TAMRMS#: B06
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Public Participation Policy
Presented by: Darija Slokar, Lead, Corporate Business Planning & Special Projects
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PROPOSED MOTION(S):
recommendation
1. That the amended City Council Policy C-CAO-20 Public Participation Policy, provided as an attachment to the March 20, 2017 agenda report entitled "Public Participation Policy", be approved.
2. That the amended City Council Policy C-CG-06 City of St. Albert Strategic Framework, provided as an attachment to the March 20, 2017 agenda report entitled "Public Participation Policy", be approved.
3. That the amended City Council Policy C-CAO-18 Public Communication, provided as an attachment to the March 20, 2017 agenda report entitled "Public Participation Policy" be received as information, and that Council Members provide comments to Administration on the amended City Council Policy C-CAO-18 Public Communication by March 30, 2017.
4. That Administration bring City Council Policy C-CAO-18 Public Communication, amended as per Council Members' input, back to Council by April 24, 2017.
5. 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.
On March 23, 2015 Councillor Brodhead moved the following motion which was subsequently postponed and is now automatically before Council:
6. That Administration review and update related Council policies to ensure proper alignment with the proposed business plan and budget schedule including public consultation activities.
Following consideration of Recommendations 1-6, this motion becomes moot. Therefore, Administration recommends that Councillor Brodhead's motion be withdrawn.
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PURPOSE OF REPORT
Council is requested to approve City Council Policy C-CAO-20 Public Participation Policy which was amended based on Council Members' input; and other related policies which were also updated to align with the new Public Participation Policy, with the exception of Council Policy C-PE-01 Public Consultation requirements for Planning and Development processes, which requires substantive changes that need to be coordinated with the Municipal Development Plan and Land Use Bylaw updates.
COUNCIL DIRECTION
On December 12, 2016 the following motion was passed:
That the updated draft of City Council Policy C-CAO-20 Public Participation Policy, provided as an attachment to the December 12, 2016 Agenda Report entitled "Public Engagement Policy C-CAO-20 and Public Engagement Management Plan", be received for information; that Council Members provide comments to Administration on the proposed City Council Policy C-CAO-20 Public Participation Policy by January 9, 2017; and that Administration bring back to Council the proposed policy, updated with Council Members' input, and any related policies by March 27, 2017.
On March 23, 2015 Councillor Brodhead moved the following motion, which was subsequently postponed:
(C164-2015)
Moved by Councillor Brodhead
That Administration review and update related Council policies to ensure proper alignment with the proposed business plan and budget schedule including public consultation activities.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Council identified public engagement as a goal in the City of St. Albert Strategic Plan. A three-phased public participation project commenced in 2014, as part of the continuous improvement program, to support that goal. Phase One was completed by an internal committee and resulted in the Public Engagement Guidelines and Toolkit. Council approved use of the Public Participation Spectrum as the foundation for public participation for the City.
As part of Phase Two, Administration presented a draft City Council Policy C-CAO-20 Public Engagement Policy on October 26, 2015, for Council’s consideration. To ensure the policy captures community expectations, Council approved a public participation process to review and provide feedback on the proposed policy. The process involved the creation of a Community Engagement Committee to undertake community consultations and gather feedback and to provide advice to Council for changes to the draft policy.
On December 12, 2017, the Committee provided Advice to Council, including a new Public Participation Policy, amended based on community input, and Administration presented the Public Participation Management Plan to Council as information.
Council also directed Administration to update related Council policies to ensure proper alignment with the proposed business plan and budget timelines and public consultation activities.
One Council member provided comments to draft Public Participation Policy, which have been incorporated into attached updated Public Participation Policy.
To support alignment with the new Public Participation Policy, the following policies have been updated:
1. City Council Policy C-CG-06 City of St. Albert Strategic Framework
The policy was amended to include definition for "community and public participation" and small wording changes were made to Standard 2 (d) regarding consultation with the community.
2. City Council Policy C-CAO-18 Public Communication
The policy was re-written to align with the new Public Participation policy to add consideration of communication with people with disabilities. Administration also amended the policy to align with the Smart City Master Plan with regard to the provision of Open Data. Council Members are requested to review the proposed amendments to the policy and provide feedback via email to Maya Pungur-Buick, General Manager, Corporate Services.
