Edmonton (Alta.) - 1996-1999 - DP2_Land use development occupancy (LUDO) system (1998-05-14)

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Creation of new regu atory Edmonton Planning

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Directions for a New Zoning Bylaw DtmApn-mit'

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City of Edmonton

CREATION OF A NEW REGULATORY 11 SYSTEM I.

DISCUSSION PAPER *2

eldiOnt011 313.1a .E3 E373 19961999b

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT

Planning Services Branch May 14, 1998

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TABLE OF CONTENTS A. INTRODUCTION

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1. THE CONCEPT 2. WHY DO WE NEED IT9

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B. THE LAND USE DEVELOPMENT OCCUPANCY (LUDO) SYSTEM 1. THE BASIC TOOL KIT 2. CONCLUSION

7 7 12

C. MAJOR PUBLIC AND ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES 1. MAJOR PUBLIC ISSUES 2. MAJOR ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES

14 14 16

D. IMPLEMENTATION

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1. GETTING STARTED 2. COST IMPLICATIONS 3. CONCLUSION: SUMMARIZING THE BENEFITS

18 18 19

LIST OF FIGURES 1. The Vision of the Land Use Development Occupancy (LUDO) System 2. Societal Trends Impacting Land Use Planning

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A.

INTRODUCTION

1.

The Concept

The world today is looking for regulatory systems that are seamless, have a rapid response capability, and can grow and adapt to societal trends.

This paper initiates discussion on a new regulatory framework for managing land use, development and occupancy in the City of Edmonton. At its heart, this proposed new regulatory system - Land Use Development Occupancy (LUDO) - has a simple and clear vision, as illustrated in Figure 1.

In Figure I, the customer of planning and development services enters and leaves this new regulatory system with one permit. The customer's initial contact with this new system is typically through the City's Zoning Bylaw.

It has been reduced from its present large size to one of only 30 pages. A front door service efficiently assesses the impact of each application for land use, development or occupancy, and immediately, sifts and distributes the application to an appropriate stream of review. In the simplest cases, a development officer may be able to grant the approval, a development permit or business license that very day. If comments are required from other civic departments, they are transmitted electronically by computer within hours. At the other end of this service spectrum is the very complex and contentious development proposal. Perhaps even, the development site is environmentally contaminated. Professional and technical resources are concentrated on these difficult applications. A development coordinator works with the applicant to ensure efficient processing through the regulatory system, including discussions with the affected neighbours and communities. Since all applications are being tracked on a computer, customers can follow the progress of their application. Appeals are sent to one centre. Ultimately, the customer has a better sense of how approvals work and what is required Gone is the sense of compartmentalized regulatory system with its myriad doors of separate permits and approval requirements. It all makes sense and there is only one permit.

But there is another level - policy. It is the year 2001 and City Council has just been apprised of a problem. Environmental studies from the United States have identified a process with industrial and commercial applications which causes a rare cancer. Not only are workers imperiled but some waste discharges from the process have been used to fertilize some civic flower beds. Fortunately, most industries and businesses

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Figure 1

Proposed Land Use Development Occupancy (LUDO) System

Land Use • development permit • development permit (after development appeal) • development permit (after rezoning) • compliance certificate (real property report)

Development • building and associated permits (Alberta Building Code) • registration of subdivision plan (subdivision authority) • registration of subdivision plan (after appeal) • servicing agreement • curb crossing permit (commercial development) • road/lane closure • lot grading certificate • boulevard occupancy agreement • development agreement • pedway agreement

ONE LUDO PERMIT

Occupancy • business and other licenses (occupation, health, safety) • inspections (fire, safe housing) • occupancy permits

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terminated this process in 1997. Provincial legislation now prohibits this process and requires private industry and local government to take action. The City must first determine the location, severity and extent of the problem It must work with local industry to ascertain methods of remediation, the costs, the allocation of these costs and finally, the scheduling of the work and any other interim measures. The new regulatory system would provide the starting point for evaluating the location and history of the problem. In the future, the new system would evaluate the impact of the development and require industries and businesses to meet new performance criteria. In fact, Council's own Planning and Priorities Committee (established in 1998 after the adoption of the LUDO system) has a meeting next Tuesday to finalize their program to cleanup environmentally contaminated City-owned sites. Council and the administration would have a broad and inclusive policy for dealing with such environmental issues - and, thanks to this new system, more effective mechanisms for implementing it.

