and Council / et au
Conseil
14 February 2012 / le 14 février 2012
Submitted by/Soumis par : Nancy Schepers, Deputy City Manager/Directrice
municipale adjointe, Infrastructure Services and Community Sustainability/Services
d 'infrastructure et Viabilité des collectivités
Contact
Person/Personne ressource : Michael Murr, Manager/Gestionnaire, Sustainability
Services/Services de
Viabilité, Community Sustainability Department/Services de Viabilité des
collectivités
(613)
580-2424 x25195, michael.murr@ottawa.ca
|
City-Wide/ a
l’échelle de la ville |
Ref N°: ACS2012-ICS-CSS-0005 |
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SUBJECT: |
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OBJET : |
REPORT RECOMMENDATION
That Environment Committee
recommend Council receive the final results of the joint planning initiative of the City
of Ottawa, City of Gatineau and the National Capital Commission, specifically
the Sustainability and Resilience
Plan, Energy and Emissions Plan, and
Risk Prevention and Mitigation Plan, as
attached as Documents 3, 4, and 5.
RECOMMANDATION DU
RAPPORT
Que le Comité de
l’environnement recommande au Conseil de prendre connaissance des résultats
finaux de l’initiative de planification élaborée conjointement par la Ville
d’Ottawa, la Ville de Gatineau et la Commission de la capitale nationale, en
particulier du Plan de développement
durable et de résilience, du Plan
relatif à l’énergie et aux émissions et du Plan de prévention et d’atténuation des risques ci-joints comme
documents 3, 4 et 5.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Assumptions and Analysis
Choosing our Future (CoF) is an initiative of the City of Ottawa, in partnership with the City of Gatineau and National Capital Commission, to guide Canada’s Capital Region towards a more liveable and prosperous future. Inspired by goals related to economic prosperity, social well-being, culture and identity, and a healthy environment, the initiative has produced plans designed to respond to the challenges of the 21st century and better position the region to thrive in a changing world.
The purpose of this report is to present three long-range plans that
have been created as the culmination of the initiative. They are as follows.
·
A Plan
for Sustainability and Resilience in Canada’s Capital Region: an
over-arching plan that identifies a long-term vision and a set of goals to
2060 to position the region for economic, social, cultural and
environmental success. The plan proposes
strategies, actions and catalyst projects the Partners could implement to
achieve these goals.
·
An Energy
and Emissions Plan for Canada’s Capital Region: a
sub-plan of the Sustainability and Resilience Plan that focuses on strategies for
reducing energy consumption and increasing our supply of renewable energy; and
·
A Risk
Prevention and Mitigation Plan for the City of Ottawa: a
sub-plan that assesses
the long-term risks to our communities, such as extreme weather events,
rising energy prices and food security.
The sub-plan describes how the strategies in the Sustainability and Resilience Plan mitigate or prevent these
risks. The plan also considers the
vulnerabilities we may still face and recommends additional measures for
Ottawa’s Emergency Management Program.
Taken together, these plans are designed to help ensure that the City of
Ottawa and Canada’s Capital Region remain prosperous and that its residents
enjoy a high quality of life for generations to come.
This report highlights a number of significant project milestones
achieved since 2009, key reference materials developed, including the 2011 Sustainability Baseline that provides
a current snapshot of our
sustainability as a region, and the
consultation and engagement activities that have been used to inform
and finalize these plans.
The plans are proposed to be put into practice through various means
described in the implementation section of this report. For the City of Ottawa,
this includes activities related to the Corporate Planning Framework, strategic
planning, near-term actions, catalysts projects, risk prevention and
mitigation, sustainability self assessment, sustainability at the neighbourhood
level, and reporting on progress.
Legal Implications
There are no legal impediments to implementing the recommendation in this report.
Risk Management Implications
There are no risk management impediments to implementing any of the
recommendations in this report.
Technical Implications
The Choosing our
Future report refers to potential technical requirements and/or modifications
though the use of web technology and social media tools. Further
discussion will be required in order to determine the level of impact the
report will have on Information Technology Services (ITS) resources as well as
assessing associated costs. A detailed business case may need to be
evaluated through the City of Ottawa’s Portfolio Value Management process for
IT investments, in advance of any planned implementation. ITS cannot
commit to the potential work identified in this report at this time; however,
ITS will work with Community Sustainability during the development phase of the
program to further determine potential needs.
