| June 26, 2007
Public Presentation About New Strategic
Plan & Official Plan
Richmond Hill - Council received a presentation
by staff about the upcoming review of
the Town’s Strategic Plan and Official Plan. Council
were updated on the process for both plans and how both are
very closely linked in planning the future of the Town for
the people of Richmond Hill. In order to make the best use
of available resources and to ensure that the public consultation
process is not fragmented, some of the work to develop the
Town’s new Official Plan will be undertaken in conjunction
with the Strategic Plan.
The new Strategic Plan will be a direction for all Town
policy and a vision for the people, economy and environment
in the Town. It will reaffirm the Town’s overall vision
and goals, assessing the relevancy of the objectives and strategies
in relation to the community. The
Strategic Plan will provide the overarching framework for
function-specific policy documents such as the Official Plan,
Transportation Plan, long term financial plan and Parks Master
Plan. The Strategic Plan will reflect what matters most to
the people of the community including issues like the environment
and economy. To begin, the Town will seek residents’
opinions about what they want the future of Richmond Hill
to look and feel like. The Plan will come together with this
information as well as with the results of background research
and
trend analysis.
The new Official Plan will designate the land for the community’s
future use and will embody the vision of the Strategic Plan.
The Official Plan describes land-use policies in the community,
and ensures that future planning and development will meet
the specific needs of its inhabitants. This plan determines
policies that affect the location of new housing and businesses
and decide where services such as roads, sewers, parks and
schools will be needed. Since its last Official Plan was developed
in 1981, the Town of Richmond Hill has changed significantly,
growing from a population of 37,000 to 170,000. The last Official
Plan’s focus was on subdivision development, but as
the town approaches a mature stage of growth, the new plan
will direct attention to realizing the wishes and aspirations
of the people who live and work in Richmond Hill. Creating
a new Official Plan is a long, thorough
process that requires input from the public. It is expected
to be launched for public review in fall 2007 and become official
legislation in 2009.
The Town has branded the Strategic Plan & Official Plan
process as "People Plan Richmond Hill" to help residents
relate to the documents easier and encourage them to participate.
The Town also created a visual identifier with the tagline
to help residents identify materials related to the process.
Residents and businesses are encouraged to participate in
both processes and to watch for more information on the Town’s
Website and Bulletin Board pages in The Liberal for public
consultation opportunities. For more information on the Official
Plan contact David Collinson, Director of Planning, at (905)
771-2420 and for more
information on the Strategic Plan contact Gwen Manderson,
Director of Strategic Initiatives, at (905) 771-3815 (From
Council Meeting held on Tuesday, June 26, 2007; Presentation).
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