The foregoing descriptions help to illustrate the three principal attributes of the LUDO system - its seamlessness, rapid response capability and its ability to encompass existing and emerging societal trends.

LUDO's seamless quality is largely defined by the vision of a single permit, as illustrated in Figure 1. It would breakdown the present compartmentalization that currently exists within the regulatory environment. There would be a smoother transition between land use, its development and the use of property. Jurisdictional barriers to cooperation and efficient administration would come down as civic staff either expanded their job responsibilities or become functionally integrated, assisted by computer linkages and new management concepts such as "shared services". The customer of planning and development services would benefit from a more streamlined and comprehensive approach where the beginning and end as well as the steps in between are well defined.

A wide range of value added services - community planning, urban design, heritage preservation, environmental planning, development inspection and bylaw enforcement would be more directly available to customers.

LUDO's rapid response capability would result from a number of changes.

Firstly, human resources would be more functionally integrated, eliminating overlapping functions and duplication. Secondly, upgraded computer technology would allow for permit tracking, reduced times for obtaining civic and public input, and conversion of permit information for policy research and planning.

Finally, LUDO would substitute much of Council's involvement with the development process with new mechanisms for negotiation and appeal. This would reduce the time spent on public hearings and the processing of bylaws.

LUDO's ability to grow and adapt to societal trends represents the policy / regulatory interface. Figure 2 illustrates the societal trends impacting land use planning. LUDO proposes to rewrite Edmonton's current Land Use Bylaw to regulate development based Discussion Paper: Land Use Development Occupancy (LUDO) System

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Figure 2

Societal Trends Impacting Land Use Planning Environmental Movement • preservation of wetlands and woodlots • preservation of prime agricultural land • reduction of hydrocarbon emissions • conservation of natural resources via decreased consumption and recycling • preservation of historical resources

Demographic Shifts

Political Change

• aging population • smaller households/fewer children • increase in ethnic diversity

push for deregulation adoption of "open for business" philosophy downloading of responsibilities from senior levels of goverrunent to municipal level public demand for greater accountability demand for tax freeze/reductions

Economic Change

Social Change • deinstitutionalization of physically and mentally handicapped • health care system reform • increasingly multicultural population • increase in nontraditional family households

• evolution from post-industrial economy to information based economy.

• decreasing real incomes • increase in home based businesses • continued downsizing of government and large corporations • continued decline of manufacturing activities • stagnant tax revenues • rapid shifts and fluctuations in retailing and small business development

Technological Advancement • communications technology developments and their impact on employment, settlement and movement patterns Source: Towards a New Land Use Bylaw Planning and Development Department October 1996 Discussion Paper: Land Use Development Occupancy (LUDO) System

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on its "impact" as well as its ability to meet "performance criteria". Council and the civic administration would redirect much of their energies which are devoted to development review to the compelling policy issues affecting development. Defining the "impact" of development and determining "performance criteria" would provide just possible entrance points for policy making. To cite one example, environmental contamination on public and private lands would benefit from LUDO's more sophisticated approach.

LUDO's seamless regulatory system would merge land use with its development and the use (occupancy) of the property.

2.

Why do we need it?

A growing body of evidence and experience points the way towards the new Land Use Development Occupancy (LUDO) system.

In 1993, the Planning Process Round Table was organized to review the current planning process among all of the stakeholders. A common concern emerged over the frequent "battles" which occur between developers and community groups at City Council over site specific development. There was a common desire to reduce the level of conflict and to implement measures which supported more constructive negotiations, information sharing and public notification. The development industry emphasized rapid response capability, a more streamlined regulatory system and greater flexibility in zoning in order to better adapt to a changing marketplace. Communities emphasized earlier and greater participation in the development process as well as better information sharing and additional resources.

In 1996, Council began the City '97 Program, a planned course of corporate renewal.

Its goal was to build a streamlined and responsive organization while responding to fiscal and service challenges. This would be achieved by departmental restructuring. As part of City '97, the Planning and Development Department has initiated a review of its existing organization structure and business practices. The Department has put before Council in the annual civic budget, a proposal to review its 17 year old Land Use Bylaw, and background research and materials have been prepared.

