St.François Xavier Settlement Centre Plan

The Rural Municipality of St. François Xavier (RMSFX) defined specific and attainable sustainability goals for its settlement area by writing those goals as policy within a Sustainable Community Plan (SCP). The SCP was to be integrated into the settlement’s new zoning bylaw to provide guidance for future growth. As part of the White Horse Plains Planning District, whose development plan was approved in April 2010 by the province, the RMSFX faced large lot sizes, a lack of active transportation, and almost no commercial sector. These factors tended to encourage the generation of greenhouse gases and increased the costs of delivering municipal services. Energy, waste, and water management were deemed to be adequate or were being improved. Still, the RMSFX saw the need for forward planning to consider demographic projections, anticipated supply and demand, and physical constraints. A background study aimed to analyze the situation in detail and identify development opportunities and constraints. Consultations with provincial governmental departments, council members, landowners, and residents established a sustainability vision for the community. Its purpose was to set goals and timelines, with special attention to appropriate density for future growth, energy options for existing and future neighbourhoods, aging-in-place options for current residents, and integration in the form of parks, trails, and pathways between the built environment and surrounding natural areas. The SCP’s work was expected to set a precedent within the planning district by openly engaging with an entire community using techniques such as an online survey, stakeholder meetings, and a public visioning workshop. The resulting SCP was to be made available for review by other municipalities in Manitoba interested in sustainability. The RMSFX hoped that those reading the final document would learn from, and be inspired by, its experiences.

(Project description from original funding application)