Financial Implications
There are no direct
financial implications. Over time, the sample actions and catalyst projects
identified in the plans will be considered by City departments as part of the
development of their annual work plans and priorities. Suitable actions
and projects can also be considered during the establishment of future Term of
Council priorities and long-range financial planning. In the longer term, many
of the strategies outlined in the plans, particularly those that relate to
growth and development, infrastructure, and energy also have the potential to
reduce the overall financial burden on the City.
Public
consultation and engagement has been a cornerstone of the initiative since its launch
in 2008. Community Sustainability staff has engaged stakeholders through a
variety of approaches including full-day
public events, a focus group, and consultations and meetings with stakeholders
and subject experts. Social media and
the project website provided venues for activities such as an on-line ideas
campaign and an awareness video to spark interest and involvement.
Further, key stakeholders from economic,
environmental, social and cultural sectors have been involved in consultations
and engagement activities. These include BIAs, the development industry,
conservation and community associations, the arts community, the Francophone
community, the Aboriginal community, youth and seniors, and representatives
from the education, recreation, and health sectors among others.
RÉSUMÉ
Hypothèses et analyse
Choisir notre avenir est une initiative de la Ville
d’Ottawa, en partenariat avec la Ville de Gatineau et la Commission de la
capitale nationale, visant à guider la région de la capitale du Canada vers un
avenir plus viable et plus prospère. S’inspirant
d’objectifs tels que la prospérité économique, le mieux‑être collectif,
la culture, l’identité et la qualité de l’environnement, les plans proposent
des stratégies qui s’attaquent aux défis du 21e siècle et qui
permettront à la région de prospérer dans un monde en constante évolution.
Voici les trois plans à long terme qui ont été
créés dans le cadre de l’initiative :
·
Plan
de développement durable et de résilience
est un plan global qui présente une vision à long terme et un ensemble
d’objectifs à atteindre d’ici 2060 et qui outille la région pour qu’elle
prospère sur les scènes économique, sociale, culturelle et environnementale. Ce
plan propose des stratégies, des mesures et des projets catalyseurs que les
partenaires peuvent mettre en œuvre pour atteindre les objectifs établis.
·
Plan
relatif à l’énergie et aux émissions est
un plan complémentaire à celui de la durabilité et de la résilience qui
présente des stratégies visant à réduire la consommation d’énergie et à multiplier
les sources d’approvisionnement en énergie renouvelable.
·
Plan
de prévention et d’atténuation des risques pour la Ville d’Ottawa est
un autre plan complémentaire au premier plan qui évalue les risques à long
terme que courent nos collectivités, comme les phénomènes météorologiques
extrêmes, la hausse du prix de l’énergie et l’innocuité alimentaire. Ce plan décrit
les moyens d’atténuation et de prévention prévus au Plan de développement durable et de résilience. Il tient également
compte de nos vulnérabilités et contient des recommandations sur les mesures
supplémentaires à ajouter au Programme municipal de gestion des situations
d’urgence d’Ottawa.
Ensemble, ces plans sont conçus pour assurer la
prospérité de la Ville d’Ottawa et de la région de la capitale nationale et
l’excellente qualité de vie des générations à venir.
Ce rapport présente aussi les étapes marquantes qui
ont été franchies depuis 2009 et traite des principaux documents de référence
produits dans le cadre de l’initiative. Parmi ces documents, notons le plan de
référence sur la durabilité élaboré en 2011, qui offre un aperçu actuel de la
durabilité de notre région, ainsi que les activités de consultation et de
mobilisation, qui ont permis d’éclairer et de peaufiner les trois plans.
Les plans pourront être mis en pratique à l’aide de
divers instruments, comme l’indique la section de ce rapport consacrée à la
mise en œuvre. Pour la Ville d’Ottawa, il s’agira d’activités s’inscrivant dans
le Cadre de planification municipale, la planification stratégique, les actions
à court terme, les projets catalyseurs, les mesures de prévention et
d’atténuation des risques, l’autoévaluation de la viabilité, la viabilité des
quartiers et les rapports d’étape.
Répercussions sur le plan juridique
Il n’y a aucun obstacle juridique à la mise en
œuvre des recommandations du présent rapport.