From the foregoing work, some clear cracks in the land use regulatory system are emerging: i) Council and communities are growing dissatisfied with existing municipal regulations that are segmented, as often occurs with unpopular uses such as noisy bars, secondhand stores, casinos and liquor stores. The solution to community woes over these unpopular uses is not forthcoming when the lines of responsibility are blurred. This occurs most frequently when there is overlap or duplication in regulations or when the impact of the proposed development or use is so varied as to cross jurisdictional

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boundaries. One example is provincial licensing requirements which sometimes overlap with municipal land use regulations. ii) Municipal regulations are hard pressed to keep up with societal trends, identified in Figure 2. This is evident in land use control. Edmonton's Land Use Bylaw relies largely on the segregation of land uses and on physical separation between incompatible uses to regulate the environment. However, this method of land use control is inadequate when dealing with externallies, off site impacts and the potential casualties and property damage that could result from an emergency or accident. The City of Edmonton now has introduced environmental site assessment for contaminated sites, as a result of provincial legislation. Also under study is a system of risk management for industrial uses. However, even these sophisticated regulatory tools are proving less than effective due to evidence of a policy vacuum and the slow integration of processes. iii) Citizens expect service not regulation. Within the public sector, the customer oriented model has and will continue to fundamentally reshape the way we do business.

Historically, we have expected our customers to come to us, seeking our statutorily derived programs and services. Increasingly, we have to seek out our customers; redefine what business we are in; and endeavor to understand the needs of our customers. Within the planning process, for example, we are re-examining the rezoning of land uses.

Annually, some 200 redistrictings occur, each one necessitating a public process which includes City Council and takes at least 2 1/2 months to complete. While our time lines for processing are very fast in comparison with other jurisdictions, they will never be fast enough. We are looking at better ways to build consensus around contentious development issues while ensuring that appropriate standards of development are met.

We are also looking to make value added services such as our urban design, environmental planning and heritage building preservation more directly available to customers. iv) The City's Land Use Bylaw is 17 years old and in need of major repair. Since its adoption in July of 1980, the City's Land Use Bylaw has grown threefold and introduced some 185 general amendments (November 1997). The number of general amendments are increasing in frequency and complexity. A review of this situation suggests that the Land Use Bylaw is increasingly becoming a patchwork document of ad-hoc amendments.

The use of specifically designed land use overlays and site specific direct control frequently circumscribes our standard and conventional land use districts. In other words, if we are creating too many exceptions to the rules, perhaps we should be changing the rules. We know, for example, that one set of conventional land use districts for both suburban and inner city areas do not work well. The desired urban form for commercial and residential uses in both areas is often much different yet one set of rules apply.

Finally, recent amendments to the Municipal Government Act (1995) require municipalities to review their Zoning Bylaw and it does at the minimum require that several amendments be made to the Zoning Bylaw prior to September 1, 1998.

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B. THE LAND USE DEVELOPMENT OCCUPANCY (LUDO) SYSTEM 1.

The Basic Tool Kit

What does LUDO look like? What generally are its primary components; how do they work; what are some of their major implications; and are there any options that might be considered?

The following is a broad outline of the basic LUDO tool kit which addresses the previous questions. It is by no means an exhaustive list nor does it identify all of the political and administrative changes which must occur but it does provide a starting point for building this new regulatory system. The major public and administrative issues which will accompany the LUDO system are discussed in the next chapter.

Summarizing, the basic LUDO components are:

A.

New Documents/Paper

A.1 A.2 A.3 A.4

Zoning Bylaw Development Officers' Technical Manual LUDO Permit LUDO Policy Reports

B.

Personnel and Service Changes

B.1 B.2 B.3 B.4 B.5

Front Door Customer Service Development Officers' Job Function Development Coordinators One Appeal Body Inspection and Enforcement Services

C.

Process Changes

C.1 C.2 C.3

Rezonings Public Influence over Development Review Civic Review

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A.

New Documents/Paper

A.1

Zoning Bylaw

The new Zoning Bylaw would be considerably reduced, perhaps somewhere between five to ten percent of its present size. It would contain the general land use designations such as residential, commercial, industrial and public uses, but many of the zones which presently exist would disappear. in creating an entirely new zoning system. Future land use would be determined according to its impact on surrounding land use and on the community. Performance criteria would be applied to development in order to deal with these impacts of development. A wider range of development classes would allow for greater sifting of development applications into various streams for review. The new Zoning Bylaw would become a simpler document for the customer but its degree of sophistication and technical requirements would grow for the Development Officer (see B.1), requiring augmentation to existing staff resources (see B.2, B.3, B.4) as well as a new technical manual (see A.2).

