Summit Keynote Speaker: This year the Summit will commence on Wednesday morning with the Organizers Welcome and Keynote Speaker Mark Holland, Principal of HB Lanarc, Vancouver, BC. Mark Holland is a LEED™-accredited planner who holds professional degrees in both Landscape Architecture and Community & Regional Planning. He is a principal with HB Lanarc Consultants , one of Canada’s leading sustainable development planning and community design firms.
Mark ‘s consulting work focuses on integrating sustainability principles into both local government and the mainstream development industry to assist teams to find cost-effective ways of developing in a more sustainable manner, including projects as small as infill projects to large-scale master-planned communities, in both the rural and urban context. Mark’s presentation will introduce new and innovative thinking on how planners can directly participate in enhancing economic sustainability within our communities.
Bus and Walking Tour: The Summit will move out of the conference facilities and experience community and tourism based planning challenges of the two host communities. Randall McKay, Manager of Planning and Development with the Town of Banff and his professionals will guide us through the streets of his community highlighting the unique challenges of a town situated within Canada’s iconic Banff National Park.
Gary Buxton, Manager of Planning and Development for the Town of Canmore and his office will share the realities of being a planner just outside Banff National Park and within commuting distance of the metropolitan area of Calgary (population 1 million).
Both communities provide a tremendous platform to discuss a wide array of mountain town and resort issues such as: planned and sustained growth, resident housing, environmental protection, servicing capacity, second home ownership and economic vitality.
Plenary Speaker: During the past three Summits, participants have indicated a desire to involve planners from mountain towns and resort regions that are beyond the North America West. The 2009 event will include an engaging presentation and discussions with Jonathon Lockman, Planning Director – Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission. Jonathon will frame his discussions on the innovative approaches his region has pursued in addressing issues common to us all.
Welcome Night: The first evening of the Summit continue to include a welcome reception to further facilitate the sharing of ideas and experiences. The event will be held in Banff, at a venue personally selected by our host Planning Managers.
Breakout Sessions: The breakout sessions are where participants roll up their sleeves work through key challenges facing their communities. The subjects for discussion are selected by the Summit attendees (let conference organizers know what you want to learn and/or discuss). It is also our intent this year, to move some of the workshops outside the conference facilities where hand-on examples can be referenced. The sessions are facilitated and the findings are documented.
Reception and Dinner: The reception and dinner will go back to a more “social” format, to enable participants to continue their sharing of experiences. The event will be held at a local restaurant selected by the Banff Planning Manager (so we know it will be great).
Friday Housing Workshop: Every year participants are ask for an extended session on affordable and employee housing and in 2010 we are delivering. The intent is to dedicate a day to exploring relevant and applied housing tools and policies that contribute to housing affordability. The workshops are intended to address the barriers to implementing a successful affordable housing program considering the available resources and capacity as well as political realities (if attendees are willing to contribute, we could prepare a compendium of initiatives for reference prior, during and following the Summit).
Friday Design Exercise: The best way to learn is to apply your knowledge to a real life situations. The Town of Canmore will be providing a challenging planning scenario (that will include elements that can be transferred to other communities) to be analyzed and addressed. More details on the exercise will be forthcoming in the next few months.
Recreation Saturday: The 2006 Summit was held in early spring, while the 2007 and 2008 Summits were held during the winter. All of these events offered a ski day on the Saturday. Although we all love to ski, we also recognized that there are many other recreation activities to do during the shoulder seasons. The 2010 Summit will be organizing mountain biking and hiking activities (and perhaps rock climbing) on the 15th of May.