Owen Sound council approves Vision 2050 strategic plan

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Owen Sound has adopted a plan intended to help guide the city’s direction over the next 25 years.

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At its meeting on Monday, city council accepted a recommendation from its strategic planning ad hoc committee to approve Future Owen Sound: Vision 2050 Long-Term Strategic Plan, a document containing seven city priorities and associated ways to measure the progress it is making in the coming years.

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Michelle Palmer, the city’s senior manager of strategic initiatives and operational effectiveness, told council the plan will help the city set priorities, focus energy and resources, ensure employees and other stakeholders are working toward common goals, and assess and adjust the organization’s direction in response to a changing environment.

“Over the past few years the municipal landscape in terms of both challenges and opportunities has changed dramatically,” said Palmer. “Future Owen Sound: Vision 2050 is responding to this reality.”

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The plan update has been in the works for close to two years now, building on the work of the city’s previous strategic plan refresh in 2021. In November 2023 the ad hoc committee was initiated and in the spring of 2024 consultant Jay Pitter Placemaking was hired to work with the city on the plan. Community feedback on priorities was gathered through a survey, with more than 1,000 surveys completed and more than 5,000 qualitative responses recorded. Community engagement was also undertaken through workshops and strategic planning sessions.

A draft plan was completed and presented to the ad hoc committee earlier this year, where it was agreed to include data-backed metrics in the document to ensure the city is measuring progress. The metrics are derived mainly from the census survey by Statistics Canada and a planned Citizen Satisfaction Survey facilitated by the city and conducted by an accredited research service provider. Palmer said Monday she would ideally like the see the surveys conducted every three years, with the first survey planned for 2027.

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Additional data sources include a Walk Score, building permits, the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation and climate strategy data collection, it said in a report from Palmer to the Sept. 24 meeting of the ad hoc committee.

With the metrics included, detailed actions contained in the draft plan were separated out “as the long-term strategic plan is intended to serve as a guiding compass rather than a detailed roadmap,” it said in the report.

PRIORITIES

PROSPEROUS CITY

The first of the seven priorities in the plan is Prosperous City, which relates to supporting businesses and their employees and contributing to a good quality of life for all. The priority includes “will be” goals of attracting a highly skilled, inter-generational workforce and working in close partnership with sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, and tourism and newer industries like technology and sustainability, all by 2050.

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The metrics identified to measure the city’s success in the priority include: realizing a net increase of the number of businesses by 50 with every census cycle; increasing industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI) square footage by 25,000 square feet each year; and decreasing the square footage vacancy rate of commercial/retail in the River District by five per cent every year.

GREEN AND RESILIENT CITY

The second priority, Green and Resilient City, focuses on strengthening the city’s environmental, social and economic ability to mitigate and adapt to climate changes and use its natural resources and infrastructure to support healthy lifestyles. The goal is to by 2050 have a wide range of resilient and sustainable practices that protect the planet, people and economy.

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Metrics for measuring success include a plan to reduce corporate and community emissions to reach net zero by 2050, and increase satisfaction with city services like parks and trails, drinking water and garbage and recycling collection by 5 per cent each survey cycle to reach and maintain a score of 80 or greater.

CELEBRATING AND EMBRACING CULTURE

Priority No. 3, Celebrating and Embracing Culture, focuses on all aspects of the city’s culture, including those of Indigenous Peoples, all residents and local arts and culture institutions, and calls on the city to contribute to creating an inclusive, welcoming and prosperous culture for harmonious demographic and economic growth.

The plan highlights a 2050 goal of Owen Sound being a city that supports and celebrates the long-standing cultural expressions of Indigenous Peoples and its local cultural resources, while also embracing contributions from new populations.

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The metrics to be used in the priority are increasing the employment number in the arts, heritage and cultural sectors by 20 per cent every census cycle and then maintaining it at three per cent or greater; and seeing an increase in those that strongly agree that the city is a welcoming and inclusive community by two per cent each survey cycle until the percentage that agree or strongly agree reaches and is maintained at 80 per cent.

CITY BUILDING

The fourth priority, City Building, focuses on enhancing urban development and planning processes to create places that contribute to complete communities for residents, future residents and tourists. The goal by 2050 is to have a city with infrastructure, amenities and housing that are well maintained, accessible and responsive to the needs of community members and visitors.

