St. Catharines Downtown Association

The policy planners for the City of St. Catharines are set to roll out the city's new Official Plan — their blueprint for making the city the kind of place people are proud of, a place that people want to call home.

After three years of consultation, research and writing — and accusations from their wives that they've spent so much time together they could be having an affair — Tapp and Bellows will be hosting a series of open houses and public meetings starting this week.

It's the public's first chance to look at the document that will guide the city into the future.

And people shouldn't be fooled into thinking it won't affect them, Bellows said.

Everyone should be checking out the plan online, getting a copy from city hall or looking it up at the library, he said, and finding out what's in store for their neighbourhood.

Tapp said what's different about this Official Plan from the one that's been in place since the 1980s is its emphasis on sustainability.

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Read it

Copies of the draft Garden City Plan are available in the planning department at City Hall, at the St. Catharines Public Library, and online at www.stcatharines.ca. Click on Quick Links and scroll down to Official Plan.

 

Understand it

The new Garden City Plan is based on sustainability. According to the plan, a sustainable community is one that:

• respects and embraces its heritage to create a sense of identity and pride

• provides choices and opportunities for employment, housing, transportation, social and recreational amenities

• protects and enhances its natural areas and processes

• makes efficient use of its infrastructure by encouraging a compact, mixed-use, walkable and connected community

• has a vibrant downtown and welcoming, attractive public places

• conserves its landscapes, open space and agricultural areas

• provides access and opportunity to the decision-making process

 

Learn more about it and provide your input

St. Catharines policy planners Bruce Bellows and Rick Tapp are set to roll out their draft of the city's new Official Plan at a series of open houses and public meetings, starting next week.

The two men, who were famously quoted two years ago as saying St. Catharines is broken, are ready to unveil their plans for how to fix it and to seek public input on their ideas.

Events are scheduled for:

• Feb. 10, Open House, 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. City Hall Committee Room 1, 50 Church St.

• Feb. 16, Presentation and public meeting, 7 to 9 p.m., City Hall Council Chambers, 50 Church St.

• Feb. 17, Presentation and public meeting, 7 to 9 p.m. Grantham Lions Club, 732 Niagara St.

• Feb. 23, Presentation and public meeting, 7 to 9 p.m., Westdale School, 130 Rykert St.

• Feb. 24, Presentation and public meeting, 7 to 9 p.m., Woodland School, 1511 Seventh St.

• Feb. 25, Presentation and public meeting, 7 to 9 p.m., Briardale School, 1-A Caroline St.

• Mar. 2, Presentation and public meeting, 7 to 9 p.m., Merritton Community Centre, 7 Park St.

• Mar. 4, Presentation and public meeting, 7 to 9 p.m., Sheridan Park School, 114 Linwell Rd.

Please see full story in The St. Catharines Standard at:

http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2439108