December 04, 2008 By: Adam Mc Lean, www.yorkregion.com

People Plan results brought before councillors

Think you could be mayor or a town councillor for a day? Do you have grand ideas that could help shape Richmond Hill and prosperously lead the town into the future?

Well, 2,000 people responded to this question with a resounding, ‘Yes!’ and took part in the Town of Richmond Hill ‘People Plan’.

The People Plan asked the question, what matters most to those who call Richmond Hill home, and a Key Findings and Directions Report for this plan was unveiled before Town Council Monday night.

The People Plan is the first step in the new town Strategic Plan, which focuses on goals and aspirations of residents and those who work here and will also contribute to a new Official Plan, which describes land use policies for such things as new housing, businesses and schools.

The People Plan process began in October 2007 and Town staff collected information from public consultation events such as open houses, community roundtables, a Facebook group and online surveys, in combination with background research results and trend analysis, which will now be used to help develop the updated Strategic Plan.

The study findings presented on Monday night brought forth answers to a series of questions on the minds of Richmond Hill residents:

• Who are we and where do we fit in York Region, the GTA and the Province?

• What matters to the Town’s residents?

• What are the trends, challenges and opportunities facing the Town?

• What are the key directions for the Strategic Plan?

“Defining who the Town is now, is an important step in creating a vision for our future,” said David Olding, Town of Richmond Hill manager of grants and strategic initiatives during his power point presentation.

“This plan is to shape who we will be 25 years from now. A similar question was asked 25 years ago, and things have changed drastically in the last quarter century,” Mr. Olding added, illustrating this through a series of slides from 1983, including Town employees gathered in amazement around the lone town office computer.

The question in the Plan which looms largest and allowed people to express themselves, is the personal, yet simple, ‘what matters to you’?

“It takes being in a relationship and entering into conversation to find out the things that really matter. We received much feedback from a variety of voices, some of them expressing their views very strongly,” Mr. Olding said.

A top ten list of matters important to residents was compiled through the findings, such areas included:

• that families, children, youth and seniors are vital parts of our community.

• people from different ethnic backgrounds are welcome.

• the town features strong, safe neighbourhoods and places for people.

• a more affordable and accessible community.

• good businesses and jobs so people can work close to where they live.

• protection and stewardship of the Town’s green spaces and environment-friendly communities and practices.

It is these findings that will be put to the test in the upcoming Strategic and Official Plan, by the final question which the study examined, being the trends, challenges and opportunities Richmond Hill will face in the next 25 years.

Of the many challenges outlined by residents, questions and concerns with the world economy shape nearly half of the challenges listed in the report.

Quality of life, regional transit, infrastructure deficit, intensification, peak oil prices, economic cycles and shifts, sustainability and the growing affordability gap that is evident across Canada, and in particular Richmond Hill.

And while the information collected from the Key Findings report may seem broad, its contribution to the Town’s Strategic Plan will be focused on action and the next steps will be to develop strategies to help these community visions shape reality, as on February 9, 2009, a draft of Richmond Hill’s Strategic Plan will be presented to Council.

“This information will allow us to move forward and properly address the wishes of residents. The community has spoken and we have listened,” Mayor Dave Barrow said.

If you would like more information regarding the Richmond Hill People Plan or the Key Findings and Directions Report visit, www.richmondhill.ca

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