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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAO-16-016 - Neighbourhood Strategy UpdateStaff Report I rTC'.�► t .R Community Services Department wwwkitchener.ca REPORT TO: Council DATE OF MEETING: March 21, 2016 SUBMITTED BY: Michael May, Deputy CAO, 519 - 741 -2200 ext. 7079 PREPARED BY: Michelle Drake, Neighbourhood Strategy Project Manager, 519- 741 -2200 ext. 7082 WARD(S) INVOLVED: All DATE OF REPORT: March 7, 2016 REPORT NO.: CSD -16 -016 SUBJECT: Neighbourhood Strategy Update RECOMMENDATION: For information and discussion. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Work on Phase 1 of the Neighbourhood Strategy is well underway. This report provides a progress update on the development of the strategy and seeks Council's input on the community engagement process that is planned for April to August of this year. During the March 21St strategic session of City Council, Council will be asked for input on the following: What suggestions do you have for reaching and engaging members of the community who do not normally provide input to the municipality as part of a consultation process? 2. Recognizing the diversity of our community, how would you suggest we ensure we are engaging a diverse range of community members and groups? 3. After reviewing the draft questions that have been developed for use by our "street teams" (see Appendix A), are there any changes you would like to see or additional questions you think should be asked? BACKGROUND: The need for a formal Neighbourhood Strategy was previously identified in a variety of City of Kitchener strategy documents, including: • Leisure Facilities Master Plan (2005) • Growth Management Strategy (2009) • Leisure Facilities Master Plan Update (2013) * ** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. * ** Please call 519- 741 -2345 or TTY 1- 866 - 969 -9994 for assistance. On February 23, 2015, Kitchener City Council approved the City's 2015 business plan which included the development of a Neighbourhood Strategy as a corporate project. In response to that direction from City Council, on March 9, 2015 CSD -15 -021 was presented to Council outlining a three phase approach to the project. At that time, Council directed staff to work with community members to develop a comprehensive Neighbourhood Strategy focused on two objectives: I. Helping the municipality, citizens and community groups coordinate efforts in planning, building and supporting safe and thriving neighbourhoods. II. Creating a framework to facilitate and support a citizen -led approach to placemaking in the city's neighbourhoods. Work on Phase 1 of the Neighbourhood Strategy began in May 2015. This phase includes developing a comprehensive city -wide Neighbourhood Strategy with recommendations to City Council along with a framework to guide and support citizens to create individual Neighbourhood Action Plans as part of Phase 2 of the project. Project Team Accomplishments A project team of local residents, community partners and staff have been meeting monthly to drive Phase 1 of this project. Key accomplishments to date are outlined below: Neighbourhood Strategy Vision In keeping with best practices from other municipalities, an ideal vision for all neighbourhoods to strive towards was developed by the project team. That vision for this project states, "The Neighbourhood Strategy will help neighbours connect and work together to do great things in their neighbourhood." As part of developing the project vision, the project team identified and defined seven key outcomes that support safe and thriving neighbourhoods. These outcomes may be refined based on feedback received during the community engagement process being planned for this spring and summer. The project team is currently working to identify specific indicators for each of these outcomes that can be used in the future to measure and evaluate the progress of the Neighbourhood Strategy. Outcomes Definitions • Accessible People can equally enjoy and participate in the opportunities their neighbourhood provides. • Connected Neighbourhoods have links between people and between people and places. • Diverse Neighbourhoods have a variety of people, places, activities and services. • Engaged People are involved and committed to activities, programs and places. • Inclusive People are welcomed and feel a sense of belonging in their neighbourhood. • Resilient Neighbourhoods have the ability to plan and adapt to change. 1.b. -2 Outcomes Definitions o Safe People build trust and familiarity, look out for each other and are comfortable spending time out in their neighbourhood. Neighbourhood Strategy Project Plan A high -level project plan has been created by the project team as outlined below: Task Timing Project Set -Up June — October 2015 Community Engagement #1 (Lemonade Stand) July — November 2015 Best Practices Research September 2015 — June 2016 Communications & Engagement Plan Development September 2015 — April 2016 Stakeholder List Development September 2015 — March 2016 Baseline Data Collection September 2015 — September 2016 Community Engagement #2 ( #lovemyhood Stories & Colouring Books) December 2015 — March 2016 Community Engagement #3 (Street Teams, Focus Groups, Online consultation) April — August 2016 Analysis of Community Engagement Feedback May — September 2016 Draft Strategy & Seek Approvals (Project Team, Safe & Healthy Community Advisory Committee, Council) October — December 2016 Neighbourhood Strategy Sub - Committees Four sub - committees of the project team have been established to focus on specific components of the project — (1) communication & engagement, (2) best practices research, (3) baseline data and (4) identification of stakeholders. The communications & en_ga_gement sub - committee developed nine community engagement principles that are being used to guide the planning and execution of the community engagement process for this project: 1. Be clear about the purpose of the engagement with each process, using the Inform, Consult, Collaborate, Entrust continuum. 