2010-09-02_Agenda Packet--Dossier de l'ordre du jourCity of Saint John
Common Council Meeting
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Location: Plan SJ Storefront in Brunswick Square
Special Committee of the Whole Open Agenda - Open Session
1.1 Plan SJ Agenda
1.2 Plan SJ: Draft Methodology for the Creation of the Options for Growth and Change
1.3 Plan SJ Newsletter
City of Saint John
Seance du conseil communal
Le jeudi 2 septembre 2010
Lieu : Local du projet Plan SJ an centre Brunswick Square
Comite Plenier Ordre du jour de la seance extraordinaire du Comite plenier (seance publique)
1.1 Ordre du jour pour le project P1anSJ
1.2 P1anSJ : ebauche du methodologie pour la creation des options et pour la croissance et le changement
13 Bulletin d'information du project Plan SJ
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OUR, CI Y-01. :I FUTt - NOTi r , I : N; _,;E A. MR
Council Special Sesssion - PlanS1 Choices for Growth & Change
Thursday September 2nd, 2010, 4:00-6:00 pm - buffet dinner will be served
Plan SJ Storefront, Brunswick Square
Goals:
1. To ensure Council buy-in on the options for growth and change
2. To confirm and/or elaborate on the emerging PlanSJ directions
3. To prioritize opportunity areas for growth and change
4. To review and help shape the options and ensure they are communicated
effectively to enhance public understanding of the choices
Agenda
1. PlanSJ Team Presentation of the Draft Growth options / Q&A (4:00-4:45
pm)
2. Facilitated Roundtable Discussion on the Draft Options (4:45-5:45 pm)
3. Wrap up & Next Steps (5:45-6:00 pm)
Roundtable Discussion
Through an interactive session, the PlanSJ team will facilitate feedback from
Council on the draft conceptual options for growth and change in Saint John. The
input received will help shape the emerging directions and options for growth
before they are presented for public review in October.
The following questions are expected to be posed during the roundtable
discussion:
1. Do the emerging PlanSJ directions provide an appropriate foundation for
the creation of Options for Growth and Change? Would you add/refine
anything?
2. Which Opportunity Areas do you feel should be prioritized for growth and
change and why? Are there other Opportunity Areas you would suggest?
3. What do you like about the Options? Are there ways the Options could be
improved, in particular to enhance public understanding?
4. Do you have suggestions for how best to evaluate the options?
Attachments
1. PlanSJ Draft methodology for the Creation of the Options for Growth
and Change
2. PlanSJ Newsletter 2
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1
1
OUR, CITY-011 FUTURE NOTRE VIL ! , NI I F. AVENIIR
Growth Strategy and Municipal Plan
Draft Methodology for the Creation of the Options for Growth and Change
August 18, 2010
1.0 BACKGROUND
A number of preliminary steps in the PlanSJ process have laid the foundation for the creation of the
options for growth and change to guide planning and development in Saint John over the next 25 years.
The project was launched in January 2010 with a extensive number of stakeholder interviews and a
widely attended public open house. In the Spring of 2010 a number of technical background studies
were prepared to inform the development of the PlanSJ Growth Strategy and Municipal Plan. These
studies focused on existing conditions and formed the 'building blocks' for the planning process by
broadly identifying issues and opportunities to be addressed by the Growth Strategy. In consideration of
the city's urban structure, these studies raised key questions about how the future evolution of Saint
John as a whole might be best directed. In June 2010, engagement events were held with the public,
Common Council and the Plan SJ Citizen Advisory Committee to review and discuss the findings of the
technical background studies, and to develop preliminary directions to guide the creation of the Options
for Growth and Change. Project awareness continues to be built, and input and feedback received,
through the Project Storefront and Website
The following "PlanSJ Directions" have been established to guide Saint John to be the best City it can be.
Saint John proactively makes choices to shape the best future for the City.
Saint John:
• has the courage to say "yes" to what is in the best long term interests of the City and its citizens
and the courage to say "no" to what is not
• embraces its challenges and passionately defends the right choices for Saint John even when
they are difficult choices to make
• leads by example adopts leading edge planning principles
Saint John celebrates its many waterfronts and positions them as prominent and defining elements of
the City.
