Integrating Green Infrastructure Policy into Land Use Planning
Role for Municipal Official Plan
April 5, 2011
Thora Cartlidge, MCIP, RPP, AICP
Development Services Department, City of Thunder Bay
Fort William + Port Arthur = Thunder Bay
• Green infrastructure as defining features
City of Thunder Bay Official Plan
• Policy framework for land use decisions under jurisdiction of Corporation of City of Thunder Bay
• Policies to direct decisions on use of all types of land areas – agricultural, commercial, residential, industrial and environmental
• Maps designating land use areas that attach as Schedules to the Official Plan
Legislative Context
• Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, section 16, requires all municipalities to have an Official Plan to guide land use decisions – goals, objectives, policies
• Public input an essential part of planning process
• Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) (2005) sets framework for preparing Official Plans by identifying provincial interests, or values
From Legislation to Regulations
Planning Act
PPS
Official Plan
Handbook
Zoning By-law
Land Use Area Designations –
Kaministiquia River and Islands
Implementing the Official Plan
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Site Plan Control Agreements
Development Agreements
Lot Creation Policies
Urban Design Guidelines
Urban Forest Management Plan
Zoning By‐law main legislated tool, setting out permitted uses and regulations for zones Updated Zoning By‐law (2010)
Provincial Policy Statement –
Protecting Provincial Interests
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Protect agricultural resources
Develop active and healthy communities
Protect public health and safety
Promote sustainable design
+ a dozen more categories related to building strong communities through efficient land use patterns
A Healthy Communities Handbook
Sustainability Characteristics
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Density
Mix of Uses
Mobility Options
Connectivity
Concentrated uses
Street Design and Management
Building Design Green Infrastructure – natural and engineered
Green Infrastructure and Land Use
• New term encompassing protected green space and parks, agricultural land, forests, wetlands and watersheds that structure, or frame, our urban areas
• Refers to natural and engineered features, including recreational trails, pipe‐to‐pond storm water systems, utility corridors and community gardens
• Integrative term
Rural Land Areas as Green Infrastructure
Rural Land Use Policies
• Residential development in rural areas is limited so as to preserve rural character
• Viable farm operations are protected • Animal product processing, sale of farm supplies and rural‐
related industries are permitted in rural areas
• 36% of the total land area of Thunder Bay is designated Rural
• 8% is designated Rural Residential
Zoning for Gardens and Agriculture
• Community garden a permitted use in all zones
• 30+ private property owners licensed to garden on City land
• Agriculture and personal farming permitted uses in rural zones
• Includes growing crops, raising livestock and other animals, aquaculture, apiaries, agro‐
forestry, maple syrup production
Community Garden in Thunder Bay
• Regent Park Community Garden
Open Space Zone
City‐owned parcel
A Collaborative Garden Project
• Ogden‐Simpson Veggie Garden
Project
Commercial Zone
Private parcels, donated privately
• Food is grown more for the community than the individual gardeners
Thunder Bay Country Market
Connecting Food to Place
Thunder Bay Food Charter
• A set of principles that guides decisions for food security in Thunder Bay, to ensure access to enough nutritious food for everyone to be healthy
• Developed by the Food Action Network (FAN) with local producer and community support via EarthWise/Community Environmental Action Plan (2008)
Official Plan Review
• Review of Official Plan will further shift policy language to recognize value of green infrastructure and integrated systems
• Critical policy framework for administering any municipal land use program, including green infrastructure like parks, trails, landscaped open space and the urban forest
• Goals of EarthWise/Community Environmental Action Plan (2008) meshed with Official Plan
Integrating Green Infrastructure Policy into Land Use Planning
• Important to bring about more sustainable green infrastructure in urban areas like Thunder Bay
• Healthy communities the valuable outcome