2017-02-28 Growth Committee Agenda Packet - Open SessionCity of Saint John
Growth Committee - Open Session
AGENDA
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
11:00 am
8th Floor Boardroom, City Hall
Call to Order
Pages
1.1 Ron Hanlon (Halifax Partnership) Presentation 1-25
1.2 Feedback on Committee Pilot 26-33
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GROWTH COMMITTEE REPORT
M&C No. # fri.tild cm sharel.roint
Report Date February 21, 2017
Meeting Date February 28, 2017
Service Area Growth and Community
Development Services
Members of Growth Committee
SUBJECT. Growth Committee — six month review
OPEN OR CLOSED SESSION
This matter is to be discussed in open session of Committee.
AUTHORIZATION
Primary Author
Commissioner/Dept. HeadL4
City Manager
Jacqueline Hamilton
Jacqueline Hamilton
m
I Jeff Trail
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Growth Committee:
Provide feedback to the City Manager on the success of the six month pilot of the
Growth Committee standing committee structure of governance.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report seeks input from the Growth Committee on the effectiveness of the standing
committee structure, intended to be piloted by the City for a six month period. The
report highlights key questions for the Committee to consider in evaluating the success
of the pilot. Committee member will be asked to share feedback at the next Growth
Committee meeting on February 28, 2016. This input will be included along with input
from the City's Finance Committee in a report being prepared by the City Manager on
the standing committee structure.
PREVIOUS RESOLUTION
On July 18 2016 it was resolved that Common Council:
"Directs the City Manager to establish two Committees (Finance and Growth) as a six
month pilot project commencing September 2016" and "Directs the City Manager to
schedule a review of the Committee structure in March of 2017 following six months of
assessment".
STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT
The standing committee structure is intended to optimize governance, ensure greater
accountability and to strengthen the role of Common Council in providing strategic
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leadership. The Growth Committee appointed by Council enables leadership by Council
in one of its key priorities related to Growth and Prosperity.
REPORT
On July 18, 2016 Common Council approved the formation of two standing
committees, namely the Growth and Finance Committees, as a pilot for a
standing committee model of governance. The City Manager was directed to
report back to Council in March of 2017 on the effectiveness of the standing
committee structure. This report is intended to seek the Growth
Committee's input on the success of the pilot project. Attached as
background, is the terms of reference approved by Council for the Growth
Committee. Staff has provided a series of questions to guide the
Committee's feedback on the following topic areas:
• Mandate and core responsibilities;
• Committee Structure and meeting procedures;
• Relationship with Agencies, Boards and Commissions;
• Council reporting;
• Focus on the Committee's priorities;
• Information required to support the Committee's operations; and
• Measuring success.
Mandate & core Responsibilities
The mandate for the Growth Committee is defined in sections one and four of
terms of reference. The Committee is intended to provide strategic leadership
and oversight to growth related activities and in this capacity to act as a strategic
advisor to Council on policies, programs and services related to Growth.
1. How effective has the Committee been in delivering on the mandate
and core responsibilities? Are there any changes you would suggest?
Committee Structure and Procedures
The Committee terms of reference (section two and three) addresses the
committee structure, membership, voting and meeting procedures. The
frequency of meetings is identified as monthly, with the opportunity to meet
more frequently as required. Over the course of the six month pilot program,
the Committee has met a total of 10 times since August, 2016. These meetings
have involved significant commitment of time for Committee members, with
meetings occurring on a more frequent basis. The quality of input and thoughtful
discussion has been valuable and contributed positively to the development of a
Growth Plan (the Road map for Growth).
2. Does the Committee have any feedback to share on the Committee's
structure and meeting procedures? Are there are any areas of change
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or improvement you would highlight in terms of enabling more efficient
meetings?
Relationship with Agency and Committees
The terms of reference also identified that the Committee would receive regular
reporting and presentations from its City sponsored agencies. Over the course
of the past several months the Committee has regularly engaged with all four
agencies and hosted engagements with key stakeholders from a wide variety of
sectors and topics. The Committee has also hosted an engagement session with
key stakeholders and one-on-one interviews with developers to inform the
development of the Road map for Growth.
