MUNICIPAL EXCELLENCE NETWORK
PRACTICE COLLECTION FORM
General Information
Date
February 8, 2016
Name of Practice
Plan It Calgary
Name of Municipality
City of Calgary
Your Name and Title
Karen Holz, Senior Planner
Phone Number
403 268 1938
Fax Number
403 268 3542
E-mail for Practice Contact(s)
Karen.Holz@calgary.ca
Mailing Address
PO Box 2100, Stn. M, #8117
Calgary, AB T2P 2M5
INTRODUCTION
When completing this form, use your own words and share your practice in a story format. Please do
not include any derogatory comments. Use paragraphs and bullet points to organize your practice.
This is not a business case but instead is intended to be informative for your peers, showing them the
processes and outcomes of your practice. Be sure to focus on what you learned so that it is helpful to
the reader. Click on the grey boxes to type in your answers. The boxes will expand as you type.
THE ISSUE
Question
Abstract:
What is the practice you developed or are developing
(brief abstract)?
Please briefly describe the final practice developed.
(e.g. if you developed a new Council agenda, list the
agenda items, or if a new communications plan was
created, provide a summary of the plan’s goals,
objectives and highlights.)
Answer
The Plan It Calgary project developed an
integrated Municipal Development Plan
(MDP) and Calgary Transportation Plan
(CTP), which was an innovative approach
to sustainable long-range planning for the
city.
Integrated planning of land use and
mobility has been recognized
internationally as an integral part of
creating more sustainable cities and are
often advocated through groups such as
the SMART Growth Network organizations
in Canada and the United States.
In recognition of the important link
between land use, mobility and
sustainability, The City of Calgary Council
approved the Terms of Reference for the
Integrated Land Use and Mobility Plan in
January 2007, which became known as
the Plan It Calgary project. The project's
mission was to achieve a more
sustainable Calgary by integrating land
use and mobility policy and creating
effective implementation strategies,
practical tools and processes for decision
makers. The outcome of the Plan It
Calgary project was the creation of a new
Calgary Municipal Development Plan
(MDP) and Calgary Transportation Plan
(CTP).
Key questions that were asked at the
outset of the project were: How we can
accommodate an additional 1.3 million
people and 600,000 jobs over the next 50
- 60 years in the city? Where will they
live, work, and play? What do we need to
do differently to ensure a high quality of
life?
The goals of the Plan It Calgary project
were to:
* Develop a set of overarching
sustainability principles.
* Develop a framework that organizes the
city into a limited number of geographic
areas ("typologies"), based upon common
characteristics of urban form and function.
* Rigorously evaluate the proposed urban
system to ensure it is the appropriate
framework around which to organize
future land use and mobility policies and
objectives in the MDP/CTP.
* Create a long-range land use and multimodal (road, transit, pedestrian and
cycling) mobility scenario for Calgary and
the region at 2.5 million people, building
on the sustainability principles.
* Create the scenario using a multistakeholder, collaborative, design charette
approach. Develop and test multiple
scenarios and identify the implications of
various scenarios.
* Develop an integrated land use and
transportation policy and bring forward a
new Municipal Development Plan and
Calgary Transportation Plan.
* Develop indicators (and long term
targets) to monitor the progress of the
plan(s).
The Plan It Calgary project resulted in:
1. Eleven Sustainability Principles to
guide land use and mobility.
2. Towards a Sustainable City: The Case
for Change. This is a background
document that describes why the city
needs to change how it has been growing
and address social, economic, and
environmental rationale.
3. Towards a Sustainable City: The 8 key
directions for land use and mobility. This
document outlines key strategies for city
growth. It is available at
www.calgary.ca/planit
4. The Calgary Municipal Development
Plan
The Calgary Muncipal Development Plan
(MDP) is a long-range plan (60 year focus
with 30 year strategies) for how
development and growth will occur in
Calgary. The goals of the MDP focus on
the following areas:
* A prosperous economy - Build a globally
competitive city that supports a vibrant,
diverse and adaptable local economy,
maintains a sustainable municipal
financial system and does not
compromise the quality of life for current
and future Calgarians.
