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Report To: Special Planning and Development Committee
Date of Meeting: June 20, 2017
Report Number: PSD-046-17 Resolution Number: PD-127-17
File Number: PLN 27.17.1 By-law Number:
Report Subject: Process Enhancement Project Progress Update
Recommendations:
1.That Report PSD-046-17 be received for information.
Municipality of Clarington
Report PSD-046-17 Page 2
Report Overview
Engineering and Planning Services, in conjunction with the Interim Chief Administrative Officer,
initiated a deep review of the land development process. The review involved a number of
departments, external agencies, and industry representatives. The purpose of the Process
Enhancement Project was to determine where opportunities for enhancement and process
redesign of the land development review process could / should be implemented. The results
of the review and identification of opportunities has underlined the importance of adequately
resourcing the process. There is a need for additional staff positions, as identified in the 2017
Budget. There is also the need for new software applications to assist with development
tracking. The land development process review has helped Clarington determine how it can
best facilitate investment and economic development in the context of increased transparency
and public participation and a changing provincial policy environment.
1. Introduction
A deep review of the land development process is one of three reviews initiated by the
Interim Chief Administrative Officer in 2017. The other reviews include the IT Strategic
Plan and the Service Delivery Review process. The land development process review is
a collaborative initiative of the Engineering and Planning Services Departments with input
provided by other Departments involved in the land development process. It was initiated
in March 2017 and was branded as the Process Enhancement Project (or “PEP”).
On February 6, 2017, Council passed Resolution #C-031-17 relating to the undertaking of
internal reviews, including the Building and Planning process review now branded as the
PEP initiative:
That a net tax levy funding envelope of $300,000, exclusive of positions approved earlier
in the meeting, be approved, provided that prior to hiring for the relevant positions a
review be undertaken, including job designs, silos, service delivery process, Building and
Planning process review, and the IT Strategic Plan and that the review be reported on to
Council.
The purpose of this report is to:
• Update Council on the results of the review – the PEP initiative;
• Provide a summary of the key process enhancement opportunities that were
identified through the internal process review and external consultation; and
• Inform Council that based on this, the positions in Planning Services included in the
2017 budget, funded through the approved net tax levy funding envelop of $300,000
will now be filled per the Interim Chief Administrative Officer’s direction. These
include one full time Senior Planner for Development Review and moving the Clerk I
in Planning Services from part time to full time to assist with data input for
development tracking.
Municipality of Clarington
Report PSD-046-17 Page 3
2. What is the Process Enhancement Project?
The Process Enhancement Project, or PEP, is about developing a strategy for the
enhancement and continuous improvement of the current land development process to
better support:
• Policy and regulation;
• Economic development and investment; and
• Public participation.
Conducting a review of our land development process represents an opportunity to build
upon previous process improvement initiatives, to identify challenges that affect the work
that we do and collaborate to identify solutions to these challenges. In doing so, PEP will
contribute to advancing the actions of Council’s Strategic Plan.
Some of the previous process improvement initiatives implemented by Planning Services
include:
• Developing more detailed internal procedural manuals for various land development
processes;
• Website postings of the more complex development application material;
• Updating of informational brochures;
• Development of Site Plan Approval guidebooks;
• Standardization of the pre-consultation process;
• Updating and simplification of the Subdivision Agreement and conditions;
• Delegation of authority where possible to the Director of Planning or the Manager of
Development Review;
• Creation of a new public notice sign template to more clearly convey information
about a proposal and to incorporate Municipal branding; and
• Increasing the minimum public notice distance from 120 metres to 300 metres for all
Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment applications located outside of a
settlement area.
3. What Does the PEP Involve?
External consulting services were retained to provide business process expertise and
facilitation support, and a scoped work program was designed. Senior Planner Amy
Burke was the municipal project manager, allowing for the scoping of the external
consultant’s work. The PEP is based on an ‘end-to-end’ approach that focuses on the
subdivision and site plan development processes from the first point of contact with
proponents to the completion of works, inclusive of the building permitting and inspection
process. It is expected than many of the PEP learnings and resulting process
improvements, once implemented, will be transferable to other land development-related
Municipality of Clarington
Report PSD-046-17 Page 4
processes (e.g. minor variance, zoning by-law amendments, building permitting,
construction inspections, etc.).
Steps in the PEP include the following:
• Current State Review
o Detailed mapping of the current land development process
o Internal critique of the current state
o Gathering input and best practices from external stakeholders
• Process Analysis
o Process enhancement visioning
o Redesign working group session
• Future State Recommendations
o Recommendation of a proposed ‘future state’ and implementation plan (by
Consultant)
o Final reporting (by Consultant)
In order to draw upon the varied roles and experiences of Staff, to build consensus, and
to encourage ownership of recommended process changes, the approach taken has had
extensive Staff involvement. All Engineering and Planning Services Staff have had an
opportunity to participate in the PEP and to share their experiences and ideas. In
addition, input was sought from other Departments involved in the land development
process (Operations, Finance, and Legal).
