TAMRMS#: B06
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C-PE-01 Public Consultation Requirement for Planning & Development Processes / C-CAO-20 Public Participation Alignment
Presented by: Darija Slokar, Lead, Corporate Business Planning and Special Projects
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RECOMMENDATION(S)
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1. That the draft City Council Policy C-CAO-20 Public Participation Policy, provided as an attachment to the May 28, 2018 agenda report entitled “C-PE-01 Public Consultation Requirement for Planning and Development Process/C-CAO-20 Public Participation Alignment”, be received as information and that Council members provide comments to Administration by June 8, 2018.
2. That Administration present City Council Policy C-CAO-20 Public Participation Policy, with Council members input incorporated, to Council for consideration by July 2018.
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PURPOSE OF REPORT
To present recommended amendments for City Council Policy C-CAO-20 Public Participation, to incorporate public consultation requirements related to planning and development and rescind City Council Policy C-PE-01 Public Consultation Requirements for Planning and Development Processes.
COUNCIL DIRECTION
On March 20, 2017 Council passed the following motions:
“That Administration review and align City Council Policy C-PE-01 Public Consultation requirements for Planning and Development processes with City Council Policy C-CAO-20 Public Participation as approved on March 20, 2017 and bring back recommendations to Council for consideration by Quarter Two 2018.”
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Council approved the new Council Policy C-CAO-20 Public Participation on March 20, 2017. The new Policy was developed with input from residents and finalized by Council Public Engagement Committee consisting of five residents and two Council Members. The committee reviewed current state of public participation at the City, leading practices and Municipal Government Act requirements for public participation prior to developing the policy and presenting to Council for approval.
The policy provides direction to Administration for when and how to engage the community for decisions that can have potential impact on the community. In addition to providing direction to Administration for Public Participation, the policy was also written to meet the MGA requirements for a municipality to have such policy, and the expected standards.
At the time of policy approval, Council directed Administration to update all related policies to ensure they align with the new Public Participation Policy.
On March 20, 2017, Council approved the following policies that were amended to align with the new Public Participation Policy:
1. City of St. Albert Strategic Framework
2. Public Communication Policy
a. The policy was re-written to ensure proper alignment with the Public Participation Policy.
The Council Policy C-PE-01 Public Consultation Requirements for Planning and Development Processes Policy required more time to be reviewed, which has now been completed with the following conclusions made:
• Policy does not follow required governance format to provide direction to Administration
• The policy is focused more on outlining procedures for developers and Planning and Development department than providing direction to Administration.
• The policy is not consistent with the new Public Participation Policy
As a result, Administration is recommending that Council Policy C-PE-01 Public Consultation Requirement for Planning & Development Processes policy be rescinded once Council approves the amended Council Policy C-CAO-20 Public Participation.
To ensure the original intent of the policy is not lost, the following actions were taken:
• Policy related points have been reflected in the attached Public Participation Policy to ensure they are kept, but at the policy level.
• The Administrative Procedures section, including a document entitled “Public Consultation Requirements for Planning and Development Processes”, currently attached to the policy, will be taken out to be a separated document that will be posted to the City’s website so that developers and other stakeholders bringing forward recommendations to Council that may have impact on the community can access the document.
The following sections, currently part of the policy, will be moved to the Procedure document that is currently attachment to this policy:
o Standards
o Summary of minimum public consultation requirements
o Summary of responsibility and legislative requirements for Public Consultation
Full update of the document will be done later in 2018 once the Area Structure Plan updates are clearer, and once requirements for infill can be added.
In addition to aligning these policies, the City Manager Directive will be created for Public Participation that will include expectations related to planning and development, recreation, culture, engineering, and other areas that conduct public participation activities to ensure consistent approach and service levels across the organization.
Aligning the Council Policy C-PE-01 Public Consultation Requirement for Planning & Development Processes with the Council Policy C-CAO-20 Public Participation Policy, once fully implemented, will assist Administration in further improving consistency by providing single source of Council direction.
Council Policy C-CAO-20 Public Participation with proposed amendments is attached to this report for Council’s input prior to being brought back to Council for approval. In addition, Council Policy C-PE-01 Public Consultation Requirement for Planning & Development Processes is attached for reference.
STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS OR ENGAGEMENT
In 2016 Council established the Public Engagement Committee consisting of 5 residents, two Council members and Administration representatives. The committee reviewed current state of public engagement at the City, leading practices for public engagement, and gathered community input through a survey and in-person activities. Public input was gathered to better understand community preferences and priorities for engaging and providing input to Administration and Council to inform decision making. The final deliverable of the committee was the Council Policy C-CAO-20 Public Participation Policy that was approved by Council in 2017.
IMPLICATIONS OF RECOMMENDATION(S)
Financial:
N/A
Legal / Risk:
N/A
Program or Service:
One policy that directs administration on public participation activities will assist with improving consistency across the organization. It will also provide a single source of direction for developers and those preparing recommendations to Council that may have impact on the community.
Organizational:
Updating of the Procedure Manual for planning and development and development of the City Manager Directive will result in additional work for Administration; however, it will improve consistency of public participation activities.
ALTERNATIVES AND IMPLICATIONS CONSIDERED
None at this time.
STRATEGIC CONNECTIONS
Administrative Priority Area #4: Business Process Improvement/Financial Sustainability, A.4.3. Organizational productivity and capacity.
The Public Participation policy also provides direction to all strategic initiatives requiring public input.
Report Date: May 28, 2018
Author(s): Darija Slokar
Committee/Department: Strategic Services
General Manager: Michelle Bonnici
City Manager: Kevin Scoble