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GCTC moves here in 29007D Chuaqui self-portrait Richmond LodgeDevonshire School 		What can we expect from a neighbourhood plan?
There is synergy here but not without some attendant challenges. The Hintonburg, Mechanicsville and West Wellington "vision for a community" started in Summer 2006 with the establishment of an advisory group of local stakeholders most of whom are not all that familiar with this type of urban planning initiative.

The Hintonburg Community Association, through its three representatives on the City's advisory committee, has been actively participating in the process. One thing is certain, even after several months of discussion: this is not a walk in the park. And that is due, primarily, to the fact that there are three aligned plans coming out of the process.
  1. Area mapA Functional Plan, due this fall, that is tied to the road construction for parts of West Wellington Street ("infrastructure renewal" of sewers, sidewalks, etc) scheduled to start in early 2008
  2. An off-shoot Community Design Plan for the same West Wellington "corridor", running east from Western Avenue then along Somerset Street W to Breezehill Avenue, that will set certain standards (zoning and the streetscape, for instance) for the main street and the blocks adjoining it (due fall 2007)
  3. A Neighbourhood Plan for Hintonburg and Mechanicsville (due sometime in 2008) that will set the tone and establish the character of these communities for decades to come
The Functional Plan
Although, even to the keen observer, there may not be an obvious distinction between a Community Design Plan and a Neighbourhood Plan, at least the Functional Plan is quite straight-forward. It will detail the engineering requirements for water mains, sewers, utilities, traffic control, road structure, street lighting, signage, transit facilities and street amenities including landscaping and public art.

Wellington construction area

The Community Design Plan
The Wellington Street West Community Design Plan (CDP) will guide both the development of private lands and public works along the "main street" and within one block, more or less, of the land adjacent to it -- the north and south sides of Wellington Street West (including the Parkdale Market) and Holland Avenue north to Scott Street. The CDP will provide a framework for zoning, land development, open space, streetscape and road improvements. As it is linked to the road reconstruction (a $25+ million capital improvement subject to the City's "1% for public art" policy), it will -- presumably -- include provisions for commissioned art to the tune of at least $250,000. Here are some samples of recent CDPs:
  • Uptown Rideau Community Design Plan
  • Beechwood Community Design Plan
    An inventory of the built environment is the first step in quantifying a community planning workload in terms of physical enhancements... Demographic information should be compiled about the people living and working in an area... Residents’ perceptions should be gathered to gauge the way people feel, irrespective of what the physical or quantitative “facts” say. This information [is] usually gathered through surveys, personal interviews, or community forums... Nowhere is citizen participation as critical as it is at the neighborhood planning level.
    American Planning Association


The Neighbourhood Plan for Hintonburg and Mechanicsville
As the title indicates, this plan does not include the West Wellington neighbourhood but it will be developed in conjunction with the CDP mentioned above. In fact, it is the very first urban neighbourhood plan to be developed by the City -- a pilot project which other neighbourhoods will be watching with considerable interest. Its scope has yet to be firmed up but community consultations will inform the process and the City is quite open to guidance from residents and stakeholders.

This plan will look more broadly at the social and economic needs of the Hintonburg and Mechanicsville neighbourhoods. Topics may include arts, heritage, public safety, housing, economic development, environment, community programs and the social services requirements of the community. According to the City, the result of the community consultation process will be a strategic plan that identifies neighbourhood opportunities, constraints and issues together with recommended strategies that will be tied to a vision for the communities.

The City has adopted a "best practice" model of collaborative planning in which several municipal departments, community organizations, citizens, local stakeholders and social service providers coordinate their efforts to deliver a wide range of services at the neighborhood level -- thereby  providing a more responsive, interactive environment for residents to express their issues and suggestions.

Arts and heritage "will be the reality from which the planning study should be started... I do not believe that this is a negotiable item."
Councillor Christine Leadman

There are precedents from other North American cities which could provide a framework for our own objectives.
  • Albany NY Arbor Hill Neighborhood Plan: "Four areas of focus for the plan emerged: 1) Homeownership and Rental Housing, 2) Arts, Culture and Heritage, 3) Business and Job Development, and 4) Quality of Life. "
  • Buffalo NY "Community of the Arts" Neighborhood Plan: "There will be a renewed commitment to the highest level of aesthetic quality and urban design, and the restoration and celebration of our historic and cultural resources."
  • Saskatoon SK is a Canadian forerunner in neighbourhood planning. (Warning: their PDF files are often 10+ MG and take some time to download)
  • Seattle WA Belltown Neighborhood Plan of 1998: "The strategy to maintain Belltown's character is a combination of activities and recommendations intended to ensure that... [it] is truly a mixed use, mixed income... healthy downtown residential community."  By 2006, Frommer's Guide described the area as "Seattle's hippest neighborhood."
  • West Vancouver BC Community Planning: “By integrating commerce, housing, civic activities, arts, culture, and the waterfront, Ambleside will be the vibrant heart of the West Vancouver community...”
In 1979, William Rohe and Lauren Gates surveyed 50 neighborhood planning initiatives for their effectiveness. They found that, when asked what the most significant problems associated with accomplishing neighborhood objectives were, neighborhood participants ranked inadequate program implementation as the primary problem.
American Planning Association



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