Smart Growth for Our Communities Act - Ontario
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Presentation on the impacts of Bill 73 to upper and lower tier municipalities requirements to engage the public. Upon receiving royal ascent, Bill 73 was names The Smart Growth for our Communities Act of 2015. There are mandatory and voluntary guidelines for local governments which include creation of PACS, provisions for notices, explaining the effects of public input, and requirements to include public consultation in official plans
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Smart Growth for Our Communities Act - Ontario
- 1. The Smart Growth for Our Communities Act, 2015 Presented by: Mark Pivon http://www.LinkedIn.com/in/mpivon 604-726-5569 Give residents a greater, more meaningful say in how their communities grow
- 2. Smart Growth for Our Communities Act (2015) ⢠Planning Act Amendments ⢠Impacts: â Citizen Engagement â Certainty, Stability & Costs â Local Decision Making & Accountability â Dispute Resolution â Transparency ⢠This presentation only focuses on: â Citizen Engagement
- 3. What Makes Us Qualified? ⢠8+ Years delivering Online Engagement around the world ⢠330+ Customers ⢠6000+ online engagement projects â Average of 50 per week ⢠Federal, Provincial, Municipal, First Nations, Associations, Private Companies â Mississauga, Halifax, Montreal, Oshawa, DND, ESDC, Natural Resources, Richmond, St. Johns, Hamilton, Environment Canada, Alberta Parks, Alberta Energy, Nova Scotia Health, Health CanadaâŚ
- 4. ⢠Iâm not a lawyer or a planner or even a subject matter expert in Municipal legislation ⢠I represent a Software technology company; I have invested some effort into researching the topic and Iâm sharing my discoveries ⢠Not a substitute for professional legal advice ⢠Training purposes only Disclosure & Disclaimer
- 5. ⢠Why Engage Online â Depth & Breadth of Insight â Online complements Face-to- Face Engagement ⢠Benefits â Build Capacity ⢠Recruit now so you can consult on MANY topics later â Build trust ⢠A destination that people can rely on to get the right information â Accessibility â Cost Effective â Handout: Guide to Online Engagement
- 6. Five Changes Impacting Citizen Engagement ⢠Mandatory for All â Requirement to Explain Effect of Public Input â Requirement to Include Public Consultation Policies in Official Plan â Enhanced Requirement to Have Regard for Public Input (OMB) ⢠Mandatory with some exceptions â Planning Advisory Committees (PACS) ⢠Optional â Alternative Notice Provisions ⢠Handout Summary PDF
- 7. 1. Planning Advisory Committees (PACS) ⢠Since 1983; discretionary ⢠Now REQUIRED for all upper tier municipalities and single tiers in Southern Ontario ⢠Optional for lower tiers and single tiers in territorial districts ⢠Citizen representation required â (Advisory NOT decision-making)
- 8. ⢠You can manage your PAC using: â A notebook â A spreadsheet â Some email system â A contact management system ⢠ACT, Outlook, Insightly, Maximizer â A Customer Relationship Management System ⢠Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamix â A Purpose-built Citizen Engagement Platform ⢠Business Case Handout Doc at end of presentation Managing Your Planning Advisory Committee
- 9. ⢠Ontario Municipal Board ⢠All public input must be considered ⢠Now requires the OMB to have regard to any information and material that municipal council received ⢠We believe an online engagement platform delivers a distinct advantage here, particularly in analytics 2. Enhanced Requirement to Have Regard to Public Input
- 10. ⢠Simply put, ecommerce analytics is about measuring âmoreâ whereas engagement analytics is about measuring âbetterâ ⢠Citizen engagement cannot be measured like ecommerce; the dynamic is more like a constant ebb-and-flow â One day they like you, the next day, meh. â Citizens donât automatically switch brands (leave the city) eCommerce Analytics vs Engagement Analytics
- 23. 3. Enhanced Alternative Notice Provisions ⢠Discretionary ⢠Tailor public notification requirements ⢠Municipalities determine the process â Who â How â When â Where ⢠Municipalities must still consult with the public in development notice procedures
- 26. 4. Requirement to Explain Effect of Public Input ⢠Required ⢠Intended to deliver increased transparency in decision-making ⢠Analytics and reporting will support this requirement ⢠Notice provisions (from previous section) also support this requirement
- 28. ⢠Requirement to detail how you will consult with the public ⢠Applies to: â Official Plans & Amendments â Zoning By-Laws & Amendments â Plans of Subdivision â Consents to Sever ⢠Public Consultation Strategy is necessary 5. Requirement to Include Public Consultation Policies in Official Plans
- 31. Mark Pivon Engagement Solutions Manager â 604.726.5569 â LinkedIn.com/in/MarkPivon â Twitter @mpivonFor More Information
Editor's Notes
- Welcome to todays presentation by Bang the Table Canada on The Smart Growth for Our Communities Act. My name is Mark Pivon and I am an Engagement Solutions Manager I will request that everyone hold their questions to the end, as time is limited and we will have a lot to cover during this space.
