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Bringing CityPlan to Neighbourhoods
A Proposal For Discussion

Contents

Introduction
Summary

1.The Principles:
2.The Expectations:
3.The Product:
4.The Process:

Some Questions and Answers
Further Information

Click here to view summary version of this document.

Introduction

As a 30-year vision, the city will move gradually in the directions described in CityPlan. The CityPlan directions adopted by Council do not yet provide detailed maps and programs. This is a next step of CityPlan -- to respond to CityPlan in each neighbourhood. This will be done by working with neighbourhoods to implement CityPlan.

Purpose of this paper
The purpose of this paper is to propose an approach for taking CityPlan into neighbourhoods and to invite public discussion of this proposal. The goal is to find an approach to implementing CityPlan in neighbourhoods that works for neighbourhoods and that builds on the vision for Vancouver which emerged from CityPlan. The outcome of this discussion will become the terms of reference for this next step of CityPlan.

The approach described here is a framework. This paper doesn't provide all the answers or anticipate all the questions. But it does offer a point of departure for public discussion and further refinement.

Who prepared this paper
When the term "we" is used in this paper, it refers to CityPlan staff, who prepared this paper in consultation with other City departments. On January 9, 1996 City Council approved the release of this paper for discussion and comment.

How to provide your comments on this paper
You may like the whole approach proposed here, or like some components and not others. All or some components may need to be refined before a CityPlan in Neighbourhoods Program can go ahead.

The last section of this paper provides questions that you can respond to and also describes ways you can find out more and participate in discussions. The public review period is January through March 1996, and includes a public workshop on Saturday, March 9 at the new downtown public library.

Following this public review period, comments will be reported to City Council. Based on the comments and discussion, staff will recommend to Council an approach to neighbourhood planning.

Other CityPlan activities
There are many activities underway to make CityPlan happen. This paper on bringing CityPlan to neighbourhoods is one of them. Other programs include greenways, the transportation plan, new single-family zoning with more design control, community policing, and integrated services teams. The last section of this paper tells how to get information on other CityPlan initiatives. Bringing CityPlan to neighbourhoods provides an opportunity to look into the future and to put all the pieces together at a neighbourhood level.

Summary

(Adopted by Vancouver City Council, June 1995)

• Create or strengthen neighbourhood centres in all neighbourhoods as a place where people can find shops, jobs, and services close to home; where there are safe and inviting public places; and which help strengthen neighbourhood identity and sense of community
• Increase housing variety in neighbourhoods that have little variety now, and focus the new housing mainly in neighbourhood centres, to help meet the housing needs of neighbourhood residents as they age, and to work toward regional goals of reducing sprawl and auto use
• Maintain and improve neighbourhood character, by retaining greenery and heritage, and by maintaining or creating a built character that identifies the neighbourhood
• Market community services to need; make services more accessible to people who may face difficulty receiving services; and involve people in planning and delivering services
• Prevent crime and improve unsafe social and physical conditions through community policing and other initiatives
• Provide more affordable housing
• Broaden neighbourhood art and cultural activity and identity
• Provide for park space to meet current or expected deficiencies, and increase the variety of types of design, and ways of using, streets and other public places
• Encourage jobs to cluster in neighbourhood centres where they will be close to residents and well served by transit
• Increase walking, biking, and transit in the neighbourhood and between neighbourhoods, and reduce single-occupant car use in neighbourhoods, the city, and region
• Help to improve air quality, improve and conserve water, and reduce waste
• Find new ways to involve people
• Gradually reallocate resources to achieve CityPlan

1. The Principles

There are many different ways to approach bringing CityPlan into neighbourhoods. CityPlan staff developed the approach described in this paper to meet a number of general principles that emerged from the CityPlan process. This section makes these principles explicit, to confirm that they are widely shared, and so that they can be used to evaluate this approach or other approaches.

Reach all neighbourhoods in a reasonable time
Throughout the CityPlan process, people said their neighbourhood is very important to them. Yet, many neighbourhoods have never had local planning, or their plans are several years old. For all neighbourhoods, CityPlan provides new ideas and directions to work with.

Follow up on the full range of CityPlan topics together
CityPlan covers a full range of topics which came from what people said is important for Vancouver's future. Although progress can be made on some topics by working on one at a time, the CityPlan process showed the benefit of addressing all the topics together, so neighbourhoods, and the whole city, can see how everything fits.

