& Predictable Decision-Making

Empowered residents and predictable decision-making go hand in hand.

I want to help residents truly understand the planning process and our role as Council to ensure that decisions, especially around planning, make sense and are predictable. I often hear from residents, “Well, it’s a done deal. Why should I bother?” or “Just say no.” It’s never that cut and dry, and there are many reasons:

• The Province has dictated how we must grow
• Decisions presented are supported by our Official Plan, the County’s Official Plan and the Planning Act
• Decisions made by Council need to be defendable and reasonable or they can be brought to the OLT for appeal by a developer or impacted party
  • To just say no, when it’s not defensible, does nothing but save my face – and I’m not interested in that
  • We MUST be interested and committed to doing the work of finding solutions and putting developers in the position of addressing current issues instead of making bad problems worse

What needs to happen?

• Expand Lakeshore’s standard for notice on development (including Zoning ByLaw and Official Plan amendment applications) so that more people know what is coming
• Increase our opportunities to connect with residents of all ages to better explain Council’s role in policy development, to explain the planning process, traffic calming, etc
• Increase awareness for annual projects and multi-year plans by publishing schedules and plans for roads and parkland
• Ensure that all of our Master Plans have implementation strategies that reflect responsible use of financial and human resources
• Increase the opportunities for residents to participate in public information sessions and consultations related to municipal policies
  • There will be several opportunities for this over the next term, including for:
    • Zoning bylaw update
    • Development standards update
    • Greenhouse policies (related to the Zoning bylaw)
  • I will be investigating live and recorded training sessions to be made available through this website to increase transparency and information for residents across Lakeshore