A.2

Development Officers' Technical Manual

The new Zoning Bylaw would require a supporting document or technical manual.

This manual would assist the Development Officer in determining the development class or which development stream each particular application will go, based on an assessment of its impact. These impacts would be further expanded upon in the manual along with information and other requirements. More importantly, the manual will be the primary repository for the performance criteria, in greater detail, which the proponent of any development must meet. For example, provincial environmental standards for residential and other development would form the basis for the performance criteria, initially mentioned in the Land Use Bylaw but spelled out in much greater detail in the Development Officers' Technical Manual. This manual would be a public document and it would be carried on computer hardware so that revisions and updates could be made quickly. Applicants and neighbours could make use of this manual at the application stage or even during an appeal.

A.3

LUDO Permit

The LUDO permit would replace the permits, licenses and other approvals identified in Figure 1. It would be geocoded or related to a specific geographic location.

Applications can therefore be tracked on a computer and the specific status and progress of an application can be pin pointed. If the customer wants only to identify an appropriate range of land uses or to subdivide land for legal reasons, but is not yet ready to develop or occupy the site, the LUDO permit would still work. This, however, implies that internal mechanisms must be put in place so that, periodically, outdated or obsolete development proposals can be cleaned up. The LUDO permit, as previously discussed, is at the heart of the new regulatory system's drive towards seamlessness and a rapid response capability.

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A.4

LUDO Policy Report

Currently, amendments to the Zoning Bylaw either through rezonings, Council motions and area redevelopment plans or other statutory land use plans provide Council and the administration with the opportunity for policy making. Since the LUDO system will significantly reduce the size of the Zoning Bylaw, as well as, the opportunities to amend it, new mechanisms must be found for Council and civic administration to make policy.

LUDO Policy Reports will provide such an opportunity, supported by a tracking system for development, its impacts on the urban form and community life, and on the development industry's ability to comply with established performance criteria.

Council would meet regularly with the administration to review development activities and to review and set new policy direction through these LUDO Policy Reports.

B.

Personnel and Service Changes

B.1

Front Door Customer Service

Good customer service has become part of the mainstream of current civic practice. No where is this more apparent to the customer than at the customer service counter on the second floor at 10250 - 101 Street N.W. (Planning and Development Department). The LUDO system requires the efficient sorting and allocation of applications to the appropriate review stream. This constitutes a new Front Door Customer Service.

Staff would have to receive training in the overall LUDO system and more specifically, in the new Zoning Bylaw with its greater range of development classes. It is these development classes which are based on a preliminary assessment of impact that will determine the review stream for the customer's application. LUDO's seamless system requires an assessment of impact associated not only with land use but also with development and occupancy. In order to expedite this application review function, it is anticipated that some supplementary functions, such as the sale of maps and publications, would be relocated.

B.2

Development Officers' Job Function

Changes to the Development Officers' job function go beyond the existing staff of development officers to other staff within the Planning and Development Department, as well as, other civic departments. These changes are intended to bring about greater sharing of the development officers' job function, integration with other regulatory functions such as licensing and increased delegation of decision making authority to frontline staff in a number of civic departments. Probable outcomes of these changes include an increase in the number of development officers, a higher degree of accountability for development decisions, new and expanded job functions, and the opportunity to participate in a wider range of development decisions, from initial land use planning through to subdivision and development control and finally, licensing (occupancy) and bylaw enforcement.

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Major changes to this job function can be categorized as an expansion of functions, a sharing of responsibility under a team approach and finally, perhaps even a transfer of some of the present decision making authority. The technical complexity of the LUDO system, as well as, the need to make it seamless and capable of rapid response will determine the extent to which these major personnel changes are developed.