Move forward in the CityPlan directions
CityPlan provides a set of directions. These need to be translated into more detailed plans and actions at the neighbourhood level to make CityPlan happen. CityPlan looks 30 years ahead, so moving forward does not mean reaching an end point now.

Recognize neighbourhood distinctiveness
Because each neighbourhood has its own character and circumstances, any approach should be designed to recognize these differences.

Help neighbourhoods keep a city-wide perspective
Neighbourhoods need to be able to build a sense of equity and fairness among them, and a joint responsibility and mutual accountability for making CityPlan happen.

Encourage as many people as possible to participate by making it easy to be involved in different ways
CityPlan showed that people find it easier to participate if there are a variety of ways to be involved -- from meeting in groups to responding to material at home; from being involved in all topics to focusing on one or two; from being involved in creating proposals to reviewing proposals already created. Being able to work in a familiar language and having events held close to home also help.

Keep costs reasonable
CityPlan says that rather than spend additional money, the City should reallocate funds to achieve CityPlan. This means designing a CityPlan in Neighbourhoods Program that can be accomplished with existing staff.

2. The Expectations

The first step in designing an approach to taking CityPlan into neighbourhoods is to find a way of defining a clear set of expectations, which would be shared by neighbourhoods and City Council. In keeping with the principles, we are looking for a way to define the expectations so neighbourhoods move in CityPlan directions, while also recognizing the distinctiveness of each neighbourhood.

CityPlan is intended to unfold over 30 years
CityPlan looks 30 years into the future. Some aspects and some neighbourhoods might move faster and farther in CityPlan directions than others. Some neighbourhoods might already be closer to the CityPlan vision than others.

Although CityPlan invites us to look 30 years ahead, it is not necessary, or even advisable, to plan now in detail for a 30-year end point. Over 30 years, neighbourhoods and their needs, conditions, and ideas will change. This means neighbourhoods should look ahead 30 years, but do not need to resolve all the details now for a full 30 years. What is done in the next few years to bring CityPlan to neighbourhoods is a beginning and a framework. It will need to be revisited and refined over time.

Each neighbourhood will seek ways to bring CityPlan directions to the neighbourhood level
A neighbourhood approach will give people the opportunity to work at a local level with the ideas and concepts people said they wanted in CityPlan. CityPlan describes what the city and its neighbourhoods are looking to achieve over 30 years. The task is to translate the directions to the neighbourhood level. What is important, in these first years of implementing CityPlan, is to get started.

The CityPlan directions provide a guide
A summary of the CityPlan directions, as they apply to neighbourhoods, is provided on the inside front cover of this document. Neighbourhoods will be asked to use the CityPlan directions as their checklist.

To assist, Neighbourhood Planning Guides will contain the CityPlan directions and provide information on data, policies, tools, and ideas. The Guide will be a resource to help neighbourhoods assess their current situation and consider ways to move in CityPlan directions.

The City's expectation for a neighbourhood process and product are that they demonstrate a full consideration of the CityPlan directions, data, and consequences, and that they show movement toward the CityPlan directions.

In the approach proposed in this paper, here is what City Council would expect as part of a neighbourhood process and would want to see reflected in the final product:

• Consideration of data and information on neighbourhood, city, and regional needs and issues, for each CityPlan direction;
• Awareness of the needs of the city as a whole, as well as the neighbourhood;
• Evaluation of the impact of proposed options on achieving the CityPlan directions, and an explicit list of the consequences for the neighbourhood, city, and region, both pro and con;
• Description of priorities, costs, next steps;
• Identification of ways for the neighbourhood to move in the directions described in CityPlan.

Targets will be set from the ground up
CityPlan describes directions to increase housing variety and population, job diversity, and transit use, and to reduce solid waste, water use, and crime. However, CityPlan does not contain specific targets for each neighbourhood.

We considered setting targets ahead of time that neighbourhoods would be required to meet. Instead, we propose to provide to neighbourhoods the information that we would use if we were setting targets. Neighbourhoods would use this information to evaluate neighbourhood, city, and regional needs. This "ground up" approach will let the process get started faster in neighbourhoods. It also means the product will reflect the different needs and circumstances of each neighbourhood and is likely to be more widely supported than if predetermined.

