SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS FROM PUBLIC OPINIONS EXPRESSED DURING THE MUNICIPAL PLAN REVIEW PUBLIC CONSULTATION SESSIONS

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1 SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS FROM PUBLIC OPINIONS EXPRESSED DURING THE MUNICIPAL PLAN REVIEW PUBLIC CONSULTATION SESSIONS

2 Page 1 SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS FROM PUBLIC OPINIONS EXPRESSED DURING THE MUNICIPAL PLAN REVIEW PUBLIC CONSULTATION SESSIONS SUMMARY OF COMMUNITY TOPICS OF INTEREST COMING OUT OF THE PUBLIC CONSULTATIONS: Consider a number of planning provisions, including suitable housing, for an ageing population. Concern over urban sprawl and the creation of serviced/unserviced development in rural areas. Increased connectivity within the city through new roads that connect different residential areas, increased sidewalks, more bike lanes, increased public transit. Look at the creation of encouraging more adequate local neighbourhood amenities and facilities when creating new subdivisions this helps to facilitate more sense of community for residents. Creation of more affordable housing options. Revival of the urban forest and green/open space. A need for higher density development and mixed use development. Sustainability of the natural environment; watershed, lakes/rivers, agricultural land, etc. Work towards a downtown which is easier to access; the provision of more public transit routes throughout and parking spaces/lots on the outside to reduce automobile traffic within the core. Encourage a downtown which is more diverse and affordable for everyone to live, to work and to play; creating a sustainable downtown is key. Importance of maintaining the heritage character throughout the City with particular emphasis on the downtown. A city wide vision for St. John s which we believe in and follow. MAYOR S SYMPOSIUM: St. John s City Hall February 25, 2012, Approximately 100 attendees Question 1: How can quality of life in the City of St. John s be improved? More green-space, neighbourhood parks, walking trails and recreation areas. Better accessibility to amenities within neighbourhoods. Increased and better public transit. Increased walkability and pedestrian accessibility through more sidewalks and laneways. Preservation of the City s heritage. More mixed use neighbourhoods.

3 Page 2 Question 2: When you think about where you live, what land uses would you like to see in your neighbourhood? Local conveniences within walking distance and better connectivity of neighbourhoods. Increase in neighbourhood green space, walking trails, sidewalks and recreation areas. More options and opportunities for affordable housing. Mixture of residential and commercial mix use development. Better controls for the heritage areas of the City. Question 3: How can we encourage more affordable housing to be built within the City? Mandate inclusion of affordable housing in new and existing development. Increase access to affordable land for housing. Set a benchmark on what affordable housing is. Offer tax breaks and incentives for building or improvement of affordable housing. Create higher density to lower cost options (ie. apartment complex). Develop plans and strategies for affordable housing. Provide government subsidies for affordable housing. Encourage public/private partnerships for affordable housing. Question 4: What should the City consider when planning for an ageing population? Improve public transit (eg. accessibility). Walkable neighbourhoods and accessible sidewalks. Multi-use centres for seniors. Taxation based on income. Use senior s expertise and knowledge. Increase health infrastructure for seniors. Improve snow clearing/removal. Create affordable housing for seniors. Question 5: How should the City ensure the integrity of our Heritage Areas while encouraging new development? Subsidies for owners to maintain heritage properties. Creating a strong vision for downtown. Redevelopment and preservation of existing heritage buildings. Defining heritage. Regulations, guidelines and grants for heritage areas. Preservation of viewscapes (limiting of height of buildings). Need for good design and architecture. Place larger structures outside of downtown areas. Reducing heritage area. Question 6: How would you balance development with environmental sustainability? Creation of community and rooftop gardens. Protection of watersheds and wetlands. Enhanced mandatory recycling.