* Shaping a more compact urban form Direct future growth of the city in a way
that fosters a more compact, efficient use
of land; creates complete communities;
allows for greater mobility choices; and
enhances vitality and character in local
neighbourhoods.
* Creating great communities - Create
great communities by maintaining quality
living and working environments,
improving housing diversity and choice,
enhancing community character and
distinctiveness and providing vibrant
public places.
* Urban Design - Make Calgary a liveable,
attractive, memorable and functional city
by recognizing its unique setting and
dynamic urban character and creating a
legacy of quality public and private
developments for future generations.
* Connecting the city - Develop an
integrated, multi-modal transportation
system that supports land use; provides
increased mobility choices for citizens;
promotes vibrant, connected communities;
protects the natural environment; and
supports a prosperous and competitive
economy.
* Greening the city - Conserve, protect
and restore the natural environment.
* Create a framework for growth and
change - As stewards of the land within its
jurisdiction, The City of Calgary will
provide leadership on growth and change
within a strategic framework that achieves
the best possible social, environmental,
and economic outcomes while operating
within The City's financial capacity.
5. The Calgary Transportation Plan
The Calgary Transportation Plan (CTP) is
a long-range plan for providing more
choices for travelling throughout Calgary.
The plan emphasizes comfortable, safe,
walkable streets designed for all users.
The CTP aims to make it easier to travel
throughout the city by car, on foot, by
bicycle or on the bus as Calgary's
population grows.
Immediate improvements are being made
to enhance public transit, build better
streets and make the best use of the
existing transportation system in Calgary.
The goals of the CTP are to:
* Provide safety for all transportation
system users.
* Provide affordable mobility and universal
access for all.
* Enable public transit, walking and cycling
as the preferred mobility choices for more
people.
* Provide economic development by
ensuring the effective movement of
workers and goods.
* Advance environmental sustainability.
The innovations demonstrated in this
practice are described in Question 2 of the
cover page and include:
Use of 13 new indicators and thresholds in
addition to the traditional measure of
density;
Introduction of land use typologies and
related policies and planning solutions;
Integration of land use and transportation,
including transit-supportive land uses and
new, multi-modal streets;
A more regional transportation planning
perspective;
New processes and design concepts,
such as connectivity assessments, quality
of service and mobility assessment plans
that assess transportation and land use
from a multi-modal perspective.
Need:
Please describe (just a couple of sentences or bullet
The previous Calgary Plan (MDP 1998)
and Go Plan (CTP 1995) introduced the
points) why you needed to create this practice (policy
or process).
What issue made it necessary? (e.g. “We needed a
comprehensive plan to deal with…”, or “We needed
an annual forecasting tool because…”)
principles of sustainable development into
the statutory planning framework and
included policy direction to integrate
social, environmental and economic
objectives into a coordinated decisionmaking process. Since then, Calgary has
experienced rapid, substantial growth,
which has strained The City’s ability to
provide and maintain infrastructure and
services to citizens. It became apparent
that The City needed a vision and plan for
more sustainable growth and
development. The Plan It Calgary project
identified the need to more fully integrate
the transportation (mobility) policy with
land use policy and take a more integrated
approach to implementation, monitoring
and reporting.
The new statutory MDP and companion
CTP set out a long-term 60-year strategy
for a more sustainable city form for
Calgary and the transportation networks
needed to serve it. This is supported by a
30-year plan for managing growth and
change, public investment and land use
approval decisions. Finally, short-term, 10year, corporate decision-making, business
planning, implementation and
accountabilities are aligned to the
strategies and plan to support Calgary’s
move to being a more sustainable city.
Calgary’s ongoing shift towards
sustainability and the need to make the
best possible use of public resources to
maintain economic, environmental and
social well-being for all Calgarians was
necessitated by the following emerging
issues:
* the need to reduce our impact on the
environment;
* projected lifestyle and demographic
changes (aging population);
* Public health and wellness trends;
* The increasing cost of living as
transportation and housing costs continue
to rise; and
* The cost of growth and fiscal constraints
on The City of Calgary.
CREATING YOUR PRACTICE
Research:
How did you obtain information to help design your
practice (including consultation with stakeholders,
formal and informal research)?
