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Councillor Dorothy Hartshorne
OCP Review: Where we are in the Process
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February 2004(Last Updated: 11 Feb 04)
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An Official Community Plan (OCP) is a living document which is a statement of community values and goals. It is used to guide decisions on planning and land management for the municipality. The Local Government Act suggests that the community plan be updated on a five-year basis. It is up to the Council of the day to determine what kind of and how in depth that review will be.
The Official Community Plan Review Committee (OCPRC) was struck last June and started meeting on a bi-weekly basis. During the summer council sent out requests for proposals to a number of Planning Consultants. In early fall, Council interviewed a short list of applicants and decided on a Mr. Ken Cossey from KWC Planning Services.
Simultaneously, the OCP review committee was drafting the questionnaire that all residents should have received in the mail last September. The committee collated the results of the returned questionnaires and presented the completed Report to Council in December. The various commissions and committees of council were also asked to fill in the questionnaire. Those responses were not included in the OCPRC document but forwarded to the planner on an individual basis. In January 2004 the OCPRC was directed by council to serve as one of the resources for the consultant during his review and revision of the Districts OCP.
The consultant is currently in the process of developing a document entitled “District of North Saanich Background Information Review for the Official Community Plan”. This background document includes sections entitled: Physiography of the Area, Population and Community Information, Wastewater and Sewage Disposal, Growth Scenarios, Subcommunity Information, Issues Identified through the Community Open House Process, Issues Identified through the Official Community Plan Review Questionnaire and from the District Committees.
To complete the section of the report entitled “Issues Identified Through the Community Open House Process", there will be an open house held sometime between now and March 31. No date has been set as yet. The consultant will then submit the completed “Background” report to council.
After the release of this document the actual review will officially begin and there will be many more opportunities for public participation. Over the next year, these public forums will address issues identified in the background report. This process could take a variety of formats i.e. public meetings and forums, newsletters or perhaps a more targeted questionnaire. There are many methods of engaging the public in debate and it is Mr. Cossey’s job to utilize those venues that he feels will best suit the needs of this community.
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