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HomeMy WebLinkAboutINS-2021-5 - Places and SpacesStaff Report KiTcxEnfiER infrastructure Servrces Department wmlitchener.ca REPORT TO: Council Strategic Session DATE OF MEETING: August 23, 2021 SUBMITTED BY: Niall Lobley, Director of Parks & Cemeteries, PREPARED BY: Niall Lobley, Director of Parks & Cemeteries, Rosa Bustamante, Director of Planning, Mark Parris, Landscape Architect, Tim Donegani, Senior Planner WARD(S) INVOLVED: All DATE OF REPORT: August 18, 2021 REPORT NO.: INS -2021-05 SUBJECT: Places & Spaces: A Parks & Open Space Strategy for Kitchener RECOMMENDATION: FOR DISCUSSION ONLY BACKGROUND: Kitchener's Strategic Plan (2019-2022) identifies within `Caring Community' the desire to complete an Open Space Strategy. The existing Parks Strategic Plan is now a decade old and in need of review and update. In developing a new plan, Kitchener will seek to deliver an equity based, community focused plan that responds to the needs of a rapidly changing and developing City; that builds on existing plans and strengthens community links to parks by facilitating Placemaking in parks and open spaces. The plan will be completed in two parts; Spaces (the Parks Plan under the Planning Act) will be completed in 2022, and Places will be completed in 2023. Before initiating wider community engagement and feedback, staff are keen to understand Council priorities in respect to the new strategy. Places and Spaces — a Parks and Open Space Strategy for the City of Kitchener Places and Spaces is the title for this new plan; it reflects the fact that the Spaces that we have in parks and open space across the City are important parts of building Place — at a range of levels, place making for the City, and place making at a neighbourhood level. *** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. *** Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance. Places and Spaces will rely on City staff to develop and lead; the plan will be developed internally with minimal reliance on external consultants. Places: will reflect a strategic context for what community outcomes are served by parks and open spaces and how we, as a City, will look to build and shape parks and open spaces to meet these outcome needs. Rather than a single comprehensive document, Places will take a format of user friendly short and accessible Guidance documents, each addressing a community outcome met by parks and open spaces. Staff has, based on past engagements such as the Leisure Facilities Master Plan, Cycling and Trails Master Plan and based on what is reflected in programs such as Love My Hood, established an initial list of these documents that would form Places. Fig.1 — Places Topic Structure Accessibility Design. Philosophy Equity vs. Equality Innovation Pandemic Response Private Parks Safety Habitat Green Infrastructure & Sustainability Trees Turf & Maintenance Renewal & Replacement [Dedications & Sponsorship Dogs Playgrounds Signage Splashpads Sportsfields & Courts Trails & Access Winter Use Art Downtown Kitchener Indigenous Grand River Placemaking & Community Legacy Parks Strategic Discussion Topic One: Figure 1 outlines an initial list of topics for Places. This list is not exhaustive and will be informed by community and stakeholder feedback. Council feedback on this list is sought to inform Places; are there elements on this list that Council does not feel should be included, or, elements missing that Council does feel should be included? Given the significant and extensive community feedback and engagement that staff believe it is likely that Places will draw, work will commence in 2021 on engagement and continue throughout much of 2022. This will also allow for an evolving community engagement process, flexible and responsive as COVID-19 impacts continue to be felt. Spaces: will focus on the location and amount of parks today and in the future, provide strategic context and priority for securing new parkland. It will consider currently underserved areas, growth forecasts and use an equity lens to prioritise parkland acquisition. Key within this document is a consideration of classifying parks and open spaces, a discussion on form and function of different spaces, and, establishing parks provision targets. Spaces will provide a stand alone plan that will inform the Parkland Dedication by-law and policy and will be developed to meet the requirements of a `Parks Plan' under the Planning Act. Through changes to a variety of planning legislative tools implemented under the Omnibus Bill 197 which became the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act, Council must review and pass a new Parkland Dedication Bylaw no later than September 2022. In the event that no new bylaw is in place, staff believe that the City will cease being able to