Neighbourhoods will be given the opportunity and responsibility of sharing information and work in progress and taking stock as the process proceeds
One of the principles is to provide a link among neighbourhoods, to maintain a city-wide perspective. By doing this not just once, but throughout the program, neighbourhoods would be able to compare their progress as they go, and see how their individual efforts are adding up to the city described in CityPlan. This provides a way for mutual accountability and fair share to be continually checked and adjusted. The "process" section of this paper describes in more detail a way of conducting both city-wide and neighbourhood processes simultaneously.

3. The Product

The City is looking for ways to give all neighbourhoods planning services within a period of a few years, covering all the CityPlan directions, and with a product that is exciting and meaningful for people to create, and useful as a guide to further actions and decisions. This presents real trade-offS in terms of the time it takes to get to all neighbourhoods, the level of detail in each neighbourhood, and the resources required to staff and fund a program.

One option is a detailed neighbourhood plan, but this limits the number of neighbourhoods we can reach in the near future
We first explored the idea of continuing to use planning programs of a type that the City has used before: detailed local area plans. This has the advantage of taking the time needed by a neighbourhood to develop and agree on proposals and policies in full detail, and to include, for example, zoning, design guidelines, social action plans, traffic management.

Experience shows that a typical local area plan takes perhaps three years to complete. Resource limits would mean only two could be undertaken at one time, so it would take more than 20 years to reach all neighbourhoods. This lengthy time frame can be exhausting for participants and not provide a timely response to CityPlan.

A second option -- recommended here -- is a neighbourhood "Vision," which would provide less detail than a local area plan, but would be prepared in a much shorter time so that all neighbourhoods could be reached sooner.
Because a typical local area plan is a very lengthy process, this paper proposes an alternative: that each neighbourhood prepare a general and long term "Vision". This would allow communities to focus on the kind of neighbourhood they want without requiring all the details to be resolved at the same time, especially details that will unfold over 30 years or more.

Only with a product as general as a Vision could we hope to address all CityPlan directions in all neighbourhoods within a short period of time. A Vision could be completed within six to eight months. Even with this approach, more resources would be needed than currently are engaged in community planning. Reallocating some existing staff and working in four neighbourhoods a year, all neighbourhoods could be reached within approximately five years from the start.

A Vision could show the kind of neighbourhood people want in the future.
Preparing a Vision invites people to look as much as 30 years ahead. But because 30 years is too far ahead to fill in all the details, a Vision is a general guide to the future.

• A Vision would include all the CityPlan topics and could go into more detail on some topics than on others
• A Vision wouldn't need to resolve every detail or be based on complete agreement. There would likely be agreement on many aspects of a Vision. On other aspects, a Vision could include options for future consideration. A Vision could carry forward these options for resolution at a later date, since it may be many years into the future before resolution is needed.
• Preparing a Vision would include setting priorities for what is important in the near future. If there are costs involved, these too should be spelled out, to help set priorities.

Once a neighbourhood has a Vision, some results would be immediate and other results would unfold over a longer time.
Neighbourhood Visions would be useful right away in a number of ways. After a Vision was completed, the following would happen:

• There would be more certainty about what should and should not change in a neighbourhood, and when and under what circumstances change should occur.
• People could start to work on projects and programs that were identified as important for the neighbourhood -- either at the neighbourhood level or in partnership with the City or other levels of government.
• A Vision would also identify further planning needs in a neighbourhood where more detail is needed, such as a more detailed neighbourhood centre plan, or a neighbourhood traffic plan.
• A Vision would provide each neighbourhood's input into city-wide work, such as parks planning and capital plan development.
• A Vision would also help guide the decisions of many departments, agencies, and levels of government, to make sure opportunities that support the Vision are taken advantage of, such as locating new City facilities, or changing bus or transit connections or services.

In order for all neighbourhoods to have an opportunity to prepare a Vision, staff will move on to other neighbourhoods after the first are complete. This means that everything in a Vision will not be implemented immediately. For some parts of a Vision, the neighbourhood will be able to start work immediately, with assistance from City departments. Other parts of implementation will occur as resources are available. Having priorities identified in the Vision will help to direct attention to where actions are most needed. Also, having a set of Visions for all neighbourhoods will identify common needs, as well as priorities, across the city.

In the context of a Vision, project-specific and program-specific plans would continue
Many times it is useful to focus on planning for only one project or program in a neighbourhood. Already this is being used for some aspects of CityPlan, such as developing greenways and providing more compatible single-family zoning. Once the Vision is complete it will provide a context for specific projects and plans, by providing a general picture of where the neighbourhood is going, and how all the pieces will fit together.

