POLICY REPORT
URBAN STRUCTURE
Date: July 16, 1996
Dept.File: RH/TF
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: Director of City Plans, in consultation with CityPlan Steering
Committee including:
Director of Community Planning
General Manager of Engineering Services
General Manager of Community Services
General Manager of Corporate Services
General Manager of Parks and Recreation
Deputy City Manager
Housing Centre Manager
SUBJECT: CityPlan Community Vision Pilot Program
RECOMMENDATIONS
A. THAT Council receive, for information, submissions from the
public on "Bringing CityPlan to Neighbourhoods" attached as
Appendix F*.
B. THAT Council approve the CityPlan Community Visions Terms of
Reference (Appendix E**) as the program guide for preparing
community visions - a program for communities to set their
future directions, based on CityPlan, through an eight-month,
seven-step community process and associated city-wide program.
C. THAT Council approve undertaking a CityPlan Community Visions
pilot project with two communities to start vision programs in
January 1997, as per the timing and schedule described in
Appendix B.
D. THAT, following consultation with community groups, the
Director of City Plans report back, in October 1996, with a
recommendation on which two communities will participate in
the Community Visions pilot project.
E. THAT Council authorize funding in the amount of $686,200, as
outlined in Appendix C, to complete the 1996 pre-program phase
and the two pilot Community Visions in 1997 and related 1997
city-wide program; source of funds to be $110,000 in the
existing CityPlan budget and the remaining $576,200 to be
provided in the 1997 Operating Budget;
FURTHER THAT temporary staff positions be subject to job
evaluation by the General Manager of Human Resources Services.
* ON FILE IN THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE.
** LIMITED DISTRIBUTION - ON FILE IN THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE.
F. THAT staff report to Council at the conclusion of the two
pilot vision projects on a broad-based evaluation of the
process and content, including an assessment of how well the
visions are moving toward achieving the CityPlan Directions.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of
the foregoing, noting it is important to establish plans for
guiding change in communities and to do so as expeditiously as
possible. The proposed process is a result of staff s best effort
to develop a way to fully involve citizens in the complex task of
setting directions for their community.
While the process has many excellent features, it is expensive.
When everything is counted, each community vision will cost the
City about one-half million dollars-before any implementation.
This includes the cost of existing staff, who could otherwise be
deployed to other City priorities. It is essential Council feel
confident it is getting at least half-a-million dollars of value
out of each visioning exercise. It will take considerable time and
resources to complete plans for all communities in the city, this
is only worth doing if the value to the City in general is there.
If the visions respond well to CityPlan and to the Livable Region
Strategy, there is a potential to save the City and the Region big
dollars in infrastructure costs and to create a generally more
efficient and more livable City. If the visions do not effectively
pursue the City and Regional plans, the value to the general
taxpayers is questionable.
Given these concerns, the first two visions should be seen as pilot
projects which will be carefully evaluated first for valued results
and second with a view to improving the efficiency of the community
vision process so as to keep costs as low as possible.
COUNCIL POLICY
On June 6, 1995, Council approved CityPlan to provide directions for
Vancouver. The "Next Steps" propose preparing plans for neighbourhoods
based on the CityPlan Directions. Appendix A summarizes CityPlan
Directions for neighbourhoods.
SUMMARY
CityPlan and the Livable Region Strategy suggest ways to respond to
change while meeting resident needs and maintaining livability. The
challenge is to implement these plans. This report summarizes the Terms
of Reference (Appendix E) to undertake a program to work with Vancouver
communities to implement CityPlan directions at the community and
neighbourhood levels.
The program is to engage people in their communities to create community
visions within the context of CityPlan. Visions will include all
CityPlan topics. For example, they will locate neighbourhood centres,
find ways to reduce the need to use cars, address changing housing
needs, identify ways to increase safety and provide more affordable
housing, and suggest aspects and areas of character to be retained and
the character of new development.
Visions will provide a plan for the future of communities. They will
guide decisions and actions the City, residents, and businesses can
take. They will provide a basis for targeting future City programs,
responding to rezoning inquiries, and directing limited funds toward
priority actions.