- This presentation is about recent Planning Act Amendments in Ontario, reflected in The Smart Growth for Our Communities Act of 2015. In general, this Act impacts: Citizen Engagement Certainty, Stability & Costs Local Decision Making & Accountability Dispute Resolution Transparency This presentation only focuses on five key areas of citizen engagement impacted by the Act. Further, we explore how these key areas of citizen engagement can be served by an online engagement solution. All came into effect July 1st with proclamation
- What makes us qualified to speak about online citizen engagement? Weâve been delivering online engagement to municipalities around the world for nearly nine years. We have about 330 Customers worldwide; this translates to about 6000 projects since the start, or about 50 new projects every week.
- Iâll also take about five seconds for a quick disclaimer. Bottom line is that I am not a lawyer or a planner, and this training event should not be considered a substitute for the kind of professional advice offered by these types of individuals.
- Why should you engage online? First and foremost, it's about risk management. If youâre not reaching out to the community you are hostage to the few who bother to turn up to public meetings. Now, Iâm certainly not condemning face to face engagement. Itâs a very important device that offers a deep understanding of your community sentiment. And, where face to face offers a depth, online offers breadth. (And for all you planner types, I hope you can appreciate the graphic I found that illustrates depth & breadth in a spatial context!) Online delivers a wider reach; it improves the accessibility of the consultation by giving a voice to others who might not be able to attend a meeting in person. People like shiftworkers, people who travel, stay at home parents, those lacking transportation, etc. These 'othersâ, who do not attend open houses, they are frequently more open to change and less dogmatic in their approach. Online engagement also offers municipalities an way to deliver an enduring piece on the subject. This helps to build trust in the community because people will know where to get information. And, itâs cost effective and delivers significant economies of scale. I wonât belabour this fact â every one of you is experiencing it right now, online through this webinar. At the end of the presentation I will share with you our Guide for Online Engagement
- What is mandatory and what is optional. Mandatory for All Requirement to Explain Effect of Public Input Requirement to Include Public Consultation Policies in Official Plan Enhanced Requirement to Have Regard for Public Input (OMB) Mandatory with some exceptions Planning Advisory Committees (PACS) Optional Alternative Notice Provisions The PDF that I will share with you at the end is from the Ministry that summarizes all the changes to the legislation. When you see it, youâll notice that Iâm really only going to be covering the first two pages. There are eleven pages in all that really serve as an excellent resource.
- Previously, the council of a municipality (upper, lower or single-tier) had discretion to appoint a planning advisory committee. The appointment of a planning advisory committee will now be mandatory for almost every upper tier and single-tier municipality, though the appointment will remain optional for lower-tier municipalities. The members of the planning advisory committee are to be chosen by council and must include at least one resident who is neither a member of council nor an employee of the municipality.
- You can manage your Planning Advisory Committee using: A notebook A spreadsheet Some email system A contact management system A Customer Relationship Management System A Purpose-built Citizen Engagement Platform At the end of the presentation I will also share a boilerplate draft business case for Ontario Municipalities. It references the changes in the planning act, and also talks about the need to manage your constituents, your PAC and other stakeholders. It IS also (reasonably) vendor neutral so it doesnât all look like you are jockeying for a solution from Bang the Table (although I wouldnât try to stop anyone from doing that). It generally addresses the challenges you will inevitably have when someone asks you â⌠why donât we just use the website that we have alreadyâŚâ One quick answer is that itâs more than a website: Itâs managing people. Itâs reporting and analytics. Itâs communications, engagement and education. And itâs being able to be held accountable â especially in light of the new legislation.
