Jeff Roach
Graeme Stewart-Robertson
An Open Letter to the City of Saint John,
The world we live in is one defined by specific moments in time, those that resonate with our emotions, those that can capture our imaginations, and those that can take hold of our worst fears or apprehensions, and transform them into our greatest opportunities. For the people living, loving and learning within the boundaries of the City of Saint John, there is no better example of such a moment than today, as we look to adopt a new Municipal Plan which will define our community not just for 20 or 30 years down the road, but for every decision we make together along the way.
It has been my pleasure over the past two years to follow, contribute to and engage with, this immense project we so succinctly dub PlanSJ. From the very beginning, this process has sought to bring together our community like nothing else before it, and at every turn this goal has been met. From the quality and quantity of input received at every public session, to the establishment of a PlanSJ storefront which is the envy of planners across the country, this new municipal plan has been assembled with the interests of every stakeholder taken into consideration, from the largest corporate entity to the most modest of suburban residents. In addition, the establishment of a Citizen Advisory Committee, who have been part of an ongoing dialogue since the beginning of this process, is a clear indication that the directions, growth strategies, design guidelines and visions contained within this new municipal plan are those shared by a greater proportion of Saint John's citizenry than ever before.
Saint John has had, and continues to have, countless obstacles which it must overcome along the way to solidifying its potential to become a preeminent city of Canada. It is these obstacles however, that also define us as a community, and in many cases give us something we can rally around and can call our own. Whether it is the decline of once vibrant urban areas, the state of our environment or the cost of servicing our large geographic footprint, these challenges are, in fact, nothing more than occasions for our region to innovate, invigorate and invest. Here once again, it is my firm opinion that the team behind PlanSJ has not only taken up the mantle of these challenges, but has succeeded in addressing them in every sense of the word. Whereas a planning department of old could look you square in the eye, fully aware of the conviction and optimism gleaming within you, and plainly state, "that will never happen," the team behind PlanSJ exuded a palpable excitement and a passion for Saint John that was finally up to par with the spirit of its inhabitants. From the establishment of broad, city-wide growth boundaries, to the individual minutia of urban street scape design, PlanSJ has the potential to set this city on a path that takes the faults and liabilities of the past and turns each and every one them into a pieces of what can become the most vibrant and dynamic urban centre in our region.
The entire process behind this new municipal plan has been thoroughly constructed with not only the latest knowledge and research on urban planning, but also with the city staff and their consulting colleagues handling each of these facets with a prudence, grace and aplomb that would put even the most magnanimous of us to shame. To deny our citizens, those both present and future, of the remarkable opportunity to adopt and adhere to this most diligent of oeuvres, would be a disservice to everything they desire Saint John to be.
PlanSJ was not just a municipal planning exercise, it was our moment in time where we stood together and set a course for a city that would guide it into the future. When it comes down to it, there are no physical limitations to what we can accomplish here, the only limitations we see before us are those we have built for ourselves, and the time has come to stop building limits and start building a city.
Sincerely,
Graeme Stewart-Robertson