Please include any research documentation you can
share, or give us a source reference (e.g. Web site,
literature, “We reviewed the bylaws from other
municipalities in the area…”).
Plan It Calgary conducted substantial inhouse studies, commissioned a number of
research papers by leading international
experts, and carried out an extensive
internal and external engagement
program. In addition, substantial review
of best practices and emerging literature
on a range of topics was completed as
part of the policy development.
Formal research that was conducted as a
part of the Plan It Calgary project is
available at www.calgary.ca/planit. It
includes:
A Context for Change Management:
Demographic Changes
The Built Environment and Health &
Wellness
Housing Affordability and Smart Growth in
Calgary
Commercial and Retail Strategies
Green Infrastructure for Streets
Energy Mapping in Calgary
17th Avenue SE Case Study Charrette
Greenfield Community Case Study
Charrette
Extensive consultation with stakeholders
was also conducted. Two public opionion
surveys, nine focus groups, three
charettes, as well as numerous workshops
and meetings were conducted. In
addition, an advisory committee with
representation from the development
industry, and social, economic and
environmental interest groups was formed
to enable detailed debate and discussion
on the plans.
Process:
How did you go about designing your practice? For
instance, did you create a team, hire a consultant,
borrow something ready-made from another
jurisdiction?
Describe briefly who did the design work and what
A dedicated project team was formed for
the project. The General Managers of
Transportation and Planning Development
and Assessment, as well as the Directors
of Land Use Planning and Transportation
Planning were the project sponsors. The
process they followed.
original project team was led by a Program
Manager and supported by a program
administrator, four land use planners, five
transportation planners and a
transportation planning student. The
Design Centre for Sustainability, which is
associated with the University of British
Columbia, was a key consultant in the
development of the design process.
Plan It Calgary studied the city at multiple
scales. At the city-wide scale, three
possible future scenarios were developed
and evaluated based on their ability to
achieve sustainability. The scenarios were
measured against a series of indicators.
One scenario showed what Calgary would
be if it continued to build outwards, while
another examined what would happen to
Calgary if all new growth occurred in the
existing parts of the city. The third
scenario fell between the first two. Using
the assessment of the three scenarios as
a starting point, the public and key
stakeholders were engaged to determine
which future scenario they thought would
be best for the city. This information was
then used to develop eight key directions
for land use and mobility.
Additional consultation was conducted on
the eight key directions prior to the
development of a new draft land use
concept. A major public event called ‘Plan
It Calgary Summit’ was then held. The
Summit included workshops, international
public speakers, expert panels and
questions answer sessions on specific
policy topics in a conference-like setting.
Over 400 members of the public attended.
Following the Summit, the draft planning
framework was developed. Additional
public information and education sessions
were held. This resulted in the
development of the proposed MDP and
CTP documents that were then presented
at Council. Following the public hearing,
Council directed the Administration to
incorporate several changes in the
documents before they were returned to
Council for final adoption.
GETTING APPROVAL FOR YOUR PRACTICE
Authority:
Whose/what approval did you need to create and
implement the practice?
Reporting:
How did you inform the decision-maker(s) about the
practice and your need for their approval?
Please note the name of any documents provided to
the decision-makers that you would be willing to
share.
City Council was the approving authority.
The MDP was adopted by bylaw and the
CTP was adopted by resolution.
Stages of approval and direction from City
Council included:
* Approved Terms of Reference (January
2007)
* 11 sustainability principles (January
2007)
* Towards a Sustainable City: The case for
change (April 2008)
* Towards a Sustainable City: Eight key
directions (October 2008)
* Public hearing June 2009 with over 100
presenters
* September final adoption (CTP adopted,
MDP bylaw received 3rd reading with an
effective date of April 1, 2010)
Consultation:
Did you consult with stakeholders as part of your
approval process?
If so, how? If possible, attach a copy of templates,
surveys or other documents you used as part of your
consultation.