2. Develop a framework for evaluation that tracks all engagement activities and develops quantitative and qualitative means to assess their effectiveness. 3. Embrace design principles (plan, design, do, check, act), especially testing and adapting our strategies. 4. Draw on creative engagement processes that are fun and participatory. 5. Design engagement processes that are inclusive and accessible. 6. Identify specific groups of hard -to -reach stakeholders and create a specific plan for these stakeholders. 1.b. -3 7. Design engagement processes that gather important feedback, strengthen local ownership of issues, focus on assets and generate ideas and commentary. 8. Test opportunities to practice placemaking and neighbourhood building. 9. Integrate opportunities to promote neighbourhood resources and seek mutually - beneficial opportunities and partnerships. The best practices sub - committee is researching neighbourhood strategies, action plans and placemaking in cities around the world. The purpose of this research is to identify existing best practices in Kitchener and any new best practices from other cities that we could potentially adopt here in Kitchener. Part of this research also involves collecting existing tools, processes and templates that could be adapted and applied in Kitchener. The stakeholder sub - committee has developed a list of 968 organizations that we will reach out to and encourage to participate in our community engagement process this spring and summer. Various types of organizations are represented, including: arts & culture, athletics / sports, businesses / stores, culture, disability support, education / schools, environmental, faith based groups, family counselling, heritage groups, municipal facilities, neighbourhood associations, politicians, public safety, recreational centres, service clubs, social services, sponsors and transportation. The data sub - committee is responsible for developing baseline information for Kitchener's neighbourhoods. The baseline information is related to the outcomes outlined in the Neighbourhood Strategy Vision section of this report. A research partnership with the University of Waterloo is currently being explored to complete this work. The partnership would use statistically representative data collected by the Canadian Index of Well Being as a baseline to understand the current City average for all neighbourhoods in Kitchener. It is understood that this initial baseline will have some gaps. A partnership with UW would also find a way to fill the gaps and report on baseline information at the neighbourhood level. As part of ongoing evaluation of the Neighbourhood Strategy, the sub - committee will propose that this information be collected every few years. Internal Change Management The project team and the employee advisory committee for this project were asked during initial meetings to identify any questions they may have about the Neighbourhood Strategy. Both groups identified a series of questions about internal change management within the municipality. Those questions included: • Is the City of Kitchener ready /willing to change with this strategy? • How will processes /policies change and become more flexible to support the strategy? • How do we manage resistance to change? • How do we make sure the strategy does not sit on a shelf? As a follow -up to these questions, an exercise to explore community perceptions versus staff perceptions of customer service that supports neighbourhoods was completed. The exercise asked both the project team and employee advisory committee to define a culture of rule enforcers versus a culture of neighbourhood supporters. The City was generally identified as a rule enforcer. It is hoped that the Neighbourhood Strategy will shift this reality to support a culture of neighbourhood supporters. Further discussions on this topic are planned for later this year with city staff, community partners and neighbourhood association representatives. 