4. How Were Enhancement Opportunities Identified?
Process enhancement opportunities were identified through both an internal review
process and external consultation. Detailed process maps developed by Staff at the
outset of the PEP provided a foundation for analysing the land development process and
contemplating redesign opportunities.
A facilitated workshop involving a dedicated working group comprised of Staff from
Engineering and Planning Services and the Clarington Board of Trade critiqued the
“current state” process flows, identifying process gaps and challenges. These included
things that are both within and outside of Municipal control. The process flows and
results of the working group critique were then made available to all other Engineering
and Planning Services Staff and to other Departments for further issue identification and
comment on opportunities for improvement.
Municipality of Clarington
Report PSD-046-17 Page 5
Figure 1: The development of detailed process maps by the PEP Process Working Group
Figure 2: Posting of the process maps within the Departments to ensure all Engineering
Services and Planning Services Staff had an opportunity to participate in the review.
Municipality of Clarington
Report PSD-046-17 Page 6
Figure 3: A working board from a facilitated internal working group session to identify
opportunities for process enhancement.
For external perspective, a series of stakeholder “voice of the customers” roundtables
were held to gather feedback on the current processes and input on potential process
improvement measures, including preferred practices used by other municipalities. The
Municipality hosted the following four roundtables:
• Subdivision Development Roundtable for Developers;
• Site Plan Development Roundtable for Developers;
• Development Consultant’s Roundtable;
• External Agencies Roundtable, involving the local Conservation Authorities and
Region of Durham Works and Economic Development & Planning Departments.
To further supplement the input received through the internal review process and
stakeholder roundtables, a range of best practice study reports and guidelines on land
development and building approvals processes were reviewed. In addition, a meeting
was held with representatives of the Residential Construction Council of Ontario, which
provided insight on their on-going analysis of action that is needed to modernize the land
development and building process in Ontario to achieve greater efficiency and innovation.
5. What Have We Heard?
The following summary highlights the key opportunities for enhancement identified
through the land development process review.
Municipality of Clarington
Report PSD-046-17 Page 7
Enhanced early issue identification – This involves increasing the comprehensiveness
of early stage pre-application consultation services and more clearly defining and
detailing minimum eligibility requirements for a formal Pre-Consultation Meeting. This
has the potential to:
• Positively influence the quality of the application and application documents
submitted to the Municipality; and
• Reduce the risk of requiring additional information later in the process.
Developing supporting tools, such as an application requirements questionnaire can:
• Help direct prospective proponents to relevant policy and regulation, resources, and
guidelines; and
• Support the early identification of critical factors that may affect the overall feasibility
of a proposal.
Further improving the communication of requirements – While a range of supporting
documents and guidelines have previously been developed to assist applicants, there are
additional opportunities to enhance the clarity of the process. Primary to this is the
preparation of standardized terms of reference for supporting documents and studies that
can be customized by the Applicant based on site specific characteristics and reviewed
for concurrence by the appropriate review authority prior to initiating the work. In addition
to detailing expected scope, terms of reference can clarify the purpose of the
requirement, at what point in the process it is required to be submitted and to whom, and
the responsible review authority (with delineation of roles where multiple review
authorities exist).
This will:
• Help to reduce the risk of unnecessary cost expenditures;
• Manage expectations; and
• Increase transparency.
Application streaming - An increasing array of factors have the potential to influence
land development proposals and correspondingly the effort and time that may be required
for their review. The establishment of a system for streaming applications based on
clearly defined and consistently applied criteria, with applications being classified as
simple, moderate or complex, can support the identification of application requirements,
such as the need for a public information centre, and the establishment of target review
timeframes, thereby contributing to increased certainty of the process. The degree of
required early stage pre-application consultation and standardized terms of reference
could also reflect the various application complexity streams.
Municipality of Clarington
Report PSD-046-17 Page 8
Service level agreements – Establishing service level agreements, internally across
departments and externally with agencies involved in the land development review
process will support the establishment of defined customer service objectives. Clearly
defining roles and responsibilities in the review process will minimize the risk of overlap or
duplication, while establishing decision making authority can contribute to addressing
conflicting review comments. Seeking agreement on the reasonable expectation of time
for review, will inform the setting of review timeframe targets.
Updating technology in application processing – Modernization through the use of
technology to support online application submissions and tracking, shared access
(internal departments, external agencies, applicants) to complete and up-to-date
application information and outstanding issues or requirements, electronic redlining of
drawings, mobile field inspection technology, and public access to application information
and status. This will require a new business software solution for land development
process automation, a subject addressed in the IT Strategic Plan.
Establishment of a management dashboard – An easy to use and up-to-date data
management system for progressively and proactively managing the process. This
includes measuring the total volume of work, work in progress, and backlog, and for
tracking and monitoring of key performance indicators. This workflow management tool
is a critical component of a complete business software solution for automation of the
land development process.
Conduct an assessment of fees and securities - A critical evaluation and assessment
of all land development process-related fees and securities, including purpose, timing of
payments, acceptable form of payment, roles and responsibilities of various departments,
payment tracking, and the availability of information to applicants about the various types
of fees and securities and the collection, repayment (where applicable) and release of
securities processes. An examination should also give consideration to the introduction
of fees for multiple resubmissions of incomplete applications, studies and design
drawings, and ensuring applicants provide annotated drawings indicating where changes
have been made. There is an opportunity to assess whether a portion of Building Permit
fee reserves to support updating technology in application processing and other process
enhancements would be an applicable investment.
