Why We Are Doing This Work
Natural areas make up approximately 14% of the City’s footprint, including future development areas. These spaces connect the community to nature, provide wildlife habitat, store carbon, and help manage stormwater. Many of these important areas are not formally conserved or managed. Conserving and managing natural areas will help ensure Saskatoon remains resilient, liveable and accessible to all.
Part of this work includes developing a consistent approach to identifying, conserving, and managing natural areas through policy and processes. This work is part of the implementation of the Green Infrastructure Strategy, which works towards an integrated green network in Saskatoon.
What Has Happened So Far?
In January 2024, the Natural Areas Policy Framework Report was presented to and approved by the Standing Policy Committee on Planning, Development and Community Services. This report provides an overview of what we heard from past and current engagement on natural areas, as well as the policy and process tools the City is proposing to further identify and conserve natural areas in Saskatoon.
What Tools Are We Exploring?
Based on what we heard, best practices from other cities and internal considerations, City Administration recommended eight tools outlined in the Natural Areas Policy Framework Report. City Administration will continue to explore and engage on each individual tool as they are further developed and refined.
A brief overview of the tools and their associated goals are listed in the table below. Please note that those that are bolded are being further explored and engaged on in 2024.
Table 1) Recommended policy and process toolsTools | Goals |
|---|
| Natural Area Policy | Provide direction for how natural areas are considered in Saskatoon, including what processes are required, who they apply to, how they are reviewed/approved and the timing for these processes to take place. |
| Natural Area Screening Improvements | Formalize the existing natural area screening process into an administrative procedure and explore opportunities for collecting field data earlier in the development process to better include the ecological state and benefits into the design decisions for the area. |
| Natural Areas Prioritization Tool | Formalize evaluation criteria to identify priority natural areas early in the development process. |
| Administrative Procedures | Determine if new administrative procedures are required to provide a consistent approach for reviewing, updating and managing the new framework tools. |
| Heritage Property Designation | Update the Civic Heritage Policy and support the Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee/City Administration to also consider natural areas as heritage properties |
| Design and Development Standards | To develop specific, technical standards for development applications to adhere to when designing and developing natural areas, as well as their adjacent lands. |
| Zoning Tools | Explore the potential for zoning tools to regulate development on private property to support adjacent natural areas. |
| Natural Areas Acquisition Fund | The acquisition of significant natural areas can be a tool which exists outside of the typical development process; however, this would require the development of a specific fund and supporting criteria to help guide the purchases. |