Visions will provide a framework, to be revisited and up-dated over the years
This first Vision will try to describe what people want their neighbourhood to be like for many years ahead and how people would like to see the CityPlan directions achieved in their neighbourhood. But it would be surprising if we could settle everything now for 30 years, or completely decide how all CityPlan directions will be met. Nor will a Vision likely resolve all details. Visions will be revisited and refined over the years.

Preparing a Vision has a number of benefits
In summary, preparing neighbourhood Visions would be a new approach for Vancouver neighbourhoods and experimental for all of us. It offers the possibilities of:

• providing planning to all neighbourhoods much more quickly than with detailed local area plans;
• linking together all CityPlan directions in neighbourhoods;
• finding common ground to provide a shared agreement of where the neighbourhood is going and how to take some steps to get there;
• having a product that is a general guide for City and neighbourhood actions and for more detailed planning;
• attracting participants to a process that is short enough to make participation inviting;
• fostering and supporting community interaction and development.

4. The Process

This section describes a two-level process -- both neighbourhood and city-wide. The city-wide process begins first and carries on while the neighbourhood processes are underway. The city-wide process is the overview and the neighbourhood processes are the core of public activity. The city-wide process is described first below, followed by a description of the neighbourhood process.

A. The City-Wide Process
Although the main focus of implementing CityPlan in neighbourhoods will be in the neighbourhoods, we are looking for a way to link neighbourhoods across the city with each other, to provide for a sense of equity among neighbourhoods, a sharing of issues and ideas, and a "taking stock" of progress. A city-wide aspect should keep CityPlan a plan for the whole city, as well as plans for each neighbourhood.

A city-wide process could provide an opportunity for people to come together to explore opportunities and issues at the city-wide level and to keep a city-wide perspective in neighbourhoods. This would be an opportunity for people participating in a neighbourhood Vision program, as well as for those whose neighbourhoods have already participated or will participate in the future, and for anyone interested at the wider scale, to come together. The format would vary as the program progresses, but essentially it could contain the following components:

• an Opening City-Wide Forum before the neighbourhood programs begin;
• continuing City-Wide Forums during the neighbourhood programs;
• an accompanying series of cable t.v. programs and other public programs and communications.

The Opening Forum would be the first step before starting in individual neighbourhoods.
Once there is an agreed upon approach for implementing CityPlan in neighbourhoods, there will still be details to work out. Before starting in neighbourhoods, an Opening Forum will be held. City staff will bring information and options, to address the following questions:

• what boundaries to use for neighbourhoods;
• how to determine in what order neighbourhoods would receive planning;
• identifying information needs.

Some first thoughts on these questions can be found in the "Questions and Answers" section at the end of this paper.

As the work in neighbourhoods proceeds, City-Wide Forums would be held several times a year. The purpose of these sessions would be to "take stock," exchange information, and provide advice on topics that arise as the program moves forward. The sessions can also consider new tools being developed to help implement neighbourhood Visions, and help to relate Visions to other City programs. Topics would include items such as:

• cross boundary issues, relating neighbourhoods to other neighbourhoods;
• how neighbourhood Visions and processes are working;
• how far neighbourhoods are moving the city toward CityPlan directions;
• do neighbourhood Visions have a sense of "fair share" of amenities, services, population and job growth, etc.;
• review of suggestions for new tools for implementing neighbourhood Visions (e.g., development cost charges, capital plan projects);
• relationship to other City initiatives, such as the Transportation Plan;
• other topics that emerge during the program.

Other programming would give more people the opportunity of being involved in some way in the unfolding of the neighbourhood Visions without having to attend meetings.
A regular cable program would report on different Visions in progress, speak to participants, hear opinions from a range of observers, and take phone-in comments. Informational advertising would supplement this programming. Ads that announce the when and where of the Forums and cable programs could also provide information on the Visions in progress. Other ideas are welcomed, to provide a variety of ways for people to be involved at the city-wide level.

B. The Neighbourhood Process
The neighbourhood process is the core. We are looking for a neighbourhood process to prepare the Vision -- a process that will be interesting and easy to participate in for many people, that will include all the CityPlan directions, and that will allow the Vision in each neighbourhood to be completed in a six-month period, so that all neighbourhoods receive planning services within several years.

The process described below has two types of activities -- steps that involve a wide public and steps when staff are integrating the material from the public for further public input. Neighbourhood residents, land owners, and local businesses would all be involved.

