SSPL brings many special qualities and advantages to various Land Use Planning and Consulting projects:
•Knowledge of Official Plan and Zoning By-laws - as the present development review contractor of The Municipality of Chatham-Kent and the Town of Lakeshore, and by virtue of having prepared the majority of their existing planning documents, we have a thorough understanding of the strengths, weaknesses and intricacies of Ontario's planning, policy and regulatory environments.
•Public Consultation - we have designed and managed many successful comprehensive public consultation programs, most notably the South Kent Restructuring exercise and the hosting of several public information meetings involving high profile and sometimes controversial planning issues.
•Project Management - our team has extensive experience leading or being part of multidisciplinary teams, not only in planning matters but also in several multi-million dollar building and development projects while partnering with a local architectural firm or environmental consultant.
•Familiarity with staff - we have an excellent established working relationship, not only with the C-K Planning department, but with neighbouring municipalities and their internal staff. These positive relationships extend to other municipalities within Southwestern Ontario such as Middlesex Centre, the urban centres of Windsor and London, Municipality of Leamington, as well as the Town of Lakeshore.
•Connections - by means of life long professional, business and community activities we have forged strong relationships with many important stakeholders in the land use planning and development process. This includes developers, consultants, renewable energy providers, contractors, non-government organizations, service groups, and other local government sectors.
•Mapping - SSPL has always maintained an up-to-date mapping database and the requisite hardware and savvy to execute it to the client's advantage.As a result, we are well-informed as to the present status of this vital component of any current land use planning endeavour..
•OMB experience - there are two aspects of which we are proud.First we have never lost an OMB hearing where we have represented a municipal client.Secondly, and more importantly, due to our reliance on meaningful public consultation and mediation of disputes, we avoid the frequency of hearings found in other municipalities.
• Innovation - we have always pushed the envelope in our approach to resolving planning and development problems, the proactive approach on the Ridge Landfill and the Joint Planning Agreement being notable, precedent-setting achievements. More recently in partnership with the C-K planning department, we have spearheaded a successful streamlined development review system which has broken many “traditional” rules.
