Counties initiates public input phase for community sustainability plan

Posted Feb 2, 2012 By Lorraine Payette

EMC News - About 50 people descended on the Firehall Theatre in Gananoque on Jan. 24, all bent on making the future for Leeds & Grenville a brighter, healthier, happier place. In the interest of the future generations, Leeds-Grenville has put out a request to the entire regional community to help it create a viable sustainability plan. The event in Gananoque was one of several public meetings held during the week to gain as much input as possible.

"Tonight is a very special night as we embark on this task of doing an ICSP (Integrated Community Sustainability Plan)," said Ann Weir, Economic Development Manager for the United Counties of Leeds Grenville. "We'll be looking at the four cornerstones: environment, economic development, culture, and social. This is Phase One of the counties' first step in (finding) the vision of where we're going for the future for the counties, and at the end of this process we'll be looking for a few things. We'll have a vision for the future, a plan for the region, an action plan for each of the ten municipalities in Leeds and Grenville along with Gananoque and Prescott. We'll also be taking a look at the one that was done in Brockville. It is anticipated that this could be one of Canada's largest Integrated Community Sustainability Plans."

Dillon Consulting has been brought in to handle the creation of the ICSP. Workshops were held in six different locations in Leeds-Grenville between Jan. 24 and 26 to collect as much feedback, advice and other input as is possible from members of the different communities to create the best possible ICSP for this region.

"We need and welcome input from all residents and stakeholders," said Campbell. "We also want to have good representation for the four cornerstones of sustainability."

"This process will give each municipality an action plan for the future," said Weir. "Over the next 12 months, the process will integrate various plans aligning the actions of governments, both at the Counties and municipal level, communities and organizations."

Lynda Newman, member of the Dillon team, introduced Justine Giancola and Brent Bullock of Dillon, and Lois Dewey, public health nurse and guest speaker from the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit. The topics for the evening focused on sustainability principles, long range vision for a sustainable Leeds-Grenville and current gaps in the system which are hindering the ability of the region to reach its sustainability goals.

Participants worked with both a reference document giving basics of the process and what was required, and a workbook which needed to be completed and handed in by the end of the evening.

"Sustainability is a word that is thrown around a lot, and we wanted to make sure we set a framework for what we mean for it by this plan," said Giancola. "We're not talking about just one component, but the four pillars approach. What we're really looking for is a balance between the environment, economic, culture and social. By providing this balance we're able to improve each one of those areas."

It was stressed repeatedly that input and cooperation from the public is vital in creating an appropriate ICSP for Leeds-Grenville. There is no one size fits all. Each region must consider its own needs, take all of them into consideration, before making any final decisions.

"What we're looking at here is a plan that takes all the existing municipal policies and sets a framework with the balanced approach that works for the whole county," said Giancola.

"The idea is to look at a long-term vision, the high level ideas and where we want to be in the future, then working your way down to developing the principles and the action plans that affect the community every day. The ICSP is that framework that sets forth the plan and the vision that will then affect all the actions that come out of it."

ICSPs help to guide municipal councils in creating policies and by-aws to help bring these visions about. Starting in the fall of last year, plans from other municipalities have been studied to get an idea of where to go and how to go about it. Past experience has been considered, and what has failed has been just as importantly checked as that which has succeeded.

Phase Two is expected to take approximately five months, and will consist of identifying all of the priorities and champions within the community to assist in implementation. Once a vision and principles have been established, it is vital to get them into a proper order of importance.

Phases Three and Four are to be a desktop review of benchmarks (i.e., quantifiable ways of determining that the established goals have actually been met). Phase Five will be the reporting of the entire project, set for release in the fall of this year.

Current smaller divisions included under the four pillars of sustainability are energy, sustainable development, water management, waste management and resource use, sustainable transportation, green space, natural environment, participation in associations to promote sustainability and protect the natural environment, creating vibrant livable communities, food security, affordable housing, access to education, health and safety, social, cultural and recreational facilities, cultural activities, sustainable community economics, creating economic opportunities, growth and resiliency, improving fiscal performance, sustainable community planning, measuring and reporting progress, and customer service.

"It's a lot to consider," said Dewey. "But we have to realize where we are now. Health is vital to everyone in the region. Our children are spending a lot of time in front of the screen.

"They are bigger than they've ever been before. This is a change in one generation. Teens are much less active in sports.

"A lot of parents are driving their children to school. We've got rid of our little community schools and so children are driven a distance to these bigger schools.

"(When surveyed, it was discovered) that 75 per cent of children would prefer to walk or cycle to school. They'd like to go shorter distances, but they're not having the opportunity to do so. Ninety-one per cent of Canadian children have bicycles, but only 12 per cent ride them to school. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, for the first time in many, many generations, we are raising children whose life expectancy is less than that of their parents."

"This plan will involve continuous monitoring and feedback," said Giancola. "This will be a plan which hopefully will (not only) establish where we are today, but that will hopefully change things for the better in the future.

It needs to be owned by the community and continue to be monitored over time so that it's always fresh and you always have the ideas that represent the community."

The ICSP is an organic concept in that it will continue to grow and develop over time, changing as the needs of the region change, and working toward ideals in environmental, social, cultural, economic and governmental standards. It is not carved in stone, and these steps are only the beginning.

More input is welcome, and will be accepted up until the Feb. 5 cut-off date for this phase. There are no restrictions as to age, socio-economic standing, or any of the other barriers people may mistakenly believe to be there.

All people in the region are welcome and encouraged to participate.

To learn more and/or participate and fill in a survey/workbook, please go to www.leegdsgrenville.com/icsp of visit the Facebook page. Call for more, 613-342-3840.