Integrated Community Sustainability PlanningIntegrated Community Sustainability Planning

Chris Ling

Post-Doctoral Scholar

Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Community Development

Royal Roads University

Integrated Community Sustainability Plans for Canadian Municipalities

Integrated Community Sustainability Plans for Canadian Municipalities

The development of a template to support

integrated community sustainability planning

What is the template about?What is the template about?

• Engagement

• Reconciliation

• Dynamics

• Guidance

• Integration

• Tools and Techniques

• Engagement

• Reconciliation

• Dynamics

• Guidance

• Integration

• Tools and Techniques

PrinciplesPrinciples

• Governance: proactive planning rather than reactive planning

• Inclusion: early and full engagement of the community

• Governance: proactive planning rather than reactive planning

• Inclusion: early and full engagement of the community

• Integration: linking sustainability and planning policy

• Scale: moving beyond municipal boundaries and short term policies

The stepwise approachThe stepwise approach

• Creating a plan

• Implementation

• Creating a plan

• Implementation

• Engage with the community

• Understanding the place

Creating a planframeworks for development and change

Creating a planframeworks for development and change

• What is the community vision?

• Timeframe: long-term vision linked to short term cycles and goals

• Scale: links to neighbouring jurisdictions, nested systems

• What is the community vision?

• Timeframe: long-term vision linked to short term cycles and goals

• Scale: links to neighbouring jurisdictions, nested systems

Questions to considerQuestions to consider

• Are municipalities able to deliver integrated planning?

• What barriers are there?

• Does this template contain the right ideas, priorities and foci?

• Are municipalities able to deliver integrated planning?

• What barriers are there?

• Does this template contain the right ideas, priorities and foci?

Two Case StudiesTwo Case Studies

• Prince George – medium sized industrial city

• Prince George – medium sized industrial city

• Queen Charlotte Village – Small rural community, recently incorporated

Prince GeorgePrince George

• Planned on starting ICSP process Winter 2007/2008

• Held up by ice jam

• Planned on starting ICSP process Winter 2007/2008

• Held up by ice jam

• Now again on hold due to mill fires

• Unlikely to advance significantly until after elections

• Strategic and long-term planning: hampered by short-term crises and political concerns.

Positive signsPositive signs

• ICSP will be a major operating document for the City

• Comprehensive multi-sectoral and inter-disciplinary approach

• Degree to which plan will be overridden by significant and current political concerns

• ICSP will be a major operating document for the City

• Comprehensive multi-sectoral and inter-disciplinary approach

• Degree to which plan will be overridden by significant and current political concerns

ConcernsConcerns

• What will the time scale for visioning be – currently undefined?

• Is developing as a summary document of pre-existing policies - will the necessary cross sectoral linkages be created?

• What will be the community engagement process?

• Strategic and long-term planning of any sort always hampered by short-term crises and political concerns.

• What will the time scale for visioning be – currently undefined?

• Is developing as a summary document of pre-existing policies - will the necessary cross sectoral linkages be created?

• What will be the community engagement process?

• Strategic and long-term planning of any sort always hampered by short-term crises and political concerns.

Queen Charlotte VillageQueen Charlotte Village

• Incorporated in 2006

• Need for control

• Poor relationship with Regional District

• Need for planning to address challenges

• First order of business was Official Community Plan (OCP) – land use planning.

• Then ICSP – started in spring 2007

• Incorporated in 2006

• Need for control

• Poor relationship with Regional District

• Need for planning to address challenges

• First order of business was Official Community Plan (OCP) – land use planning.

• Then ICSP – started in spring 2007

QCV: Community engagementQCV: Community engagement

• Set up volunteer planning committee using open recruitment of volunteers from village.

• Limited use of engagement after that – single survey on walkability.

• Fear of town meetings – unproductive , confrontational.

• Lack of knowledge of other more constructive and inclusive engagement methods.

• Set up volunteer planning committee using open recruitment of volunteers from village.

