City of Saint John - Insight April 2011

SAINT JOHN

InSight

www.saintjohn.ca

InSideOur Changing Skyline •

PlanSJ Phase One Complete • 2011 Service-Based Budget •

Aussi disponible en français. Composez le 649-6008.

Volume 2, Issue 1

InSight All Right In October 2010, Ipsos Reid, an international polling firm, undertook another Citizen Satisfaction Survey.

One of the survey questions asked citizens their perceptions of InSight magazine. Citizens were asked if they recalled receiving the publication. Recall of the magazine was quite high – six-in-ten citizens recalled having received the magazine within the past year. Residents in all wards and across demographic subgroups had a high level of recall receiving the magazine. However, older residents, residents that pay taxes and residents who own their homes were more likely than others to recall reading or seeing the magazine in the past year.

You’re InSightWelcome to the April 2011 issue of InSight, the official magazine of the City of Saint John.

Saint John residents will have already received their property tax bills. Property tax revenue makes up most of the City’s budget. Find out how the City will spend the money to deliver its transportation program, and how it ties into the Community Vision.

Where will Saint John develop in the next 25 years? Since January of 2010, a 13-member Citizen Advisory Committee, community stakeholders and hundreds of citizens have helped advise staff from the City and Urban Strategies, a Toronto-based urban planning consultancy, throughout PlanSJ – the process to develop a new Municipal Plan. On March 14, 2011, Common Council endorsed the Growth Strategy. InSight takes a look at phase one of the PlanSJ process.

InSight is published three times a year to provide you, our citizens, with in-depth information about City services, policies and initiatives. More than 40,000 copies of each issue are distributed – enough for each household and business in Saint John. InSight is also available online at www.saintjohn.ca.

InSight has been printed with soy-based vegetable ink on Enviro 100 paper (made from 100% post consumer waste).

Please recycle InSight or pass it along when you are finished.

Our Changing SkylineThe skyline along the City’s waterfront will be changing. In January, the City of Saint John reached an agreement of purchase and sale with Fisheries and Oceans Canada for a piece of harbour front property on Water Street in the City Centre known as the “Coast Guard Site.” The property will be acquired in two phases – phase one in January 2011 ($832,000) and phase two ($1,967,000) 18 months later. The sale also includes all buildings on the property.

Acting on behalf of the City of Saint John, Saint John Waterfront Development (SJWD) negotiated the acquisition. Saint John Common Council has instructed SJWD to continue to manage the phased development of the site.

Over the past several months, SJWD has been working with the Hardman Group, the developer of the site.

The development is consistent with the Growth Strategy endorsed by Council in March. The development will include significant public access to the waterfront; access for the community to the waterfront and a revitalized urban core have been identified as priorities throughout the PlanSJ process. Work on the site is expected to begin later this year.

www.saintjohn.ca

Among those residents who recalled the magazine, Saint John InSight, perceptions of the magazine were generally positive, with 65% giving it a positive rating overall (excellent, very good or good). Very few residents were of the opinion Saint John InSight magazine was a poor source of information about the City of Saint John.

Complete details of the Citizen Satisfaction Survey are available online at www.saintjohn.ca. InSight is also available online.

72,850invitations to engagement events were sent

presentations were given to community groups

people visited the PlanSJ Storefront

people are PlanSJ Facebook fans

number of people attending public events

Citizen Advisory Committee meetings

Common Council updates/meetings

people signed up for the PlanSJ contact/distibution list (approx.)

copies of “InSight” magazine (the City’s official publication) featuring PlanSJ were distributed

developers and landowners attended a targeted focus group

youth workshops

youth attended

hits weekly to the PlanSJ website

more than

written comments received on PlanSJ

interviews representing

stakeholder groups

editions of PlanSJ newsletter distributed

Engagement by the numbers for the calendar year 2010

Phase One of PlanSJ CompleteThe PlanSJ Team, including City staff, our consultants, the 13-member Citizen Advisory Committee and hundreds of citizens have worked throughout 2010 to create a Growth Strategy – phase one of the municipal plan process. The Growth Strategy will determine where development will occur over the next 25 years.

Engagement by the numbers (for the calendar year 2010)

www.saintjohn.ca

The Growth Strategy was endorsed by Common Council on March 14, 2011, as the basis for Saint John’s Municipal Plan. Council will also begin to use the Growth Strategy as an important input as it makes decisions about future development and municipal spending. The Growth Strategy includes a set of directions for growth and change, a vision of what Saint John could look like in 25 years, and a map directing most new residential, commercial and industrial growth to targeted areas within the urban and suburban core of the City where infrastructure already exists.