4 Page 3 More environmental regulations and building standards. Maintain a balance between development and environmental sustainability. More green space and parks. Agricultural land must be preserved. Encourage walking oriented city. Improve public transit. WARD MEETINGS: Ward 1 20 attendees Pleasantville Legion, May 23, 2012 Traffic concerns in Quidi Vidi based on narrow streets and use of the village as a through way. Radio Range Road and the impact the Airport expansion will have on property owners. Concern at some perceived ill-matched uses in some areas of the city, (Stavanger Drive). Pleasantville: prime opportunity to make new development a neighbourhood. Need to better promote and improve the public transit system. Provide more local neighbourhood amenities. More sidewalks and cycling paths; focus on how people move, not just vehicles. Need a better connection between the Municipal Plan and the Development Regulations; a document which is user friendly, provides checks and balances system to monitor development being approved, and a document which upholds the vision of its residents. Ageing population in the city and we need to become an age friendly city; housing and accessibility. Ward 2 26 attendees St. John s City Hall, May 9, 2012 Develop and maintain a balance between urban sprawl and density; encourage development by increasing height (west end) but not at the expense of views. Improve transportation alternatives. Development plans need to be flexible, the vision for the city needs to be firm. Explore ways to draw people into the downtown; parking problems are detrimental. Promote development in clusters which is all-inclusive community living with amenities. Green spaces are vital component of new and existing development; smaller spaces need to be developed along with the larger parks and should consider a ratio of green space to households to guide development. Approval for parking garages in the downtown should not create grey dead zones for pedestrians. Make streetscapes more aesthetically pleasing. Lack of parking is a detriment to smaller businesses in the downtown. Ward 3 9 attendees Corpus Christi Church Hall, May 30, 2012 Concerns about potential flooding and upstream development.

5 Page 4 Transportation issues; park and ride programs to encourage better use of public transportation. Aging demographics, therefore there are different lifestyle requirements. Preserve as much of the existing green space and trees when developing new subdivisions. Urban forests need to be preserved and enhanced. Pay attention to the preservation of older areas from a historic standpoint; preserve what is unique. Importance of the watershed; potential concerns over development above the 190 metre contour elevation. Neighbourhood plans which have design guidelines; define urban design at the site level and building level in terms of setbacks and footprints which will assist in preserving the streetscape. Ward 4 25 attendees Roncalli Elementary School, May 24, 2012 Create an attractive gateway for tourists arriving at the airport. Preservation of green space/trees or mandatory tree planting or greenbelts. Debate between local amenities or big box stores being more consistent with neighbourhood needs. Sidewalks and routes out of the neighbourhood which are cyclist and walk friendly. Ageing population therefore need to be mindful of providing services to those; variety of housing and financial ability - plan for people in different stages of life. Where there is a traffic study commissioned, there should be a pedestrian study to match. Create mixed use areas like Churchill Square; no spot rezoning within these neighbouhoods. Water runoff and flooding caused from excess development; impact of the 190m contour. Alternative transportation methods need to be provided. Before subdivisions are approved, a list of amenities should be put in place to facilitate the sense of neighbourhood and community. Ward 5 18 attendees (Goulds/Kilbride/Fowlers s Road) St. Kevin s High School, May 16, 2012 Development of larger, unserviced lots (1/2 acre) as opposed to allowing higher density subdivisions; later comment argued that due to insufficient groundwater to support such development unserviced lots should not be allowed and extension of infrastructure to accommodate low density sprawl would be wasteful of tax payer s dollars. Sidewalks and other amenities like green space are needed; trail systems and recreational facilities. Preservation and protection of pond and rivers. Preservation of agricultural land. Mixed use development within the area.

6 Page 5 Ward 5 3 attendees (Southlands) Glendenning Golf Course, May 22, 2012 Lack of amenities within the community; have to access everything outside of Southlands. More space could be set aside for green space; require a recreational facility. Mixed use development was not overly accepted for the area; development of a commercial grocery store for local amenities. Ward 5 26 attendees (Shea Heights) Shea Heights Community Centre, May 31, 2012 Feel there is a need for sidewalks within the community. Require more recreational space; playgrounds, walking trails. Increase in residential development through better/increased infrastructure and rezoning of land or consider permitting the development of unserviced building lots. KEY AREA MEETINGS: Georgestown 30 attendees The Lantern, May 14, 2012 Comprehensive plan specific to their local needs to alleviate a loss of diversity in the area s demographics and architecture, and controlling piecemeal development from occurring. Better provision of services within the area; sidewalks, commercial uses, schools, gathering places, public transit. Concerns with on street parking and traffic congestion in both commercial locations and due to increased density of apartments in the area; increase overall number of available parking spaces for residents. Make public space more useable; parks. Protect the built heritage of the city and neighbourhood. The Narrows 21 attendees St. John s City Hall, May 10, 2012 Request a planning area development scheme specific to the Narrows, as it is the iconic entrance to St. John s Harbor; develop a common vision for this area; identify the tools and mechanisms required to preserve character defining elements of the community; develop guidelines for future development. Three important planning principles of the area include: local usage and access, heritage and tourism. Traffic, safety and parking need to be addressed. Use careful judgment with the historic nature of this area.