collect meaningful parkland or cash in lieu through residential intensification projects particularly. This bylaw must be supported by a `Parks Plan' (Spaces). In a further change to the Act, the Dedication Bylaw is subject to appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal (formerly Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT), and Ontario Municipal Board (OMB)). Neither document have been subject to appeal in the past. Given the strong link to planning, Spaces is being co -developed as a close partnership between the Parks & Cemeteries division and Planning division. As a result of the timelines imposed by the Province, Spaces is being prioritised and developed to be presented to Council independently in quarter two of 2022, alongside a revised Parkland Dedication Bylaw. Staff anticipate significant stakeholder input and engagement, particularly within the development community, as well as within the wider community. However, the narrower scope of Spaces (than Places) means that a shorter timeline for engagement can be developed. Background work on Spaces such as data analysis is being undertaken to inform the Council Strategic Session and then to help inform engagement activities through the fall and the balance of this report and Strategic Session focuses on topics to be addressed in Spaces. Equity of Parkland Access Overall, the City of Kitchener remains a relatively `green' City. Past decisions have ensured that local swaths of natural and environmentally important lands have been protected as parks and open space from development — the wooded corridors of Doon South, the expanse of Lackner Woods, and the protection of the Huron Natural Area complex are good examples of this. Alongside these areas, the protection of `hazard lands' associated with the Grand River and other creek and naturally significant areas through the Grand River Conservation Authority regulations have led to the City ownership and stewardship of other areas of public space. Lastly, a connected corridor of services (hydro, gas etc.) and stormwater management facilities that have been used secondarily to support trails have also enable green and open spaces to be protected. Fig. 2 — Overall Park and Open Space provision Park Provisions Keys Resu Its All Parks Planned Parks Local Parks 2010 Parks Strategic Pian Target: sq.m. per person 1.5 hectares per 1,000 residents, or, 15 sq.m,. per person. sq.m. per person sq.m. per person Community Analysis: Using the local park provision of g,$ sq.m. per person,, more Local Park Provision= 1 Planning Community � Critically below average Identifying the local park provision in terms of square the average to varying degrees. Community Naps will meters per person allows the City to easily identify illustrate where these communities are and their thresholds. 22 Above city wide average communities that are above of below this threshold. The above graphic illustrates the break out of Local parks from all Planned Parks, and the entire parks portfolio. Local Approximately average Parks include both Neighbourhood and Community park categories. P' 10 Below average Community Analysis However, these open spaces are generally located in the less densely developed and newer areas of Kitchener. In addition, active use of these areas is minimal — many of these spaces cannot be used for park infrastructure such as sportsfields, play areas or dog parks. These open space areas support passive recreation, rather than active or programmed recreation. When looking at the provision of local parks — those that are within walking distance and contain amenities such as play areas, open space and other amenities such as community gardens, neighbourhood rinks and basketball courts — we see a more stark difference across the City. Newer neighbourhoods benefit from more contemporary development approaches where parks were embedded into communities from an early l well below average Using the local park provision of g,$ sq.m. per person,, more x ja than half of the residential communities are at or above the � Critically below average city-wide average. The remaining communities are below the average to varying degrees. Community Naps will illustrate where these communities are and their thresholds. Non-residential communities However, these open spaces are generally located in the less densely developed and newer areas of Kitchener. In addition, active use of these areas is minimal — many of these spaces cannot be used for park infrastructure such as sportsfields, play areas or dog parks. These open space areas support passive recreation, rather than active or programmed recreation. When looking at the provision of local parks — those that are within walking distance and contain amenities such as play areas, open space and other amenities such as community gardens, neighbourhood