1.b. -4 Sponsorships A sponsorship goal of $25,000 was set in order to expand community engagement efforts as a part of this strategy. That goal was surpassed with a combination of $30,000 cash and $102,600 in -kind radio contributions. The funds generated through these partnerships will be used to increase the city's efforts to reach and engage a broader, more diverse section of the community. All sponsors are listed below and will be recognized in different ways throughout the project. • Title Sponsor —Your Neighbourhood Credit Union • Presenting Sponsors — 96.7 CHYM, 106.7 COUNTRY, 570 NEWS • Contributing Sponsor - Revera Retirement Living • Contributing Sponsor — Kitchener Cemeteries • Contributing Sponsor — Kitchener Golf • Printing Sponsor — Cober • Colouring Contest Sponsor — Chicopee • Colouring Contest Sponsor — Kitchener Pools & Aquatics • Colouring Contest Sponsor — Sky Zone Trampoline Park REPORT: Community engagement is a critical component in developing the Neighbourhood Strategy. Feedback received from the community will serve as a foundation for the strategy recommendations. Lemonade Stand (July to September 2015) The purpose of the first major community engagement campaign was to inform and consult by creating awareness about the strategy with a travelling lemonade stand offering free lemonade and cookies in exchange for a brief survey about neighbourhoods. The questions asked through that survey were: • What do you love most about your neighbourhood? • If there was one thing you could do to make your neighbourhood better, what would that be? • Help us to understand what you consider to be your neighbourhood by drawing the boundaries (edges) of your neighbourhood on the map. The project team attended 27 events across the city and collected 1308 surveys from people of all ages. One of the most interesting lessons came from the responses around the boundaries of neighbourhoods. It is clear that our community does not have a single definition for the size of a neighbourhood. The majority of respondents (37 %) identified a medium block consisting of approximately 6 to 20 streets. But respondents also identified neighbourhoods as small as one street or as big as an entire city ward. Additional findings from the lemonade stand are displayed in an infographic attached as Appendix B to this report. 1.b. -5 Stories & Colouring Books (December 2015 to March 2016) The purpose of the second community engagement campaign was to inform residents and maintain awareness of the strategy through stories and colouring books (methods not traditionally used by the municipality). A social media campaign entitled #lovemyhood stories was launched to share inspirational stories about neighbourhood pride across the city. Communications staff have advised that this series is the best social media campaign in the City's history. To date, 23 stories have been posted on the City's Facebook page, receiving 2263 likes, 231 shares and 134 positive comments. Neighbourhood - themed colouring books were launched as a fun and exciting way for people to reflect on their own neighbourhood. An open call for artists resulted in the selection of three local artists who designed the adult colouring book — Colour my `hood. The adult colouring book contains ideas for safe and thriving neighbourhoods in intricately designed pages such as a placemaking mandala, street and park scenes, neighbourhood events and more. These books received significant media attention during the artist selection process as well as with the official launch at the Beer & Colouring event at THEMUSEUM, which was attended by 100 community members. The kids activity book — Show off your `hood — features both activity and colouring pages that show off the amazing people, places and things to do in our neighbourhoods. A partnership with the local public and Catholic schools boards resulted in the kids activity books reaching the hands of 7100 students in grades 3 through 5 across the city. March Break started with both books being distributed along with hot chocolate at 8 locations across the city, including credit unions, libraries, pools and parks. The Kitchener Market also distributed 500 colouring books at a March Break kick -off event. Both colouring books are now available at community centres, KPL branches, select little libraries and on the city's website. Neighbourhood Party & Community Engagement (April to August 2016) The purpose of the third community engagement campaign is to gather extensive community input that will form the basis of the Neighbourhood strategy itself. Three Streams of Engagement Rather than using the traditional open house and online survey formats, the communications and engagement subcommittee has identified three streams of community engagement that will be utilized: (1) creative, (2) conversational and (3) online. While work is still underway to complete the planning for each of these streams, the following provides a high -level summary of these engagement efforts: 1) The creative stream is intended to focus on an arts based approach that encourages people to think differently about their neighbourhoods and attract diverse audiences to join the conversation. The colouring books are the first example of the creative stream of engagement. The project team also plans to support some temporary placemaking exhibits to gather input in a creative, spontaneous way. 1.b. -6 2) The conversational stream will enable us to collect the deepest information through discussions on the street, at events and in group settings. Three conversational tactics are being considered, including: a Neighbourhood Party /kick -off event, street teams and focus groups. The Neighbourhood Party is our official launch event on April 26, where we hope to attract many residents, neighbourhood association representatives and community partners for inspiring speakers and small group discussions. Street teams will conduct short -form interviews at targeted neighbourhood events and random gathering places (in an attempt to reach residents who do not usually get engaged in municipal consultations). Using a stakeholder list of nearly 1000 organizations, we will ask partners to host a focus group with their staff and clients