Community Café #1Consultation Summary

Port Whitby SustainableCommunity Plan

May 31, 2010

In Association with:

planningAllianceArupTrow AssociatesMKIWill DunningGLPi

Community Café #1 – Consultation Summary 1Sustainable Community Plan – Port Whitby May 31, 2010

This Report provides a summary of the key themes discussed at Community Café #1.This public workshop constituted the second stage of public consultation for the PortWhitby Sustainable Community Plan review process.

The workshop was held at the Port Whitby Marina on Tuesday May 11, 2010 from 7p.m. to 9 p.m. Notice of this meeting was provided through direct mail-out tointerested parties and previous attendees, as well as in local media. Ninetyparticipants attended.

The handout that was circulated at the meeting is attached as Appendix A.

Following presentations by Meridian Planning Consultants, Arup and planningAlliance,GLPi facilitated discussion around the two preliminary Sustainability Scenarios thathad been prepared by the consulting team. Participants were also invited to submitadditional written comments following the meeting. The discussion provided valuablefeedback on the preliminary Scenarios. Following the workshop, the consulting teamwill be making refinements to the Scenarios and then undertaking a sustainabilityanalysis of each one.

The first component of discussion at the workshop was a general question and answerperiod. Questions were directed to members of the consultant team as facilitated byGLPi. Questions asked can be distilled into three general categories:

The feasibility of the measures proposed (i.e. likelihood of obtaining thepopulation required to support measures proposed; success and applicability oftechnologies proposed);The implementation of measures proposed (how the SCP project fits into otherTown initiatives; applicability to approved – yet – un-built development; controlover development on GO Station land; consideration of the Region’sTransportation Master Plan);Specific questions on technologies proposed (location of infrastructure,methods of energy generation; problems with streetscapes and public realm).

Following the question and answer session, participants were asked to providefeedback on the Scenarios. The feedback can be categorized into “positives” and“challenges” associated with the two Scenarios. Table 1, on the following page,summarizes these comments:

Community Café #1 – Consultation Summary 2Sustainable Community Plan – Port Whitby May 31, 2010

Table 1: Participant Comments from Community Cafe #1

Positives ChallengesCOMMENTS

a) Thrilled to see alternative energydiscussed

b) Street improvementsc) Eco-roofs amazingd) Community gardens should be

encouragede) Existing housing should be

maintainedf) Height limits should be encouraged

(esp. in #2)g) Walking, shopping, cycling should

be encouragedh) Can apply technologies to previous

approvalsi) Should consider area west of

Gordon in study

a) Pay parking is punitive. Incentivesinstead

b) Coyote, fox in Port Whitby arecausing conflict

c) GO Station relocation would easepressure on area

d) Why the difference in residentialpopulation increase between 1 and2?

e) No individual electric, water metersin condo towers

f) On-demand water heating should beencouraged

g) Where would new water,recycling/treatment infrastructurebe located?

h) Synchronize with other policies,studies

i) GO Station plans are ambitious,given history

In general, residents were encouraged to see discussion on actual technologies andimplementation actions occurring at this session, reflecting upon progress made duringthe project. Five individuals made direct comment in support of Scenario 2.

Several comments indicated support for the various technological options presented,in particular those options that reduce consumption of resources. Surprise was alsoexpressed over the Region’s performance on waste diversion in low density residentialdevelopments. Concerns were expressed over the feasibility and implementationroutes for the Scenarios. Some residents were concerned about the potential for thesuccess of the SCP, regardless of whichever Scenario is ultimately selected.

Many specific questions regarding how the various technologies were selected and howeach worked were expressed during the workshop. This trend is supportive of theproject team’s observation that further opportunities for education and outreach uponthe completion of this project should be explored by the Town.

Community Café #1 – Consultation Summary 3Sustainable Community Plan – Port Whitby May 31, 2010

Appendix A:Community Café #1 Handout

EXISTINGCO

NDITIONS

EXISTINGPERMISSIONS

SCEN

ARIO

:

SCEN

ARIO

:

Concentrated

Density