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Case Study: The Ontario Professional Code Of Practice

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The Ontario Professional Planners Institute has outlined a standard of practice in which professional planners part of OPPI have certain rights and responsibilities. These guidelines are outlined in the Professional Code of Practice and focus on promoting higher professional standards by improving ethics and practice (OPPI, n.d.). The Professional Code of Practice is the basis for planning practice. The CIP outlines its core values which focus on addressing public interests and values. The values are standards that planners must consider when taking on professional planning responsibilities. The CIP is also broken down into three categories; planner’s responsibility to the public, to clients/employers, and their responsibility to other members …show more content…

At my last co-op placement, I worked as land development student for a private residential development company. I was given the opportunity to work with many planners from consulting firms and municipalities. One of the projects the company was in the process of getting approved was a 250-home community in the Town of Oakville. This was a controversial subdivision proposal since it was being developed adjacent to an environmentally sensitive area. The area of concern was a large, diverse and relatively undisturbed forest that many plants and wildlife need to survive and reproduce. The forest also provided environmental services for existing communities such as capturing stormwater runoff. The development of a large community would put strain on the forest and its services. To address public concern related to the project, employees from the development company including myself and a planner from a hired consulting firm attended a public meeting held by the Town. The planner in this situation was there to address concerns raised by the public but also present an environmental analysis report of the proposed …show more content…

There is emphasis on the responsibility that planners must serve the interest of the public through techniques that inform and structure debates and foster understanding (OPPI, n.d.). Members should respect the diversity of needs and values of the public while providing clear and accurate information on planning matters. These sections also cover the consequences on the natural and built environment. Through the planner’s action it is evident that he has neglected the interest of the public and has put the values of the developer first by presenting limited information. The planner did not foster understanding by providing clear and accurate information. Instead the information provided was vague and was not accurately represented since affects were not covered adequately in terms of the long-term consequences. Section 2.7 to 2.9 in the CIP addresses the fact that planners are responsible for disclosing full information when possible conflict of interest arise (OPPI, n.d.). In this case the developer and their proposed development and the public and the adjacent environmentally sensitive area created a conflict of interest. the conflict of interest was that the developer wanted to develop a community that aligns with their proposed plan whereas existing residents wanted to change the proposed plan to protect the forest. Since a conflict of interest arose the planner was responsible for

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