The Development Officers' job functions could first be expanded in such areas as: • • • • • •

taking in and screening initially, each of the LUDO applications assessing the impact of development, i.e. review of policy, environmental site assessment, social and community impacts, risk management and so on widening the present exercise of discretion in coming to development decisions, particularly when applying new performance criteria undertaking rezonings and direct control activities defending development decisions in a public forum such as at a community meeting or before the Appeal Body applying different municipal legislation, i.e. granting a business license

The second change would see the Development Officer as a member of a team in order to accomplish many of the previously mentioned expanded job functions. Undoubtedly, some planning services presently fall beyond the scope and expertise of the Development Officer. They include, but are not limited to, subdivision control, heritage and architectural advice, environmental planning, urban design, community planning and major land use and development review. The new LUDO system would see a closer integration of working environments and staff resources. This team approach would be accomplished in a variety of ways - electronically by computer, staff rotation or permanent accommodation, management techniques such as internal review procedures and review bodies.

Finally, an option exists to transfer some of the existing decision making authority of the Development Officer to other staff. Indeed, in some other municipal jurisdictions, this already occurs. This could occur at both ends of the LUDO spectrum. For the simplest LUDO permits, clerical staff could grant permits such as for a fence. This already occurs with many compliance certificates, encroachment agreements and one third of development permits. At the other end of the spectrum, major developments would be approved by professional planning and development staff.

B.3

Development Coordinator

The primary function of the Development Coordinator would be to guide the more complex and difficult development proposals through the LUDO system. The Development Coordinator would help to ensure that all information and regulatory requirements are met in a timely fashion.

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The Development Coordinator would be a new position within the LUDO system, although many of its aspects already occur within the Planning and Development Department. Within the Planning Services Branch, for example, planning staff often guide and facilitate various redistricting proposals through the regulatory system.

Similarly, Development Officers within the Development and Inspection Services Branch guide and facilitate applicants through the development permit process to achieve their development goals. Nevertheless, this job function would not only be formalized but also it would empower staff, at the corporate level, to enhance the coordination of development review and to expedite the public and civic review process for major development proposals.

B.4

One Appeal Centre

The Appeal Centre envisioned under the LUDO system would house all of the functions and support systems for appeals appertaining to land use, development control and occupancy (licensing). This involves appeals ranging from subdivisions and major development applications to minor variances for fences to licensing disputes. New mechanisms and procedures would be adopted to streamline and eliminate cross jurisdictional regulation, especially between the new Zoning Bylaw and provincial licensing requirements.

The concept of an Appeal Centre raises a number of questions. How many appeal bodies should there be? Appeals presently go to the Subdivision Appeal Board, the Community Services Committee and to the courts. What should the composition, scope and powers be of any new appeal body? Finally, what additional opportunities need to be pursued in the regulatory review, such as better coordinating the decisions of the Appeal Centre and bylaw inspection and enforcement services. The creation of a new regulatory system will involve the development of different options to address these questions and will be the subject of both civic and public review.

B.5

Inspection and Enforcement Services

Inspection and enforcement services cover a broad area of responsibilities, including but not limited to the Zoning Bylaw, the Alberta Building Code, the Fire Code and both municipal and provincial licensing requirements. There is an opportunity to redefine, remodel and integrate existing services to a much greater extent. The benefits of closer integration would include better use of staff resources, greater service coordination, and the identification and resolution of service deficiencies. It could be achieved through such mechanisms as the cross training of staff, the team approach, the pooling of staff and technical resources and the application of new (computer) technology. Corporate models exist such as the Safe Housing Committee which successfully brought together several civic and provincial agencies to deal with the problem of substandard and unsafe housing in the inner city.

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C.

Process Changes

C.1

Rezonings

Under the LUDO system, rezonings would occur far less frequently because of the far fewer number of land use zones contained in the new Zoning Bylaw. City Council would make far fewer rezoning decisions. In essence, Council would be delegating some of its decision-making authority on specific development matters to the administration. The LUDO system would, in return, substitute development review afforded by rezonings with regular policy development and review. The LUDO Policy Report, previously described (see A.4) would be part of this basic tool kit which would assist City Council in its new expanded function.

C.2

Public Influence over Development Review

There are two basic directions the public influence over development review could go.

The first direction would redefine the pre-development notification process so that neighbours and communities would be apprised of what was going on before it went on. There would be public meetings in the community around major proposals and neighbours would definitely have the opportunity to influence the decision of the Development Officer. The Development Officer would have a greater responsibility to provide direction in the implementation of policies and community standards. The second direction would focus on retaining as many "as-of-right" situations as possible in the new Zoning Bylaw. The focus of the notification process would be on letting neighbours know what has been approved and what appeal rights exist.

