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?

Preserve open space, farmland, & environmental features

Happy, healthy, fair, affordable and efficient communities!

Mixed land uses Compact neighborhoods Range of housing

• ptions

Walkable, transit-friendly neighborhood, range of

• ptions

Direct development to already built-up areas

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

• ne-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

 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

MCR background studies, strategies and plans

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?

 Statutory consultation requirements  Innovative engagement techniques

Public Engagement in Municipal Comprehensive Reviews

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

Community Planning Permit System Complete Application Requirements

Public Engagement Beyond the MCR

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

• f 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