Saint John:
• embraces water as a central feature of the City's economy and natural environment and a key to
the lifestyle and collective community experience of living in Saint John magnificent tides,
beaches, the Port, fishing, boating, marine ecology, natural beauty, views, recreational
opportunities, and a priority on water quality
• celebrates the historic significance of the waterfronts - as key trade and transportation routes
and the primary reason for the City's location
• strengthens its waterfronts - the rivers, Bay of Fundy, and lakes - ecologically through
preservation, publicly by creating and maintaining access for all, and economically by promoting
waterfront development in appropriate locations
Saint John is the heart of the Greater Saint John Region and is a thriving urban centre.
Saint John is:
• energetic, creative, entrepreneurial, and authentic
• the focus for growth and change in the Region as well as a for office, mixed use, shopping, living,
entertainment, innovation, arts, culture, heritage, education, urban waterfronts, tourism, and
celebration
• passionate about protecting its natural beauty and built heritage
• a City that brings back people that have moved away and is a magnet for newcomers
Saint John is comprised of healthy, unique and inclusive neighbourhoods.
Saint John:
• strengthens the concept of 'one' Saint John by working to make distinct neighbourhoods feel
part of one City and one future
• supports mixed income living, offering a range of diverse housing choices to meet different life
cycle needs, enables people of any income level to live in a neighbourhood of their choosing
• builds on the strong tradition of neighbours taking care of each other - neighbourhoods are the
foundation of the strong community pride that defines Saint John
• provides a range of services, employment, leisure and recreational choices within
neighbourhoods to provide people with the opportunity to live, work, and play in their
neighbourhood
Saint John actively pursues a progressive, robust and prosperous economy.
Saint John:
• recognizes an economy that has been rooted in the past but now looks forward progressively to
the future
strives towards long term economic stability and social security embraces knowledge,
innovation, traditional industry, green industry and emerging employment sectors
makes positive choices about the economy and about industry that are good for the people who
live in Saint John and contribute to high quality of life for residents
Sointlohn values and protects it's natural environment and ecosystems on land and in water.
Saint John:
• actively stewards ecological systems through preservation, restoration and enhancement to
increase bio-diversity and to restore sensitive or diminished ecosystems
• pays special attention to the relationships between the "natural edges" -the places where the
built environment meets the natural environment
• reduces the City's ecological footprint and strives toward greater long term environmental
sustainability for future generations
• establishes linked natural areas that preserve ecological systems, connect between and across
land and water, and connects people with nature
• promotes best practices in storm water management, maintains fresh and coastal water quality,
and promotes water conservation
• develops sustainable waste treatment, recycling, and composting systems, conserves energy
and reduces energy use through sustainable building design, alternative energy systems and
reduced auto dependence
• builds the City in balance with nature
Saint John grows the City smaller and smarter by developing complete and compact communities.
Saint John:
• supports the concept that smart cities grow up not out
• revitalizes existing communities through compact development and infill within the existing
developed areas
• develops a built form that supports efficient, convenient and viable alternative choices for
transportation including walking, cycling, and transit that support healthy lifestyles
• supports the long term health of the city centre by making choices that strengthen the core and
saying "no" to choices that weaken the core
• supports compact development by managing development and infrastructure according to the
principles of completecommunities
• adopts broad-based social and economic goals for sustainability, vibrancy and long term
prosperity
Saint John offers an enviable quality of life, choice and experience for all of its citizens.
Saint John:
• builds on unique places, people and experiences
• offers a diversity of arts, culture, and recreational activities and amenities
• encourages and fosters a welcoming community of long time residents, newcomers, and people
of different cultures
• provides a high quality environment - buildings, parks and open spaces protects dramatic
geography, and beautiful views and vistas
• plants trees and quality landscaping to maintain and enhance natural vegetation throughout the
city.
Saint John is committed to a strong plan for action and making change.