Step 1: Start up
The start of the process would invite people to participate. An introductory event could start the ball rolling and find ways to adjust the approach to the neighbourhood. Ideas from the Ideas Book could be displayed, and new ideas added. A neighbourhood location could be identified for continuing display and further work.

Step 2: Workshops
A series of neighbourhood Workshops, on different CityPlan directions, would give people with a wide variety of interests an opportunity to contribute

A series of Workshops on different CityPlan topics would allow people to discuss as many or as few topics as they wish. Workshops provide an opportunity for people to work intensively on a topic without committing to weeks of meetings. A Neighbourhood Planning Guide would provide information on data, policies, ideas. Participants would identify what they value and what they would like to achieve in their neighbourhood to move forward in each CityPlan direction.

People would be encouraged to find common ground, and we anticipate there would be agreement on many things. But total agreement would not be required. An array of alternatives, as long as they are consistent with CityPlan, could go forward to the next stage.

Step 3: Visions
A Staff Team would use the directions from the Workshops to illustrate draft neighbourhood Visions. A Staff Team made up of professionals from City Hall would group all the proposals from the Workshops into one or several sets of directions for the neighbourhood. Using these, the team would illustrate a draft neighbourhood Vision, or Visions. The Team would integrate and illustrate the material from the Workshops rather than make up their own options.

Step 4: Review
An exhibition and wide review of the draft neighbourhood Visions would encourage broad participation from the neighbourhood. The draft Visions would be displayed and widely advertised. A newsletter would provide information at people's doors, and there could be surveys, small group meetings, and focus groups. People would comment on the options, what they like and don't and why. Visions and Vision options with continued agreement or significant interest would be carried forward to the next step.

Step 5: Re-Visions
The Staff Team would refine a draft of the preferred Vision. Based on the public responses to the draft Visions, the Staff Team would refine a preferred draft Vision. Again, the emphasis would not be on a "winning" or "losing" Vision, but on finding common ground that many people can support. The final preferred Vision may well include alternatives for some topics, to take into the future.

Step 6: Final Review
There would again be wide public review -- this time of the draft preferred Vision. A final review would affirm that this represents a Vision the neighbourhood supports, or if necessary further refinements would occur.

Step 7: City Council
The final Vision would be presented to City Council, in a public forum. The program can have additional enhancements and should be adaptable to different neighbourhoods.The process described above is designed to provide the same framework for all neighbourhoods. This is a process that can be achieved in six months. The consistency of process and product would also help neighbourhoods to compare progress.

However, the focus of discussion would likely be different in different neighbourhoods. There are also many activities that could enhance local involvement or be designed to fit the neighbourhood. These include newsletters, workbooks, neighbourhood displays, translations, and/or other refinements.

This neighbourhood process is a departure from what we've tried before. Many aspects of the proposed process have been used in Vancouver, but taken together the process differs in significant ways from what we've done before. One reason for the difference is simply the starting point. Usually, in a neighbourhood, the starting point and focus of the work has been an issue, crisis, or development proposal. In this case, the starting point is the CityPlan directions.

Another difference between this proposal and what we have done before is that usually we have set up an on-going neighbourhood steering committee, because detailed issues have to be resolved, with work extending over a long time period. Instead, in this process, where the time frame is short and options can be included even in the final product, there would be no committee. Rather, there would be a variety of ways for people to be involved, from participating at Workshops, to commenting on information received at home.

The process is designed to encourage wide public involvement, and to produce a neighbourhood Vision in a six-month period. We think that the process outlined above would encourage people to participate for a number of reasons:

• People can contribute on as few or as many topics as they wish, and all topics in CityPlan will be included.
• There are many ways to be involved, and to be involved even intensively does not require a heavy commitment of time over many months or years.
• A few people are not deciding to include or exclude ideas, since anyone who wants can participate and all ideas that are consistent with CityPlan can go forward to the Staff Team to be included in the draft Visions.
• Many meetings and activities can happen locally.
• The search is for an agreed upon direction rather than agreement on particular details of, for example, a rezoning proposal.

In addition, the steps outlined -- with the process of public focus alternating with staff focus -- make the product achievable in a short time frame.

Some Questions and Answers

1. When will my neighbourhood get planning?
The approach described in this discussion paper means that all neighbourhoods would have a Vision within about five years from the start of the program. Each Vision would take about six months to prepare. The work in the first neighbourhoods could start in the fall of 1996.