Répercussions sur la gestion des risques
Il n’y a aucune entrave en matière de gestion du
risque à la mise en œuvre des recommandations du présent rapport.
Répercussions techniques
Le rapport de Choisir notre avenir évoque la
présence potentielle d’exigences ou de modifications d’ordre technique en
raison de l’utilisation d’Internet et des médias sociaux. Il faudra discuter
des répercussions que ce rapport aura sur les ressources des services de
technologie de l’information (TI) et évaluer les coûts afférents. Une analyse
de rentabilisation détaillée pourra s’avérer nécessaire dans le cadre du processus
de gestion de la valeur du portefeuille de la Ville d’Ottawa pour les
investissements en TI avant d’amorcer toute démarche prévue de mise en œuvre. À
l’heure actuelle, le personnel des services de TI ne peut évaluer la charge de
travail potentielle dont fait état le présent rapport, mais il travaillera avec
le personnel chargé de la viabilité des collectivités durant la phase
d’élaboration du programme afin de déterminer les besoins potentiels.
Répercussions financières
Il n’y a aucune répercussion financière directe. Au
fil du temps, les actions types et les projets mobilisateurs définis dans les
plans seront examinés par les services municipaux dans le cadre de
l’élaboration de leurs plans de travail annuels et de leurs priorités. Des
mesures et des projets appropriés seront également pris en considération durant
l’établissement des futures priorités du mandat du Conseil et la planification
financière à long terme. Bon nombre des stratégies exposées dans les plans, notamment
celles liées à la croissance et au développement, à l’infrastructure et à
l’énergie, permettront fort probablement de réduire le fardeau financier
général de la Ville à plus long terme.
Consultation publique et commentaires
Depuis son lancement en 2008, l’initiative repose
essentiellement sur la consultation et l’engagement du public. C’est pourquoi
le personnel chargé de la viabilité des collectivités a incité le public à
s’engager par toutes sortes de moyens, y compris par la tenue d’événements publics, de consultations et de
rencontres avec des intervenants et des experts du milieu, ainsi que de groupes
de discussion. Les médias sociaux et le site Web du projet ont fourni une
plateforme pour certaines activités, notamment la campagne de participation à
grande échelle et la vidéo de sensibilisation.
Les principaux intervenants qui ont participé aux
activités de consultation représentaient divers milieux des secteurs
économiques, environnementaux, sociaux et culturels, dont les ZAC, l’industrie
de l’aménagement, la jeunesse et les aînés, les organismes communautaires et de
conservation, la communauté artistique, francophone et autochtone, l’éducation,
les loisirs et la santé.
BACKGROUND
Since 2008, the City of Ottawa has been working in partnership with the
City of Gatineau and the National Capital Commission on Choosing our Future, an innovative joint planning initiative to
guide Canada’s Capital Region towards a more liveable and prosperous future. This initiative was born out of an agreement
by the Tripartite National Planning Committee that Canada’s Capital Region must
function as a sustainable economic and environmental unit. Choosing our Future provides a common framework for the three
Partners—a shared guide to long-term strategies and suggested near-term actions
and catalyst projects. The initiative has also been financially supported by
the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Green Municipal Fund, the J. W. McConnell Foundation/The Natural Step,
and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
Ensuring long-term prosperity and quality of life is a critical issue
for municipalities everywhere as they face the challenges and opportunities of
the 21st century, including:
·
A growing and changing population;
·
A shifting global economy;
·
Technological changes;
·
A changing climate;
·
Resource scarcity and rising energy
prices;
·
Affordability of municipal services; and
·
Sudden shocks such as earthquakes and
floods.
With the completion of this initiative, the City will join many other municipalities that have developed
long-term plans as a way to inspire, imagine and design the future for their
residents. Across Canada, major cities including Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary,
Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax have developed sustainability plans.
While each municipality’s experience has been unique, they share a common
interest in looking beyond the time horizons of conventional plans to the
50-year or 100-year horizon, when many of the forces of change will have had a
full effect on our economy, society, culture and environment. While
sustainability plans look to the long-term future, the near-term measures they
identify respond to many of today’s public issues and have the potential to
reduce infrastructure costs, make more efficient use of tax revenues and
increase public trust and confidence.
