CIC #2 Update 3

Posted by Simon Nattrass Saturday, June 5, 2010 2:33 PM 0 comments



-        Need all of the major amenities in neighbourhoods, need to start forming a vision for people to live, work and play in their village centres.
-        Better public transit between municipalities. Light rail. Generally discouraging single-person vehicle use so that people don’t move outside of the city, live in smaller areas. 
-        Can’t expand too far outward, no space. Need to maintain wild space, farmland.
-        Amalgamation? Emergency response amalgamation? Would be nice to have by 2040, but maybe not going to happen now.
-        Visions for Victoria:
-        Be able to afford to live here, rent space. People’s children should be able to stay and work. Densification. Want to be able to walk around and see green. Preserving heritage buildings.
-        Close off some of the downtown roads for cafes, pedestrian use. Younger population needs affordable housing in order to stay.
-        Waterfront areas need to be protected, not obscured by high-rises. Available for public use.
-        People no longer feel the need for gas transit. Parking outside the city, better public transit. Free bike (blue bike program).
-        Maintain view of sky downtown. Density good, but make less visible. Design buildings to allow a view of sky.
-        Need high density, have sunlight reach the streets, have the street be the place where people interact, not in buildings – keep streets as an active public place.
-        Island should be more sustainable for food. Green roofs, growing food. Community gardens.
-        Community-based waste disposal system. Dumpsters for whole neighbourhoods centralized, makes disposal easier.
-        Road blocks make it difficult for emergency response. Roundabouts get in the way.
-        Services for homeless as well as housing. Adequate housing and services for all.
-        Greater use of heritage conservation areas, general respect for heritage. Match density zoning with existing density of heritage buildings.
-        Need a place for people to go to discuss ideas on an ongoing basis. Opportunities for seniors, youths. Iterative engagement methods, building on previous discussion. “come with a problem but be part of the solution”.
-        Community work space, drop-in workshop on ongoing basis for community to debate, led by someone. Could use community centres. Not issue-focused, free for people to come and present new ideas and issues. Purpose could be served by pubs, cafes.
-        Online version of same.
-        Remove parking lot at end of Fort St. and open a festival ground or something.
-        Could have had a designated camping spot. Need more creative housing solutions for homeless.

CIC #2 Update 2

Posted by Simon Nattrass 1:19 PM 0 comments

The end of part 1, my notes:

-        Flow of information between citizens and Council/City and issue, needs improvement.
-        There is a lack of easily-identifiable liaisons between city and citizens, need a visible representative of the community at city level.
-        What about a ward system? Might increase access to city hall, but might increase partisanship/NIMBY as well. Maybe instead just increase awareness, communication from Council/City. Information is searchable, but does not come to you (need to be able to passively receive information). Might lead to competition amongst neighbourhoods for staff time. Would require cooperation between neighbourhoods though.
-        Neighbourhood web sites/sections of city web site where residents can get information related to their neighbourhoods, important contacts, events, planning, etc.
-        Linking City, CRD, Neighbourhoods websites so that information is easy to find and jump around from.
-        Good example: engagement process for Jubilee extension was very well done, comprehensive.
-        Need greater awareness of the roles of community assoc. How do they deal with the city? How can I contact them? Where do my questions go when I call my neighbourhood assoc?
-        People often disagree/conflict in neighbourhood context, how do we reach and find common ground and agreement within neighbourhoods? Need an organic process, flexible, not a rigid schedule. An open, civil forum where people know they will be heard, can provide their opinions and disagree/discuss without conflict. Respectful environment. Need unbiased facilitator for important discussions.
-        Involve people from the beginning. Problems occur when people don’t feel like part of the process. Involve people in pre-planning rather than post-planning consultation, be transparent about what the city is looking at.
-        City should take an active mediation role in conflicts between neighbourhood assoc. Also proactive role in organizing neighbourhoods, creating conversation/cohesion. Could be a concern of Council Liaisons.
-        Do we need to focus more on the city as a whole rather than individual neighbourhoods?
-        Approach: City says here is the broad plan (OCP),  how do you the communities feel things should look on the ground.
-        OCP should not decide details, but be very clear on what needs to happen generally. “We need services for the homeless” is an OCP statement, neighbourhoods decide where these things should go.
-        Increase fines for developers for destroying protected trees, and have responsibility go two or three years into the future in case of long-term damage done during development.
-        City should revisit neighbourhood boundaries. Increase neighbourhood identity, people would get more involved because they would feel it’s their neighbourhood. Need to ask what is a neighbourhood, how do we define it?
-        Big ideas: Communication, making information available. Creating a portal for neighbourhood issues.
-        Not only informing, but providing bottom-up opportunities.
-        Ensuring that people feel truly engaged THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS.

