Planning Samples eBinder (archive)

Every community is unique. The unique character of a community will be reflected in the community planning process. To help your community design a meaningful sustainability planning process, Smart Planning compiled a selection of planning documents from BC communities. They are available in an archived digital library here. We hope these examples will help your community approach each phase of the planning process with confidence.

Smart Planning for Communities was not involved in these planning processes directly and does not take responsibility for their content structure. The samples are simply meant as a starting point for your community to learn from and to inform the planning process.

Samples exist for each phase of the planning process:

1. Getting Ready
2. Planning
3. Lessons Learned
4. Further Resources

We thank all of the communities and consultants for their input into this database of samples.

To find more examples of sustainability plans and affiliated documents from across Canada visit the Canadian Sustainability Planning Inventory online searchable database.

1. Getting Ready
   The Assessment/Preparing phase of a sustainability planning process can involve a number of different activities from education of the community, local government staff and elected officials to assessment of planning capacity and what is needed to move ahead with an Integrated Community Sustainability Planning Process (ICSP) or Comprehensive Community Planning (CCP) process. The samples attached are divided into four sections:
   1. Sustainability Planning
   2. Assessment
   3. Terms of Reference (TOR)
   4. Requests for Proposals (RFP)
      
      
2. Planning
   The Planning phase begins with creating a process and/or a work plan for addressing sustainability planning. Work plans will include opportunities for community involvement gathered through a variety of engagement strategies. Communities in British Columbia are exploring creative ways to reach a wide and diverse spectrum of the community, including children, youth and seniors and people of many cultural backgrounds. The result is a plan strengthened by multiple perspectives of the community.  The samples attached are divided into two sections;
   1. Process / Work plan
   2. Consultation Strategies / Engagement Policies
   3. Implementation Resources
   4. Sample Plans
      
      
3. Lessons Learned
   Reviewing lessons learned can provide insight on the strengths and weaknesses of the planning process and enable a community to refine its ongoing efforts to engage the broader community in planning process. Taking time to reflect on process at key points during the process can help to identify when changes or additions need to me made to ensure that the goals of the planning process and the participants of the process are met. The samples attached are in one section:
   1. Review of Process
      
      
4. Further Resources
   There are several resources to advance smart planning in British Columbia. Consult the following three sections to find more tools to assess, measure, and report as part of integrated community sustainability planning processes. The samples attached are divided into three sections;
   1. Checklists
   2. Indicator Programs
   3. Websites & Further Resources