Process to Develop the Plans
A
five-step process was used to develop the plans:
1)
Defining
the Challenge – exploration of the issues, challenges and opportunities that
the future will likely bring, drawing on a series of Forces and Foundation Papers.
More than 100 community leaders attended a full-day Futures Forum to hear an
expert panel and debate the issues;
2)
Establishing
our Vision – creation of a vision and set of goals and principles that describe long-term
success for the region, and how we should act to reach our goals;
3)
Exploring Opportunities – development of
potential strategies for achieving our goals, as well as
energy
modeling to understand the impact of our choices on future energy use and
emissions;
4)
Choosing our Path Forward – best practices in North America were featured
in discussion papers, and were refined and adapted to the regional context
through workshops with the Partners’ staff and experts from the community; and
5)
Developing our Plan for Action –
combining all the work together in the form of the three draft plans presented
in this report.
Major Project Milestones
The initiative has achieved several major milestones since the last
report to committee in April 2009 (Ref # ACS2009-ICS-CSS-0025). Highlights include:
·
Developed a set
of guiding
principles and long-term goals that
were communicated to City Councillors, received by the Tripartite National
Capital Planning Committee, and released publically (Feb/Mar 2010);
·
Identified key challenges for each
sustainability goal and the key assets that could be leveraged
to overcome them (Feb 2010).
·
Conducted a Vulnerability Analysis
and an Alternative Futures Workshop to define future areas of risk
(July 2010);
·
Assembled a robust and credible set of
information to support computer modeling of energy use and
emissions (2010);
·
Completed a Sustainability Baseline Report
which includes indicators that can be used to measure progress towards our
long-term goals (July 2011);
·
Produced a series of ten in-depth Strategy
Discussion Papers on topics ranging from urban
growth to energy, mobility, natural systems, solid waste, agriculture, social
and cultural development, water, and the economy (July 2011); and
·
Embedded the long-term goals (Document
1) in the City’s Corporate Planning Framework in order
to guide term of Council priorities by ensuring that consideration is given to
long-term impacts on Ottawa’s economic prosperity, culture and identity,
environmental health and social well-being (July 2011).
Further information on two major resources produced in the last six
months is provided below, as well as information on community outreach,
awareness and input.
2011 Sustainability Baseline
A 2011 sustainability baseline was established to create a foundation
for the three plans and to develop indicators to measure our progress towards
the long-term goals articulated in these plans.
The document, entitled 2011
Sustainability Baseline (Document 2),
provides a current snapshot of our sustainability as a region.
The baseline reports on sixteen key sustainability indicators such as
education, housing affordability, and greenhouse gas emissions. The indicators were selected because they
reflect activities that the partners can potentially change or influence;
relate to the sustainability goals; and have measurable data that are
available, easily accessed, and consistently reliable. Each indicator is described on a scale of ‘improve’, ‘continue to
improve’ and ‘celebrate’, based on a comparison to our past performance or the
performance of other Canadian metropolitan areas.
Overall, Canada’s Capital Region has cause to celebrate its current
achievements, but improvements in many areas need to continue if we are to
achieve our goals. In some cases, we
are doing well locally, but not globally when compared to international cities
or standards.
The baseline is expected to evolve over time and additional data will
be used as part of the monitoring process, to reflect goal achievement.
Strategy Discussion Papers
A set of ten discussion papers was created to describe the key
strategic areas, such as mobility, solid waste, natural systems, and culture
where the Partners have the ability to influence or make decisions to reach long-term
goals.
Each discussion paper describes key challenges in the area, current
plans and programs, and a range of Best Practice strategies that could be
adopted in the region to address the challenges and make progress towards the
goals. The papers provided the basis for
a rich discussion among staff and members of the community, the results of
which have been incorporated into the plans.
Community Outreach, Awareness and Input
Since its launch in 2008, the initiative has benefitted from keen stakeholder interest and community involvement in the definition of challenges, establishment of goals, and ultimately, the development of strategies and ideas for action. In total, public awareness and engagement activities have provided a reach of well over 600,000 “touch-points” with members of community organizations, business and public sector representatives, residents and others. Activities have included:
·
Major public events including a design
charette, a week of sustainability events and speakers, and a Sustainability
Summit with community leaders;
·
Consultations and meetings with staff , community organizations, development
industry, academics and subject experts;
·
A focus group on the proposed plan
content with a cross-section of participants;
·
Outreach through community networks and
events;
·
The “Have a Say!” campaign on the
project website to generate ideas for action;
·
An awareness video entitled “Our Choices
Today, Create our Tomorrow” on the website and on YouTube; and
·
Spreading the word through social media.