Visions will be developed through an intensive, condensed community
public process of seven steps, over eight-months. Residents and local
business people will identify ideas for the community vision, discuss
alternatives, and select a vision for approval by Council. Staff will
facilitate the process, providing information and support.
A simultaneous city-wide program will provide an opportunity for
communities to share ideas and develop mutual accountability for sharing
services and growth. The city-wide program also provides opportunities
to involve citizens in the City's response to the GVRD Livable Region
Strategy and other city-wide issues.
The Vision Program offers a new and systematic approach to preparing
plans for all communities for the first time - plans that build into the
broader directions adopted in CityPlan. Compared to previous community
planning, visioning is faster, broader in scope, and has an agreed City
context. Visions are based on community-generated options, and will seek
a broad consensus, within which the community and the City can
effectively target actions.
Staff recommend starting two visions in January 1997. Following public
consultation, staff will report back with a recommendation on areas for
the first vision programs.
Because many aspects of the proposed process are new, staff recommend
that Community Vision Process be considered as a pilot project, with an
evaluation following the first two visions.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to recommend a program to prepare visions
for Vancouver communities which reflect and implement CityPlan
Directions.
BACKGROUND
During 1992 - 1995, thousands of citizens participated in choosing
directions for Vancouver. Citizens made clear what they value and want
to maintain or improve. They also made the difficult choice to accept
growth in housing and jobs, to meet changing community needs.
On June 6, 1995, Council adopted CityPlan: Directions for Vancouver. At
the same meeting, Council supported the City's participation in the
Livable Region Strategy which provides a link between city and regional
plans.
The adopted CityPlan includes directions to guide neighbourhood planning
(see Appendix A). The key directions are:
- create neighbourhood centres as the heart of each community with
shops, jobs, services and public places;
- add jobs and services in neighbourhood centres to minimize travel;
- maintain, enhance, or create neighbourhood character;
- make neighbourhoods safer and services more accessible, and involve
people in planning and delivering services;
- provide more choice of housing types and prices across the city;
and
- increase walking, biking, and transit in and between
neighbourhoods.
The CityPlan "Next Steps" included a proposal to bring people from
across the city together with Council and staff to determine how to plan
for neighbourhoods and their centres.
On January 9, 1996, Council approved a public process to discuss ways to
prepare neighbourhood plans. This report describes the findings from
the public process and proposes a program to prepare Community Visions,
based upon CityPlan directions.
RESULTS OF THE PUBLIC CONSULTATION PROGRAM
In January 1996, Council released a discussion paper, prepared by
CityPlan staff, outlining a proposal for involving communities in
implementing CityPlan directions at the neighbourhood level. A summary
brochure was mailed to all households on the CityPlan mailing list,
distributed through libraries and community centres, and made available
on the Internet. Through March, comments were received by letter,
e-mail, fax, voice mail, and questionnaire. CityPlan staff met with
community groups, held focus groups, and hosted a public workshop.
A summary of the public process, key themes, and responses is in
Appendix D. (Copies of all public input are in Appendix F --
distribution to Council members; copies on file in the City Clerk's
Office and the Planning Department.)
People were generally supportive and offered a number of suggested
changes:
- provide adequate "start up" time to help neighbourhoods who are not
well organized and citizens who are not used to participating to
learn about CityPlan and get involved;
- be explicit about program expectations, funding to implement plans,
and roles of staff, citizens, and Council;
- create a citizens' committee; tasks proposed for the committee
ranged from a "watchdog" of the vision process to being responsible
for the planning program;
- locate planning staff in the community to increase awareness of the
program and transparency;
- provide opportunities for continuous dialogue among people and
between citizens and staff; and
- be explicit about the broader context and include a process to
bring a city-wide perspective directly into community visions.
Findings from other cities and public input led to a revised program for
bringing CityPlan to neighbourhoods which includes proposals for site
offices, a Community Liaison Group, and city-wide input to vision
programs.
