HomeMy WebLinkAboutDTS-05-188 - Growth Management - A "Made in Kitchener" Approach
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Development &
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Report To:
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Development and Technical Services
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Date of Report:
Report No.:
Subject:
December 5, 2005
JeffWillmer, Director of Planning (741-2325)
Janice Given, Project Manager (741-2319)
All
November 28, 2005
DTS 05-188
GROWTH MANAGEMENT-A "MADE IN KITCHENER"
APPROACH
RECOMMENDATION:
That a comprehensive community engagement process on growth management form the next
phase in the development of a growth management strategy for Kitchener.
BACKGROUND:
A number of significant changes in the policy regime have occurred in the recent past to impact
the City's direction on growth management. In 2003, Regional Council adopted the Regional
Growth management Strategy, a long term strategic framework identifying where, when and
how future residential and employment growth will be accommodated across the region. In
March, 2005, the new Provincial Policy Statement came into effect under the Planning Act and
provides policy direction on matters of provincial interest related to planning. It supports a more
effective and efficient land use planning system and the provincial goal to enhance the quality of
life for the citizens of Ontario.
In November, 2005, the Province released its last draft of Places to Grow, a Proposed Growth
Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, a framework for implementing the Ontario
government's vision for building stronger, prosperous communities by better managing growth.
As the city continues to prosper and change, Council directed the undertaking of a survey of the
citizens to confirm the city's vision and increase the understanding of public priorities. Staff see
this as an essential next step in the City's plan for growth management.
REPORT:
. Almost 90% of Ontario's growth is occurring in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, one of
the fastest growing metropolitan areas in all of North America.
. Waterloo Region is expected to grow from 465,000 to 729,000 by 2031 and employ
115,000 additional people.
. Population in Kitchener is forecast to exceed 300, 000 by 2031, an increase of 57% over
2001.
Population growth in Waterloo Region has historically been strong, and forecasts for 2001-2031
show a growth rate of between 30 and 34%. While the proximity to the GTA continues to
contribute to this high rate of growth, compared to other regions abutting in the GTA, Waterloo
Region has historically shown the highest rate of growth and leads the others in predicted growth
to 2031.
What accounts for this significant growth? Outside of the GTA, Waterloo region attracts the
greatest proportion of international immigrants destined to Canada; combined with out-migration
from the GT A, immigration accounts for the greatest contributing factor in population growth.
People are drawn to Kitchener because of its low unemployment rate, the diversity of economy,
anchored in traditional manufacturing, aided by a strong technology sector, growing information
and education clusters and relative proximity to the GTA. These, together with a series of factors
produce the high quality of life that more than 60% of residents polled by Environics cited as
their reason for liking Kitchener.
What does Growth Management Mean?
Given a history of strong regional and local planning in this community, we have been actively
managing significant population, community and economic growth for a long period of time.
The Province has strengthened its position and role in ensuring that the growth of communities
maintains the following principles:
· A more compact, efficient form of development which optimizes the use of existing
infrastructure
· Maintains a quality of life that attracts new investment and fosters a competitive
economy
· Promotes healthy lifestyles through compact and complete communities, increased
use of transit and walkability and reduced rates of automobile use
· Conserves our natural and built environment for the future enjoyment of citizens
Ifwe can strategically plan the growth of our municipality, Kitchener can maintain and enhance
its quality of life and economic prosperity while becoming home to thousands of new households
and businesses. The economic benefits of growth management were a topic of discussion at the
Spring 2005 Premier's Leaders Forum on Strategic Growth. According to the Director of
Metropolitan Policy at the Brookings Institution, growth management is increasingly "seen as
the competitive thing to do; no one really has a choice if they want to grow and to prosper as
we II. "
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Is Kitchener Doing the "Right Things" to Be Competitive?
The principles of growth management articulated in Places to Grow are generally embraced by a
broad sector of government, private businesses and citizens, and were supported by a resolution
of Kitchener Council on April 25, 2005. .
As Kitchener explores our business practises and means to successfully manage population,
household and employment growth, our key practises should include the following:
. Directing or attracting high proportions of new growth into the built up area
(sticks or carrots approaches)
. Managing or phasing greenfield growth
. Mandating densities and regulating housing forms to meet intensification targets
. Designing mixed use, transit-supportive neighbourhoods
. Directing growth to existing settlement areas
When we take stock of the strategies the City currently employs, we identify many initiatives
completed or underway which support the strategic growth principles. These initiatives include a
balance of both "carrots" and "sticks" as means of reaching the same end.
· Planning an urban form that supports intensification and reurbanization in appropriate
locations while maintaining stable neighbourhoods.
The City's Secondary Plan program established a solid foundation for this back in the 1980's
and 1990's and continues to provide a good regulatory framework (a combination of
"carrots" and "sticks"), as verified recently in the recent Built Form Review which calculated
the reurbanization potential based on the plans. The Mixed Use Nodes and Mixed Use
Corridors Municipal Plan designations identify areas of greater intensity and mixed uses and
encourage walkability.
