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Ahead of the Curve blog series, authored by HB Lanarc and sponsored by BasicGov, explores trends in municipal management, including a move to adopt sustainable practices. Leading communities are taking on all of these trends and leveraging opportunities to improve services to citizens and productivity.

Opportunities for Leadership Part 3: Making Visions Real

Mayor and Council are increasingly expected to show their constituents that their actions support their words.  This accountability starts with high-level direction setting from Mayor, Council and senior staff, reflected in regular reporting on implementation of strategic plans and community land use plans. 

But it is during rezoning and development permit applications that citizens really experience the impact of policies, so communities are beginning to use “sustainability checklists” and similar tools to demonstrate that their policies are being implemented on the ground. 

In the future, we may see permitting software used to track these checklists, and to report the aggregate performance of applicants to senior management and Council.  This enables them to show how well development is meeting community visions.

Previous Ahead of the Curve blog posts Trend 1 – Drive toward sustainability, Trend 2 – Mounting fiscal challenges, Trend 3 – public demands for accountability, Trend 4 – reduce red tape, Trend 5 – risk management, Trend 6 – preparing for emergencies, Development process – manage land use, Leadership opportunity 1 – making sustainability a daily consideration; Leadership opportunity 2 – cheaper, faster, more resilient processes.

Click to read Ahead of the Curve white paper

Ahead of the Curve blog series authored by HB Lanarc and sponsored by BasicGov explores trends in municipal management, including a move to adopt sustainable practices. Leading communities are taking on all of these trends and leveraging opportunities to improve services to citizens and productivity.

Trend: Development Review and Approvals

The development review and approvals process is a key part of how local governments manage land use, buildings, infrastructure, transportation and economic development in support of community objectives. These processes are complex, with local government as the centre or ‘hub’ of development approval information needs and expectations, so they require thorough internal and external agency reviews, as well as careful housing and organization of extensive information. Good review and approvals processes must meet the following needs:

• Local government staff need to communicate effectively with each other (between departments and with other nearby jurisdictions) on the application reviews.
• Development applicants need to know what stage their application review is in, and how long it will take to get approval.
• Referral agencies require compliance with regulatory conditions and measures.
• Citizens want to know that community values are retained, well managed and that good decisions are being made.

Accordingly, a land development application must be reviewed for many considerations, each of which requires tracking and documentation. While the specifics of reviews vary greatly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, the chart shows in more detail the central role of the permitting process in managing requirements.

Previous Ahead of the Curve blog posts Trend 1, Trend 2, Trend 3, Trend 4, Trend 5, Trend 6.

Click to read Ahead of the Curve white paper