A
municipal plan is the perfect official document to make
available to the public on-line. It affects people's
interests directly, it is current, occasionally
controversial, and sums up the aspirations and actions of
the place in which they live. For the planning profession,
an on-line document helps to fulfill the goal of
increasing public awareness and participation.
A search through municipal websites in the Atlantic
Provinces supplemented by API member input yielded 18
planning offices in 4 provinces which have placed 33
municipal plans on-line. Regrettably, three of the largest
metropolitan areas in the region are not represented.
Only one planning office puts out its plans in HTML
format. While perhaps harder to produce, an HTML document
makes it easier to copy and paste sections into reports,
letters and e-mails. In the PDF format used by most,
breaking down a large document into separate chapters
allows for faster loading and easier reference to a single
topic, which is usually what the public is seeking.
Several sites place their municipal plan in a place of
pride on the home page; others you have to hunt for. In
either case, a great service has been rendered to the
public.
List
of municipal plans...
