Lower Twelfth Street Area Plan

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Implementing the Lower Twelfth Street Area Plan
Going Beyond an Area Plan

John Hopkins, MCIP City of New
Westminster Michael von Hausen, MCIP MVH Urban
Planning Design Inc.
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Session Outline

• What is Implementation?
• Case Study
• Lower Twelfth Street Area Plan
• Learning Tools
• Implementation Checklist
• Sharing Your Experiences
• Discussion

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About Implementation

• To put into effect carry out.
• Websters II New Riverside Desk Dictionary,
  Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1988.

Plan implementation is a continuous
process. Hodge, Gerald Planning Canadian
Communities, Nelson, Scarborough, 1998.
"Action!"
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About Implementation
It was a successful operation
but regrettably the patient died
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Why Doesnt It Get Done?

• Lack of clear vision and goals
• Incomplete process that did not plan through to
  completion
• Exclusion strengthens the power of the excluded
• Lack of genuine dialogue to lead to meaningful
  results
• Lack of accountability and commitment at all
  levels

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Lower 12th Street Area
Lower Twelfth Street Area
Downtown
Queensborough
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Why do a Plan?

• Area is undergoing significant redevelopment
  pressures
• Need to understand the demand on services and
  amenities (e.g. commercial uses, parks and open
  space, higher quality public realm)
• Area is designated to accommodate additional
  housing and population growth in order to meet
  growth targets established in the GVRDs
  Strategic Plan.
• Need to connect the area with the surrounding
  community
• Need a strategy to overcome some of the area
  challenges

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Objectives of the Plan

• Guide future development and City involvement in
  the area
• Inform and update the Citys Official Community
  Plan
• Determine future land uses
• Ensure improved transportation connections
• Enhance the quality of the natural and built
  environment
• Prepare an Implementation Strategy

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Foundation of Plan

• Social Physical Analysis
• Economic Analysis Overview
• Land Use Trends Development Opportunities
• Market Based Land Use Scenarios
• Development Potential
• Growth Allocation Population

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The Plan A Summary

• Transform to a predominantly residential area
  while accommodating existing uses in the interim
• Will take up to 20 years for full redevelopment
• Anticipates population growth in the range of
  3,600 to 4,900 people

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What makes this Plan different?

• Interactive planning process
• Plan is grounded in reality Integration of real
  estate economics, urban design and planning
  policy
• Exciting and easy to read format with a visual
  executive summary
• Physical vision action plan is up front
  Realistic and prescriptive
• Specific implementation plan

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Planning Process

• Resource Working Group
• Walking Tour
• Community Workshops
• Design Charrette
• Public Open Houses

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Integration
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Up-front Vision
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Implementation Action Plan

• Estimate the costs and components of the Twelfth
  Street improvements
• Integrate the improvement costs into an updated
  DCC Bylaw or a Special Area Levy
• For major projects, require a local
  transportation study
• Refine the Design Guidelines
• Encourage higher densities in the southern part
  of the study area and maintain public view
  corridors
• Create density bonus incentives to develop or pay
  for necessary amenities and services
• Convert the Gas Works building into a community
  node
• Create an expeditious approval process for
  applications that fulfill the design guidelines
  and public amenity contributions
• Investigate the feasibility of a pedestrian
  bridge at Third Ave. Stewardson Way
• Enhance pedestrian linkages to surrounding areas

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Where are we now?

• April 2004 Council received plan
• Summer 2004 MVH retained to estimate the costs
  and components of the Twelfth Street improvements
• Dec. 2004 Council adopted plan
• Early 2005 Liaising with the Province on the
  Gas Works building
• Summer 2005 Established DCCs City-wide
• Summer 2005 Establishing density bonus
  incentives
• Late 2005 Preparation of Design Guidelines

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Implementation Challenges

• Private Sector
• Market changes
• Awaiting first development
• Some landowners not ready
• Public Sector
• Changing priorities commitments
• Staff continuity

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Lessons Learned

• When Preparing a Plan
• Start with the end in mind
• Get early citizen and political buy-in
• Know your audience Develop an accessible and
  easy to read Plan
• Ensure the vision is clear and easily understood
• Establish a team of champions to implement and
  coordinate the Plan

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Implementation Checklist

• VISION Where do we want to be at the end of the
  project?
• Vision
• Goals/Targets
• Principles

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Implementation Checklist

• OWNERSHIP How do we develop support for the
  project in the short and long term?
• Stakeholders
• Involvement
• Recognition
• Partnerships

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Implementation Checklist

• ORGANIZATION How do we organize the people and
  resources to get the right job done?
• Terms of Reference
• Key Players
• Efficient Group Organization
• Connection to Power Sources
• Alliances

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Implementation Checklist

• RESOURCES Who and what is available uniquely
  suited to our strategy or how do we position
  ourselves to fit various support structures?
• People
• Funds
• Partners

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Implementation Checklist

• TOOLS What incentives and methods can we use to
  promote the plan?
• Regulatory
• Funding
• Management
• Communication

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Implementation Checklist

• EVALUATION How did we do and what do we
  measure/when?
• Vision
• Performance
• Changes

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About Big and Small Plans

• Make no small plans they have no magic to stir
  mens blood and probably themselves will not be
  realized. Make big plans aim high in hope and
  work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram
  once recorded will never die, but long after we
  are gone will be a living thing, asserting itself
  with ever-growing insistency
• - Daniel Burnham, Plan for Chicago, Burnham
  Bennett, The Commercial Club of Chicago, 1909.

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Your Experiences