<\/a>The City of Saint John has received national recognition for its One-Stop Development Shop from the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators<\/a>(CAMA). The City was presented with the 2016 CAMA Willis Award for Innovation in the 20,001 to 100,000 population category, during CAMA\u2019s national conference in Winnipeg, MB.\u00a0 Ravenhill Group Inc. is the sponsor for the awards.<\/p>\n

\u201cCAMA is pleased to recognize the innovation demonstrated by Saint John with its new development shop approach,\u201d said Don MacLellan, president of the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators and General Manager \u2013 Community Safety Services for Moncton, NB. \u201cIt is a bold and innovative project that is transforming how the City delivers its planning and development service.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three years in the making, the One-Stop Development Shop came together through an inclusive engagement program, building on the standards set by the City\u2019s award winning Municipal Plan (PlanSJ), recipient of the 2012 CAMA Willis Award for Innovation.<\/p>\n

Boasting more than 60\u00a0service improvements, the project involved a total process improvement to redesign the City\u2019s development service and modernize all City development processes and by-laws, while creating new tools such as an urban development incentive program to seed sustainable urban growth.<\/p>\n

The project was guided by a set of principles informed by stakeholders and Council, which included:
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Innovation and continuous improvement
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Predictability and clarity
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Facilitated and streamlined
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Customer and community-focussed<\/p>\n

Saint John is leading the way in re-imagining and transforming planning, development and growth related services to not only vastly improve the customer experience, but also to perform a vital economic development service in reducing risk to investors and optimizing the potential for sustainable urban growth.<\/p>\n

Envisioning the future legacy of PlanSJ, Saint John is proud to lead the way in showcasing how a collaborative and focussed urban development approach together with innovative private sector investment will be a competitive advantage in driving an urban renaissance in the city.<\/p>\n

<\/a>\u201cA total of 41 submissions from all across the country were received for this year\u2019s CAMA awards program,\u201d said Marc Landry, Chair of CAMA\u2019s Awards Committee, as well as the CAMA Representative for Alberta & Northwest Territories and Chief Administrative Officer, Town of Beaumont, AB.\u00a0 \u201cThe entire Committee was very impressed by the exciting projects that are being done by communities of all sizes.\u00a0 Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all those who took the time to submit projects for consideration.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Willis Award for Innovation, awarded in recognition of Jack Willis for his contribution to CAMA, is presented for programs, projects or services that demonstrate exceptional innovation or meritorious initiative.\u00a0 Since Canada has a unique mixture of small and large communities, awards are granted according to population \u2013 for municipalities under 20,000, for those between 20,001 and 100,000 and for those over 100,000.<\/p>\n