and then share the information they gather with the project team. 3) The online stream will make use of the city's new online engagement platform — Engage Kitchener. This online platform has a survey function with enhanced capability to include multiple choice questions, open ended questions, drop down lists, prioritization exercises, matrices and ranking. Additional functions that the project team may explore include: idea generation tool, feedback tool, and annotation tool. Question Development Developing the questions that will be asked through this community engagement process began with a review of existing information pertaining to Kitchener neighbourhoods, such as: the neighbourhood questions and data collected by Environics as part of the 2015 -2018 Strategic Plan; the questions and results of 2014 preliminary online survey regarding the Neighbourhood Strategy objectives, scope, processes and governance; and, the questions and results of the 2015 lemonade stand survey. The first question development exercise was structured like a world cafe and completed with the Neighbourhood Strategy project team and employee advisory committee. The exercise involved project team members participating in three different cafe discussions. Cafe 1 helped us to understand how the 2015 lemonade stand survey results could be used to strive towards the Neighbourhood Strategy vision and outcomes. Cafe 2 focused on placemaking with specific reference to places and spaces that are assets in our neighbourhoods. Cafe 3 focused on the connections between people. Results from this exercise were summarizes into four themes: (1) places and spaces; (2) vision and outcomes; (3) roles and collaboration; and, (4) connections. An additional exercise to further refine these themes was completed with the communications and engagement sub - committee of the project team. Questions for the street teams, focus groups and online platform were drafted under each of the four themes. The draft street team questions were piloted at a meeting with approximately 50 neighbourhood association representatives. Attendees were divided into pairs and asked to interview each other. A debrief exercise gathered feedback to help refine the questions. Attendees were also asked to complete an exercise to help prioritize the questions under each theme and identify any gaps. The draft focus group questions for organizations were piloted at a meeting with approximately 45 community partners. Attendees were divided into groups of 8 -10 and asked to participate in a small focus group discussion. A debrief exercise gathered feedback to help refine the questions. 1.b. -7 Feedback from the street team and focus groups pilots as well as the gap analysis exercise will be used to refine and finalize the questions for the public engagement campaign this spring and summer. Ongoing Communications The project team is using a variety of communication tools and techniques to build awareness, encourage participation and target people who do not traditionally get involved in municipal conversations. Demographic information (e.g. age, gender, ethnicity, religion, language, home ownership, turnover, income, employment, education) at the city and planning community level along with a stakeholder list of nearly 1000 organizations will be used to target specific people and groups. Additional tools and techniques include: media releases, e- newsletters, website updates, social media, community partner meetings, neighbourhood association meetings, City Council advisory committee meetings, colouring and activity books, posters, bookmarks, hard and electronic invitations and letters, GRT bus shelter advertisements, newspaper advertisements, radio advertisements and interviews, street teams, focus groups and online surveys. Strategic Session with Council The strategic session with Council on March 21St will be used to inform and consult. The presentation will (1) provide an update on the Neighbourhood Strategy and (2) seek Council's input on the community engagement process currently being planned for later this year. During the March 21St strategic session of City Council, Council will be asked for input on the following: • What suggestions do you have for reaching and engaging members of the community who do not normally provide input to the municipality as part of a consultation process? • Recognizing the diversity of our community, how would you suggest we ensure we are engaging a diverse range of community members and groups? • After reviewing the draft questions that have been developed for use by our "street teams" (see Appendix A), are there any changes you would like to see or additional questions you think should be asked? ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN: Strategic Priority: Safe & Thriving Neighbourhoods Strategy: 3.1 Give citizens the tools and opportunities to play an active leadership role in creating great neighbourhoods and fostering a stronger sense of community belonging. Strategic Action: #NB1 Neighbourhood Strategy FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: Funding of $80,000 to develop the Neigbhourhood Strategy is budgeted within the council approved capital budget. 