The Local Agenda 21 Planning Guide - Democrats Against UN ...

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The Local Agenda 21 Planning Guide banana production, with some growing tourism interests. Under the Australian Constitution, the principal responsibility for land use planning and environmental management rests with individual state, governments. The Queensland state government’s Planning and Environment Act of 1990 requires that all local authorities in the state prepare a statutory Town Plan to guide future development in their respective areas. There is no mandatory requirement under this legislation to incorporate public participation into the planning process, except for placing the draft town plan on public exhibition for a period of at least 60 days and calling for written public submissions. Consequently, individual local authorities can determine the degree of public participation and consultation that they wish to undertake beyond the statutory requirements. The Johnstone Shire Council decided to prepare a new and revised Town Plan immediately after its election in April 1991. The motives for this initiative can be attributed to a number of factors, including: • the aspiration of the mayor of that Council to improve environmental management in the Shire; • the desires of the general manager (chief executive officer) to improve the Council’s corporate services and establish a more responsive corporate structure capable of responding to community needs; • inadequacies in the former Town Plan, which did not meet the aspirations of the current Council and community; • Council’s desire to improve public involvement in decision making; and • increasing community awareness and concerns for planning and environmental issues expressed in forums, including the Council’s innovative town meetings. The Council adopted objectives in the Johnstone Plan Review process (later to be incorporated into its 1993 Corporate Plan) that sanctioned the establishment of a participatory planning approach, namely: • to involve the community in the decision-making process and be aware of community aspirations; and • to develop both a vision of the Shire that reflects community aspirations and the corporate plans and structures necessary to achieve that vision. Program Description The specific terms of reference for the Johnstone Plan Review were: • to review the Land Use Planning Scheme to determine if it adequately reflects the community’s aspirations for the social, environmental, and economic well being of the Shire; • to involve residents and special interest groups in the process; • to address the conflict between urban growth and preservation of agricultural land, incorporate the outcomes of integrated catchment management (ICM) study, enhance the character of townships, and establish a vision and strategy for tourism development; • to produce a Land Use Plan; and • to produce a Council Action Plan. In the initial phases of the Plan Review process (1991), the Council engaged in community consultation by first announcing its planning intentions through a number of media and subsequently hosting a series of 21 town meetings throughout the Shire with the objective of directly ascertaining what the people wanted from their Council. These meetings produced a list of some 1,585 items for the Council to address. Priority issues identified included: retention of good agricultural land; strengthening the local economy; improving management for the Shire’s natural and cultural resources; managing the character and lifestyle of the Shire; providing improved community http://www.idrc.ca/openebooks/448-2/ (36 of 180)18/10/2010 12:47:23 AM
The Local Agenda 21 Planning Guide services; minimizing the impacts from tourism on the quality of life and the environment; and establishing tourism based on natural and cultural heritage. Other issues included: improving opportunities for youth; improving the Innisfail town center; recognizing and supporting Aboriginal identity and self-management; improving access for people with disabilities; and encouraging a range of housing types and affordable housing. Social, economic and environmental profiles were prepared in parallel with the consultation. Information from the profiles, combined with issues and priorities identified during the consultation, were used to formulate a community “vision” for the Shire. Formal partnership structures were subsequently established to facilitate further public discourse and civic engagement in the Johnstone Shire Review process. Partnerships The formal organizational structures established to proceed with the planning process included the Steering Team, Interdepartmental Group, Community Consultative Committees, Peak Bodies, and Interest Groups (Fig. 7: Organizational Structure and Partnership Arrangements for Johnstone Plan Review). Plan Steering Team The preparation of the Johnstone Plan was overseen by a Plan Steering Team, comprising the mayor, general manager and planner, and later the Shire engineer. This team coordinated the activities of all partnership groups and reported directly to Council. The Steering Team was the conduit through which all information and recommendations passed between the Council, FIGURE 7 ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND PARTNERSHIP ARRANGEMENTS FOR JOHNSTONE PLAN REVIEW which governed the plan, and the stakeholder groups. The small size of this team was deliberate to ensure that all members shared a common vision and could remain clearly focused, that a “change” agenda could be pursued, that members did not feel they had to defend past decisions, and that the team would be capable of bringing the changes into effect. Interdepartmental Group http://www.idrc.ca/openebooks/448-2/ (37 of 180)18/10/2010 12:47:23 AM
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