Who I am, and the topic of today’s disussion.

First, a little bit about the PCDPC.  The DPC provides land use planning services to the 5 Towns, and development services such as permitting, subdivision approval and building inspections to the 5 Towns and the County. As part of these responsibilities, the DPC role involves monitoring and tracking development throughout Pictou County.

This presentation is intended to outline for you Pictou County’s general development patterns, discuss the distinct environments created by these patterns, and review some of the growth related opportunities and challenges facing our communities. I would also like to bring you up to date on some of the initiatives that the PC is working on..

This map shows jurisdictions within PC including populations & % distribution of the population as per the last census. The County is composed of multiple urban centres. New Glasgow is the largest market area, the region's employment and service centre. Connected to the regional centre, by road, are smaller town centers with local shopping and employment opportunities within a local market area. As you can see, approximately half of the County’s population lives outside of the Town boundaries.  This number is expected to grow with the returns from the next census.

Residential Dwelling Map - The population is reflected in this map showing concentrations of residential development, in other words, where we live in our jurisdictional boundaries. Emphasize Towns (traditional dev.), ribbon development along roadways and recreational /seasonal areas along coast.  Where we live is, however only part of the picture. The relationship between where we live and work,shop and play is what shapes our communities.

Map of Land Use Patterns - This map describes how land is utilized throughout the Towns and the County. Illustrate commercial & industrial hotspots, residential areas, natural/recreational areas, etc.

Based on the types and intensities of predominant land uses, we can distinguish between towns (urban), suburban (serviced areas, etc.), and rural county.  These are 3 distinguishable (principal) environments found in the District.

This table, derived from stats canada data, breaks down changes in population between urban centers and surrounding suburban peripheral lands. These numbers are mirrored by our data on new building permits, which show a strong trend toward residential development on the suburban peripheries of our towns.  This phenomenon is reflective of trends throughout Nova Scotia and indeed North America in general.

The most apparent reasons for these residential development trends include:….As goes residential development so follows commercial services close behind (eg. grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, etc.).  Use King’s Head restaurant as an example ?

So what does this all mean and why should we be concerned by these trends in new construction ?  Because if these new developments are not planned properly, they can lead to… •solid waste collection    spread over wider areas b/c of lower density suburban development •HIGH FUTURE SERVICING COSTS  based on costs of extending infr to more spread out dev. patterns. •LAND USE CONFLICTS – suburban development conflicting with..

There are several courses of action that can be undertaken to address these challenges, and deal with potential issues before they become problems. Broad-scale district wide planning is crucial. •Municipal planning documents must contain policies on municipal infrastructure that: •MINIMAL COST SERVICE EXTENSION (often through shared services agreements) •Minimizing competition among municipalities for commercial development throughout the district.

In terms of land use planning, the PCDPC is moving toward a more proactive approach to planning within a district perspective, which will…

As part of this proactive planning approach, the PCDPC has begun a program of developing build-out concepts, starting with the urbanized and most highly populated areas of the planning District.  New Glasgow, as the hub of the District, and the Town with the most infrastructure and momentum in terms of attracting development will be used as a model or for the District. This build out concept will be used as a prototype for future development planning.

New Glasgow, as do the other Towns, has a land use plan in place to accommodate future development. This is the Town’s vision or “blueprint” for future development of the community.  As such, this has been used as the starting point for our build-out concept.

This project will result in a …  .; It will allow our elected decision makers to..  And hopefully allow us to….