C.3

Civic Review

The LUDO system has several implications for the conduct of the civic review in the development process. Some departmental reorganization, although not major could be envisioned. Licensing and bylaw enforcement are two possible areas of amalgamation with the Planning and Development Department. Another implication is the greater importance that the development review function would attain. This could translate into additional staff and technical resources devoted towards civic review of land use, development and occupancy. Greater delegation of decision making authority to front line staff would also have to occur.

2.

Conclusion

The LUDO system proposes sweeping and revolutionary changes to the existing regulatory system. A discussion of major public and administrative issues arising from the development of the new regulatory system follows in Chapter C.

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However, three basic conclusions from this chapter need to be highlighted.

Council direction is required. Overall is the LUDO system with its three i) attributes - seamlessness, rapid response capability and ability to meet existing and emerging societal trends - the way to go? Specifically, Council's roles and responsibilities are being redefined. Does Council feel comfortable with a shift from development decision making to greater policy making? Council is also, being asked to decide on which emphasis public influence in development review should take [Chapter C, ii), ii), iii), iv)].

Terms of reference and work needs to be undertaken on the development of ii) new products and services. For the Planning and Development Department this means drafting the terms of reference for a new Land Use Bylaw. It also means the reengineering of many job functions and processes. Significant computer upgrades are necessary.

Changes to corporate culture are mandatory. Meeting the challenges of the iii) LUDO system requires greater cooperation and coordination among civic departments than previously attempted. The priorities of making this new regulatory system work as envisioned have to become the top priority of not only the Planning and Development Department but also of the entire civic administration and City Council.

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C.

MAJOR PUBLIC AND ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES

Both City Council and the civic administration have to make several critical decisions if the Land Use Development Occupancy (LUDO) system is to get off the ground. The proposed new regulatory system is a fundamental departure from the existing one, both in terms of structural changes and philosophy. The following are a set of decision packages for City Council and senior management team.

1.

Major Public Issues

i) Do Edmontonians want Council's role in the process of development review associated with rezonings greatly reduced?

The new Zoning Bylaw model under the proposed LUDO system would result in Council making far fewer rezoning decisions due to the smaller number of zones. There are presently an average 200 rezonings a year. Criticism would come from community residents for removing political accountability on unpopular development proposals (i.e.

Gainers). Equal venom would also come from the development industry that the bureaucracy is not flexible enough. However, the concept does have merit. There are no other models around that represent as much real change as this LUDO approach does.

The proposed changes would rechannel Council's energies towards policy making and in approving policy plans like the Municipal Development Plan, Area Structure Plans and Area Redevelopment Plans. The nature and quality of these plans would have to be upgraded. ii)

What should the emphasis of the new system be for development approvals?

Should the emphasis be on formalizing aspects of community participation to a point where Council's involvement is unnecessary. Alternatively, should the emphasis be on making changes so that approvals can be granted more quickly. This paper has previously put forward two options (see C.2, pg. 12) describing the possible public influence in the planning process. It is essential that Council give clear direction on which emphasis the new system should take. This paper has a bias towards the first option which focuses on the democratization of the permit process. We do not believe that the second option is sustainable over time. We also believe that the Department can be reorganized to maintain the speed we now have over the majority of the existing development permits. We can also effect further reductions in the time taken to process development applications arising from the removal of the rezoning process.

How do we ensure that the new regulatory system provides sufficient room for new and innovative developments and policy ideas?

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A great deal of what is presently dealt with in the political arena would become part of the bureaucracy in the future. Council would be less able to affect forms of development than it does now and a disgruntled developer or neighbor would have little recourse beyond established appeal provisions. The challenge is to retain those aspects of the present system that work well to support innovation and fresh new ideas as well as to create new mechanism and outlets so that the new regulatory system does not become a closed system. One example of the former is the continuation of direct control zoning.

Also of equal or greater importance is the need to improve the nature and quality of our policy making activities. iv) Is City Council, the development industry and the public prepared for less regulation but greater uncertainty?

