18-Geom-B6 Land Use Planning and Environmental Management · May 2013
Nivaar worked solution (AI-drafted; not reviewed by a licensed engineer)
National Exams, May 2013 — 04-Geom-B6, Land Use, Planning & Environmental Management. Three hours; closed book (approved Sharp/Casio calculators permitted). Format: seven questions of equal value (20 marks each); the paper directs that answering any five (5) of the seven constitutes a complete exam (100%), and the first five as they appear in the answer book are marked. All seven questions are solved in full below so the set serves as a complete study resource. Content is framed in the Canadian planning context (the Canadian Institute of Planners definition of planning; provincial planning legislation and official community plans; Canadian metropolitan and small-town examples), consistent with the Engineers Canada / EGBC syllabus for this exam.
Reference texts: G. Hodge & D. Gordon, Planning Canadian Communities: An Introduction to the Principles, Practice and Participants (Nelson, current ed.) — the standard Canadian reference for this exam code; Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP), definition and code-of-professional-conduct materials; World Commission on Environment and Development, Our Common Future (the Brundtland Report, 1987); R. T. T. Forman & M. Godron, Landscape Ecology (Wiley, 1986); C. A. Perry, The Neighborhood Unit (1929); provincial planning statutes (e.g., Ontario Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13; British Columbia Local Government Act) and representative official community plans / regional growth strategies (Metro Vancouver, the Greater Golden Horseshoe Growth Plan, the National Capital greenbelt).
Question text not reproduced: the examination questions are © Engineers and Geoscientists BC. Open the official past paper (linked at the top of this page) to read the question, then follow the worked solution below.
Community planning is carried out by a cast of participants whose roles shift across the three broad phases of the work: making the plan, deciding on and adopting it, and implementing it. The same actors may appear in more than one phase but with different responsibilities.
Phase 1 — Plan-making (preparation). The leading participants are the professional planners and technical staff (municipal planning department or private consultants), who assemble the survey, do the analysis, and draft the alternatives and the plan. The public and stakeholder groups participate through consultation, visioning and advisory committees, contributing the community’s goals and local knowledge. Appointed advisory bodies (planning advisory committees) guide and review the emerging plan.
Phase 2 — Decision and adoption. The central participant is the elected council (or regional board), which holds statutory authority to adopt the official community plan and its bylaws. The public participates through mandatory public hearings, where objections and support are heard. In many provinces a senior (provincial) government ministry reviews or approves the plan for conformity with provincial policy, and appointed boards/commissions may make recommendations before the vote.
Phase 3 — Implementation. Here the municipal administration and public-works/engineering staff carry out zoning, subdivision control, capital works and servicing. The development industry — private landowners, developers and their professionals (including geomatics engineers and surveyors) — actually builds what the plan permits, applying for approvals. Committees of adjustment / boards of variance grant minor variances, and appeal tribunals (for example Ontario’s land-use planning appeal body) and ultimately the courts resolve disputes. The public remains a participant, monitoring and, where entitled, appealing decisions.
Across all three phases the recurring key participants are therefore the public/citizens, the elected officials, the professional planners and technical staff, the development industry, senior governments, and the appeal/judicial bodies — each dominant in the phase that matches its role (advice and design in making, democratic choice in adoption, action and adjudication in implementation).