· Economic incentives which seek to equalize the cost of reurbanization and greenfield
development (a "carrot" approach): Brownfield TIF's; DC By-law with area-specific charges
for central neighbourhoods (under appeal); CIP for Downtown Upper Storey Renovation
Program and Adaptive Re-use Buildings; Fa<;ade Loan Program; and the City's Economic
Development Investment Fund targeting millions of dollars for major strategic infrastructure.
· Enhanced quality of life through the strengthening of the Urban Design and Heritage
planning programs, Neighbourhood by Design Project aimed at improved design and quality
of greenfield neighbourhoods, development of a Culture Plan, undertaking a Healthy
Communities Plan, updating the Environmental Strategic Plan.
· Meeting the housing needs of our community through a range of planning approvals
including redevelopment of brown field sites, and other reurbanization initiatives; the
development of an annual prioritization program-the Staging of Development Report, which
has historically provided for the orderly, phased development of primarily greenfield plans of
subdivision
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. Developing databases and setting up monitoring reports to be better positioned to review
residential and employment growth and measure municipal performance once targets are put
in place and provide valuable data to investors and developers on vacant or other land
suitable for development or redevelopment
Striking a "Balance"
Like any significant policy change, one of the keys to Kitchener's success will be identifying our
vision, strategically planning how to achieve our vision and monitoring our success, whether it is
meeting the Provincial target of 40% of housing units within the built boundary, gaining
acceptance of intensification in existing neighbourhoods, or reviewing parking standards in the
downtown to promote the use of transit. During the transition to this new planning regime, it is
important that the City continue to understand and balance the interests of our community, to the
extent that we can still move in the direction of the strategic growth principles.
Successful implementation of a new model of growth management will entail changes in the
ideologies and business practices of all those who make up our community: the citizens, the
businesses, the development industry, staff and Council.
What is the Kitchener Community Vision?
In its response to earlier drafts of Places to Grow, staff identified public awareness as a critical
piece in the success of changing public attitudes and behaviour. Public awareness efforts led by
all government levels are needed for citizens to gain an understanding of the interrelationship
between the policy and the economic, environmental and social outcomes. Most citizens, for
example would not readily understand the relationship between compact form and healthier
lifestyles or appreciate all the issues around increasingly heave traffic.
A number of questions were included in the Environics survey related to growth management to
start to get an idea of how our citizens are responding to growth issues and how the preferences
for small city or big city feel play out. Before making any other significant strategic decisions on
growth management, staff will engage the community to help in the identification and
understanding of what directions Kitchener should take toward managing growth and what
contributes to the quality of life that should be maintained. This is Phase II of the follow up
from the Environics survey, which will build on the results of Phase I, the visioning and identity-
development phase. It is hoped that this process will also help to inform the community of the
relationships between social, economic and environmental issues and the balance that is needed
in our community to remain strong and healthy. It is anticipated that this engagement process
will begin in the spring of 2006, following the initial visioning processes, with feedback to
Council in the fall.
The City's most comprehensive tool for implementation of growth management is the Municipal
Plan, of which, the 5-year review will follow the community engagement on growth
management. It will provide the most comprehensive means of ensuring the City's growth takes
place in accordance with the new Provincial Policy Statement, Places to Grow, the upcoming
Regional Official Policies Plan and all other guiding legislation.
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Growth Management Activities at Other Levels of Government
Bill 136 (Places to Grow Act) was adopted on June 13,2005, enabling the Provincial
government to adopt a Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The Proposed Growth
Plan for the GGAH was just released, on November 24, with comments due back by the end of
January. Planning staff will undertake a review and facilitate input from various divisions and re-
establish a working group of representatives from the City's advisory committees. In January,
2006, a report will be taken to Council with final recommendations/comments to the Province.
The Growth Plan and Provincial Policy Statement will provide much of the direction for the new
Regional Official Policies Plan, which is underway and due to be completed in 2007. The
Regional Municipality of Waterloo has also been preparing inventories of vacant residential and
non-residential land across the region with the input of municipalities and stakeholders, in
preparation of completing a Land Budget for the region based on the Places to Grow
requirements, to be finalized early in 2006.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
No immediate implications but long term financial savings in capital infrastructure investment
and in operating and maintenance costs are expected as the growth strategies are
implemented.
COMMUNICATIONS:
Reports will be distributed to the Kitchener Homebuilders' Liaison Committee Association
members.
CONCLUSION:
Staff continue to remain actively engaged in the review and discussion on the changes related
to growth management that impact Kitchener and acknowledge the next important direction as
one which engages the community in developing a community perspective on how a "made in
Kitchener" approach to growth management can be developed.
Janice Given, MCIP, RPP
Project Manager, Policy Planning
Jeff Willmer, MCIP, RPP
Director of Planning
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