Over 6,000 citizens were engaged through
a variety of means including telephone and
internet surveys, focus groups, charrettes,
workshops, open houses and public
hearing.Extensive engagement and
communications took place within City of
Calgary Administration throughout the
entire timeline of the project. Engagement
Summary Reports are available at
www.calgary.ca/planit
IMPLEMENTING YOUR PRACTICE
Plan:
Describe the process you went through to implement
the practice. If you used an implementation plan,
please note it here.
Implementation – Describe the process
you went through to implement the
practice.
The Implementation Strategy was
approved by Council in February 2010. An
Implementation Committee was
established to work through immediate
challenges and ensure smooth transition
from policy to action. As a result of this
committee, a 'User Guide' for the MDP
was created to provide answers to
frequently asked questions regarding
interpretation and implementation of the
plan.
In June 2010, the Implementation
Committee was dissolved and a new
ongoing Sustainment Committee was
formed to deal with strategic and detailed
policy and implementation challenges.
The City of Calgary will be implementing
the MDP and CTP over the next 10 years
through:
1.
decisions on land use planning and
transportation investment through the
review of development permits and local
area plans,
2.
immediate implementation priorities
that include new plans, practices,
processes and projects,
3.
aligning the three-year business
plan and budget processes and the 10year infrastructure capital programs, with
the MDP and CTP,
4.
continued communication,
education and engagement with internal
and external stakeholders, including staff,
the development industry, business
groups, community associations, other
special interest groups and the public,
5.
ongoing monitoring and reporting
on the 60-year targets and indicators,
interim targets and related three-year
performance measures.
Policy:
What changes to bylaws, regulations or procedures
were needed to implement this practice and how did
you deal with them?
Please attach a copy of the change in bylaw, policy or
procedure.
The previous MDP Bylaw was revoked
and the new one approved. The Growth
Management framework established in the
MDP is currently being operationalized in
the corporation (City of Calgary).
The CTP was adopted by resolution.
In addition, The User Guide to the
Municipal Development Plan and the
Calgary Transportation Plan describes
changes to the following plans and
procedures:
•
Changes to Local Area Plans
•
Application Approval Process
•
Land Use Amendments
•
Community Design and Outline
Plans
•
When:
When did your municipality begin to use the practice?
Was it implemented all at once or in stages?
Development Permit Applications
The CTP was approved by Council
September 28, 2009 and became effective
immediately.
The Municipal Development Plan was
approved in September, 2009 and became
effective April 1 2010.
Who:
Who was responsible for implementing the practice?
If someone else is responsible for ongoing
management, who is it?
Implementation began as soon as each
plan became effective.
Although a corporate directive intended
the plans to be implemented across the
corporation, the Transportation and
Planning, Development, and Assessment
departments are largely responsible for the
implementation of the plans. The
Implementation and Sustainment
Committee which include key stakeholders
will continue to ensure that the plans
remain current and that issues with
respect to implementation are resolved. In
addition, internally, the Directors
Integrated Growth Committee
(representing several departments) will
continue to work to ensure that work
programs are aligned and growth
management issues are addressed and
integrated across the corporation.
RESOURCES REQUIRED
Budget:
How much did it cost you to design and implement
your practice (i.e. We saved/spent $XX per year)?
What are your ongoing operational and capital costs,
if any?
This long-range planning process has
been taking place over the past four years.
The $6 million investment has included
extensive commissioned, independent
research; lengthy and on-going
consultation with key stakeholders from
the business community and
development/homebuilding industry and
other special interest groups; and
substantial community engagement.
As a result of the new plans and more
compact urban development it is estimated
that The City will have an $11 Billion
savings over the next 60 years.
Ongoing implementation is using existing
resources within the Transportation
Department and Planning, Development
and Assessment Department.
Operational education and training on
application of the new plans is underway
($100K one time).
Staff:
What human resources did you need to design,
implement and manage your practice? (e.g. “It took X
staff member(s) X months on this” or “This is part of
normal staff duties.”)
The original project team consisted of five
transportation planners, four land use
planners, an administrator and a student.
The composition of the team varied over
the course of the project and has now
been dissolved. Staff are now working on
implementing the plan through their
respective business units.
Infrastructure:
What “capital costs” (such as information
technology,other equipment or building assets) did
you need to design, implement, manage, and/or
evaluate your practice?