3. How effective has the Committee been in maintaining and improving
communications with its agencies, boards and commissions throughout
the course of the pilot program? Are there further areas of
improvement Committee members would identify going forward to
improve relationships with agencies boards and commissions?
Council Reporting
The Committee is required to provide regular reporting to Council and at
minimum on an annual basis. Since its creation the Committee has provided
direction to Council on the following items:
• An approved terms of reference for the Committee
• The prioritization of the Central Peninsula Neighbourhood Plan
• 2017 budget priorities related to growth included the creation of a
Growth reserve and funding for the city's economic agencies.
• Update on the process to create the Road Map for Growth
4. How effective has the reporting to Council been in terms of action items
from the Growth Committee and keeping Council updated on
Committee activities?
Focus on Priorities
The Committee had defined three priority themes to address during its first six
months of operations: (1) understanding barriers to growth, (2) improved
communications, reporting and marketing of growth opportunities and (3)
investigating targets for growth. These topics have focused the Committee's
efforts in terms of engagement with development industry and in shaping the
development of the Road Map for Growth.
S. How effective has the Committee been in addressing its stated
priorities?
Information required to support the Committee's operations
The Committee has received a significant volume of materials as background to
guide the Committee's discussions on topics related to growth. These include
presentations on a variety of growth related topics: Saint John's economic
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indicators, One Stop Development Shop, Neighbourhood Planning, Urban
development incentives, Corporate revenue program, real estate and publicly
owned lands, land banking, immigration and the City's dangerous and vacant
buildings program. As part of the discussion, the Committee also identified the
need for engagement as a priority item related to understanding the barriers
related to Growth and Development in the City. The Growth and Community
development team facilitated this engagement process which included
developer interviews held during December of 2016 and the November 8
stakeholder engagement session. The themes from these engagements were
documented and shared with the Committee and informed the development of
the Road map for growth.
6. Has the Committee received adequate information required to support
the Committee's operations? Are there changes you would suggest to
deliver this information more effectively to the Committee in the
future?
Measuring Success
The Committee defined three outcomes needed to define success at the end of
the six month pilot program:
• Development of a Growth Plan
• Definition of Targets and Outcomes
• Improve Developer perception of City Hall
These outcomes have informed the development of the Road Map for
Growth which is targeted to be presented to Council by March 20, 2017.
7. Does the Committee believe it has made significant progress towards its
desired outcomes during the six month pilot project? Overall, does the
Committee see the pilot project as a success for the standing committee
governance structure, why or why not?
Committee member will be asked to share feedback on these seven questions at the
next Growth Committee meeting on February 28, 2016. This input will be included
along with input from the City's Finance Committee in a report being prepared by the
City Manager on the standing committee structure.
SERVICE AND FINANCIAL OUTCOMES
These recommendations will support and improve delivery of Council priorities related
to Growth.
INPUT FROM OTHER SERVICE AREAS AND STAKEHOLDERS
The content has benefitted from the input and feedback from the City Manager and the
Growth and Community Development team.
Wel
ATTACHMENTS
Growth Committee Terms of Reference
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City of Saint John Growth Standing Committee
Approved Terms of Reference
1. MANDATE
1) The purpose of the Growth Standing Committee is to strategically support Saint John
Common Council through recommendations on the social, economic and sustainable
growth of Saint John and to ensure the City is positioned as a community of choice.
2) The Primary responsibilities for the Growth Committee include:
a) Ensure that the City of Saint John's pursuit of growth upholds the highest level of
evidence -based decision-making and complements objectives established by long-
term strategic plans, including the City's municipal development plan (PlanSJ) and
related transportation plans, recreation plans, neighborhood plans, etc;
b) Ensure that the City of Saint John efficiently and effectively supports the community
and the development industry in the pursuit of growth opportunities through the
City's One Stop Development Shop program;
c) Establish clear objectives, deliverables and recommendations to Common Council
associated with the City of Saint John's annual operational and capital investment
into economic development; and
d) Support on ongoing identification, evaluation and implementation of new or
expanded revenue generation opportunities for the City Saint John.