7 Page 6 AFFORDABLE HOUSING SESSION: The Battery Hotel, May 29, 2012, Approximately 20 attendees Specific zone designated for affordable housing developments; City needs to identify appropriate locations for such developments. More flexible development regulations in order to encourage more types of affordable housing options, which have a more appealing design. Look at the potential for student/senior housing. Overall land cost is prohibitive to affordable housing. Lot sizes need to be decreased and density needs to be increased for affordable housing to be developed. DOWNTOWN FORUM: St. John s City Hall, June 19, 2012, Approximately 95 attendees Question 1: How do you access the Downtown? Does the City need to improve access, and if so, how? Getting into the Downtown is easy, but the biggest issue is getting around the Downtown. The one message we wanted to say is people before cars Walk downtown and drive but we also talked about bicycle lanes. Parking and parking facilities should be situated on the outskirts of Downtown. Regional transit must be encouraged. A rapid transit system for getting quickly to both ends of downtown. More public transit, i.e. more buses, more routes and a loop system for buses downtown. More access points into the downtown are required. Weather is an influencing factor in the transportation options we choose as well as the geography in the downtown. To have parking garages become part of the street scape is disconcerting and actually destroys any character in the Downtown; The street level should consist of live retail or commercial uses rather than dead parking facilities. Needs to be more recognition and promotion of the Harbourfront. Question 2: How do you think heritage and new development should be balanced within the Downtown? What should Downtown look like in 10 years? Brightly colored houses are essential and should be continued. Like to see the old buildings used before new buildings are built (i.e. vacant dilapidated buildings should be renovated first). Heritage should not be separated into areas. Proliferation of power lines in the old historic downtown are a nuisance and an eyesore. New development should uphold heritage guidelines, i.e. regulations of color, streetscape, etc. Allow development to occur in the rear of a building while maintaining a heritage streetscape. Mandate new development to have mixed uses with retail at the street level.

8 Page 7 Would like to see façade of heritage downtown retained but have the option to have modern architecture behind façade. Cohesiveness of areas and neighbourhood plans which appropriately incorporate new development. The idea of creating new heritage for tomorrow should be considered. There is room for new architecture that reflects our culture without having to resort to cookie cutter modern buildings. Urban design that makes use of contemporary design in the context of heritage buildings. Keep the human scale and be people friendly. High rise development should take place outside the downtown and west of Waldegrave. Question 3: What is your vision for Downtown? Increase human aspect of downtown and emphasize the residential component New buildings should be accessible for living, working and shopping. Arts and entertainment needs to be supported and have more family friendly downtown. Downtown is becoming a little too exclusive (gentrified) and needs to be more inclusive and focus on affordability and less dominance of office space which is not sustainable or healthy. Parking will change façade of Downtown and will not be attractive for residents or tourists alike. Make sure new buildings look good from the inside and out and from all angles as these decisions that have long-term impacts. Visual maintain view planes and low rise structures. Want to see the south side of harbor integrated into downtown through regular shuttles across the water. Take offshore development operations over to Freshwater Bay. Right now we are reactive, but not proactive in our vision. Create a town in which the historic scale of downtown is maintained. More green space and more benches downtown. Want to hang on to uniqueness of downtown we have a cultural look and feel that needs to be maintained and balanced with need to progress. Shared vision for a vibrant cultural city. East/west terminus and service with a trollies or trams which would be great benefit to spread out across town.