Further, key stakeholders from economic, environmental, social and cultural sectors have been involved in consultations and engagement activities. These include BIAs, the development industry, conservation and community associations, the arts community, the Francophone community, the Aboriginal community, youth and seniors, and representatives from the education, recreation, and health sectors among others.
DISCUSSION
This section describes the three long-range
plans and how the City of Ottawa, the City of Gatineau, and the National
Capital Commission will use this information to advance its sustainability
program.
Sustainability and Resilience Plan
A Plan for Sustainability and Resilience in Canada’s Capital Region is an over-arching plan that
identifies a long-term vision and a set of goals to 2060 that speak
to the economic, social, cultural and environmental dimensions of
sustainability (Document 3). A set of
strategies outline the broad directions to be pursued to achieve the goals, and
support decision-making to better secure prosperity and quality of life over
the coming years.
The vision for the region is:
“Quality
of life. Quality of Place. Today and for the future.”
We aspire to a future where the outstanding quality of life we are
known for can be maintained indefinitely without undermining the health and
stability of our natural systems. We are committed to creating a future where
people can flourish through a strong economy and a vibrant, creative culture
and where our relationship with the natural world is one of respect and responsible
stewardship.
This vision is supported by twelve goals (Document 1) developed
collaboratively by the project team and the community.
Strategies
The core of the plan is a set of strategies, organized in ten thematic
areas, which can be pursued now and well into the future.
1)
Manage
Growth and Development
It is projected that over the next fifty
years, the region’s population will grow by approximately 50%, reaching 1.8
million by 2060. The following strategies will ensure that the region can
accommodate this growing population along with the necessary jobs and
businesses while keeping energy and infrastructure costs in check and protecting
farmland, natural systems and rural areas:
·
Maintain a compact region;
·
Build complete
neighbourhoods and communities;
·
Redevelop office
areas on the rapid transit system, including federal office complexes, as
mixed-use areas;
·
Retrofit the suburbs;
·
Protect the integrity
of rural areas;
·
Improve
Greenfield development;
·
Create a culture
of design excellence; and
·
Increase housing
choice and affordability.
2)
Encourage
Sustainable Mobility
How we travel around the region affects our
pocketbook, our health and our quality of life. With complementary development,
investments in transit, cycling paths and well-designed sidewalks and public
spaces can increase our use of transit, walking and cycling while reducing the
total public cost of travel. New vehicle technologies as well as the promotion
of traffic demand management techniques such as flex-time work scheduling, teleworking,
carpooling and car sharing can also help improve local air quality and reduce
gridlock. Strategies we can pursue to achieve this include:
·
Integrate land use and
transportation systems;
·
Expand mobility options
through investments in cycling, transit and walking infrastructure;
·
Improve interprovincial
connections and coordination; and
·
Facilitate the
transition to vehicles using alternative power.
3)
Encourage
High Performance Buildings and Renewable Energy
Buildings use 75% of the energy consumed in
the region and oil prices are predicted to rise somewhere between 40% to 130%
by 2020. Strategies to make buildings more efficient and keep energy spending
under control include:
·
Strengthen retrofit opportunities in residential and
non-residential buildings;
·
Improve energy and
emission performance of new buildings;
·
Promote small-scale
renewable energy;
·
Facilitate development
of district energy that is cost effective, low emission, and high efficiency;
and
·
Examine opportunities
to develop large-scale renewable energy.
4)
Protect
and Restore Green and Natural Systems
Ensuring the integrity of the region’s
natural heritage will require careful growth management as well as strategies
to:
·
Continue to conserve
large natural areas and strengthen connections between them;
·
Continue to build a
greenspace network in villages and urban areas;
·
Promote habitat
restoration and species recovery; and
·
Control the spread of
invasive species.