The Growth Strategy describes a future for Saint John that intentionally moves away from recent patterns of urban and rural sprawl. It focuses future development and investment in areas with existing services rather than extending water and sewer services and constructing new roads for development in outlying areas. Targeting growth and investment in established neighbourhoods will result in a more compact and walkable community and over time an improved quality of life for all Saint Johners.

Municipal investments in targeted communities could include improvements to active transportation and transit routes, parks, green spaces, and recreational facilities, and incentives to encourage private investment. The Growth Strategy also aims to make targeted areas more “complete communities” by promoting a greater mix of compatible uses that better connect people to where they live, work, shop and play on a daily basis.

The Growth Strategy provides the framework for the Municipal Plan and provides direction for our next 25 years.

• Previous work – the Community Vision, Integrated Community Sustainability Plan

• Extensive community engagement – public events, PlanSJ Storefront, Facebook, e-mail, videos, and targeted youth and stakeholders focus groups

• Comprehensive technical research

• Population and employment forecasts

• An understanding of our urban structure

• Fiscal impact analysis

• Best practices in urban planning, sustainable development and building complete communities

The Growth Strategy was based on:

The Growth Strategy contains a number of essential elements, including:

• The Primary Development Area where most of Saint John’s future development will take place. The Primary Development Area boundary generally outlines the extent of existing municipal water and sewer services;

• Natural and Rural Areas, which will mostly be protected from further development and will not have water or sewer services provided;

• Areas of Stability or Minor Change, which cover Saint John’s healthy neighbourhoods that are expected to evolve and grow, but not to experience major change; and

• Employment Opportunity Areas and Residential Opportunity Areas located within the Primary Development Area. These Opportunity Areas have the capacity for significant change and are in locations that will benefit from investment through new development. Over the next 25 years, residential development in the City will be allocated as follows:

• 45% in the Urban Opportunity Areas

• 40% in the Suburban Opportunity Areas

• 10% spread throughout the city in healthy neighbourhoods and through renovation and re-use of existing buildings

• 5% in the Rural Settlement Areas

www.saintjohn.ca

Next StepsThe second phase of PlanSJ, the writing of the Municipal Plan, is now underway. The Municipal Plan policies will be built upon:

• The Growth Strategy and background research

• Continuing public engagement

• Best practices in urban planning

The Municipal Plan will be presented to Council for adoption in the fall/winter of 2011, after another public consultation to be held in June of this year. Council will also hold a public hearing in the fall of 2011 before final adoption of the Municipal Plan.

Together, the Growth Strategy and Municipal Plan will provide clear guidance for land use decisions in the city over the next 25 years. This will develop a stronger city with more complete communities where Saint Johners will live, work, play and learn, and enjoy an enhanced quality of life. The Municipal Plan is required by the provincial Community Planning Act and will be advertised and adopted according to the Province’s regulatory requirements.

Get involved in writing the City’s new Municipal Plan by attending the Putting the Plan on Paper public Workshop.

Thursday, April 14th, 5:30-9:30 pmBarnhill Memorial School750 Manawagonish Road

Council has endorsed the Growth Strategy as the framework for the Municipal Plans; now it’s time to put the plan on paper! Workshop sessions will discuss various policy topics related to how we achieve the goals of Saint John’s Growth Strategy as part of the new Municipal Plan. This is a free event, but we ask that you register for the Workshop by Monday, April 11th at [email protected], 635-2000 or at the PlanSJ Storefront in Brunswick Square.

For more information: www.saintjohn.ca/plansj

Putting the Plan on Paper

Somm

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(15 minutes)

Universit

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Somerset St

Union St

Broad St

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Wat

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St W

Manaw

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Ocean

Wes

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Fairvill

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Manchester Ave

Prin

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Roth

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Wes

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land

Rd

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sley

Dr

Dou

glas

Ave

Loch Lomond Rd

McAllister Dr

Loch Lomond Rd

St Martins Rd

Hwy 111

Latimer Lake Rd

Hickey Rd

Foster Thurston Dr

Millidge Ave.

Main St. W

Sam

uel D

avis

Dr.

Lancaster St.

Market Pl.

Lorneville Rd.

Main St.

