What's New
July 2017
The City has spent the last 18 months identifying positive changes we can make to help citizens tell us what you think about planning applications.
We believe we have made good progress - here are a few things that we’ve done.
Public Engagement
City Council approved a new Public Engagement Policy on April 11, 2017. In general, the City uses the new policy to help us in planning how to involve people in decisions that may affect them.
Planning Applications
We are creating and updating webpages for all new planning applications, to help you find the information you need. They are organized by neighbourhood, and include application details, events planned for the public, updates, and how to contact the planner that is managing the application.
Public Notifications
We updated our public notifications, making them into easier-to-understand postcards. Key contact information and event details (when applicable) are easy to find.
Meetings and Information Sessions
On some major planning applications we have been hosting meetings earlier on in the process and also having follow-up information sessions.
In 2016, we began piloting new types of meeting formats to encourage more people to attend and to offer a variety of ways for people to learn more and talk together.
Reports
For applications with a high level of community interest, we are now creating What We Heard reports that are available on the application’s webpage, sent to interested meeting attendees, and attached to the application’s Council report. (example)