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WCEL
> Issues > Urban Growth and
Development > Smart Bylaws Guide > Part
8 > Gain Community Support
Smart Bylaws Guide – Gain Community Support
All levels of government increasingly recognize that when those
who will experience the effects of a decision are involved in making
that decision, it will usually result in a better project that is
more acceptable to the community. This “subsidiarity
principle” has been adopted by a variety of local governments in
BC by councils who want to ensure that community concerns are
addressed when new development applications are submitted for staff
review. Other councils are searching for ways to avoid lengthy
public hearings and acrimonious relationships between citizens,
developers and staff.
At first
glance, it may appear that asking developers to gain community
support before coming forward with a project will add significant
time and costs to the project. However, many complex projects have
been rejected or stalled at public hearings after the developer and
community have been engaged in a hostile discussion in the media.
Both the developer and citizens have spent significant amounts of
time and money on the ultimately rejected project. Other
projects have received council accolades because the developer has
worked effectively with the community and staff to create a high
quality project that has addressed neighbourhood concerns.
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“Much
has been written on tools and techniques for involving
citizens in the planning process. The more focused that
process is with regard to where and how the community should
grow, the stronger will be the link to development
regulations. In addition to common — and still very useful
— public participation tools such as community surveys,
neighbourhood meetings, focus groups and pot-luck suppers,
other tools that take advantage of modern technologies and
focus on design and development can strengthen the link
between planning and smart growth. These include:
Design
workshops, or charrettes…Visual preference surveys…Visualization
techniques…Conducting build-out studies to
predict future development…neighbourhood or growth centre
plans describe in detail the community’s long-term
growth objectives.”
Growing
Smart: Best Site Planning for Residential, Commerical and
Industrial Development (Vermont Forum on Sprawl 2001,
p.16) |
As
indicated above, public participation takes many forms. However, to
be effective public input must have a visible effect on development
plans. Simply providing information and receiving input without
changing how development will occur quickly discourages further
participation and creates mistrust between the community and
municipality.
Strategies
that promote public participation in the development process and a
greater understanding of community growth include:
For More Information
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