2. MEMBERSHIP
1) The Growth Committee shall consist of a total of 6 voting members of Council, one of
which is the Mayor;
2) The Chair and the Vice Chair of the Growth Committee shall be selected by the
Committee;
3) Common Council shall make appointments to the Committee with rotating membership
every two years;
4) Where a member of the Growth Committee fails to attend three consecutive meetings of the
Committee without approval of the Committee, the member can be struck from the
Committee membership and replaced by an appointment of Council;
5) In the event that any member ceases to be a member of the Growth Standing Committee
before the expiration of their term, Council may appoint another person to be a member for
the un -expired portion of the term;
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6) In all other respects, the rules of procedure for the Committee shall be governed by the City's
Council Procedures Bylaw insofar as it may be applicable;
a) All decisions of the Committee shall be in the form of resolutions duly passed by a
majority of its members present. The Committee shall strive to reach consensus on issues,
and shall forward recommendations in the form of Growth Standing Committee
resolutions to the Council;
7) The Chairperson will act as a liaison between the Committee and Common Council;
8) The following city -sponsored agencies are expected to support the Growth Standing
Committee in fulfilling its mandate through periodic submissions and presentations:
a) Enterprise Saint John;
b) Discover SJ;
c) Saint John Industrial Parks; and
d) Saint John Development Corporation;
9) The following Committees of Council will be advisory to the Growth Standing
Committee as it relates to strategic policy or new program initiatives:
a) Planning Advisory Committee;
b) Heritage Development Board;
c) Saint John Substandard Property Appeals Committee; and
d) Trade and Convention Oversight Committee;
10) The Committees referenced in section 10 will report directly to Council on matters
pursuant to the applicable legislation in the Community Planning Act or Heritage
Conservation Act;
11) The Growth Committee may invite other agencies or special guests to provide updates
on strategic programs and activities related to growth including but not limited to:
a) Chamber;
b) Uptown Saint John;
c) Saint John Port Authority; and,
d) others as identified by the Committee.
3. MEETINGS
1) The Growth Committee shall meet monthly and/or as required at the call of the
Committee Chair;
2) Growth Committee meetings will be open to the public in accordance with the
requirements of Section 10.2 of the Municipalities Act. The public may be excluded
only in the circumstances identified therein;
3) Meetings shall be one to two hours in duration;
4) Committee recommendations shall be presented to Common Council for consideration
and ratification;
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5) Quorum for any meeting will be at least fifty (5 1) percent of the number of members of the
Committee;
6) Growth Committee meetings shall be directly supported by the Commissioner and/or Deputy
Commissioner of Growth and Community Development or their designates;
7) The City Manager or designate may attend all meetings of the Growth Committee;
8) The Committee will be provided with secretarial support by the Common Clerk's Office;
9) Any Committee Member with a conflict of interest associated with matters before the
Growth Committee shall identify the conflict to the Committee and remove themselves for
the portion of the meeting associated with the conflict.
4. ADMINISTRATIVE POWER AND DUTIES
1) The Committee shall provide leadership and oversight to growth related activities.
As a consequence of performing that work the Committee will provide advice and report in
writing to Council and/or provide written policy recommendations to Council with respect to:
a) Annual reporting on the City's growth performance as well as the short-term and long-
term forecasting of growth within the City of Saint John;
b) Articulation of priority areas for growth, corresponding strategies, targets, deliverables,
annual operating and capital investment into economic development and growth related
activities, and if necessary, provide specific directives to associated agencies, boards
and/or commissions;
c) Priority implementation initiatives for the City's Municipal Plan, P1anSJ, including
neighbourhood planning program, five year review and delivery of strategic plans and
programs;.
d) The identification, evaluation and implementation of new or expanded revenue
opportunities through the City's Corporate Revenue Generation Program;
e) Outcomes derived from analysis completed by the Growth Committee, including but not
limited to: task forces, studies, working groups, external reviews, investigations, audits,
public consultations, surveys; and
f) Ongoing identification of opportunities and obstacles in the pursuit of growth, and
corresponding strategies to respond.
5. REPORTING
1) The Common Clerk will ensure that as soon as practicable after each meeting, minutes of
that meeting including the names and titles of all persons present and a record of all
decisions reached, are prepared and distributed to all Members;
2) The Committee Chair shall report to Common Council at least annually on the activities
of the Committee and a copy of the minutes of each meeting of the Committee will be
made available to members of Common Council.
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