Saint John:
• has the courage to stick to the plan during prosperous times and difficult times
• builds partnerships with higher levels of government to realize the plan
• nurtures and encourages inclusive and accountable leadership at the community and municipal
level
• embodies a culture of integrated planning
• sets priorities for capital investment
• commits to stick to, monitor and implement the Plan for Growth and Change and the Municipal
Plan
These directions, in combination with the evaluation criteria which are be developed to operationalize
them, as well as a fiscal impact analysis of each of the options, will be used by the public, stakeholders,
municipal staff and Common Council to compare and evaluate the options for growth and change during
the next series of engagement events, scheduled for mid-October, 2010. In-progress versions of the will
be reviewed through workshop sessions with City staff, members of the PlanSJ Citizen's Advisory
Committee and Saint John Council September 1st through 3rd 2010.
2.0 A FRAMEWORK OF OPPORTUNITY AREAS FOR GROWTH AND CHANGE
While growth, change and evolution will of course take place across the City through the next 25 years,
the PlanSJ team has identified a set of 15 "opportunity areas" where more substantial growth and
change could be directed in order to effect positive change in the City's urban structure, to support
enhanced quality of life, to enable more efficient service delivery and to contribute to a stronger fiscal
outlook for the City. The "Framework of Opportunity Areas" that will be presented during the upcoming
workshop sessions provides the basis for discussion and debate regarding the range of potential PlanSJ
Options that can be defined to direct Growth and Change. The goal is to enable the Saint John
community to actively engage in and offer their input to the various important choices the City has in
how its urban structure and land use patterns will be shaped over the next 25 years. The Framework of
Opportunity Areas provides the foundation for making choices regarding how to appropriately locate
and shape new and redeveloped mixed use areas, residential areas, parks and open spaces, major
institutional sites, commercial centres and other employment uses across Saint John over the long term.
The 15 Opportunity Areas that will be presented can be organized into the following distinct categories:
Redevelopment Opportunity Areas are locations within both the urban and suburban portions of Saint
John where renewal and intensification of the built environment would be desirable, and consistent
with the emerging Plan SJ Directions outlined above.
Greenfield Development Opportunity Areas are currently undeveloped locations beyond the built up
area of the city where new primarily residential development may be supportive of the existing urban
structure and the emerging directions for growth and change.
Work completed to date for each of the Opportunity Areas describes a potential mix of land uses that
would support and enhance the surrounding community and preliminary calculations of the amount of
new development they could accommodate. The capacity to accomodate new development on these
lands exceeds the projected demand for new residential, commercial and industrial development over
the planning period. This means that strategic decisions will need to be made regarding which
Opportunity Areas should be the focus of future development.
3.0 CREATING THE OPTIONS FOR GROWTH AND CHANGE
Creation of the Options for Growth and Change will involve an iterative approach, recognizing the inter-
dependence of three related variables: the amount of land required to accommodate the anticipated
people, jobs and development over the next 25 years; the best locations for this growth; and the
character, form and density of development to be permitted.
0 How Much? An assessment of population and employment forecasts, as well as historical and
projected development trends will inform a set of targets for population and jobs, to be
accommodated in a specified "building program" and associated "land budget" for each of the
alternative Growth Plan Options. The "building program" will include the projected number of
buildings by land use and building type so that density assumptions can be made and the
associated "land budgets" defined. "Land budgets" will be created by applying varying density
assumptions by land use/building type to the building program.
4
o Where? Building on the locations identified by the Opportunity Areas Framework, the Options
will explore strategic directions to guide and prioritize where new growth and redevelopment
takes place, in such a way as to support the Plan SJ Directions, evaluation criteria, and feedback
from the public, stakeholders, staff and Common Council. The Options will highlight different
ways in which the City could invest in infrastructure like roads, piped services , transit and
recreation.
o What Does It Look Like? Following the selection of the Preferred Option, policies and
designations will be prepared to clearly articulate the desired character, form, use and density
of development during Phase II of the project: Preparation of the Municipal Plan.
4.0 A SUMMARY OF THE CONCEPTUAL OPTIONS FOR GROWTH AND CHANGE
BASE CASE: CONTINUING THE STATUS QUO
The base-case scenario simply projects the development patterns experienced over the last 25 years
forward over the next 25 years. The Techncial Background research and PlanSJ Directions make it clear
that this is not a sustainable future for Saint John as it will continue to compromise municipal service
delivery, finances and quality of life. It will be presented as "base case" against which the other options
for growth and change can be evaluated.