The proposed new Zoning Bylaw would replace the present 600 page Land Use Bylaw with one which could be one-tenth to one-twentieth the former size. This means less regulation because of fewer land use zones. However, greater discretion would have to be applied by civic staff in reviewing each development proposal. This means fewer "asof-right" situations, and consequently, greater uncertainty. Greater uncertainty could potentially, extend the time required for regulatory approvals. Also, communities and developers alike generally prefer a certain amount of "certainty" which decreases their exposure to the regulatory system and its associated processes.

How does the new LUDO regulatory system respond to this issue? It does so in two ways.

Firstly, retaining "certainty" through the existing Land Use Bylaw does not come without its own inordinate and growing cost. The Bylaw has grown cumbersome with a threefold increase in the number of pages since its adoption in 1980. Where zoning provides for greater "certainty", it is usually very prescriptive, not able to be changed readily over time and does not respond well to changing circumstances, especially new societal trends.

This often necessitates general amendments to the Land Use Bylaw and these are increasing in number and complexity. Also, statutory land use plans such as area redevelopment plans, which themselves take several years to complete, are required to reverse and update previous major land use decisions over significant geographic areas.

Finally, the notion of "certainty" comes under attack as our own society and economy move forward. What once was held to be true, and therefore a desired outcome of "certainty", becomes an impediment to a change towards a desired and new outcome.

"Flexibility", the antithesis of "certainty", comes to prevail, driven by such emerging forces as lifestyle changes, economic priorities and quality of life parameters.

Secondly, the new Zoning Bylaw with its attendant new regulatory system encompasses a major "paradigm" shift, a change in philosophy and direction in providing traditional land use and development control services for the city. It compensates the customer for creating greater uncertainty not only through less regulation but also by developing a new structure and processes which are seamless, have a rapid response capability and which Discussion Paper: Land Use Development Occupancy (LUDO) System

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can adapt to emerging societal trends. New regulatory products and services, as described in the second chapter, can streamline and expedite the approvals process; ensure a high level of public review; and assist development applicants through the more complex regulatory procedures. In the long term, this new Zoning Bylaw and regulatory system can bend and flex with the changing demands placed upon it by City Council, the development industry and the public. Finally, the LUDO system not only endeavours to provide for a more streamlined and efficient regulatory system but also endeavours to produce "better decisions" on land use, development and occupancy. We believe that "better decisions" make for a "better city".

2.

Major Administrative Issues

i)

What staff resources will be needed and what are some of the implications?

The new LUDO system is a corporate initiative, although the Planning and Development Department will be the focal point for many of the ensuing changes. While existing staff would cover a large part of the new system, major staffing questions need to be addressed.

What sort of staff will be needed? Simply put, a wide range of clerical and professional staff who presently interact with some aspect of the present regulatory system will be involved. The question arises as to whether we have the right staff generally. There may be a need for new staff quite possibly in the areas of risk management, environmental management and bylaw enforcement. The Development Officers' job function would change substantially to encompass other job responsibilities such as licencing. In addition, other planning staff would be empowered as Development Officers and their job responsibilities expanded to include such areas as risk management and environmental review. All of the aforementioned requires retraining.

Where will staff be located and under what management? Some staff relocation may occur although a significant number may remain in their present civic departments.

These are some preliminary thoughts. Licensing will be merged in one department, thereby fully integrating land use and occupancy. Staff in other civic departments, which oversee aspects of development control (i.e. parkland dedication, roadways), will likely remain there, but be more functionally integrated through new technological and management systems.

What sort of organizational structure will be needed within the Planning and Development Department? This question has within it a whole series of other questions.

For example, how many Branches should there be (there are presently two); what is the break point between Branches; what mechanisms do we need to put in place to ensure good coordination and good customer services and so on. In our view the most reasonable solution for the future relies less on structural mandates but rather on a "group

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think" culture. This suggests that the present two Branchs are sufficient but that better integration can be achieved through joint processes and reporting responsibilities. The first Branch would continue to focus on health and safety issues and act as the "Front Door" to the public and do the initial sift of applications. A portion of these applications would be brought to some joint decision process and a smaller portion would be turned over to a group of specialists working in the second Branch. The first Branch would also be given some additional responsibilities such as licensing as well as some inspection and The second Branch would continue to focus on policy enforcement functions. development with the possible addition of some community and economic development responsibilities. ii)

What technical resources will be needed and what are some of the implications.