The integrated MDP and CTP have not
incurred direct capital costs; however, the
plans will be implemented through
operational business plans and budgets,
including the 10-year capital infrastructure
program, which will be developed and
approved through the 2012-2014 business
planning and budget coordination process.
EVALUATING YOUR PRACTICE
Formal:
If you did a formal evaluation (e.g. user satisfaction
survey, analysis of annual expenditures or number of
rate payers served) for your practice, please describe
the evaluation tool and the process used.
Tell us who was involved.
Through the internal and external
engagement processes described and
through the public hearing at Council, a
wide variety of people had the opportunity
to critically evaluate the MDP and CTP.
Over 100 people presented at the public
hearing. A large proportion of these came
out to support the plan. Council
unanimously supported the adoption of the
MDP.
Informal:
If you did an informal evaluation, describe what you
did (such as discussing the practice with people in the
office or on the street, or letters/comments received).
Positive feedback has been received from
various stakeholders and they are
supportive of the on going commitment for
engagement through the Sustainment
Committee and broad public dialogue.
Performance measures:
Please list the performance measures for this practice
(i.e. reduced number of complaints, money saved, or
change in equipment life expectancy.)
The MDP has established 14 indicators
that will be tracked and reported on every
three years. These are:
Please list the process you used for measuring
performance, (i.e. We do annual surveys on…)
examples include:
 collecting data
 establishing a baseline
 applying the measures
 results
 follow up
1.
Urban expansion – per cent of
population growth accommodated within
the developed area
2.
Density – people and jobs per
hectare
3.
Population / jobs balance –
population/jobs east to west and north to
south ratios
4.
Mix Land Use – land use diversity
index
5.
Residential mix – residential
diversity index
6.
Road and Street infrastructure –
roads to streets ratio
7.
Accessibility to primary transit – per
cent of population and jobs within 400 m of
primary transit network
8.
Transit Service – Annual transit
service hours per capita
9.
Goods Access – per cent of
intermodal and warehousing facilities
within 1600 m of Primary Goods
Movement Network
10.
Transportation Mode Split –
Walking/Cycling/Transit/Auto
11.
Accessibility to Daily Needs – per
cent population within Major and
Community Activity Centres and 600m of
Urban and Neighbourhood Corridors
12.
Watershed Health – per cent of
impervious surface
13.
Urban Forest – per cent of tree
canopy
14.
District Energy – Per cent of land
area with densities supportive of district
energy systems
Changes:
(a) Based on the evaluation (formal or informal),
describe any changes you have made, or would like to
make, to your practice as a result. (e.g. “After
implementing this practice, we decided that it would
be better if…”)
-or(b) Has your practice met your expectations and if so,
how?
LESSONS LEARNED / BENEFITS RECEIVED
Benefits:
What are the benefits of this practice to your
municipality? (eg. Preparation of Council agenda
packages now requires less time, etc.)
Through the implementation of the MDP
and CTP, Plan It Calgary will guide the
operation of more than $50 billion worth of
existing infrastructure resources and will
establish guidelines for how tax dollars will
be invested over several decades.
Established a framework for a long term
sustainable city, with environmental,
social, economic and corporate financial
sustainability for future generations.
Key Lessons:
What key lessons have you/your municipality learned
through the process of:
 designing;
 obtaining approval;
 implementing; and
 evaluating your practice?
Include any problems, surprises, and unanticipated
benefits. (e.g. “We realized that we needed to spend
more time…”)
Conducting the research was essential for
identifying and understanding the costs of
Calgary’s growth model: public health;
fiscal health; costs to the environment;
housing affordability
Having a strong education component and
public engagement and awareness was
key. Having outside experts present
issues and possible alternatives regarding
Calgary’s current situation and outlook
was instrumental in identifying the need for
a more sustainable growth model.
Establishing ongoing committees (i.e.
Implementation and Sustainment
Committees) are useful to allow plans to
proceed, yet recognizing continued
discussions to occur. These committees,
however, should have a very clear
mandate and terms of reference.
