  Municipality must approve applications consistent with the CPP bylaw.

Implications for Residents  Win-win for developers and the municipality  Double-edged sword for citizens  Long time frame and limited public input after CPP bylaw is adopted.  Municipal decisions on development applications are not appealable by citizens

Complete Application Requirements  Permits Councils to require pre-consultation with developers  Municipality can require any information or studies it needs at time of application  May include studies on:  Planning  Transportation  Cultural  Engineering  Urban Design  Environmental  Financial impact

Implications for Residents  Provides citizens with early information  Levels playing field  Increases transparency  Helps citizen argue on basis of planning merits  Only a few municipalities are using it

TOOLS FOR ENGAGEMENT

Citizen Engagement Best Practices Guide  An illustrated guide to innovative engagement practices:  description of the technique  the range of planning processes it could be applied to  strengths and weaknesses  URLs and other sources of information

Info-graphic Pamphlets  Illustrated pamphlets that would cover issues such as:  The Benefits of Smart Growth  Visualizing Densities  Negotiating Changes to Development Proposals

Regional Smart Growth Alliance  To provide a voice for residents on planning issues:  share information on successful strategies  push municipalities to develop monitoring  advocate for smarter growth  present a united voice to call out bad developments  propose changes to planning framework

Roadmap to Growth Plan Implementation  Lays out the MCR process from a citizen’s point of view:  overview of the MCR process with time line and key steps  additional pages to drill down into each step  places in the process to expect citizen engagement opportunities

Citizens’ Academy on Growth Plan Implementation  Build capacity for ratepayer intervention in the Growth Plan implementation process:  the MCR process at the upper-tier and single-tier levels  lower-tier OP changes  provincial guidance documents  engagement opportunities and techniques  help with communications and strategy development

Hot Spot Web Platform  Tracks major development applications:  location  housing/building type  size of building  proximity to transit  Walkscore  LPAT outcomes

 Round 1: past engagement  Round 2: planned engagement  Round 3: engagement tools  20 minutes per round  Make notes on the workbook  Return workbook WORKSHOP