Technically, we have a good start with our POSSE computer software program for tracking development permits. In order to make the regulatory system "seamless", two significant upgrades would have to occur. Firstly, as envisioned in Figure 1, all of the various instruments of approval - development and building permits, registration of subdivision plans, servicing and encroachment agreements, licenses and inspections would necessitate POSSE tracking. Secondly, the computer software would have to be made available to those civic staff responsible for providing input into this new LUDO system. Not all the staff would be required to work for one department but they would have to be on one technical information grid if LUDO is to achieve "seamless" and "rapid response" capabilities.

The upgrading of POSSE needs to expand even farther than its tracking capabilities to include the conversion of this information for planning application. This new information is required if the quality of or policy research and plan making is to stay abreast of, rather than be swallowed up by our newly created and very efficient regulatory (LUDO) system.

These computer upgrades will no doubt absorb a disappropriate share of the computer resources staff, time and budget in the coming years. Will this demand for more services be accommodated under the City's shared services concept?

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D. IMPLEMENTATION 1.

Getting Started

The impetus for the concept of the Land Use Development Occupancy (LUDO) system comes from the City '97 Program. This has led to an organizational review of the Planning and Development Department. The Department has already received approval from City Council to develop a new or revised Zoning Bylaw over the next three years.

The proposed LUDO system would build the development of a new Zoning Bylaw into a broader exercise, that of reengineering our entire regulatory system for land use, development control and property use (occupancy). LUDO's objectives - a seamless, rapid response, adaptable to societal trends - fit extremely well with City '97s corporate goal - to build a streamlined and responsive organization while responding to fiscal and service challenges.

How do we get started? The following steps are recommended. i)

Submit this Discussion Paper for review and endorsement by the senior management of the Planning and Development Department. Concurrently, begin preparing the Terms of Reference for a new Zoning Bylaw and its ancillary products.

ii)

Forward this Discussion Paper as well as the Terms of Reference for the new Land Use Bylaw and its ancillary products to the City Manager's office and Senior Management Team: Seek direction and input for the development of a strategy or Terms of Reference for the LUDO system for presentation to City Council.

iii)

Prepare the necessary Council report and terms of reference identified previously in steps i) and ii). The General Manager of the Planning and Development Department, the City Manager and any other important designates will make the presentation to City Council. City Council can select a variety of routes to study and recommend changes to the proposed new (LUDO) regulatory system and its component parts, including the new Zoning Bylaw.

iv)

Take Council and administrative direction. Start work.

2.

Cost Implications

This project will be completed with a combination of moneys approved by City Council ($600,000) and existing resources within the Department by December 2000. The

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Department will be contributing approximately five full time equivalents (FTEs), at an estimated cost of $1,200,000, to the project.

3.

Conclusion: Summarizing the Benefits

This paper has initiated discussion on a new regulatory framework for managing land use, development and occupancy in the City of Edmonton. It is worth reiterating the primary benefits of this proposed new system.

LUDO's Seamless Quality •

breaks down the present compartmentalization that currently exists within the regulatory environment which often creates jurisdictional barriers to cooperation and efficient administration between civic departments

•

is customer oriented, providing customers with a much more streamlined, comprehensible, assisted and one stop service

•

makes value added services such as urban design, environmental planning and inspection and enforcement services more directly available to the customer

•

develops an unprecedented level of shared and integrated staff and technical resources

•

provides the capability to track all regulatory approvals and to use this information to plan for a better City

LUDO's Rapid Response Capability •

reduces overlap and duplication of existing services

•

reduces the time for obtaining civic and public input

•

reduces the time spent on public hearings and the processing of rezoning bylaws

•

sends all appeals to one centre

•

sorts all applications by their "impact" and level of complexity, thereby providing each application with as little or as much regulatory review as it deserves

LUDO's Ability to Grow and Adapt to Societal Trends •

enhances City Council's role as a policy making body

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•

provides a regulatory/policy interface, primarily through a new Zoning Bylaw which would regulate development based on its "impact" as well as its ability to meet "performance criteria"

• provides for other policy making opportunities, including the possibility of regular Council meetings to discuss policy reports and issues •

applies new computer technology and staff resources to policy research and policy making, including a more rigorous approach to the production of new statutory land use plans

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