The more Visions that could be prepared at once, the faster we could get to all neighbourhoods. However, this is limited by the number of staff available. Initially, staff are available to work in two neighbourhoods at a time, or about four per year. After experience with the first four, the program would be reviewed, including whether more neighbourhoods can be done at once.

Visions will look as much as 30 years into the future. More detailed planning and implementing of the Visions will also occur over time.

2. Which neighbourhoods will have Vision programs first?
We are proposing that the first City-Wide Forum discuss this question, assisted by information from staff, including comments we receive as part of the review of this discussion paper. Our initial thoughts are that the first neighbourhoods would fit this list closely:

• neighbourhoods that have never had a full planning program, followed by neighbourhoods where plans are many years old;
• neighbourhoods that are primarily single family, so that all CityPlan topics fully apply, including housing variety;
• neighbourhoods facing major change -- i.e., where there are large redevelopment sites (a scale of many blocks), or where there are major public investments proposed (e.g., a new transit line);
• neighbourhoods that want to participate (e.g., long-standing requests for planning services).

Since two neighbourhoods would be participating at a time, we would also recommend that neighbourhoods be selected so that the program can occur simultaneously in different parts of the city. If several neighbourhoods fit the list well, perhaps a lottery would have to establish priority. The final decision on method and selection rests with City Council.

3. Will all neighbourhoods have the same program?
The program described in this paper is intended to be the same for every neighbourhood. This way programs would be six months long, and neighbourhoods would have consistent resources and products. After the first four are completed, a program review would identify any needed changes.

The process as proposed is general enough to allow for differences among neighbourhoods. Some differences will be in the ways that events and communications are designed. Other differences will be in content. Although all neighbourhoods will address all CityPlan topics, neighbourhoods which already achieve some CityPlan directions will likely focus their Visions on other CityPlan topics. Neighbourhoods that already have been working on their own plan may want to use it as the basis for a draft Vision. Some neighbourhoods may be able to reach more detail on some topics.

In the Central Area (in and around the downtown peninsula), because there are already many detailed plans in place, it may be appropriate to use a different approach than that described in this paper. However, this will need more discussion and public input to determine.

4. What is a neighbourhood?
Throughout this paper, we talk about "neighbourhoods." The word neighbourhood means different things to different people. The program described in this paper would be delivered generally at the scale of a "local area." (The city is divided into 23 local areas, as shown on the map on the last page. Each local area may contain more than one "neighbourhood".) Exact local area boundaries may have to be adjusted to better suit the Vision programs. Neighbourhoods within a local area can be recognized in the Vision, for example, by identifying more than one neighbourhood centre. Only if we keep to the local area scale can we deliver the program in five years.

5. What is a neighbourhood centre?
CityPlan describes a neighbourhood centre as the "heart" of a neighbourhood, generally developed from an existing shopping street, and including shops, jobs, neighbourhood-based services, public places that are safe and inviting, and additional housing for various ages and incomes. Each centre's location, size, and form would be determined as part of the neighbourhood Vision process.

Since neighbourhood centres would reflect their neighbourhoods, there is no model, or set of models, that predetermine what a centre must look like. However, there are some examples of places in Vancouver that have many of the features of a neighbourhood centre, such as Kerrisdale around 41st Avenue and West Boulevard, and Commercial Drive around 1st Avenue. In these locations, you can find a wide range of shops that serve the neighbourhood; community services such as community centre, health unit, and library; park space and places to sit outside; and a variety of types of housing.

6. How much would the program described in this discussion paper cost?
Our preliminary estimate is that the program would cost about $300,000 a year, plus the use of existing staff. The costs are for both the neighbourhood process and the city-wide process. This includes about $60,000 per neighbourhood, to pay for newsletters, mailings, ads, surveys, research, production of Neighbourhood Planning Guides, exhibits, facilitation, space rental for public events, etc. The costs associated with the City-Wide Forums include workshops, printing, and translation at about $65,000 per year. These are not all new costs, since community planning programs have normally cost about $60,000 per neighbourhood.

7. Will City Council approve our neighbourhood's Vision?
No one can predetermine the decisions of City Council, especially when new Councils are elected from time to time over the course of a program. However, the idea behind this discussion paper is to create an approach and a set of expectations that are clear to all participants. If these expectations are met, there should be no reason why Council would not approve a neighbourhood Vision.