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Metrics include increasing satisfaction in city services like the library, art gallery and recreation facilities by five per cent each survey cycle until reaching and maintaining a score of 80, and to increase the satisfaction with revitalization of the downtown areas by five per cent each cycle until 80 is reached and maintained.

A CITY THAT MOVES

A City That Moves is the next priority, focusing on sustainable transportation and creating connectivity, while also ensuring everyone experiences dignity and accessibility, and are able to access what they need. The goal by 2050 is to have a comprehensive transportation network accommodating multiple types of sustainable and accessible travel types.

The metrics to success include improving the walk score by 10 points every five years, and increasing the satisfaction with services like parking, roads and sidewalks, transit, and winter maintenance of roads and sidewalks by five per cent each survey cycle until a satisfaction score of 80 is reached and maintained.

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SAFE CITY

The Safe City priority relates to how the city will contribute to inclusivity, diversity and accessibility. The goal by 2050 is to be regarded as a city that acknowledges things that impact a sense of security and be a place where institutions and community members are committed to protecting each other’s safety.

The metrics include increasing the satisfaction with police, fire and bylaw by five per cent each survey cycle until a score of 80 is reached and maintained; increase those that agree or strongly agree the city is an accessible one by two per cent each survey cycle until 80 per cent is reached and maintained; and increase the percentage of residents who have not encountered a barrier to access a city-owned facility, program or activity by two per cent each survey cycle until 80 is reached and maintained.

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FOSTERING MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL AND RESPECTFUL RELATIONSHIPS

The final priority is Fostering Mutually Beneficial and Respectful Relationship. The goal for city staff to build mutual respect and trust across stakeholder groups to advance productive democratic processes and develop a more relational front-line presence by 2050.

The metrics call for the city to increase the percentage of residents who indicate satisfaction with the quality of their most recent interaction with city staff by two per cent each survey cycle until 80 is reached and maintained; and increase the city’s Net Promoter Score by two points each survey cycle until the score is at or above the average for Canadian municipalities with population less than 250,000.

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“This strategic plan reflects the priorities of the community and what we want Owen Sound to be a generation from now,” Palmer said. “This helps to ensure our budgets and work plans are all moving forward to ensure our goals.”

On Monday, Coun. Jon Farmer asked to have more data and metrics included in the document to assist the city in measuring its progress. But his attempt to amend the motion to remove the metrics and get a report about including more data was defeated, with only Farmer in favour.

“There are what would seem to me be important data points that are missing and I think there is an over-reliance on the citizen satisfaction survey,” said Farmer. “The survey itself isn’t bad, and as staff pointed out does have a reliable methodology, but it only determines peoples’ subjective satisfaction.”

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In four subsequent motions Farmer asked to include additional data in the document related to housing affordability, suitability, adequacy and those spending more than 30 per cent of income on housing, bike score and annual transit ridership numbers, income brackets and employment-related income, and the crime severity index.

But while Farmer’s amendments garnered some support from other councillors, all were ultimately defeated.

Deputy-mayor Scott Greig argued that the additional data was not needed in the document, which he described as “high level.”

Greig said much of the data Farmer wanted to include will be contained in other plans and will be readily available for staff.

“We don’t need staff to come back with any more measurables to that extent because those are measurables that just frankly don’t belong in a strategic plan,” said Greig. “It is way, way beyond where a strategic plan is positioned in the hierarchy of documents that guide the city.”

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With the plan approved, staff will identify initial actions led by the city in the 2026 organizational work plan and will recommend to council a governance structure to guide the actions going forward, according to Palmer’s report.

An annual organizational work plan will identify specific projects and new initiatives, alongside ongoing core services, that move the plan forward, Palmer said. The plan will be flexible to allow council to adapt and respond to evolving needs and challenges.

Following the municipal elections next October, there will be a session with the new council to review the plan and to establish actions the new council wishes to pursue.

The approved capital budget for developing the strategic plan was $100,000 and the vision was developed within budget, according to Palmer’s report. Council approved $100,000 in its 2025 budget to be placed in a Strategic Plan Implementation reserve fund for the initial implementation of actions.

Mayor Ian Boddy thanked Jay Pitter Placemaking, staff, the ad hoc committee members, and the public for their participation in the process.

“It is good to get this far and I think it is going to be good for future councillors to work through these,” Boddy said.

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