PROPOSED CITYPLAN COMMUNITY VISIONS PROGRAM
The purpose of the proposed Community Visions Program is to have
communities, assisted by staff, develop visions that incorporate a wide
range of community interests and describe common ground for moving in
CityPlan directions. Two communities would prepare visions
simultaneously, each covering an area generally at the scale of a Local
Area.
The proposed vision program is a new way of doing neighbourhood
planning. The process is shorter than traditional area planning
programs. The range of topics included is broader than in previous
plans. For the first time there are Council-approved City directions to
provide a context for communities. Within that context, the community
generates the options and selects its preferred vision.
The program details are provided in the Terms of Reference (Appendix
E). This information is summarized below.
Ground Rules: A set of principles underlying the program requires that
each community vision address CityPlan directions and that the process
involve the broad community.
Product: A community vision will be a document which expresses in words,
drawings, photographs, and maps how the community proposes to meet its
needs and move forward on all CityPlan directions.
Visions will include many components of traditional area plans. They
will talk about how many people will live in the community and what
their needs will be in terms of housing, services, jobs, and recreation;
how the community will address environmental issues, including how
people will get around; and what the character and open spaces will be
like. Visions will locate the neighbourhood centre and describe its
look and feel, and the types of housing, jobs, shops, services, and
community spaces.
Visions will be used to guide actions and decisions on all levels. This
includes: community programs such as recycling; City initiatives and
decisions, such as greenways, traffic calming, public art, and detailed
land use planning; and provincial programs such as health services.
Visions will provide a context, both at the local and city-wide level,
for a variety of land use, spending, and program decisions. They will
provide a more effective way of targeting City and community actions.
To achieve a comprehensive plan in a shorter time, visions will include
most, but not all, of the content of a traditional area plan. For
example, visions will not include the preparation of new zoning
schedules. They will, however, identify where a rezoning or a more
detailed physical or social program is required and its general nature.
This information will provide a context to assess rezoning and funding
requests, set priorities, and start implementation.
Community Process: Community visioning will be an eight-month,
seven-step process, by the community, facilitated by City staff. The
steps lead from the identification of community needs, ideas, issues,
and opportunities on all the CityPlan topics, to the creation, by the
community, of vision options, and then to the community s selection of a
preferred vision. Each step provides a variety of ways for people in
the community to be involved in creating, reviewing, and deciding on
their vision -- including kitchen table meetings, workshops, discussion
groups, community events, festivals, brochures, and surveys.
A Community Liaison Group of local people will provide continuity, be a
watch dog of the process, and help to reach and involve more people in
the community.
Staff reviewed several ways to prepare community visions and believe the
eight-month process uses the minimum time possible to achieve broad
consensus on a wide range of topics and commitment to future actions.
One of the objectives of the vision process is to assist communities to
assume more responsibility for implementing their visions. Following
completion of the vision, an eighth step is for the community to set
priorities for implementation.
City-wide Process: As communities prepare visions, there will be a
simultaneous city-wide program to prepare tools, share ideas, provide a
city and regional perspective, and develop a sense of mutual
accountability. The city-wide program also provides an opportunity to
involve people in the City s response to the GVRD Livable Regional
Strategy and other city-wide issues. PILOT PROJECT TIMING AND REVIEW
This program was developed to reach the whole city, for the first time,
in a systematic way, within several years. However, at two communities
at a time, it could take at least six years for all communities to
participate. This represents a considerable time and resource
commitment.
Because this is a major City initiative that can set new ways of
planning with communities, staff recommend that the first visions be
conducted as a pilot project, with two visions starting concurrently in
January, to be completed in September 1997. The pilot project review
will include issues such as effectiveness of public involvement, program
delivery and resources, and evaluation of movement in CityPlan
directions. Visions will be presented to City Council for approval in
the context of the review.
PILOT COMMUNITIES SELECTION
If Council endorses the Community Visions program, staff will report
back in October 1996 with a recommendation on the first two communities
for visioning. Criteria for eligibility for early visioning are:
never having a comprehensive community planning program; or
being predominantly single-family, so that visioning encompasses
all CityPlan directions including housing variety.