rinks and basketball courts — we see a more stark difference across the City. Newer neighbourhoods benefit from more contemporary development approaches where parks were embedded into communities from an early stage of planning; older areas of the City, and areas that are seeing most significant pressure from redevelopment and intensification often lack local park space. Older areas, often featuring little to no private yard space, a high prevalence of condo development, towers and rental units, are the most deficient areas of the City for park space; and also correlate strongly with equity deserving populations and communities, as well as lower incomes and greater social demographic challenges. Fig 3. — Local Park Provision Park Provisions Local Parks - City Average: 9.8 sq.m. per person a - 10 - 2-5 - r 2 . p 0=k ' No Parks or jr Community Parks (10): 0 Chandler Park `5 0 Cherry Park 0 Fischer Park 0 Forest Heights CC Park 0 Growski Park 0 Idlewood Park 0 Knollwood Pari 0 Upper Canada Park 0 Wilson Park Weber Park r In short, it could be argued that those communities most likely to benefit most significantly from parks, are the communities that have the lowest provision of local parks. The map in Figure 3 demonstrates both the acute nature of the difference and where these areas of lowest provision are. At the highest end, Meinzinger Park (56.2 sqm), Cedar Hill (34.1 sqm) and Eastwood (24.9 sqm) are the best served communities in Kitchener, three of twenty-seven communities that have `approximately average' or `above average' local park provisions. At worst, Victoria Park, Bridgeport West, Civic Centre and King East all have less than 1 sqm per resident, four of thirteen communities that are `well below average or `critically below average'. These areas are also the areas of the City where the most significant levels of growth over the next decade are forecast to occur, and indeed, is already happening. Without significant intervention, the parkland deficit in these already deficient communities will worsen. Fig. 4 — Critical Needs Area Approach Critical Needs Areas Data can provide the framework but a qual€tative � EXPAND - Acquisition Priority analysis is necessary to form the City's park acquisition Information household 'income and percentage of apartment strategies. Communities will be evaluated based on Critical Needs Assessments in two forms: par# �ry low laa<kn ppf..n�gl, Je al de airy and h�nayorty�n. Acquisition Priority and Park Improvement Priority. This assessmentprov€ties only one too[ in determining I00,000-ofelpdjul�lion[Qi9Cc d�1 Law pxk au�ply and% t dJgh rrxtenuni deivlry }.uquay xsre. 0ubject ri�rsnd 7akarg ¢hrcxv,gh devti_yrti: y% oFryScinuniGei Guiding Principle- - EXPAND wnabknadnidn,r,siding,—atom, IW, J11-11, —d —,l Awes ciynnd L&gwy Pad& such 3ivktb ia, Md&.ean Wbab de, ell; of influenctrig factors such as: asset management ePplw.nPi— Prior' of acquisitions is based an measurable data q conditions, sportsfieid in€tiatives, stormwater Lnw W* supply, fww— w d4—i arihecommunity rc Itln pwkau�nlsAm 8s a kvv Loma d—luprnenc drWen qxL and qualitatiire analysis. The measurable data s a Infrastructure initiatives, and so on. This will be combination of existing park supply per person, 1 1 1 1 M rx� on act t,•.r rrKrn u3 s�i�eirq fa��Vrs rey�dlrss uimkla x4 supp• average annual household income, and percentage of apartment dwellings within a community. A qualitatiwe fa id through Spaces. lens is then applied to factor in unique considerations within each community. 0 IMPROVE - Improvement Priority Regardless of priority, all sig n€flcant growth development should be assessed for park€and needs —W vtlen d 6N.. auetage iek&t. aed high peke oiapaetment 9wdkegs and new provisions resulting from new residential Mncdba&aho,�ewbel avenr uc9ncardpes[r:r8yedfapovxrn un€ts d 0mg, Ca,u-Uv 7nae a2 xibwra�.�rrigr �ruaana�daeur gage ofa ,nment Guiding Principle: IMPROVE dwe'lmg, This is a a equity driven analysis based on two factors from the acquisition priority: average annual Community 0 Information household 'income and percentage of apartment dweElings within a community. This assessmentprov€ties only one too[ in determining I00,000-ofelpdjul�lion[Qi9Cc d�1 capita€ improvements to existing park spaces.� 0ubject -ural he�nr ,rhmd & �mm a xy sp Decisions and planning are sto a wide range , sq.m Awes ciynnd L&gwy Pad& such 3ivktb ia, Md&.ean Wbab de, ell; of influenctrig factors such as: asset management k;cd p�aerxtpc v s kir conditions, sportsfieid in€tiatives, stormwater Infrastructure initiatives, and so on. This will be 1 1 1 1 M am -1 hoose} hd—me P519 cermal explored `€n the Places document with the foundation fa id through Spaces. 