Gau

lt R

oad

Pipelin

e Rd

Golden Grove Rd

Grandview Avenue

Champlain Dr

Woodward Ave

Boars Head Rd

Kin

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Bayside D

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Rockwood Park

Rou

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UNBSJ PlateauUniversity

Avenue Corridor

The Uptown

Waterloo Village

The North EndCrescent Valley

Lower West Side

Fairville Place

Fairville Corridor

McAllister Retail Centre

McAllister Industrial

Monte Cristo/Gault Rd

Forest Hills/LakewoodMillidgeville Centre

North Retail & Commercial Node

Martinon to Ketepec

Spruce Lake Industrial

Lorneville

Treadwell Lake

Saint John Airport

Saint John Port

The South End

Places to Work & Shop

Regional Retail: Note: McAllister Retail Centre subject to further stormwater study

North Retail & Commercial Node:

Uptown Mixed Use/Office/Institutional:

UNBSJ Plateau Mixed Use/Office/Institutional:

Industrial:

Places to LiveUrban Opportunity Areas:

Suburban Opportunity Areas:

Rural Settlement Areas:

LegendPrimary Development Area boundary

Saint John Airport

Saint John Port Authority

Federal Jurisdiction Transportation Lands yalrevO

Areas of Stability or Minor Change - Suburban

Areas of Stability or Minor Change - Urban

sdnaLneerG(Green lands include: undeveloped rural areas; municipal and privately owned parks; cemetaries; protected

.)sesoprup tnempoleved/noitcartxe ecruoser rof desu eb osla yam saera esehT .sdnal nworC dna saera larutan

White Lands within the Primary Development Area:(While lands coloured white on this plan will generally not be available for development, they will be reviewed

on a site by site basis during preparation of the Municipal Plan to determine whether any are suitable for minor infill development or appropriate resource-based use. Land use maps prepared as part of the Municipal Plan

will be clear regarding the uses to be permitted on all lands currently shown as white).

Growth Strategy for Saint JohnThe Growth Strategy is built upon the PlanSJ Directions and the Vision described previously.

It strengthens the urban structure of Saint John by creating stronger relationships between different land uses, existing infrastructure, transit and active transportation routes, open spaces and natural features across the city. It accommodates the projected employment and residential land requirements outlined previously. In fact, the Growth Strategy has capacity to accommodate significantly more development than presently shown and therefore important choices have had to be made regarding where growth will occur in the next 25 years. Common Council and City staff are committed to regular monitoring of the Growth Strategy and Municipal Plan. Should growth levels exceed those projected through the PlanSJ project, the Municipal Plan will be updated to bring forward more of the development capacity available within this Growth Strategy.

Somm

erville-Millidgeville Ferry

(15 minutes)

Universit

y Ave

Sand

y Po

int R

d

dvlB llihcruh

C

Somerset St

Union St

Broad St

Cro

wn

St

Bays

ide D

r

Wat

er S

t

Char

lotte

St W

Manaw

agon

ish R

d

Ocean

Wes

tway

Fairvill

e Blvd

Manchester Ave

Prin

ce S

t

Roth

esay

Ave

Wes

tmor

land

Rd

Che

sley

Dr

Dou

glas

Ave

Loch Lomond Rd

McAllister Dr

Loch Lomond Rd

St Martins Rd

Hwy 111

Latimer Lake Rd

Hickey Rd

Foster Thurston Dr

Millidge Ave.

Main St. W

Sam

uel D

avis

Dr.

Lancaster St.

Market Pl.

Lorneville Rd.

Main St.

Gau

lt R

oad

Pipelin

e Rd

Golden Grove Rd

Grandview Avenue

Champlain Dr

Woodward Ave

Boars Head Rd

Kin

g W

illia

m R

d.

Bayside D

rive

Rockwood Park

Rou

te 1

- Sa

int Jo

hn T

hrou

ghw

ay

UNBSJ PlateauUniversity

Avenue Corridor

The Uptown

Waterloo Village

The North EndCrescent Valley

Lower West Side

Fairville Place

Fairville Corridor

McAllister Retail Centre

McAllister Industrial

Monte Cristo/Gault Rd

Forest Hills/LakewoodMillidgeville Centre

North Retail & Commercial Node

Martinon to Ketepec

Spruce Lake Industrial

Lorneville

Treadwell Lake

Saint John Airport

Saint John Port

The South End

Places to Work & Shop

Regional Retail: Note: McAllister Retail Centre subject to further stormwater study

North Retail & Commercial Node:

Uptown Mixed Use/Office/Institutional:

UNBSJ Plateau Mixed Use/Office/Institutional:

Industrial:

Places to LiveUrban Opportunity Areas:

Suburban Opportunity Areas:

Rural Settlement Areas:

LegendPrimary Development Area boundary

Saint John Airport

Saint John Port Authority

Federal Jurisdiction Transportation Lands yalrevO

Areas of Stability or Minor Change - Suburban

Areas of Stability or Minor Change - Urban

sdnaLneerG(Green lands include: undeveloped rural areas; municipal and privately owned parks; cemetaries; protected