Refine the role of the Clarington Board of Trade – Clarify the role and responsibility of
the Clarington Board of Trade as it relates to the land development process. Leverage
the potential for CBOT to assume a greater role providing planning application
assistance, provide property realtor education, assist prospective proponents to access
municipal land use and zoning information, maintain an industrial and commercial
property search tool, and assist with the determination of “fit for purpose”. The
assessment should:
• Eliminate current service gaps and areas of overlap with Engineering and Planning
Services;
• Clarify CBOT’s role as both an economic development driver for the Municipality
and business facilitator; and
• Determine Staff training needs.
Municipality of Clarington
Report PSD-046-17 Page 9
Overarching considerations in what we heard:
In reviewing the summary presented above, it is important to recognize:
1. That although municipalities and the development industry often work together to
achieve objectives which are important to the community, the Municipality is a
regulatory approval authority who must also protect the public interest and minimize
municipal liability.
2. That the development review process is complex, involving a range of stakeholders,
and developers, external agencies, the public and Council also play a role in the
success of land development process improvement efforts.
3. That increased public involvement adds transparency and accountability, and adds
time to the review of development applications.
It is also important to note the positive feedback that was received from external
stakeholders at the roundtables. Participants commended Staff for their openness,
approachability, timeliness of response, and efforts in a period of strong growth and
related demand from the land development industry. Further, participants indicated that
many elements of our land development process are aligned with current practice
elsewhere in Ontario, or provide an example of best practice. In addition to expressing
appreciation to the Municipality for undertaking the PEP initiative, the importance of
turning the resulting PEP strategy into action was reinforced.
6. Where Are We Going?
With the Current State Review and Process Analysis phases of PEP complete, the final
recommendations from the business process expert for a proposed ‘future state’ and
implementation plan are in preparation. Final reporting is on track for completion within
the third quarter of 2017.
To address what we heard and to make the necessary business process adjustments,
the Director of Engineering Services, Director of Planning Services and Interim Chief
Administrative Officer examined staff resourcing. The findings of this review
demonstrated the importance of and need for additional staff to support development
review. The Interim Chief Administrative Officer has therefore authorized
hiring/reclassifying the remaining positions in Planning Services included in the 2017
budget. These include one full time Senior Planner for Development Review and moving
the Clerk I in Planning Services from part time to full time to assist with data input for
development tracking.
While Clarington’s land development process has continually strived for continuous
improvement, making incremental enhancements over time, the PEP will result in a
comprehensive roadmap that will complement and support the significant transition in the
community that the Municipality is both facilitating and responding to. This is the “new
normal” where implementation will require the on-going availability and commitment of
staff resources, while continuing to balance regular workloads and other priority projects.
Municipality of Clarington
Report PSD-046-17 Page 10
7. Financial Considerations
Below is a breakdown of the recommended positions showing total salary and benefits for
each. These positions would be funded through the next tax levy funding envelope of
$300,000, approved in the 2017 budget.
• One full time Senior Planner position for Development Review: $101,300;
• Upgrading a Clerk I position from part to full time: $27,000.
8. Concurrence
While the recommendations of this report are specific to the Planning Services
Department, PEP is a collaborative initiative of the Engineering Services and Planning
Services Departments. Accordingly, this report has been reviewed by Tony Cannella,
Director of Engineering Services, who concurs with the recommendations.
9. Conclusion
In March 2017, Engineering and Planning Services in conjunction with the Interim Chief
Administrative Officer initiated a deep review of the land development process, including
building permitting and construction inspection processes. A critical internal and external
review process involving Staff from a number of departments, external agencies and
industry representatives has contributed to the identification of a range of opportunities
for process enhancement. A summary of key opportunities are highlighted in this report.
Detailed description of the issues and challenges, analysis of the opportunities for
enhancement and process redesign, recommendations for a redesign and an
implementation plan will be included in the final PEP report, now being prepared by the
business process expert retained for the PEP initiative.
The results of the review and identification of opportunities has underlined the importance
of and need for additional staff to support development review in the Planning Services
Department and these positions, identified in the 2017 Budget, will now be filled. A deep
review of the land development process has helped Clarington determine how it can best
facilitate investment and economic development in the context of increased transparency
and public participation and a changing provincial policy environment.
10. Strategic Plan Application
The recommendations contained in this report advance action item 1.3 of the Strategic
Plan.
Municipality of Clarington
Report PSD-046-17 Page 11
Submitted by: Submitted by:
David J. Crome, MCIP, RPP Curry Clifford, MPA, CMO,
Director of Planning Services Interim CAO
Staff Contact: David Crome, Director of Planning Services, 905-623-3379 ext. 2402 or
dcrome@clarington.net
There are no interested parties to be notified of Council’s decision.
ACB/DC/FL/df;tg
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