4 1°,n�taittemtgirha[srrapad5rrndl�a9cahaxi5l It is important to reflect that highly urbanized areas (i.e. downtown) often incorporate urban design that supports community activity in ways similar to parks. Areas like Carl Zehr square for example offer areas for community to gather, celebrate and share space. These areas will be important as Kitchener grows and changes and their role will be considered in `Places'. However, as with other forms of `park' space, staff believe the role of these spaces should be in addition to, not instead of, local park space. An equity focussed approach to park provision is proposed that would establish Critical Needs Areas based on community demographics and existing park provision. This would prioritize activity at a planning community level on Expanding Access to parks and open spaces with a focus on seeking to acquire new parkland space, and, Improving Parkland space to meet community needs. Based on the existing provision and community demographics, each planning community would have its needs assessed, and activity prioritised against these. Strategic Discussion Topic Two: Equality vs. Equity The City has committed through the 2010 Parks Strategic Plan to equal access to parkland; that all residents, regardless of where they are, should have equal access to parkland. It is clear that while policy establishes the intent of equal access to, the reality is that there is an inequity that is established in parkland provision. Does Council feel that staff should pursue an approach to Places and Spaces that is seeks to address equity through identification of Critical Needs at a Planning Community level? Does Council have other ideas for addressing equity issues within Kitchener parks and open spaces? Parkland Provision The 2010 Parks Strategic Plan established targets for various types of parkland. Critical within this was the establishment of a target of 1.5 hectares (ha) of neighbourhood park per 1000 residents, or, 15 square metres (sqm) per person, with a playground within 500 metres (m) of each residence. At the time, in 2010, around 1 ha of local park, or 10sgm of local park, were available across the City, so this target was an ambitious improvement over the existing provision at the time across the City on average, let alone at a neighbourhood community level. Local park provision is important - local parks (neighbourhood and community parks) are those that are within walking distance and provide for local, daily access to park amenities. Local, neighbourhood scale parks are one of the only freely available, accessible forms of leisure and recreation that are available to all; needing no entry free, specialized equipment, tuition or experience or, providing they are local, access to transport, public or private. As noted in the 2021 Parks People Canadian Cites Park Report' of all park types, local, neighbourhood parks are the most important to Canadians. Generally, the playground target has been met with most residents living within 500m of at least one play area. In some areas, play grounds may be shared by 1000 or more residents; in others by a few 10's, but, most residents have access to a play structure within -500m. ' https:Hccpr.parkpeople.ca/2021/overview/summary However, by only using tools provided by the Parkland Dedication Bylaw, the neighbourhood parks target from 2010 was never achievable, and the past decade has seen a decreasing amount of local park space per resident. Currently, there is around 9.8sgm per person; a reduction from 10sgm per resident in 2010. The ability and maximum amount of parkland that a municipality can collect through development is embedded in legislation, however, the City Official Plan establishes and shares the policy framework for the City of Kitchener. The City of Kitchener Official Plan supports the City in collecting the maximum amount of parkland dedication permitted under the Planning Act. The justification for the Official Plan Policy is embedded within the Parks Strategic Plan and, in future, Places and Spaces In the 2010 Parks Strategic Plan, local park provision rate is the key driver behind Parkland Dedication policies and processes and, based on this, Council supported the Official Plan policy of seeking the maximum allowable rate of parkland dedication. The provision rate in Places and Spaces will likewise provide direction to future Official Plan reviews and the development community in respect to the amount of parkland expected of development to continue to support communities living in Kitchener. Parkland Dedication Bylaw & Cash in Lieu The Parkland Dedication Bylaw is the predominant tool by which the City acquires new parks and open spaces. It establishes the amount of land (or cash in lieu of land) that a development must provide to the City to support new parks, or, enhance exiting parks to handle increased pressure from intensification. Cash In Lieu (CIL) is established on the basic