Local Planning Services Review Stantec Report 2007

Extracted text (beginning)

Stantec Consulting Ltd.
1100 - 111 Dunsmuir Street
Vancouver, BC  V6B 6A3
Phone: (604) 696-8209  
Project No. 116922600
Mar 23
2007
ISLANDS TRUST  
LOCAL PLANNING SERVICES REVIEW

 Report to the Islands Trust 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1.      Introduction      
The Islands Trust’s Local Planning Services (LPS) is responsible for the delivery 
of local planning services to twelve Local Trust Committees.  These services are 
delivered to a large geographic area that includes about 25,366 people.  The 
planning unit has grown and evolved since the Islands Trust was established in 
1974.  The planning unit is now primarily organized on a geographic basis and 
operates through three offices:  Gabriola, Salt Spring, and Victoria.   
Local Planning Services Review   
There have been concerns about the effectiveness of LPS from a variety of 
perspectives.  The Islands Trust engaged Stantec to provide an independent, 
third party review.  The Terms of Reference for the assignment also suggested 
numerous specific issues that have been raised by trustees, staff, and external 
interests.   
While the geography and governance structure of the Islands Trust complicates 
how planning is done in the Islands Trust, the planning function could be better 
organized and managed to more effectively respond to its unique challenges and 
to clarify its role in providing planning service to the Local Trust Committees.   
2.      Process      
The consultant reviewed the legislative framework, reviewed some of the 
planning documents (the Policy Statement, various OCPs and land use bylaws), 
and interviewed almost all of the Trustees, the Chief Administrative Officer, the 
planning staff, other members of the administrative unit, and staff from the 
Islands Trust Fund.  Some outside stakeholders (such as landowners, applicants, 
lawyers, former employees, and consultants) were interviewed.   
We also looked at other background material such as application statistics and 
other management reviews, including a staff survey from 2005.  Concurrently 
with this review of LPS, Stantec reviewed four specific applications that led to a 
better understanding of processes of the Islands Trust.   
We’d like to thank all those who contributed helpful commentary and 
suggestions.   
3.      Objective      
A more effective planning regime should allow the Islands Trust to not only meet 
its day to day responsibilities for development review and customer service, but 
should also allow the Islands Trust to meet its overall mandate to preserve and 
protect through more effective community planning.  These are inter-connected:  
one commentator said that building an effective process for dealing with 
development applications will engender more community support of the overall 
planning initiatives of the Islands Trust.  One is used to implement the other.   
If ‘political’ decisions are made (such as having an office in a certain location to 
provide a presence) as opposed to decisions to in

First 3,000 characters. Open the original for the whole document.