• Limited use of engagement after that – single survey on walkability.

• Fear of town meetings – unproductive , confrontational.

• Lack of knowledge of other more constructive and inclusive engagement methods.

QCV: Understanding the placeQCV: Understanding the place

• Poor legacy of data from Regional District

• Knowledge based on assumption and local experience, quality mixed and sporadic in topic.

• Dependant on natural resources and tourism outside their immediate control and jurisdiction and ultimately knowledge [Provincial Government prevented the inclusions of a

wider boundary due to fear of development]

• Poor legacy of data from Regional District

• Knowledge based on assumption and local experience, quality mixed and sporadic in topic.

• Dependant on natural resources and tourism outside their immediate control and jurisdiction and ultimately knowledge [Provincial Government prevented the inclusions of a

wider boundary due to fear of development]

QCV: GovernanceQCV: Governance

• Village has 0 bylaws

• Enforcement and implementation are going to be a major challenge

• Village has 0 bylaws

• Enforcement and implementation are going to be a major challenge

QCV: IntegrationQCV: Integration

• OCP and ICSP are seen as parallel and the senior operating documents for the village – although the integration between them has yet to be observed

• Topics within plans largely dictated by the personal interests of the members of the advisory planning committee and council. These are not holistic (lack of understanding of the place?)

• OCP and ICSP are seen as parallel and the senior operating documents for the village – although the integration between them has yet to be observed

• Topics within plans largely dictated by the personal interests of the members of the advisory planning committee and council. These are not holistic (lack of understanding of the place?)

QCV: ScaleQCV: Scale

• Working relationships with adjacent First Nations and other island municipalities and communities poor.

• Boundaries very restrictive

• Limited influence over Forestry and Tourism

• Temporal scale yet to be decided

• Working relationships with adjacent First Nations and other island municipalities and communities poor.

• Boundaries very restrictive

• Limited influence over Forestry and Tourism

• Temporal scale yet to be decided

QCV: ConcernsQCV: Concerns

• The ICSP may become focused on personal agenda and concerns

• Lack of working relationships with neighbours could reduce effectiveness and scope

• Ideas and visions mainly based on developments outside village control

• The ICSP may become focused on personal agenda and concerns

• Lack of working relationships with neighbours could reduce effectiveness and scope

• Ideas and visions mainly based on developments outside village control

QCV: The PostiveQCV: The Postive

• Genuine desire to fully and constructively engage the community (the ‘fully’ is easy, the ‘constructively’ hard)

• APC made up of diverse and motivated individuals

• Recognition that this stuff is vital for the community

• Genuine desire to fully and constructively engage the community (the ‘fully’ is easy, the ‘constructively’ hard)

• APC made up of diverse and motivated individuals

• Recognition that this stuff is vital for the community

Conclusions for the TemplateConclusions for the Template

• The template is most useful for smaller communities

• It has material of use for most community sizes

• Still requires outside assistance for the process, but increases the informed control exerted by even small communities

• The general structure is relevant for ICSP planning in reality

• Some of the detail may be more or less relevant – may depend on community size and personality

• The template is most useful for smaller communities

• It has material of use for most community sizes

• Still requires outside assistance for the process, but increases the informed control exerted by even small communities

• The general structure is relevant for ICSP planning in reality

• Some of the detail may be more or less relevant – may depend on community size and personality

Questions for ICSPs in BCQuestions for ICSPs in BC

• Scale: Do smaller communities have the impact on and control over sufficient resources to provide a sustainable future?

• Capacity: Do communities have the capacity internally to plan for sustainability?

• What should/is the relationship between OCP and ICSP and do either of them really have sufficient impact on the development of communities

• Scale: Do smaller communities have the impact on and control over sufficient resources to provide a sustainable future?

• Capacity: Do communities have the capacity internally to plan for sustainability?

• What should/is the relationship between OCP and ICSP and do either of them really have sufficient impact on the development of communities