CIC #2 Update 1

Posted by Simon Nattrass 11:30 AM 0 comments


On community engagement:

-        Flow of information between citizens and Council/City and issue, needs improvement.
-        There is a lack of easily-identifiable liaisons between city and citizens, need a visible representative of the community at city level.
-        What about a ward system? Might increase access to city hall, but might increase partisanship/NIMBY as well. Maybe instead just increase awareness, communication from Council/City. Information is searchable, but does not come to you (need to be able to passively receive information).
-        Neighbourhood web sites/sections of city web site where residents can get information related to their neighbourhoods, important contacts, events, planning, etc.
-        Linking City, CRD, Neighbourhoods websites so that information is easy to find and jump around from.
-        Good example: engagement process for Jubilee extension was very well done, comprehensive.
-        Need greater awareness of the roles of community assoc. How do they deal with the city? How can I contact them? Where do my questions go when I call my neighbourhood assoc?
-        People often disagree/conflict in neighbourhood context, how do we reach and find common ground and agreement within neighbourhoods? Need an organic process, flexible, not a rigid schedule. An open, civil forum where people know they will be heard, can provide their opinions and disagree/discuss without conflict. Respectful environment. Need unbiased facilitator for important discussions.

Citizen Insight Council #2 Begins!

Posted by Simon Nattrass 10:38 AM 0 comments

So begins this session of live blogging from Victoria's second ever Citizen Insight Council.

The question we begin with is: How can planning for neighbourhoods be made effective, sustainable, and meaningful for citizens?

There are 13 neighbourhoods in Victoria with a population of 80,000. Compared to other cities, these are smaller than you would expect, but the variety of micro-cultures and neighbourhood personalities makes this question all the more important.

Neighbourhood plans are available at:
http://www.victoria.ca/cityhall/departments_plnpub_nghbrh.shtml

WDV out.

CIC #1 Update 8

Posted by Simon Nattrass Saturday, May 29, 2010 3:35 PM 0 comments

Thoughts from the CIC on Density, both high and low:
- Focus density downtown, old Bay building should be far edge.
- Don't want to block view corridors.
- Keep height further back, not huge.
- Go for a European feeling.
- Build where the land is lowest so as not to ruin skyline.
- Rock bay could be like False Creek, Yaletown without towers, need to work on Selkirk.
- Humboldt valley is good.
- Douglas/Belleville bus depot should be moved.
- Focus medum density around commercial nodes (villages), would help improve amenities in places like Quadra Village, Cook St., etc.
- Want to walk downtown.
- City should be clear on where high rises can go and be strict.
- City could have guidelines for environmental features in new buildings.
- Density reduces the need for personal vehicles, and increases need for good transit, things like car co-ops.
- What about rooftop gardens, parks, geothermal heat, fuel cells, reuse of greywater, on-site sewage treatment, and beautification for new development?
- Vision over profit.
- Worry about leaky condos, need quality development. What was the city's role there?
- Sewage treatment needs to be more efficient with increased density.
- Aesthetic quality should be considered with new buildings.
- Creating communal space with new development, allowing for community.

More on density later.

WDV out.

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