Urban Strategies led a community consultation process for the Region of Durham to capture perspectives from a broad range of stakeholders regarding the Greenbelt Plan and Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan. The consultation program was positioned to identify key benefits, challenges and opportunities for legislative change in advance of the 2015 Provincial review of these two Plans. Urban Strategies hosted a series of key stakeholder workshops, interviews with elected officials and municipal staff, and public meetings which were geographically dispersed among the Region’s eight area municipalities. An online workbook and survey were also used to allow remote participation in the review process for those unable to physically attend consultation sessions. Utilizing a variety of consultation techniques, our team facilitated and captured a robust community dialogue resulting in thousands of individual comments over a fourth month period. Community feedback was distilled and analyzed, leading to the identification of eight overarching directions and a series of more specific recommendations, highlighting the most important opportunities for improvements to the Plans to ensure they better meet the needs of the Region. The resulting report has helped the Region prepare a position and communicate key issues and potential solutions to the Province, working to inform and influence the scope and agenda for the upcoming Provincial review process.

View the final report here.