GEOG2P66 Midterm

What is Planning?

Addresses the use of land, resources, facilities and services inw ays that secure the physical, economic and social efficiency, health and well-being of urban and rural communities.

What is a “Planner”

A skilled professional who works to improve the quality and livability of communities.

What is OPPI

Ontario Professional Planners Institute

What is the OPPI Competency Tree?

The core competencies that describe the knowledge, skills and attitudes required for practice by professional planners

What are the two core competencies realms?

* Functional Competencies
* Enabling Competencies

What is Growth?

__Quantitative__ Change

* e.g., population size, # of buildings, traffic volumes

What is Development?

__Qualitative__ Change

* e.g., replacement of land use with another, changing demographics or cultural mix, new modes of building or doing business

Why do we Plan?

* to deal with growth and development issues focusing on external effects
* focus on public interest

What is Public Interest?

The sum of community preferences that is based on consensus-building and collaborative planning

What is the Planning Act?

The most important planning and development legislation in Ontario

What does the Planning Act outline?

Laws and regulations about land use planning throughout the province

Whose rights and responsibilities are identified in the planning act?

* Provincial government
* Municipal government
* Planning stakeholders

What is required of all municipalities in Southern Ontario by the Planning Act?

All municipalities in Southern Ontario are required to create a planning advisory board (committee)

What are planning advisory boards required to do?

All municipalities with a planning advisory board must prepare an official plan for adoption by the relevant municipal councils.

What is “Plan-Making”?

The process of developing an entirely new plan __**OR**__ the process of amending or updating an existing plan

Once a plan is adopted it is…

a legally binding document that plays a distinctive role in governing a community

What are the 4 Determinants of Land Use?

* Environmental
* Economic
* Social and Cultural
* Public Interest

What are Environmental Determinants of Land Use?

Natural conditions affect the use of land

* Climate
* Physiography
* Hazard Lands
* Ecological Conditions
* Soils, forest, wildlife

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What are External Economic Forces in Determinants of Land Use?

* economic globalization
* global pandemics
* deindustrialization
* growth of service economy

What are Internal Economic Forces in Determinants of Land Use?

* local supply and demand
* interest of developers or lack there of

What are Social and Cultural Determinants of Land Use?

* based on incomes, ethnicity, demographics, traditionally marginalized groups, etc.
* can affect public needs and wants
* can influence levels of conflict and competing interests

What are Public Interest Determinants of Land Use?

must ensure decisions made regarding a particular parcel of land have considered impacts on the whole community and beyond

“Goal” definition

referring to an ideal, condition, or a quality to be sought in the community’s built and natural environments

“Objective” definition

referring to something that the community seeks to obtain, like a target that can be attained, measured, or acted upon

“Policy” definition

the preferred course of action to be followed in achieving an objective and/or goal

Type of data used in preparation of official plans

* census data
* field visits/observations
* personal intervies
* surveys
* inventories/counts
* air photos, maps

Official plans must be updated…

* no more than 10 years after it is first adopted
* at least every 5 years thereafter

What are the restrictions of appeals of official plans?

* appeals must come within 20 days
* those who did not participate in oral submission or written submission at public meetings may NOT appeal

What is the most important planning document?

The official plan

What is the second most important planning document?

Zoning by-law

What is a zoning by-law

It provides the actual tools of implementing official plan policies and lays out specific regulations for development.

What are the three basic types of land use districts?

* residential
* commercial
* industrial

Zoning by-law lists…

What is permitted on parcels of land

By-law determines “bulk” which is…

overall use of site by built structures including the max. height and building area (width, depth)

By-law specifies “setbacks” which are…

distance from building or structure to lot line (front, side and back)

By-law specifies “density” which is…

maximum number of dwelling units per unit of land area __**OR**__ amount of floor area

Zoning by-law specifies “signage” which includes…

* size, height and location of signs on buildings and properties
* more permissive in some zones than others
* residential vs. commercial

Zoning by-law specifies “accessory buildings” which are…

* garages, storage sheds, outhouses, ‘bunkies’

Zoning by-law specifies “home occupation” restrictions

most areas allow these with restrictions on parking, signage and number of employees

Zoning Minor Variances are…

something that is applied if a proposed change does not conform precisely to the zoning by-law but still follows general intent (e.g., slight deviation from setback requirements)

Zoning By-Law Amendments are…

also known as “rezoning”, proposing a new use with still having to conform to an official plan (e.g., Residential R1 to Residential R2)

Official Plan Amendments are…

a formal process that changes a municipality’s official plan

Subdivision control is…

providing authority to the community to have input into any plans for splitting up land for development

Site Plan Control is…

site-specific, specialized form of land use control

Severances/ Consents involves…

the severing of one or two small parcels of land from a larger tract (e.g., creating residential on farm property, breaking one lot into two)

Automobile Dependence is…

a situation in which a city develops on the assumption that automobile use will predominate so that it is given priority in infrastructure and in the form of urban development

Automobile dependent cities have three main characteristics…

* automobile oriented land use patterns; which leads to
* poor non-automobile transportation choices; thus resulting in
* high levels of per capita automobile travel

Urban Sprawl is

the spread or increase of low-density, automobile dependent built environment around existing urban areas, generally with the implication that this process is unplanned or uncontrolled

What is “Growth Management”

A planning response to auto-mobile dependence and urban sprawl. The planning methods used to limit and/or direct new growth

What is “smart growth”

combines urban and suburban planning at the regional scale

What is “New Urbanism”

A movement among urban architects, designers, and planners to encourage a more human-scale in settlement planning (e.g., mixed use neighborhoods, accessible public space)

Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) is…

initially a planning strategy for Light-Rail Transit stations which were later extended as a central component of New Urbanism

What are “Brownfields”

Underused, vacant and/or derelict sites with potential for redevelopment that may be contaminated, often due to industrial or commercial use on that or the adjacent site.

What is “Brownfield Redevelopment”

Initiatives that require intervention to bring brownfield sites to beneficial use. Repurposing the land.

What is a “Greyfield”

a large structure that has been fully or partially abandoned (shopping malls, hotels, hospitals, parking lots, buildings, etc.). Physically, technologically and environmentally failing in nature.

Greyfield Redevelopment is…

increasingly views as undercapitalized assets with excellent redevelopment potential

What is a “Secondary Plan”

a special plan that is prepared at different scales for individual neighborhoods, special districts, nodes in transportation, land use corridors. (E.g., specific streets, downtown cores, etc.)

What is an “Institutional District Plan”

A plan for a specific institution (hospitals, colleges, universities, government agencies).

What is a “Heritage District Plan”

typically call for preservation of an important heritage site or building and create guidelines that allow new development and revitalization while being complimentary in scale and materials

What is an “Urban Transportation Policy”

an approach toward travel within the city with a relative amount of money spent on individual modes and where it is spent. (roads, public transit, bike lanes, pedestrian access)

What is Economic Development?

the development of economic wealth of countries, regions or communities for the well-being of their inhabitants.

What do Economic Development Planners do?

* recruitment of business operations
* assisting in the expansion or retention of business operations
* assisting in the start-up of new businesses

What is the Ontario Municipal Act

Prohibits municipalities from directly or indirectly assisting any manufacturing business or other industrial or commercial enterprise