- Enhanced Requirement to Have Regard to Public Input Section 2.1 of the Planning Act obligates the Ontario Municipal Board to have regard for the decision of municipal council as well as any information and material that municipal council considered in making its decision. The section did not apply when the OMB was hearing an appeal from a non-decision. Bill 73 amends section 2.1 to now require the OMB to have regard to any information and material that municipal council received in relation to the matter under appeal, including written and oral submissions received from the public â even if municipal council did not render a decision on the matter. An online engagement platform, therefore, offers some distinct advantages in these situations. These are platforms designed to collect BETTER information for BETTER decision making.
- Iâm going to take a sidebar here for a moment. When we talk about better information in an online context, weâre talking about analytics. Most municipalities are accustomed to using things like Google Analytics â which is really purpose built around ecommerce. But, ecommerce analytics is about measuring âmoreâ whereas engagement analytics is about measuring âbetterâ. Citizen engagement cannot be measured like ecommerce; the dynamic is more like a constant ebb-and-flow: Citizens donât automatically switch brands by leaving the city when they are dissatisfied with a council decision.
- Online engagement is generally measured in three stages. Iâm going to use some specialized terminology here and throughout the presentation, so this is kind of important. We have the people that are AWARE of your consultation. [CLICK] These are the eyeballs. Itâs the total number of unique visitors to your site. These people eventually convert into an INFORMED Audience [CLICK] These people stay onsite and consume media. They will watch a video, download a document, view an infographic, click on a calendar date, and so on. Finally, we have everyone else that becomes ENGAGED. [CLICK] This is represented by all the people that take time to participate in an online engagement tool; they take action beyond consumption of media and create or submit something to the community, either publicly, privately, or anonymously.
- How do you measure aware, informed and engaged? How do you measure âbetterâ? Certainly tracking visitors to a site is valuable. This helps to measure the effectiveness of your communications plan. You can build a site, but the people still need to know about it. And, tracking site visitors over time is nice to have for the communications people and the web people in the office.
- Looking at it another way, and in aggregate, the communications folks will want to know How many unique individuals visited the site over time? A low number here means you might have to step up your communications efforts. Using social media might also help to increase awareness. Nothing really unique here â itâs just site traffic.
- Hereâs where âbetterâ starts to happen. Informed tells you your communityâs understanding of the subject matter. They visit different pages, download documents, view infographics, watch videos, and so on. I will come back to this shortly.
- And then âengagementâ happens. As a communityâs understanding builds, a subset of citizens will become engaged by submitting content, commenting, writing, posting, sharing, and so on.
- How you choose to engage your community online is part of a bigger strategy. Just like you have multiple tools to engage citizens in face-to-face consultations (like world cafes, charrettes, appreciative inquiries, and so on), the same holds true for online. Different tools facilitate degrees of openness and transparency, and they are carefully chosen based on the topic being consulted and the feedback desired. Remember this graphic and that openness and transparency increases [CLICK] as we move from left to right. Now weâll take a look at some examples.
- Here are some examples from the City of Oshawa. They are running multiple consultations from their main page, as indicated by the four panels. [CLICK] When we click through to some of the engagement spaces, we see a variety of engagement strategies being deployed. In the âOur Oshawaâ Engagement space, theyâre using Stories with comments enabled. [CLICK] Theyâre getting some wonderful participation from citizens offering their perspectives and sharing pictures --- all serving to enrich the âOur Oshawaâ space. In the âDrive-Throughsâ Engagement space, theyâre using surveys. [CLICK] Different question types. Easy to read. Again, another great example of this engagement strategy.
- Sometimes, using the same tool can help create conversation in multiple spaces, as in the case with the Canadian Department of Defence. They are running multiple engagement spaces. [CLICK] All their engagement exercises are at the farthest end of the spectrum of engagement with the most openness. [CLICK] and theyâre getting some great participation to boot [CLICK]. This participation is likewise crossing over into other conversations. [CLICK]
- In the Engage St Johns Space, theyâre running an engagement tool right off their landing page with a Guestbook.[CLICK] In another project space, theyâre running a MAPPING tool [CLICK] and a discussion FORUM [CLICK].