5)
Protect
Water and Manage Wastewater Infrastructure
The region is blessed with abundant water
resources and the Ottawa River provides good‑quality water to municipal
drinking water systems. Future risks include extreme weather events related to a
changing climate. In addition, recent studies have indicated the importance of
managing growth related infrastructure to ensure municipal costs and taxes are
kept under control. Strategies include:
·
Protect the sources of
our drinking water;
·
Improve the resiliency
of urban watersheds;
·
Increase energy
efficiency and water conservation; and
·
Account for the
lifecycle costs of infrastructure.
6)
Nurture
Culture and Identity
The diversity of cultures, rich arts and
built heritage and sense of place are some of the region’s strongest assets. To
nurture these assets we should:
·
Design and build
creative cities that foster innovation;
·
Build cultural
leadership and partnerships;
·
Use public art and the
built environment to strengthen sense of place; and
·
Foster a sense of
connection and belonging.
7)
Support
Social Development
The region must be a place that supports the
health, opportunity and basic needs of its people. Strategies that can ensure
long-term success include:
·
Focus on prevention;
·
Increase
community-based initiatives;
·
Improve social
inclusion, engagement and participation; and
·
Explore flexible and
adaptable use of space.
8)
Build
a Sustainable Economy
The region is already a leader in innovation
and high technology. Strategies that
could help the region continue to lead the way in sustainable economic
development include:
·
Lead the greening of
businesses and other organizations by demonstrating initiatives within the
project partner’s buildings and operations;
·
Attract new businesses,
industries and other organizations that are at the leading edge of
sustainability;
·
Better integrate
business within communities;
·
Enhance support to
local businesses, organizations and social enterprise; and
·
Explore different ways
of measuring economic and overall success for the region.
9)
Manage
Solid Waste and Materials
The region currently diverts almost 40% of
residential waste. We can build on this success through the following
strategies:
·
Focus on reducing waste
generation as our first priority;
·
Aggressively divert
residential waste to recycling, composting and re-use strategies; and
·
Increase the municipal
role in waste reduction and diversion in the Industrial, Commercial &
Institutional (ICI) sector.
10) Support Local Food and
Agriculture
As the world population grows and energy
prices increase we may continue to experience rises in food prices that
out-pace the rate of inflation. To better ensure affordability, increase local
resilience as well as bolster the region’s cultural and economic success, the
following strategies can be applied:
·
Protect agricultural
land;
·
Advance local food
economies;
·
Support new farmers;
·
Celebrate food;
·
Grow and process food
in villages and the urban area;
·
Make sure everyone has
enough nutritious food to eat; and
·
Increase food system
efficiencies.
These strategies can also be supported by a range of sample actions and
several catalyst projects that can be pursued by the project partners over the
coming years, as described in the plan. Recommended
projects for the City of Ottawa to pursue will be brought forward for approval
in the future.
Energy and Emissions Plan
An Energy and Emissions Plan for Canada’s Capital Region focuses on strategies for reducing energy
consumption and increasing our supply of renewable energy (Document 4). It provides information about strategies to
improve energy efficiency in existing and new buildings and to create renewable
energy in individual buildings and larger developments.
The plan recognizes that a sustainable energy future presents not only challenges
but also significant benefits for a more sustainable and resilient region in
the future. Many of the potential actions that reduce energy use and reliance
on fossil fuels have important co-benefits for citizens such as cleaner air,
more active lifestyles, more complete communities, economic prosperity, and a
more secure energy supply.
In the medium term, there are significant opportunities to reduce
energy consumption and promote renewable energy, which together, will help to
reduce associated GHG emissions in the region.
The plan models the potential effects of these strategies along with
strategies for more sustainable waste management, urban growth and active
mobility in the region.
The models were created using the Community Energy and Emissions
Modeling and Planning Tool (CEEMAP).
CEEMAP is based on several dynamic, interactive models that incorporate
key variables that drive and constrain energy use and GHG emissions. These models create a picture of land use and
transportation, distributing population, housing and employment throughout the
region. Assumptions are also made about
the mix of housing, building energy efficiency, energy supply and waste
management in order to estimate energy consumption. In this light, the modeling illustrates a
future – based on current initiatives and best practices consistent with those
in the Sustainability and Resilience Plan
– that could attain a 20% reduction in emissions by 2020 compared with 2007 and
40% by 2060.
