Today Councillor Henry and I attended Municipal Leadership
Development Program (MLDP). This is a program to help elected officials and
administrators better understand best practices and legislation for
municipalities. The program is sponsored by:
·
Saskatchewan Association of Rural
Municipalities,
·
Saskatchewan Association of Urban
Municipalities,
·
Rural Municipal Administrators’ Association of
Saskatchewan,
·
Urban Municipal Administrators’ Association of
Saskatchewan,
·
Saskatchewan Ministry of Government Relations,
and
·
New North – SANC Services,
While Councillor Henry was sitting in on Human Resources I
was attending Community and Land Use Planning. The workshop outline included:
·
Planning Structure Overview,
·
Official Community Plan,
·
Zoning Bylaw,
·
Amendments,
·
Public Consultation,
·
Subdivision,
·
Dedicated Lands,
·
Servicing Agreements,
·
Development Permits,
·
Appeals,
·
Enforcement,
·
Fees,
·
Regional Planning, and
·
Building Permits.
Here are some highlights of the workshop:
·
Canadian Institute of Planners Definition of
Planning:
·
“the scientific, aesthetic, and orderly
disposition of land, resources, facilities and services with a view to securing
the physical, economic and social efficiency, health and well-being of urban
and rural communities”.
·
Planning is governed by Provincial Legislation:
·
The Planning and Development Act, 2007,
·
Statement of Provincial Interest,
·
The Subdivision Regulations,
·
The Dedicated Lands Regulations
·
Municipal Plans
·
Official Community Plan (OCP),
·
Zoning Bylaw
·
The role of the Provincial Government through
Government Relations, the Community Planning Branch:
·
Review and Approve Plans,
·
Planning Inquiries,
·
Subdivisions,
·
Protect Provincial interests.
·
The role of the municipality:
·
Create plans,
·
Subdivision review and servicing agreements,
·
Development Officer,
·
Development Permit,
·
Enforcement,
·
Appeals, and
·
General Inquiries.
·
Role of the Planner
·
Research, analyze, and recommend,
·
Balance a variety of interests,
·
Develop clear plans for action for Council and
community.
·
Why a planner?
·
Legislative Requirement: Planning and Development Act, 2007
Section 29(3) “The official community plan shall be prepared in consultation
with a professional community planner”.
·
Community Need: many municipal issues revolve around planning
considerations, such as housing, infrastructure, environmental, social
services, location of development, conflict.
·
The OCP is a Statement from Council to residents about what the municipality wants to do in terms of
growth management and as a growth guide for the community.
·
Included in the OCP are:
·
Goals, objectives, and policies for land use,
subdivisions, services, green space, and public utilities, etc
·
Specifies what types of development are
appropriate and under what circumstance to ensure healthy community growth.
·
The plans are important so the community is
ready for development so services are planned, regulations are set, community
is aware of Council’s attention.
·
The plans provide regulatory and cost certainty
for developers.
·
The benefits of the Zoning Bylaw include:
·
Districts/Zones,
·
Development Permits,
·
Minor Variances,
·
General Conditions and Regulations,
·
Clarity,
·
Alignment between current and future users.
·
The difference between the Zoning Bylaw (ZB) and
OCP include:
·
ZB s specific and OCP is broad,
·
ZB is regulatory and OCP is policy,
·
ZB is used daily while OCP is a guide for future
direction and guidance
·
Recently Council has been amending the ZB and
here is the process:
·
Application,
·
Fee,
·
Administrative Review,
·
Referral,
·
Council Approval,
·
Ministerial Approval.
I had a lot more notes but my computer has not been cooperating.
