Draft community plan ready for inspection

Residents have an opportunity to view the most recent draft of the official community plan (OCP) before it goes to City of Powell River council.

The next open house for the proposed OCP is on Tuesday, October 22 in the multipurpose room of Westview Elementary School, 3900 Selkirk Avenue. There are two sessions, one from 4 to 6 pm and the second from 7 to 9 pm.

Consultants hired to develop the plan will be presenting the proposed document, called the Sustainable Official Community Plan for Powell River. The presentation will include a revised vision statement, revised land use policies and maps for land use, a cycling network and development permit areas, among others.

“The purpose of the meeting is to present to the people who have participated, to everybody, the results of their common effort,” said Carlos Felip, the city’s director of planning services. “This will be the preliminary complete draft of the official community plan.”

As well as the presentation at the meeting, there will be opportunities for participants to identify aspects of the plan they may disagree with, such as land use designations, as well as any mistakes, such as incorrect street names, Felip said.

The next step is for the consultants to present the draft plan to city council, Felip explained. “They will identify the areas of conflict where council will have to make a decision,” he said. “This is the moment when council has to demonstrate they are in charge.”

If council is satisfied at that meeting, then the final draft is prepared and the OCP bylaw will be introduced for initial readings. The process includes a public hearing, Felip pointed out. “If anything has been missed after this long process, this is the last chance for someone to identify something, because council could make a change, even at that point.”

Hopefully, the OCP will be done, adopted and printed by early January, if not late December, Felip said.