.)sesoprup tnempoleved/noitcartxe ecruoser rof desu eb osla yam saera esehT .sdnal nworC dna saera larutan

White Lands within the Primary Development Area:(While lands coloured white on this plan will generally not be available for development, they will be reviewed

on a site by site basis during preparation of the Municipal Plan to determine whether any are suitable for minor infill development or appropriate resource-based use. Land use maps prepared as part of the Municipal Plan

will be clear regarding the uses to be permitted on all lands currently shown as white).

www.saintjohn.ca

The 2011 Operating Budget On January 24, 2011, Common Council passed the City’s Operating Budget for the upcoming year. The Operating Budget for 2011 is $138,523,059.

Where does the money come from?

The City’s revenue comes from three sources: property taxes, transfers from the Province of New Brunswick and revenue from fines, permits, rentals and fees for service.

In 2010, the Council adopted the service-based approach to budgeting. City services are organized into a number of programs that are designed to reflect the desires of the community as indentified in Our Saint John, the community’s vision and twenty-year goals:

Property taxes 78% – $108,815,058

Transfers from the Province of New Brunswick 14.5% – $19,304,825

Non tax revenue (fees, permits, fines, etc) 7.5% – $10,403,176

Community Enrichment Services $7,412,296

Public Safety Services $52,282,189

Development & Growth Services $7,346,768

Environment Services $6,665,274

Transportation Services $25,478,535

Legislative and Corporate Services $17,802,471

Fiscal Charges $14,281,415

Pension $7,254,111

Total Budget $138,523,059

Over the next several issues of InSight, we’ll highlight a City program and provide a description of each of the associated services, including the budget.

Complete budget documents can be found at www.saintjohn.ca.

Residents who don’t use municipal water and sewer services don’t pay for them.

The Water and Sewerage Utility Fund covers drinking water, industrial water and wastewater services. These services are paid by system users and are not part of the operating budget.

Program Spotlight – TransportationIn 2010, Common Council adopted a “service-based budget” model. Service-basedbudgeting allows citizens to know how their tax money is spent and how the community will benefit.

A program is a collection of services that work together to help our community achieve its vision of leading the nation as an example of a sustainable community. Programs were developed based on the pillars of sustainability: social well being, economic vitality, health, environment, effective and efficient infrastructure (built environment) and good governance.

Focusing on these needs in the community will help to ensure that Saint John will thrive for future generations. The City’s programs and services were identified as part of the Vision 2015 Program of Excellence.

The Transportation Program

The six services in the Transportation Program support the following 20-year community goal as stated in Our Saint John, the community vision statement.

Our City serves the access and mobility needs of all people through an evolving array of convenient, comfortable, affordable and efficient modes of transportation.

www.saintjohn.ca

Roadway Maintenance $12,642,999

Provides roadway users with safe, functional roads by:

• Ensuring accessibility of these roads through all seasons

• Maintaining the surfaces and extending roadway service life (asphalt patching, crack-sealing and resurfacing of deteriorated roadway sections)

• Mitigating the effects of snow and ice during winter

• Cleaning streets of sand and debris

• Maintaining roadway structures (retaining walls, guiderails) and medians

Fast facts: Number of retaining walls: 124

Length of guiderail: 21 kilometres

Parking $530,845

Provides (through the Saint John Parking Commission) access to both on-street (meters, permits, special events) and off-street (hourly and monthly parking locations) places to park within the Uptown area of the city by:

• Meeting public needs by conducting research to support the efficient operation of both on-street and off-street parking facilities

• Establishing a permanent coordinating system of parking facilities

• Tending to all elements of providing facilities for parking vehicles of any kind, including but not limited to planning, design and construction

Fast facts: There are 620 metered and pay and display on-street parking spaces in the Uptown area.

There are 37 surfaced parking lots Uptown.

Sidewalk Maintenance $1,599,000

Provides safe, functional sidewalks, walkways and access ramps by:

• Maintaining concrete, asphalt and brick infrastructure

• Installing and maintaining access ramps

• Maintaining grass medians and other green space

• Clearing snow and ice during winter

• Lifecycle management of sidewalk assets

Fast facts:Asphalt sidewalk : 111 kilometres • Concrete sidewalk: 263 kilometres • Brick sidewalk: 2 kilometres

Pedestrian & Traffic Management $1,646,000

Provides users of public roadway and walkways with safe, efficient, organized and synchronized use of the transportation network by:

• Promoting use of best practices and standards of the Transportation Association of Canada

www.saintjohn.ca

Transit Service $5,856,691

Provides (through the Saint John Transit Commission) the community with safe, accessible and environmentally-friendly public transportation by way of bus by:

• Scheduled routes, some of which are guaranteed to be accessible

• Parallel service for the physically disabled

• Bus charters and site seeing tours

• A number of environmentally-friendly park and ride transportation programs within the community and the region

Fast facts: In 2010, 61 buses provided 2,800,000 passenger rides.