1.b. -8 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: INFORM & CONSULT — Community engagement undertaken prior to the project launch is outlined in Community Services Department report CSD -15 -021. Community engagement undertaken since July 2015 is outlined below. • A project team of community volunteers and staff was established to assist with project planning, community engagement and drafting of the Neighbourhood Strategy. • Throughout the summer of 2015, the project team asked people to complete surveys at 27 events in order to build awareness and start to understand what people love about their neighbourhood, what they would change and how they define the size of their neighbourhood. • Starting in October 2015, bi- monthly e- newsletters have been sent to 779 email addresses to keep people informed. • Two meetings of approximately 50 community partners have been held to talk about collaborating to better support our neighbourhoods. • Two meetings of approximately 50 neighbourhood association representatives have been held to respond to questions about the Neighbourhood Strategy and to pilot and seek feedback on the draft street team questions. • Starting in December 2015 and running through March 2016, the social media series #lovemyhood stories released close to 30 stories of neighbourhood pride and resulted in 2263 likes, 231 shares and 134 comments. • In January 2016, project team members attended 11 City Council advisory committees to inform people about the Neighbourhood Strategy and seek input on the draft stakeholder list. • Adult colouring books and kids activity books were launched the week of March 7, 2016 and distributed in various ways, including: Beer & Colouring at THEMUSEUM, public and Catholic schools (grades 3 to 5), Kitchener Market, Hot Chocolate Blitz, community centres, KPL branches and select Little Libraries across the city. • This report has been posted to the City's website with the agenda in advance of the council / committee meeting. PREVIOUS CONSIDERATION OF THIS MATTER: Community Services Department report CSD -15 -021 Neighbourhood Strategy Objectives was approved by Council on March 9, 2015. ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Michael May, Deputy CAO APPENDIX A: Draft Street Team Questions APPENDIX B: Lemonade Stand Infographic 1.b. -9 Ma;a4ki IQKI_1 Draft Neighbourhood Strate -gy Street Team Questions Note: As part of the Neighbourhood Strategy community engagement process, street teams will conduct brief interviews at a wide variety of neighbourhood events and public gathering spaces. These surveys are intended to go to where community members hang out instead of asking them to come to the City, and they are aimed at engaging residents who do not usually get engaged in municipal consultations. The following are a draft set of questions a "street team" would ask members of the community: 1. Where do you spend time in your neighbourhood? (Note: Respondents will be asked to skip question 1a if they indicate they do not currently spend time in their neighbourhood) a. What do you currently do in these places? b. What, if anything, could be done to get you to spend more time in a specific public place in your neighbourhood? c. What, if anything, motivates you to talk to other people in your neighbourhood? 2. If you were to move to another part of the city... a. What are the `big things' you would look for in anew neighbourhood? b. What `little things' would you look for in a new neighbourhood? Note: If necessary, respondents will be prompted to think about people, groups, places, events, infrastructure, amenities and services. Specific examples of "big things" may be provided to respondents, such as: restaurants, bars, libraries, schools, community centres, neighbourhood associations, parks, trails, grocery stores and transit. Specific examples of "little things" may be provided to respondents, such as: friendly neighbours, benches, pedestrian level street lighting, little libraries, mature trees, mix of people, front porches, street parties and well maintained lawns and gardens. 3. What could be done to make your neighbourhood better? a. To help make one of these ideas happen, what would you be prepared to do? b. Who would you reach out to for help? c. What could the City do to help you make this idea happen? 4. We have come up with 7 values we think make up a great neighbourhood: accessible, connected, diverse, engaged, inclusive, resilient and safe. When thinking about your neighbourhood... a. What does accessible mean to you? b. What can we do to make your neighbourhood more accessible? Note: Respondents will only be asked to answer the question about 1 of the values listed above. The values will be rotated each time the question is asked. That means 1 out of every 7 surveys will gather feedback on each of the 7 values. 1.b. - 10 EVENTS! We handed ou glasses of I 9Q� LEMONADE t and collected SURVEYS! (:'dA ^,'S A 16:' ^,A 1SM6N5!) (V.HOM Ak4 Pft 10— 4A'im f@ t 5 0 9 Aged 13 or under Aged 14 - 24 Aged PARTICIPATED 252 0154,111, 0111123:: Aged 50 - 64 Aged 65 or over Not specified �IIII' where you love to hang out in YWll IIIIIIII' IIII Illh °�IIII' Illf °Illh °� Illf ' �.. - „� -- -�s PARKS 5 ! II...Ir'J I HOMES . / 'e STORES TRAILS Ff-A PLAYGROUNDS ¢ NATURAL / 'e STORES AREAS SCHOOLS �'•' �” COMMUNITY CENTRES FRONT % YARDS BACK /y� _•. YARDS II., 1] LIBRARIES % 'e STORES % SCHOOLS - -�• FIEOLDSS % ARENAS 2% a-e, "I'�a FIRE STATIONS �u BUSINESSES % (fuA f ", F. LG'i'.'F. UARCv).�'.',!) Parts of YOU lf° IIII IIII' IIII Illh° IIII' Illf °Illh° IIII that are most important to 1_ I 111 llll � uuiiirllll � � #bvem www.kitchener.ca /iiu�lii„ � Y 1.b. — 12