principle that should a development not be able to provide land as required to create new parkland, that cash should be provided that is equal to the value of the land that should have been dedicated. Generally speaking, the City has acquired: • 5% of all developable land in new subdivisions for parkland purposes, in addition to often securing environmentally sensitive and natural lands that cannot be developed. This allows for a balance of `active' parkland, and `passive' greenspace that supports communities. • In redevelopment, through Site Plan, staff generally (more than 98% of the time), seek `cash in lieu (CIL)' rather than land (for a variety of reasons). This money is placed in the Parkland Reserve and used to fund purchase of new parks and investment to improve existing parks impacted by development. What is a "Target" for Parkland Provision? In summary: 1. In 2010, there was approximately 10sgm of local park per person 2. In the Parks Strategic Plan (2010), Council endorsed a local park provision of 15sgm per person as the target provision rate 3. The Official Plan supports collecting at the maximum allowable parkland dedication rate under the Planning Act 4. Since 2010 (and for a long time prior to this) Parkland Dedication has been the only tool for acquiring new parks; the City has not sought to acquire additional parks through other means, such as acquisition 5. The current provision for local parks in Kitchener is 9.8sgm per person (a decrease in provision since 2010) 6. The maximum rate at which parkland can be acquired relying solely on parkland dedication, which is collected at maximum rates (a ceiling) is 8.5sgm per person. This assumes that all CIL collected is spent on buying new parkland (this does not currently happen) 7. Any `discount' (including direct discounts such as the Downtown Exemption, or indirect such as by collecting CIL at a rate lower than the value of land, or by using CIL for reasons other than buying parkland), will further lower the `ceiling'. 8. Ultimately, relying only on Parkland Dedication as a tool for acquiring parkland will result in decreasing provision toward, and over time, below, the ceiling rate. Fig. 5 Provisions Explored; Targets vs. a `Ceiling' 15.0 sq.m. per person Z0070 Target 9.8 sq,m. per person Ex sting ftyGion 8.5 sq.m. per pefson r', anrb7g Act Cei ing Targets - A Global, Provincial & Local Context Target setting for parkland provision is a well used approach with most larger municipalities providing some form of a target. These targets vary from around 12sgm per person to in excess of 50sgm per person. There is no agreed on international standard for parkland provision, but it is commonly indicated that access to safe, functional, parks of 0.5 - 1 ha in size within a short walking distance of all urban residents serve a variety of health and social objectives2. There is little consistency in approach as to what the target should include or not include in its definition. Given the importance of local parks to community, staff are recommending that a target that reflects local park provision is the most meaningful; this is also consistent with the previous Parks Strategic Plan. The lack of consistency between municipalities defining a `local park' means that comparing targets from one municipality to another is not necessarily a valid exercise. As noted earlier, accounting for all forms of parks and open space across Kitchener, Kitchener remains a relatively green City with around 70sgm of overall open space per person. The City of Waterloo has recently shared its revised draft parkland strategy3 which indicates an overall target of 30sgm per person, excluding natural and cultural parks - equitable to `Planned Parks' in Fig.2, and a local park provision of 10sgm per person. The City of Kitchener's current provision of directly comparable parkland types is approximately 26sgm per person of planned park spaces and 9.8sgm of local park. A Target for the City of Kitchener In order to maintain the existing local park provision of 9.8sgm, 27.6ha of new local park must be acquired between 2021 and 2031. (In order to maintain the `all park and open space provision rate of -70sgm per person, more than 70ha of additional park and open space is required). This is beyond the existing established ability of parkland dedication to meet on its own. Further, this will not necessarily address equity challenges highlighted as new parks will only be developed in areas where there is growth and will not address historic community deficiencies without specific policies to do so (such as by collecting CIL in some communities and investing it in acquiring parks in others). In short, in order to maintain the existing local park provision, investment beyond reliance on development is required. Setting a target that maintains the existing provision, or increases it, will rely on new investment into park and open spaces. 