8. What if our neighbourhood already has a plan?
If your neighbourhood already has a plan, it will be a good basis for the Vision Workshops to compare, review, and refine the plan to meet CityPlan directions. If your plan is already very consistent with CityPlan directions, it may mean that you can continue to develop your neighbourhood Vision in more detail.

If your plan was prepared as part of a City planning program, it probably means that your neighbourhood would not be a first candidate for a Vision program, because the criteria we are recommending in question 2 are for neighbourhoods that have never had planning services to be first.

9. Is this just a way to put more development and density in my neighbourhood?
Following the CityPlan directions, a neighbourhood Vision is expected to support an increased variety of housing in neighbourhoods that don't have housing variety now. In single-family parts of the city, CityPlan suggests that creating this housing variety will involve more development and more density -- in a way which people in each neighbourhood feel reflects their neighbourhood and its needs.

The Vision process will provide each neighbourhood with information on its needs and on city and regional needs. It will enable each neighbourhood to determine where, how much, and what type of additional development it will accommodate in the future, and the preconditions for new development. Neighbourhoods will be asked to look 30 years ahead, so all development does not have to occur now.

Moreover, the Visions are not only about development and density. They are equally about all the topics that CityPlan participants said are important, including development character, safety, transportation, and parks and public places.

10. Is CityPlan going to result in rezoning requests in my neighbourhood?
Rezoning applications are made throughout the city on a regular basis. While it is not reasonable to call a halt for five years until all Visions are complete, neither is it helpful to have the type of rezonings which would prejudice a neighbourhood Vision before, or while, it is developed.

For this reason, City Council has adopted a "rezoning policy for before and during neighbourhood visioning." The policy states that rezoning applications or inquiries already underway as of January 18, 1996 will continue to be processed. Rezoning applications will also be considered where Council-approved plans or policies support rezoning, as well as for heritage, social or affordable housing, and public or non-profit facilities. Proposals that do not fit in these categories would be assessed as to whether they set significant new directions or foreclose options for a neighbourhood Vision. If so, the policy calls for them not to be considered. Normally, staff will provide this advice to inquirers, noting, however, that an inquirer retains the right to make a formal rezoning application and have Council directly consider how it fits into this rezoning policy.

As part of the Vision itself, each neighbourhood will need to give guidance as to what rezonings could be entertained after the Vision, and under what conditions.

11. Do we have to meet regional population targets for each neighbourhood?
There are no regional population targets for neighbourhoods. There is a regional strategy to reduce sprawl and auto dependency. As described throughout the CityPlan process, the region has indicated that, as part of this strategy, it would be beneficial if the city could accommodate 160,000 more people over the next thirty years. Existing zoning will already accommodate about 100,000 more people when it is all built out. City Council has agreed to work toward the goal of adding zoning for another 60,000 people, but has not set targets for neighbourhoods or neighbourhood centres.

CityPlan participants said they want more opportunities to stay in familiar neighbourhoods as their housing needs change, and this means additional housing. The City will expect that neighbourhood Visions will move toward meeting these needs, but there are no preset targets which must be met.

12. My neighbourhood has some big problems now; we can't afford the luxury of working on a Vision until today's issues are dealt with.
The City has initiatives which could solve some current problems. Community crime prevention offices are addressing neighbourhood safety. Integrated service teams are being put in place across the city to improve coordination among City departments in solving local problems. A new single-family zoning is being developed to improve the design of new houses. This zoning will be available to neighbourhoods expressing interest and demonstrating support. Local traffic calming initiatives are also available. If these initiatives do not seem appropriate for your neighbourhood's problems, perhaps your area should be an early candidate for the comprehensive approach offered by a neighbourhood Vision process.

13. What if I want to talk about the City's overall approach to public involvement and neighbourhood decision making?
There will be two specific opportunities this year where people from across the city can address issues of governance and public involvement.

A referendum on a ward system will be part of the November 1996 civic election. In the fall, prior to the election, the City will hold public discussions on the wording for the proposed referendum.

As part of the Better City Government program, public involvement was identified as a priority for review. This review will begin in February 1996 and assess a wide range of public involvement activities and opportunities in the city. The review will provide a variety of opportunities for public discussion of how people participate in decisions that affect them and their neighbourhoods.

Further Information

Questions or Comments? E-mail: planning@city.vancouver.bc.ca

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