Paula Kotasek-Toth, MCIP, RPP, is a Senior Project Planner with the City of Saskatoon. A graduate of the University of Saskatchewan’s Regional and Urban Planning Program, she has dedicated her entire professional career to serving the City of Saskatoon in a variety of planning and development roles.
Throughout her career, Paula has gained extensive experience in heritage conservation, bylaw compliance, neighbourhood planning, and development review. She led the City’s Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw Review project and most recently spearheaded initiatives to enhance communication and public engagement practices across the organization.
Paula has significant expertise in stakeholder and community engagement, having worked extensively with Saskatoon residents on land use and zoning applications, as well as a wide range of civic planning projects.
An active leader within the planning profession, Paula is a Past President of the Saskatchewan Professional Planners Institute and has served on the National Council of the Canadian Institute of Planners.
Public engagement is one of the most important — and most challenging — parts of planning work. From contentious public meetings and online backlash, planners are often expected to navigate complex conversations with communities while balancing technical, and political realities.
This session looks at the lessons learned through public engagement experiences — the approaches that worked, the ones that failed, and the things many of us wish we had known earlier. Through examples, attendees will explore strategies for building trust, communicating clearly, and designing engagement processes that are meaningful, inclusive, and authentic.
This presentation will highlight the lessons that come responding to criticism, adapting on the fly, and learning how to engage communities more effectively over time.