- The City of Penticton is using their space to engage on multiple levels from within the same space. They are using the main site to promote both online [CLICK] and face to face engagement events. [CLICK] When we click through to the online space, we notice they are using several different tools. All simultaneously. Thereâs the Survey Tool [CLICK] The Questions Tool [CLICK] The Mapping Tool [CLICK] The Ideas / Brainstormer Tool [CLICK] And The Discussion Forum [CLICK] And some of the tools receive tremendous engagement, while others not so much. I like this example because the municipality started off with some very high participation in the beginning in their Ideas tool [CLICK], but that eventually started to taper off â in part because thereâs only so many ideas people can come up with before theyâve all been said. When that happens, the engagement slowly transitions to an Informed cohort [CLICK]. However, engagement still continues and converts from the informed audience [CLICK] because youâve already caught their attention in another engagement space. So there is justification for multiple tools in certain circumstances.
- In Mississauga, theyâre launching a new consultation phase and theyâre in a testing period. But they havenât stopped engaging. Instead, Mississauga have implemented a quick poll. [CLICK] This helps to keep people connected to the site while they prepare the next phase. But also, they have compiled a library of resources [CLICK] that the community can reference. Activity here falls into the âInformedâ cohort â all the while capturing participation data as people engage with the site, and content.
- This is a good opportunity to revisit the idea of an âinformedâ community. Because, while engagement happens, itâs still a more natural tendency for the vast majority to âsit on the fenceâ, or do nothing at all. Consultations with low engagement numbers, but a HIGH informed cohort offers some confidence to municipal administrators that the community knows about the topic. If the public chooses not to become engaged, it doesnât mean the consultation wasnât a success. Rather, you can conclude that the public was probably satisfied with the information that was being presented, and they didnât feel like it was necessary to say anything more on the matter. This adds another dimension to Public Input: Thereâs WRITTEN feedback Thereâs ORAL feedback And thereâs also Community UNDERSTANDING of the subject matter Your âINFORMEDâ and âAWAREâ metrics will offer some confidence in this regard: itâs as though the entire city attends an open house, and only a handful of people speak up. Your sign-in sheet in a face-to-face engagement would serve as some evidence of your communityâs awareness and understanding of the subject matter. People who register in an online engagement space are no different. AND⌠conventional ecommerce measurement tools do not report on community understanding the way an online citizen engagement platform does. Quality is really important: If the site is not engaging the community will not engage. It's not about functionality >>> its about usability. No matter what someone might say, they canât build a site like this using Wordpress or Drupal or some other system because itâs: *** all about the analytics and the usability of the engagement and participation data ***
- Enhanced Alternative Notice Provisions. In an effort to modernize how notices of public meetings, decisions, etc. may be given, the Province amended the Planning Act regulations to allow for the issuance of notices by email. Details of how this will occur (for example, how the distribution list must be assembled) are still a little unclear. This also implies changes to the contents of various notices published in a newspaper or posted on land will be permitted, although this is also unclear, and appears to still require consultation with the public in development notice procedures. These notices will direct readers to where they can find essential information on participating in the approvals process, preserving their appeal rights, etc. - like a website, for instance. Now, despite the lack of detail in how all these messages and notices and whatnot are to be produced, I highly doubt the Province will be so prescriptive so as to impede municipal progress in these matters. The overarching goal of the ACT is to simplify things for everyone and put more power into the hands of local government. The point of this process and the associated notices is to ensure there will be less public confusion. So, you tell me: Where will the public typically go for up to date information? A local newspaper? City hall? Or a website? I think the question here is rhetorical.
- To this end, an online engagement platform can assist a municipality by allowing citizens to sign up to various consultation topics and subscribe to updates and notices that interest them via email. I believe there is support for the use of technology in these circumstances - underscored by comments made by the Ontario Professional Planners Institute, who recognize that technology will pave the way to expanding the use of Alternative forms of notification â as indicated in their June 3rd letter to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
- We maintain that an online engagement platform is still the defacto destination that people will go to if given a choice. Participation still tends to be evenly split between online and face-to-face. But online is what people rely on for the most current information. As we referenced in the earlier section, Online Engagement is also about building awareness and educating the public. If we look back to the start of the internet, bulletin boards were the original killer app that brought it all to life. Except for some added sizzle, a lot of the same functionality still exists. Municipalities can keep the public in the loop through: Websites [[CLICK - PAUSE]] Email Newsletters [[CLICK - PAUSE]] Signup Forms [[CLICK - PAUSE]] Calendars [[CLICK - PAUSE]] Timelines [[CLICK - PAUSE]] Social Media [[CLICK - PAUSE]] Subscriptions [[CLICK - PAUSE]] And News Feeds [[CLICK - PAUSE]] Just to name a few. All are examples of viable ways to serve the communityâs need to stay informed, and a Municipalityâs ability to notify.