2 https://www.curo.who.int/ data/assets/pdf file/0005/321971/Urban-green-spaces-and-health-review-evidence.pdf 3 https://www.engagewr.ca�parkland-strategy Strategic Discussion Topic Three: Parkland Provision As Kitchener sees rapid growth, the provision of parkland is important. Kitchener has an enviable amount of green and open space on a City-wide basis, but, a significant proportion (over 2/3's) is natural and passive open space. This establishes a pressure for active, neighbour scale, local park space. Targets established in the last report have not been met, and, on a City-wide basis, local park space provision is decreasing; these decreases are magnified and most acute in dense and intensifying areas. Should the City establish a revised `target' for local parkland provision, and if so, what should that target be? Should a `target' be set that is higher or lower than the existing target (15sgm per person); close to the existing provision (9.8sgm per person), or lower than the current, aligned with the ceiling (8.5sgm per person)? Downtown Exemption Council has provided direction that the Downtown Exemption for Parkland Dedication be lifted (CAO -13-036). In addition, Council directed that an alternative (reduced) rate of Parkland Dedication be implemented in the downtown. It was intended that the change be implemented alongside or close to the reinstatement of Development Charges (DC) downtown, completed through the DC Bylaw review in 2019. It is anticipated that the Downtown Exemption will be removed in 2022 with the new Parkland Dedication bylaw. Staff will review the impact of the reduced rate of Parkland Dedication for downtown, noting that this further lowers the `ceiling' for development led acquisition of parkland and that it is eight years since the rate was proposed. Any required changes to the existing direction from Council will be brought back to Council alongside Spaces, in 2022. Next Steps This report is for discussion purposes only during the Council Strategic discussion on August 23rd, 2021. Following the discussion, staff will continue to work on developing Spaces strategy. It is anticipated that engagements with the public, stakeholders (such as the school board) and the development community will start in late summer and through fall. Staff anticipate bringing Spaces back to Council for approval in or before June, 2022, alongside a new Parkland Dedication Bylaw. Development of Spaces (and the new Parkland Dedication Bylaw) is being done concurrently with the Development Charge review (also directed within the COVID-19 Economic Development Act). As such, a third party completed affordability assessment will be brought forward in accompanying these reports. Places Strategy will also start to be developed with community engagement proceeding on a thematic approach starting in late summer and fall 2021. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: INFORM: This report has been posted to the City's website with the agenda in advance of the council / committee meeting. ENGAGEMENT: Staff are just commencing planning for engagement on Places and Spaces. It is envisaged that engagement will be extensive and require significant time and dedication to ensure a robust engagement process is delivered. Previous, related engagement There are several recently completed strategic plans that will inform this engagement process, and feedback from these activities will be reflected within the final Places and Spaces Document. In 2019, Council adopted (CSD -19-007) a revised Leisure Facilities Master Plan (LFMP). This was informed by extensive community engagement with more than 1,700 participants sharing their views over an eight week period. While the focus of the outcomes of the LFMP is on programmed leisure activities, the engagement allowed for a broad range of responses. The top two recreation priorities emerging from the LFMP engagement were 1. Trails and walkways 2. Neighbourhood parks and playgrounds Also on this list were outdoor courts (basketball, tennis and pickleball etc.), splash pads, outdoor rinks all of which are important considerations deferred from the LFMP to the Places and Spaces strategy. In 2020, Council adopted the Cycling and Trails Master Plan (CTMP). The engagement process for this plan heard from more than 3,200 residents. The focus of the CTMP was on trails; however, many of the key values of trails are intrinsically linked to the green, parks and open spaces through which these run or connect to. More than 26% of respondents reported that they use trails and open spaces to have fun and spend time with friends and family, and a further 17% suggested that they used trails to access other trails, such as those found in natural settings. The top cited