Further alignment and updates required:
1. City Council Policy C-PE-01 Public Consultation requirements for Planning and Development processes
Further work is required to align this policy with the new Public Participation Policy. This work needs be coordinated with the Municipal Development Plan and Land Use Bylaw updates that will commence in 2018, to ensure proper alignment of statutory public participation requirements for planning and development with the new policy and to reflect requirement for Developers to meet the City's standards for public participation which need to be incorporated into a bylaw in some manner, to be determined (bylaws regulate the community, policies provide direction to Administration; hence any requirements of the development community should be via municipal statute). Once changes are made, Administration will bring back the updated Public Participation Policy for Council's consideration and approval.
2. Aligning public participation activities with the business plan and budget schedule
As per Council's direction, Administration reviewed current practice related to public participation activities for obtaining input into Council’s strategic direction and business plan and budget as well as the alignment of these activities with the business plan and budget cycle to ensure community input is considered prior to the development of the business plan and budget and following the presentation of proposed budget.
This proposed approach is being presented to Council in a separate agenda report titled "Public Consultation Plan - Resident Input into Council's Strategic Direction” on March 20, 2017.
STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS OR ENGAGEMENT
The intent of the Community Engagement Committee was to lead the community consultation process, develop recommendations and provide advice to Council based on community perspectives.
The Committee provided advice to Council on the public participation and communication activities. The Committee also provided input into the Public Participation Management Plan developed by Administration and presented to Council for information.
Internal stakeholders also had an opportunity to review proposed policy and provide their input.
IMPLICATIONS OF RECOMMENDATION(S)
Financial:
None at this time.
Legal / Risk:
None at this time.
Program or Service:
The new policy will set direction for Administration for how to approach Public Participation Policy. Once implemented fully, the new Policy will provide consistency and standardized approach to public participation at the City.
Organizational:
Currently, there is no corporate resource to coordinate implementation of the policy and provide oversight to ensure policy is implemented on a regular basis. Best efforts will be made, with existing resources, to ensure the intent of the policy is followed. Requests for resources will be put forward through the budget process.
ALTERNATIVES AND IMPLICATIONS CONSIDERED
1. If Council is not satisfied with the proposed amended policies, Council Members may put forward motions to alter the policies during the meeting:
a) Council could direct Administration to make the additional revisions based on direction made by Council at the meeting, and bring the documents back to Council at a later date.
b) Council could direct Administration to make the additional revisions based on direction made by Council at the meeting, and provide approval of the policies as amended. This would expedite the approval process and eliminate the need to discuss the items again at a another Council meeting.
STRATEGIC CONNECTIONS
a) City of St. Albert Strategic Plan (Policy C-CG-02)
Governance Strategy
Council is committed to ensuring that the City of St. Albert is a responsive, accountable government that delivers value to the community.
Service Delivery Strategy
Council is committed to ensuring that the City of St. Albert is engaging residents to identify opportunities to improve delivery of services to the community.
b) Long Term Plans (e.g. MDP, Social Master Plan, Cultural Master Plan, etc.)
• N/A
c) Corporate Objectives (See Corporate Business Plan)
• Deliver programs and services that meet or exceed our standards
• Ensure our customers are very satisfied
d) Council Policies, Bylaws or Federal/Provincial statutes
• C-CAO-18 Public Communication
• Council policy C-FS-05 Budget and Taxation Guiding Principles (Standard 1 a) and 1 d))
• Council policy C-CC-06 Strategic Framework (Standard 2 d)).
• Council policy C-CG-02 City of St. Albert Strategic Plan
e) Other Plans or Initiatives (Business Plans, Implementation Strategies, etc.)
• This policy will help assist the organization how to better engage the community for all strategic and budget processes.
Report Date: March 20, 2017.
Author(s): Darija Slokar
Committee/Department: Corporate Planning and Communications
General Manager: Maya Pungur-Buick
City Manager: Kevin Scoble