While this reduction could be achieved with different combinations of
strategies, the modelling for the Energy and Emissions Plan indicates the kinds
of performance results which would lead to these reduction levels. The
modelling also indicates that a 40% reduction by 2060 is attainable based on
known technologies and government policies.
Deeper reductions which exceed 40% beyond 2020 would rely on
developments which are currently only speculative. Municipalities will need to adapt to these
kinds of advances in terms of corporate and community action, and continuously
improve municipal programs and revise goals as the future unfolds.
The Plan also recognizes the need to address urban form and land use
along with the more traditional energy considerations involved in buildings,
energy supply, and transportation. This
integrated approach takes advantage of the opportunities and synergies between
the different ways we use energy and what drives energy use.
Risk Prevention and Mitigation Plan
Risk Prevention and
Mitigation Plan for Ottawa, also a sub-plan of the Sustainability and Resiliency
Plan, combines sustainability planning
with long-term risk management (Document 5). It assesses the
effects of long-term risks on our communities and describes how the Sustainability and Resilience Plan
mitigates or prevents them. It then considers the vulnerabilities we may still
face and recommends
additional measures for Ottawa’s Emergency Management Program.
The Risk
Prevention and Mitigation Plan is born out of Ontario’s Emergency Management and Civil Protection
Act requirement that each municipality develop an emergency program that
includes four core components: mitigation/prevention, preparedness, response
and recovery. For this reason, this plan focuses on prevention and mitigation more
specifically for the City of Ottawa. However, it is applicable to the entire
region.
This plan complements Ottawa’s Vulnerability
Analysis, which examined the probability, consequence and response capabilities
for a list of potential threats in the short term. Every five years, the Security
and Emergency Management Branch reviews and updates its short-term
vulnerability analysis. This periodic update helps to identify the degree to
which identified vulnerabilities have manifested themselves as risks within the
region, and will be used to identify the need to accelerate additional preventive
or mitigation measures.
Based on short-term vulnerabilities, the sustainability path, and long-term prevention and mitigation strategies, the City of Ottawa will develop its Mitigation Program. Key elements of the program will include areas such as:
·
Critical Infrastructure Identification Study, to identify infrastructure systems such as
water, telecom, and natural gas and their vulnerabilities associated with more
severe weather events, a larger population, greater densification and terrorist
threats. The study will be used to
ensure adequate funding for the renewal and maintenance of critical
infrastructure;
· Emergency Services Response capability
review including plans for large
scale evacuation to address dense urban areas; and
· Climate Change Adaptation Plan to anticipate
climate related changes and propose measures to avoid or reduce these impacts.
Activities that arise
out of the Risk Plan will be led by the Security and Emergency
Management Branch, Emergency and Protective Services Department. Development of the Mitigation Program will be
done in conjunction with other corporate planning initiatives over time.
How will
the plans be used?
The three plans are designed to provide a unifying framework for the City of Ottawa, City of Gatineau and the National Capital Commission and assist them with major decisions about policies, projects, plans, and programs. Each of the Partners will lead implementation efforts within their own organizations and jurisdictions, while recognizing the benefits collaboration can yield.
For the
City of Ottawa, the plans can be used in several different ways as follows:
The
Energy and
Emissions Plan also recommends potential catalyst projects, as well as
cross-cutting measures to strengthen awareness of the energy implications of
public decision-making. The cross-cutting measures include integration
of energy and emissions in all
scales of land use and transportation planning; increased education, outreach
to community partners and capacity development in the public and private
sectors.
·
Risk
Prevention and Mitigation - The Risk Prevention and Mitigation Plan recommends undertaking studies and
implementing strategies the City (and its Partners) can implement to reduce the
likelihood or severity of longer-term risks facing the region. These studies
and strategies will be reviewed by the appropriate municipal departments and
included in updates of master plans or policies, and be used specifically for
the development of the Mitigation Program.
·
Sustainability
Lens and Self–assessment Process -
Community Sustainability will develop a sustainability lens and self-assessment process that departments can
use to evaluate whether individual programs, policies or services move the
corporation and the community towards our long-term goals and strategic
direction. Similar tools have been developed in other cities to evaluate the
sustainability of development proposals, budget decisions or use of municipal
land. The tool will be tested as a pilot in several departments and evaluated
by pilot participants before a recommendation is made regarding its long-term
use.