reasons for using a trail included access to wildlife and nature, accessing a park, and walking dogs; all important considerations and feedback to be acknowledged in Places and Spaces. Future Engagement Reflecting the approach to addressing Places and Spaces as two distinct documents, community and stake holder engagement will likewise be in two distinct parts, each with a developed engagement strategy to support. Spaces Spaces is an evolution from the former 2010 Parks Strategic Plan, building on the recommendations embedded within that. It is largely driven by legislative pressures and responds to pressures such as development. There is an established timeline prescribed (under provincial legislation and regulations) for the approval of Spaces, which is ambitious. As such a condensed approach to engagement is proposed through late summer and fall 2021, initiated by the Council strategic session. Stakeholder engagement with business and development communities will be essential and will be conducted in person and virtually through the fall. Engagement with the wider community will be through volunteer and stakeholder groups, as well as community organisations and partners. Wider community engagement will rely on virtual feedback through Engage Kitchener. Staff will consider tools such a Focus Groups and Statistically Valid Surveys if there is identified value to these to provide open feedback to Spaces. Engagement will be completed by early 2022 on Spaces. Places A much more extensive engagement is expected on Places. Places speaks to the quality of parks, the community outcomes supported by parks and the value that parks play in shaping communities and in placemaking. Engagement will start in 2021 exploring the scope and breath of Places, seeking feedback on priorities for Places. This will be done digitally, through engage Kitchener and through stakeholder and community feedback through mechanisms such as direct outreach and through other park engagements. Specific connection with equity deserving communities, Black and Indigenous community will be a focus of this initial engagement, to ensure an equity focus is maintained throughout the development of Places. Through late 2021, all of 2022 and into early 2023, staff will develop engagement strategies linked to each theme or area that is being reviewed in Places. These topic areas are shared in draft in Foundations, but will themselves be informed by engagement. This engagement will be multi faceted, using online tools as a starting point, but seeking to explore innovative and in person forms of engagement as communities recover from COVID-19. It is highly likely that focus groups and statistically valid surveys will be adopted to provide balance to key issues and understand wider community perspectives. Specific efforts will be made to ensure that engagement is equity focussed and that voices that are under represented are amplified, and reflected in engagement outcomes. In addition, extensive efforts will be made to try to understand perspectives from non -park users. For example, it will be as important to hear from non -pet owning parks users around dogs in parks as it is to hear from dog owners; as important to hear the perspective of non sports playing parks users as it is for example, pickleball players about court spaces in park; it is as important to here from a non -park user about the value of parks to the City as it is the park aficionado. This extensive and deliberative approach to engagement is vital for a topic which has such a high community interest. It is also important that we increasingly seek to reflect best practices in engagement and move beyond engagement to relationship building. Building relationships and ongoing partnerships with Indigenous communities and First Nations, with racialized, black and people of colour communities, with gender equity deserving communities and others will be vital in shaping ongoing engagement with park design and development over coming years. This approach to engagement will help to ensure that a strategic approach to the future provision and management of parks and open spaces is reflective of the needs of Kitchener current and future. ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN: The development of Places and Spaces is included within the theme of `Caring Community' and is specifically mentioned as the need to develop an Open Space Strategy. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: There are no financial implications arising from the result of this discussion. Future financial impacts of Places and Spaces will be considered when these documents are considered for approval. ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Denise McGoldrick, General Manager, Infrastructure Services, Justin Readman, General Manager, Development Services.