Other factors that will come into play include timing relative to major
public or private investments (e.g. proposed transit line); having
communities on both east and west sides of the City; and the community
expressing an interest in participating, based on the Terms of
Reference.
Several communities have already expressed interest. Prior to reporting
back, staff will advise community groups of the opportunity for
visioning, meet with those who request it, and ask about interest in
participation. A City Forum in early October will provide an
opportunity for citizens to discuss which communities should be the
pilots.
These criteria and considerations can also be used to assess proposals
for further visions, if the program continues after the pilot stage.
PILOT PROGRAM BUDGET REQUEST
This report requests approval of $686,200 to fund the pilot project,
including a 1996 start-up phase, and two community visions and
associated city-wide program, from January through September 1997, as
outlined in Appendix C. $110,000 remains in the CityPlan budget to cover
the 1996 program. $576,200 is requested from the 1997 Operating Budget.
The total cost of the pilot project, including public process costs and
staff from Planning, Engineering, Parks, Finance, and Housing, is
approximately $1.1 million. The budget request is for approximately half
the full program cost because the reassignment of existing staff
contributes the balance.
The cost per vision, including public program, staff, and a share of the
city-wide and communications costs, is approximately $500,000. A number
of factors contribute to the cost of preparing community visions. These
include the condensed time line, the broad public involvement, and the
companion city-wide process to provide a context for community visions.
To provide an order of magnitude for cost comparison, previous area
planning programs which provided policy directions, have ranged from
$273,000 for the Marpole Plan (18 months), $385,000 for Oakridge Langara
(18 months), to $710,000 for the Hastings-Sunrise Plan (five years).
Several partial cost offsets have been identified. Funding requests
Council would have received to do traditional area planning programs
would be replaced by the Visions Program. Similarly, funding will not be
required for other separate public processes, such as the Livable Region
Strategy, which can be included in the Community Visions Program
city-wide process. In addition, over time, as visions are adopted, they
will reduce response time and costs by providing guidance to Council and
staff on a variety of subjects, such as responding to rezoning
applications.
Staff note that if the Vision program does not proceed, Council will
still be facing requests from communities for planning services.
The pilot project review provides an opportunity to assess the value of
the program in light of its costs.
RELATIONSHIP TO THE OTHER CITY PROGRAMS TO FACILITATE AND IMPLEMENT
VISIONS
A number of programs, already underway, will complement and help
implement Community Visions. These include, for example:
Transportation Plan and neighbourhood traffic programs
Greenways Program
Better City Government Development and Building Review
Better City Government Public Involvement Review
RS-1 Zoning Review and RS-6 Interim Zoning
Development Cost Levies and Community Amenity Contributions
Social and Cultural grants and Affordable Housing Programs
Integrated Service Teams
City Capital and Operating Budgets.
Neighbourhood Integrated Service Teams can play a special role by
addressing immediate neighbourhood issues through the coordinated
actions of City departments. NISTs also offer an ongoing link to the
community after the vision program.
Council should note that a specific budget for CityPlan implementation
is not included in the proposed 1997-1999 Capital Plan. Rather, as
priorities are identified through Community Vision Programs, these will
provide guidance to work undertaken through established budgets.
The CityPlan Steering Committee, including related General Managers and
Department Heads, will continue to provide guidance throughout the
visioning program.
CONCLUSIONS
CityPlan proposed that communities prepare plans for how CityPlan
Directions will be implemented at the neighbourhood level.
Council has already approved actions in support of many CityPlan
directions. The proposed Community Visioning program draws these actions
together. Community visions offer communities an opportunity to tailor a
response to neighbourhood needs which is consistent with overall City
directions.
Visions offer some certainty about where change will and will not
happen. This provides a basis for assessing requests for services and
rezonings. Visions will also establish priorities for funding and
future staff work.
As Vancouver residents face challenges associated with changing needs,
this program proposes new ways to involve residents and businesses in
meeting these challenges. The Community Visioning Program is not about
doing more with less. It is about doing things differently by
implementing the strategic planning directions of CityPlan and
encouraging communities to take more responsibility for planning and
setting priorities.
* * * * *