Although public opinion surveys can be
expensive, they enable a deeper
understanding of the values and attitudes
of citizens towards specific issues and
provide a statistically sound basis for
evaluating alternatives.They are also
helpful in balancing the perspectives of
special interest groups who may
participate heavily in the public hearing
process.
Having quantitative targets to support
qualitative statements provide direction,
yet allow flexibility to be achieved.
Don't under estimate the public's drive for
change.
Advice to Municipal Peers:
What advice would you give to another municipality
that is considering adopting your practice? Is there
anything you might have done differently?
Bring your Council, citizens, and
stakeholders along slowly and through
frequent report backs, public engagement
sessions, etc. This builds buy-in along the
way and allows frequent course
corrections to help build consensus and
support.
The development of a comprehensive
internal training and education program for
staff (and for engaged members of the
public) is key. Don’t underestimate how
much time and effort this will take. The
City has nearly completed several
eLearning modules and continues to meet
on a regular basis to ensure consistency of
interpretation.
Coordinating the roll out of numerous new
initiatives that are linked needs to be well
thought out. This ensures alignment of
interdependent implementation strategies
and coordination of communications and
engagement with internal and external
stakeholders.
PRACTICE UPDATES
New Information:
There may be some new information to add since this
practice was first posted. This is especially true if:
 a new process has been implemented in your
municipality;
 there are new practice evaluation results; or
 there has been a change affecting organizational
direction. For example, explain how new economic
conditions or a new vision/strategy affect the
practice.
Please indicate those changes here. Don't forget to list
any new documents that may be useful to your peers.
Then go to "Other Information" to attach the new
documents.
OTHER INFORMATION
Suggestions:
Please list relevant information sources that others
might use or you would be willing to share (courses,
Web sites, literature, experts).
Documents & Attachments:
Please list any documents you would be willing to
share with others interested in your practice (e.g. a
bylaw, a policy, approval documents, templates).
* Note: Most documents can be electronically
attached to your practice in the MEnet database. If
only a paper version of your document is available,
please send it with your completed Practice Collection
Form. We will scan it and attach it.
All the Plan It Calgary documents,
research, and public engagement reports
are available for download at
www.calgary.ca/planit and include:
Engagement Findings
•
2007, Telephone Survey and
Workbook Questionnaire Results
•
February 2008, Focus Group
Results (Weaver)
•
March 2008, 17 Avenue SE
Charrette report
•
June 2008, Summary of Feedback
on Key Directions from the Federation of
Calgary Communities (FCC) Workshops
•
July 2008, On-line stakeholder and
public feedback on The Consultation
Paper- Towards a sustainable city: key
directions for land use and mobility
•
February 2009, Citizen Public
Opinion Survey on the Key Directions for
Land Use and Mobility- Results (Ipsos
Reid)
Plan It Calgary Research
•
A Context for Change Management
in the Calgary Regional Partnership Area
•
Research Backgrounder Housing
Affordability and Smart Growth in Calgary
Report
•
Housing Affordability and Smart
Growth in Calgary Report
•
Greenfield Case Study Charrette
•
The Built Environment and Health
and Wellness
•
Green Infrastructure in Calgary's
Mobility Corridors
•
Recommended Direction for Citywide Commercial / Retail Policy
•
Local Transportation Connectivity
•
Energy Mapping Study
•
Plan It Calgary Cost Study Analysis
April 3, 2009
Plan It Calgary Publications
•
Introduction, background and
methodology of the MDP and CTP
•
Plan It Calgary Sustainability
Principles
•
Where do we grow from here?
workbook
•
Towards a sustainable city: The
case for change
•
Towards a sustainable city: key
directions for land use and mobility
Consultation paper (complete)
•
Plan It Calgary Key Directions for
Land Use and Mobility Paper
Nominations:
Do you have any suggestions of other individuals or
municipalities with municipal practices that we should
add to the Municipal Excellence network? Please list
their practice, municipality, and contact information.
Or, e-mail menet@gov.ab.ca and let us know about a
municipal colleague that has a really good way of
doing things.
COMMENTS
Have we missed something; anything you’d like to
add to the areas we have touched on, or an area we
have not mentioned?
Thank you for your contribution to the Municipal Excellence network. Please return
this form as soon as you are able.