P4G Director Neal Sarnecki

Members of the public have not been shy about providing feedback on the Saskatoon North Partnership for Growth (P4G) draft District Official Community Plan (DOCP).

“There’s been significant uptake from stakeholders since the online public consultation opened June 25,” said P4G Director Neal Sarnecki. “The comments have been all over the map.

“Some people are still wondering what it’s all about, while others have very specific concerns with the way their property could be developed.

“It’s all very positive, because it provides an opportunity to clarify things and have discussions with landowners.”

The public consultations, available online at www.partnershipforgrowth.ca, wrap up on Friday, July 10.

Sarnecki said the DOCP is a “high-level plan” that aims to facilitate environmentally-responsible and economically-efficient land use, development and infrastructure in the region over the next 40 to 50 years.

“It’s not preventing development,” said Sarnecki. “It’s planning for development in  a way that can support not only what people want to do today, but also in the long term.

“We don’t want to create barriers to future development that could eventually result in exorbitant costs to service future areas of urban growth. Nobody wants to see their taxes go up because of poor planning.”

The draft DOCP is a “foundational piece” in the establishment of the new P4G Planning District, which will replace the existing Corman Park-Saskatoon Planning District. The DOCP includes a vision, principles and policies to guide long-term planning in the region.

The P4G includes Saskatoon, Corman Park, Warman, Martensville and Osler. The five municipal partners endorsed a regional plan in 2017 that outlined common policies regarding land use and development.

The DOCP is an updated version of that 2017 plan that contains several revisions, including:

* The P4G area has been reduced to focus on future urban growth areas;

* Development densities for properties in the Green Network Study Area have been clarified;

* City of Martensville boundary changes have been updated;

* Policies regarding future urban growth areas have been made more flexible.

Sarnecki said by working together, all five municipalities can plan for and benefit from growth opportunities, increased efficiencies and reduced costs. He said the discussions by elected and administrative officials around the table have been productive, even if they do get a little heated at times.

“It’s challenging, but at the end of the day, they reached a consensus and came up with an agreement,” said Sarnecki.  “It’s important to have certainty going forward. Developers, service providers, residents and municipalities all need to have a say in long-term plans about where infrastructure and development will go.”

Sarnecki said he encourages people to take part in the public consultations and contact the P4G office with their concerns and questions.