- Requirement to explain the effect of public input This is another requirement in the planning process. For those of you familiar with the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) â itâs simply best practice. You canât collect feedback from the community without acknowledging it afterward and telling the community how their feedback helped to shape plans and eventual outcomes. Even if nothing was influenced, itâs just common courtesy to tell the public that. It falls to reason then, that the space used to collect the information would also be used to communicate back to the public. Also making the case for a separate and distinct engagement space.
- These are examples from the City of Mississauga The Vancouver Airport Authority, and The Richmond School District. They are consultations that tell the story of how each organization used their online citizen engagement platform to both notify the public, and explain some of the effects of Public Input. [CLICK] In many cases, the consultation was a multi-phased project, and the consultation platform is used to explain the engagement process [CLICK] In other cases, the platform is used to help control noise. [CLICK] People will gravitate to noise, whether it comes from social media, news media, or others interested in spreading disinformation. An online space gives a municipality a destination to deliver information that is correct, and in their voice.
- Requirement to Include Public Consultation Policies in Official Plans The Province amended existing regulations to require that applicants submit a âpublic consultation strategyâ as part of a complete application. And this applies to official Plans (and amendments), Zoning Bylaws (and amendments), plans of subdivision, and consents to sever. As in the case with issuing notices, there is little detail around how the Province expects engagement to be conducted. And, like the notices, I highly doubt the Province will be so prescriptive to tell municipalities they must only engage in face-to-face activities or online activities. If anything, I think a long term view would put more emphasis in an online space, given the current support at other levels of government around Open Data, The Internet of Everything, Bring Your Own Device, Mobile, Cloud, and the general interest in streamlining workflows.
- Historically, public engagement was always project-based. Many municipalities practiced a tactical approach to citizen engagement â i.e. when they had to. In this scenario, Public consultation would be a series of semi-connected exercises that include: crafting an awareness campaign recruiting new participants Holding open houses Surveying the public Reviewing the results and Throwing everything into a filing cabinet until someone asked about it The whole process would start from scratch for every new consultation project.
- Now, citizen engagement is an expected part of your routine. It is legislated and mandatory. So, why not create a hub! Give citizens a destination that they can go to for regular information. Itâs a space that you and your community own together. Itâs still all your data, itâs all branded to your existing websiteâs look and feel, purpose-built for engagement. Now Iâll tell a quick story and then weâll be done. I live in Surrey, British Columbia. Even if youâve never been here, youâll probably have heard the catchphrase âBetter Safe Than Surreyâ. Itâs a HUGE municipality with some troubled neighbourhoods. The area that I live in â South Surrey â doesnât really have a crime problem. We have high real estate, transportation and accessibility issues. We have overcrowded schools. My kids are going into Grade Two next year, and their school is clearing the way for ten new portables. The point is that a public consultation on crime might interest me, or it might not. But a public consultation on education, on accessibility, on new land use permits being issued in my neighbourhood â THAT interests me. A hub serves a municipality that has multiple interests. Like Oshawa [CLICK]: Their current hub is featuring consultations on Parks, Water, and Drive Throughs. Like Mississauga [CLICK]: Their current hub is being used to build capacity, establish community relations, and build a vision. Like Montreal [CLICK]: They are using their hub to make their downtown neighbourhoods more walkable, consult on urban and public transit, and redesign public spaces Using online 'tools' as opposed to a platform represents a wasted opportunity. Every online engagement project is a chance to build your database of community members. Once people have signed up you can reach out to them with newsletters and emails targeting sub groups of your database and the job of your team gets easier as more people get engaged; every NEW PROJECT ADDS VALUE! People are interested in different things. An online engagement space is a strategic approach to serving those interests â now, and in the long term. When it comes to citizen engagement, you can choose to be tactical and reactive, and run your consultation projects off the side of your desk. Or, you can be strategic, and plan for what is an inevitability: Online citizen engagement must be a part of your policy and your Official Planning responsibilities!
- My name is Mark. I invite you all to connect with me on LinkedIn. This concludes todayâs webinar, and if anyone has any questions Iâm happy to try to address them now.