yorkregion.com
February 1, 2008, By David Fleischer

People Plan has pulse of Town

Richmond Hill participation 'extremely' pleasing, directory says.

Getting you excited about a municipal strategic plan is no mean feat, but the team behind Richmond Hill’s People Plan believe they have pulled it off, so far.

“We’re extremely pleased with the participation we’ve had,” director of strategic initiatives Gwen Manderson said.

In all, they have had about 1,000 residents involved in the process of setting out the goals the town should aspire to achieve in the coming years.

The People Plan kicked off with a well-attended meeting in October and was followed by a two-day summit in late November.

Since October, four People Plan Ambassadors, a team of graduate students, have been spreading the word to the public. Using the popular Internet community of Facebook has allowed residents to share views and town staff have been making presentations to community groups.

The presentations, on a by-request basis, have included the Richmond Hill Lions’ Club and Heritage Richmond Hill as well as local schools.

The most successful single event was canvassing at Hillcrest Mall, Ms Manderson said.

Rather than filling out onerous surveys, contributors are asked to do everything from submitting pictures of their favourite local sites to explaining what they love most about the town.

A report on the data collected so far is scheduled to be presented to council at a public meeting Feb. 25.

Already, trends are emerging, Ms Manderson said.

“We couldn’t do this without the community. That’s where we start and that’s who it is for.”

The most frequently cited answer to what people love best about the community is the local amenities in the town. Community values are the second choice, she said.

When people make specific suggestions they tend to be reaffirmations of ideas local politicians have expressed, including the revitalization of downtown and the relocating of town hall to the Major Mackenzie and Yonge area.

The next phase of the plan is to ask residents with specific expertise on matters such as transportation and the environment, to participate in a series of roundtables with councillors and staff. People from every community and walk of life are being sought to lend their voices.

“We want to be able to understand the scope of (each) area and how much of a priority it might be,” Ms Manderson said.

If all goes according to plan, a final report goes to council in late spring. A draft plan should be complete in the fall, ready for approval by January.

And they could not have done any of it without you.

“This is a community visioning exercise,” Ms Manderson said. “We couldn’t do this without the community. That’s where we start and that’s who it is for.”

You can learn more and participate by visiting richmondhill.ca/peopleplan

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Here’s the questions town planners ask you to answer about what makes Richmond Hill special to you.

• What do you love best about living/working in Richmond Hill?

• Tell us about a time when you found yourself describing Richmond Hill as a great place to live or work: what did you say?

• If you left and returned in 2012 and found Richmond Hill to be a leading edge community, what things would you see?

• What is the most distinguishing feature or characteristic of Richmond Hill and how could it be made even better?

• What is important for you in a community? What do you value most?

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