Five handi-buses provided 2,000 passenger rides.

Stormwater Management $3,203,000

Provides neighbourhoods, roadway users and adjacent property owners with functional public drainage systems* by:

• Maintaining the integrity of drainage courses, ditches, culverts, storm sewers, combined sewers (through Saint John Water), manholes and catch-basins

• Using a system of inspection, preventive maintenance and repair of drainage systems, and reporting

Fast fact: There are 6,500 catch-basins in the city.

*The minor (piped) component designed to convey runoff from a one-in-five year storm, and the major (overland) system for a one-in-one-hundred year storm.

• Providing year-round maintenance of traffic control devices – traffic signals, pedestrian signals and marked/signed crossings, stop signs, and other warning, directional and regulatory signage

• Painting lines and directional arrows on streets for traffic control

Fast facts: A full Accessible Pedestrian System was installed at the intersection of Union and Coburg Streets

for pedestrians with low vision.

Number of directional arrows painted: 1,395

Spring Clean Up Recycling Appliances

It’s that time of year again: spring clean up time. As the weather improves, many of us feel the need to clean out the garage, basement, or attic, begin home renovations, or splurge on new items. This means we may wish to dispose of some larger items such as major appliances.

The City of Saint John offers its residential customers an opportunity to do just that. Four times a year, in May and October, you can register to drop off your old stoves, dishwashers, hot water tanks, freezers and more – what the City refers to as ‘white goods’ – and the City will recycle them for you, for free!

This spring’s free drop off will take place over two Saturdays on May 7th and May 14th. Register your drop off and then bring your items to the closest drop off site.

Drop Off Sites: 525 McAllister Drive • 100 Boars Head Road • 1260 Fairville BoulevardREGISTER NOW BY CALLING 658-4455

Disposing of Large Household Items

Do you have old furniture, big broken children’s toys, mattresses, bookcases, and other large items that are no longer usable? The City calls these ‘bulky items’ and you can dispose of them up to twice a year, for free!

To take advantage of the bulky items service, you must register in advance by calling 658-4455 between 8:30 a.m and 4:30 p.m. Staff from Municipal Operations will call you back with an assigned pick up date. Be sure your items are curbside on the assigned date by 7:30 a.m.

Limits:

Single family residence: Up to three bulky items per pick up

Multi-units (2-4): Up to six bulky items per pick up (Property owners are responsible to coordinate tenant limits)

Online Resources

When is my garbage day? Can I recycle this? What goes in my compost? How can my club organize a neighbourhood clean up? How do I report illegal dumping? Answers to these questions and more can be found online in the Solid Waste Management section of www.saintjohn.ca.

Ask UsEach issue we provide insight into questions you may have.

How do I find out about what goes on at Council meetings?

Members of the public are invited to attend open meetings of Saint John Common Council. Regular meetings are scheduled every second Monday and are held in the Council Chamber on the Lobby Floor of City Hall. Council Chambers can be accessed through the Chipman Hill entrance.

The Office of the Common Clerk is responsible for creating, maintaining and protecting the official and permanent records of the City of Saint John. The Clerk’s Office publishes the Council agenda packet, which contains the meeting’s background documentation such as staff reports, presentations and Council submissions. The agenda packet can be accessed by the public at www.saintjohn.ca through the current Council agenda packet link located under the Mayor and Council section. The public can access past Council minutes and agendas, by clicking on either the minutes or agenda links. The search feature can be used to locate specific items through a key word search.

Council meetings are broadcast on Rogers Cable 10 and are available for viewing at www.rogerstv.com.

For more information about Council meeting schedules visit www.saintjohn.ca or call the Office of the Common Clerk at 658-2862.

www.saintjohn.ca

InSightA publication of the City of Saint John. InSight is published three times a year. PO Box 1971 • Saint John, New Brunswick • E2L 4L1 [email protected] www.saintjohn.ca

On the Horizon (next issue June 2011)

• Summer Roadway Maintenance

• PlanSJ – Our New Direction

• Saint John in Bloom – Our Parks and Landscape Service

Read InSight online at www.saintjohn.ca

Consultez la version en ligne à : www.saintjohn.ca

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