In our PSMA Panel Discussion this week with Dale Bracewell , Emilie K. Adin, Edward Porter and Nola Kilmartin, we focussed on how consultants can better serve local governments in developing clearly articulated plans in response to the new Transit Oriented Area (TOA) Legislation in British Columbia.
Very inspired by the outcomes of needing to find shared space to explore tradeoffs and synergies to deliver affordable housing, climate resilient design, and vital public amenities commensurate with increased density around transit. We identified the need for consultants to support local governments to establish clearly articulated urban design visions and plans at neighbourhood and district scales to provide certainty and flexibility for developers, supported by the timely delivery of localized amenities. This approach can significantly reduce speculation in the face of non-specific planning policies that normally drive up the price of land, increases approval timelines and endure costly negotiations.
Providing detailed plans that clearly articulate locations for parks, greenways, active transportation networks, schools, daycares and community amenities, green infrastructure, land use mix, and built form and density is a vital step to empowering local planners, citizens and developers to embrace a common vision and goals, essential for the delivery of cohesive development in a timely fashion. This is particularly important now that local governments will need to approve projects well in advance of requesting Amenity Cost Contributions (ACC’s) that are enacted much later in the project at Building Permit. This puts even more of an impetus on local governments to have clearly laid out plans before approving projects, with a clear understanding by local planners, developers and citizens on what the anticipated costs and benefits will be.
Cities and Municipalities who have the vision to invest in the resources needed to create visionary plans and implementation strategies can benefit immensely with valuable resources channeled into the timely delivery of amenity rich and well designed communities - resources that would otherwise be diminished though extended development timelines mired in uncertainty and costly negotiations.
Once clearly articulated plans are established, the total cost of public amenities, affordable housing, climate adaptive infrastructure, parks etc. can be calculated and applied to development in the form of development cost charges (DCC’s), amenity cost charges (ACC’s) during application AND more effectively, could be inflation-indexed valuations affixed to all properties that are paid to local governments at the time of purchase, thereby putting downward pressure on speculative land valuations at sale, and enabling the delivery of amenities in advance. Start with a plan and everyone wins!
