Integrated Community Sustainability Plan

What will be required in order to fulfill the integrated community sustainability plan condition of the municipal funding agreement?

The Oversight Committee has agreed that a municipal official plan may demonstrate the principles of the Integrated Community Sustainability Plan. A municipality may also take this opportunity to enhance sustainability through other plans or initiatives. In the case of municipalities without an official plan, municipalities will need to demonstrate through another document the principles of an ICSP.

Municipalities must answer the following questions in the online reporting module to show compliance with the ICSP requirement:

1. Does the municipality have in place an approved Official Plan? If yes, what is the approval date of the Official Plan?
2. Using the "A Sustainability Planning Toolkit for Municipalities in Ontario" as a guide, at what stage on the sustainability continuum was the municipality as of April 1, 2005?
3. Describe, again using the A Sustainability Planning Toolkit for Municipalities in Ontario, at what stage on the sustainability continuum the municipality is now
4. If no progress has been made, please briefly explain the barriers the municipality has encountered.

For further details, click here for a backgrounder on this requirement of the MFA.

What if we want to do more?

If a municipality wishes to build upon or enhance existing plans, the federal Gas Tax Fund is available to support this work, through the capacity building provision of the MFA.
In support of those who wish to do more, AMO has developed A Sustainability Planning Toolkit for Municipalities in Ontario, which is available by clicking here. [Note: this document is 9MB and will take a few minutes to open.]

What tools are available to help us?

As part of A Sustainability Planning Toolkit for Municipalities in Ontario, AMO has developed a number of Case Studies that draw out municipal best practices in sustainability planning and implementation:

• City of Burlington – Taking the Lead on Energy Efficiency and Generating Impressive Savings
• Town of Caledon – Taking a Progressive Approach on ‘Green Matters’
• CIEL – The Centre for Innovative & Entrepreneurial Leadership
• Town of East Gwillimbury – LEED Certification Policy & Requirements
• County of Frontenac – Integrated Community Sustainability Planning
• City of Greater Sudbury – Leading Edge Approaches to Energy, Community Buy-In, and a Community-wide Sustainability Ethic
• Huron County – Addressing Drivers of Change that Threaten Long Term Sustainability
• Town of Markham – Innovative and Aggressive Measures to Realize Long Term Energy Sustainability and Savings
• Township of McGarry – Saving Money and the Environment with a Public-Private Waste Diversion Partnership
• Town of Orangeville – Melding Heritage Protection with Economic, Environmental and Social Sustainability Interests
• City of Orillia – Taking Control of Municipal Energy Consumption
• City of Pickering – Taking an Innovative “Learn By Doing” Approach to Sustainability
• Town of The Blue Mountains – Managing Growth with an Integrated Community Sustainability Plan
• Town of Halton Hills – Effectively Planning, Coordinating and Implementing Sustainability
• Town of Mattawa – Economic Development as a Driving Force for Sustainability
• Town of Newmarket – Achieving Growth in a Sustainable Way
• Municipality of Red Lake – Making Varied Uses of its Federal Gas Tax Funds to Promote a Sustainable Future
• Township of Seguin – Achieving Sustainability Through Local Engagement
• Severn Sound – A Long-Term, Collaborative Strategy for a Healthy and Prosperous Watershed  
• Municipality of Sioux Lookout – Moving Towards Environmental, Economic, and Community Sustainability in the North
• City of Timmins – Strong Leadership for Sustainability Planning
• Municipality of Tweed – Showing Valuable Lessons Related to ICSP Development, Volunteerism and Community Outreach
• Region of Waterloo – Embedding and Promoting Sustainability
• Township of Woolwich – Partnering with a Community Group to Achieve Sustainability

Are there any examples of Integrated Community Sustainability Plans?

Yes. Initiated in 2007, the County of Frontenac ICSP is a community planning exercise designed to address the region’s environmental, economic, social and cultural sustainability. As a result of eight stakeholder meetings, 15 taskforce meetings, and using various media sources to gather public feedback, the County identified an unpredicted level of public support for sustainability and a willingness to employ public resources to achieve it.

This multifaceted and integrated community outreach program was supplemented by extensive municipal collaboration between the County and its four municipalities which resulted in increased local capacity. The County was able to use this information to identify concrete steps that will help to achieve a sustainable future for its 25,000 residents. As a Gas Tax Award winner, the county’s project serves as an example that fulfills both the requirements and the spirit of the gas tax agreement. Details can be found on their website at www.directionsforourfuture.ca

The Town of Collingwood also serves as a good example of an effective ICSP. Completed in November 2008, the plan seeks to address sustainability by identifying future challenges and potential opportunities. Developed with participation from staff, council, stakeholders and neighbouring municipalities, Collingwood has now set a 40 year path to sustainability. More information can be found on their website at http://www.collingwood.ca/sustainability.

Other municipalities that have completed, or are completing, ICSPs are:

Is there a place to share municipal best practices?

Yes, please visit the Ontario Municipal Knowledge Network at www.omkn.ca.

The OMKN is a web-based resource for information about what municipalities across Ontario and beyond are doing to improve service delivery and provide better value to taxpayers.

The OMKN also has an “Open Forum,” which is a new website utility that provides an opportunity for website users to post questions on municipal service delivery or operational issues, initiate dialogue and exchange ideas with colleagues or provide feedback on OMKN content and operation. Visit the Open Forum to share and discuss issues of municipal sustainability.