Vernonites are being urged to stay involved in developing a new official community plan. The city will host stakeholder meetings June 9 and 16 as part of creating a new long-term land use document. All residents are invited to take part in the discussions..jpg)
“The OCP reflects the opinions and priorities of residents and council,” said Jeremy Kinch, manager of planning, development and engineering services. These meetings are just the latest stage in the OCP review. “We have spent the last seven months gathering input and so far it has been fairly broad,” said Kinch. The process has included visioning workshops, a community survey, focus groups and an online form. From that, guiding principles have been established to direct the writing of policies and the OCP. With the two stakeholder meetings, Kinch said the city’s goal is to get more specific information about land use. Maps have been produced and they will be used to reveal development preferences, including the location of new employment, commercial centres and residential subdivisions. Kinch hopes to see between 120 and 150 people participate in each session. Besides city staff, the meetings will also involve Smart Growth Advisory Services, the firm contracted to lead the OCP review. The June 9 stakeholder meeting will be at Okanagan Landing Elementary School from 1 to 4 p.m., while the June 16 meeting will be from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Performing Arts Centre. City staff anticipates having a draft OCP before council in December for consideration, with approval coming in early 2008
No comments:
Post a Comment