Key summary features include the following:
• Continued sprawl and generally very low densities across all land uses
• Installation of new infrastructure (roads and servicing)
• Ongoing challenges from municipal services being spread over an even larger geographic area
impacts the quality and costs of delivering recreation programming, facilities and parks,
infrastructure, and transit.
• Continuation of sprawl results in more traffic congestion from increased reliance on the car and also
the loss of open space, resource and environmental habitat areas.
OPTION 1: PRIORITIZING A STRONG URBAN CORE
This option will focus the majority (approximately 75%) of future growth and change into those
Opportunity Areas located within the urban core of the City. Approximately 20% of the remaining
development would be within Opportunity Areas located within the suburban parts of the City. The
remaining 5% of development would take place through minor infilling in other areas of the City. With
the exception of targeted infilling in historic rural settlement areas like Lorneville and Ketepec, no
development will be permitted beyond the urban service boundary.
Key summary features include the following:
• a focus on stabilization of the city's urban areas to overcome disinvestment and create healthy
mixed income communities, particularly in Priority Neighbourhoods
• Uptown as a focus for living, working, culture and recreation
• emphasis on transit supportive patterns
• directing future retail to existing retail centres in denser formats; main streets (targeted and
prioritized); and new mixed use areas
• concentrating new office development in the Uptown
• encouraging more compact forms of industrial development. No further industrial lands will be
designated but tests will be defined to allow consideration of special exceptions. The potential to
trim areas already designated for industrial development will be explored, particularly beyond the
urban service boundary
• no new infrastructure (roads and servicing) will be created, except to complete prioritized
communities
• a strong focus will be placed on investments in public amenities like Harbour Passage, walkable,
pedestrian streets, higher quality urban spaces and parks intended to substantially enhance quality
of life in the urban core
• Recognizes that stable existing neighbourhoods will see some level of development but that
buildings will be of same scale and character as what's already there
OPTION 2: BALANCNG BETWEEN URBAN AND SUBURBAN FORMS
In this Option future growth will be distributed roughly half and half between urban and suburban
Opportunity Areas. A hierarchy of nodes and corridors that prioritize linkages and good places for
intensification will be defined to support transit and other forms of non-automobile travel.
Approximately 50% of the development would be within Opportunity areas located in the urban parts of
the City, with the majority of remaining development (approximately 45%) directed to Opportunity
Areas within the suburban areas of the city. As in Option 1, approximately 5% of development would
take place through minor infilling in areas of the City not identified as Opportunity Areas. With the
exception of targeted infilling in historic rural settlement areas like Lorneville and Ketepec, no
development will be permitted beyond the urban service boundary.
Summary features:
• balances between the goal of stabilizing the city's urban core to overcome disinvestment and create
healthy mixed income communities and the goal of creating more complete and walkable suburban
neighbourhoods.
• this option implies slower growth in the core. While it will contain more suburban forms of
development, these will be more compact than experienced in the last several decades in order to
promote more sustainable and complete community fabric.
• development will be organized in transit supportive patterns, by focusing new medium and higher
density development along current or potential transit corridors
• Uptown will continue to be a focus for living, working, culture and recreation
• new retail will be directed to existing retail centres; main streets (targeted and prioritized); and new
mixed use areas
0 new office development will be concentrated in the Uptown
• more compact forms of industrial development will be encouraged and no further industrial lands
designated (while providing tests to allow consideration of special exceptions) and considering the
potential to trim areas already designated for industrial development beyond the service boundary
• Some new infrastructure (roads and servicing) will be required to enable "greenfield" development
and complete prioritized communities
• targeted investments in public amenities like Harbour Passage, walkable, pedestrian streets, higher
quality urban spaces and parks will still be a priority although in more limited ways as there will be
less population in the core to support them
• stable existing neighbourhoods will see some level of development but that buildings will be of
same scale and character as what's already there
The goals of the September working sessions with staff, the Citizens Advisory Council and Common
Council will be to:
1. To confirm /refine the emerging PlanSJ directions
2. To respond to and help prioritize identified Opportunity Areas for Growth and Change
3. To review and help shape the Conceptual Options for Growth and Change
4. To ensure that the Conceptual Options for Growth and Change are communicated
effectively to enhance public understanding of the choices
7