·
Sustainability
at the Neighbourhood Level - The Corporate
Planning Framework identifies the development and implementation of the
Neighbourhood Sustainability Program, another implementation vehicle for the
actions and strategies identified in the Sustainability and Resilience Plan
that supports advancement of sustainability at the neighbourhood level.
·
Reporting
on Progress - Community Sustainability will work
with Corporate Planning to monitor the achievement of the long-term goals and
strategies over time. Staff will supplement
the measures used in the 2011 Sustainability Baseline with other performance
indicators that may apply solely to Ottawa rather than the region.
RURAL IMPLICATIONS
Ottawa’s rural area will benefit from a number of strategies and actions identified in the three plans.
CONSULTATION
As mentioned previously, engagement activities and consultation have
generated a wealth of ideas and input. The results of these activities have
been used to both develop and inform the articulation of the vision,
principles, goals, strategies and actions contained in the plans.
Community Sustainability staff has engaged stakeholders through a
variety of approaches including major public
events, consultations and meetings with stakeholders and subject experts, focus
groups and through an on-line “crowdsourcing” campaign that generated ideas for
action. An awareness video and social media were effectively used as tactics to
spread the word and increase public participation in the online campaign.
Key stakeholders involved in consultations and engagement activities have
spanned a wide range of groups and representatives from economic,
environmental, social and cultural sectors. This has included BIAs, development
industry, youth and seniors, conservation and community associations, the arts,
the Francophone community, and education, recreation, health and Aboriginal
participants among others.
CoF “touch-points”
by the numbers:
·
4,892 participants
engaged through major events (Charrette,
Public Event Week, Sustainability Summit) plus workshops, focus group and
outreach activities;
·
614,032 page views
on the Choosing our Future website;
·
6,485
total ideas, comments and votes posted on 'Have a Say!' online campaign;
·
15,960 reached
through E-newsletters and presentations to stakeholder networks; (rural,
environmental, aboriginal, community health centres, City staff and others);
·
3,806
website and YouTube views of "Our Choices Today, Create Tomorrow"
video;
·
1,070 Choosing
our Future Facebook likes/posts, plus twitter followers and tweets;
·
15,000
postcards, brochures and posters distributed; and
·
300 e-mail
enquiries.
LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
There are no legal impediments to implementing the recommendations in this report.
RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS
There are no risk management impediments to implementing any of the recommendations in this report.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
There are no direct
financial implications. Over time, the sample actions and catalyst projects
identified in the plans will be considered by City departments as part of the
development of their annual work plans and priorities. Suitable actions and projects can also be
considered during the establishment of future Term of Council priorities and
long range financial planning. In the
longer term, many of the strategies outlined in the plans, particularly those
that relate to growth and development, infrastructure, and energy also have the
potential to reduce the overall financial burden on the City.
ACCESSIBILITY IMPACT
There are no accessibility impacts associated with this report.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS
This framework identifies long-term directions, strategies and potential actions to improve and enhance the City’s environment including land, air and water quality.
The Choosing our
Future report refers to potential technical requirements and/or modifications
through the use of web technology and social media tools. Further
discussion will be required in order to determine the level of impact the
report will have on ITS resources as well as assessing associated costs.
A detailed business case may need to be evaluated through the City of Ottawa’s
Portfolio Value Management process for IT investments, in advance of any
planned implementation. ITS cannot commit to the potential work
identified in this report at this time; however, ITS will work with Community
Sustainability during the development phase of the program to further determine
potential needs.
The sustainability goals developed through this initiative have been incorporated into the City’s Corporate Planning Framework as approved by Council in May 2011.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Document 1 Choosing our Future End-State Goals
Document 2 2011 Sustainability Baseline (on file with the City Clerk) English and French
Document 3 Sustainability and Resilience Plan (on file with the City Clerk)
Document 4 Energy and Emissions Plan (on file with the City Clerk)
Document 5 Risk Prevention and Mitigation Plan (on file with the City Clerk)
Please note that
Documents 3, 4 and 5 are available in English only; however an Executive
Summary is available in French. The City
of Ottawa will translate the plans in their entirety once they are received by
Council.
DISPOSITION
Subject to approval of this report, the Community Sustainability Department translate the plans and make them available to the public. Staff will also support and monitor implementation of the plans as described in this report, in collaboration with other City Departments.