Members of the Powell River Regional District planning committee, along with staff, have attended two strategic discussion workshops about land use planning approaches, objectives and legislative tools. Rob Roycroft, of Roycroft Consulting Services from Vancouver Island, facilitated both sessions, which cost $8,170. The workshops were closed to the public.
The first workshop, held in December, cost $3,392, for the facilitator’s fee, directors’ meeting claims and refreshments.
A second workshop, which focused on legislative tools for land use planning, was held on February 23 and cost $4,778. The total included the facilitator’s fee, lunch and directors’ meeting claims.
The workshops had their genesis in a report from Mac Fraser, regional district chief administrative officer, in October 2011 about the southern region official community plan (OCP). Rural directors had split on the vote about the draft OCP and they asked staff for advice on how to proceed, since they had reached an impasse and progress had stopped.
Fraser recommended that the document be split into two separate OCPs, one for Area B and one for Area C. Directors agreed with the recommendation and planning staff have completed a draft OCP for Area B.
Fraser also recommended that the planning committee engage in strategic discussions about land use planning approaches, objectives and legislative tools before advancing any OCP reviews. After interviewing directors, he found “there is a quite understandable diversity in desired land use planning approaches and objectives and thus a resultant disagreement as to how and when to use the associated legislative tools. It is submitted that a lack of consensus on the fundamental approaches and objectives of land use planning has greatly challenged the completion of the southern region OCP and, unless addressed, will challenge any future land use planning efforts.”
At the March 13 planning committee, Fraser reported on the February strategic workshop and included a copy of Roycroft’s presentation in his report. “There were not any decisions made during the day, but a review of all the tools in the toolbox,” he said. “Not to be confused with whether we need, want or should use all the tools, but if you understand the tools, then you understand your options.”
Dave Murphy, Texada Island director, asked Fraser to clarify what constitutes a workshop or a study session away from the public domain. “This definitely wasn’t some kind of health benefit thing where we were off sipping piña coladas,” Murphy said. “This was a workshop. Some people out there have other ideas.”
Fraser explained that a board or a committee of the board has an option under the Local Government Act to do strategic planning in camera. “There’s a mixed response to that,” he said. “Some jurisdictions clearly don’t, some do, but that’s where there is decision making. In this case, it’s strategic issues, but it’s a workshop because it’s not a decision-making effort.”
When asked if the impasse had been resolved as a result of the workshops, Colin Palmer, board chair and Electoral Area C director, said no, because directors didn’t make any decisions. “We’re better informed,” he said. “We’re far better informed as to how the impasse could be tackled, but at this point no one has made a decision and the only time the impasse will be passed is when there is a vote.”
Murphy said the impasse was the “catalyst that sent us back to school so we could learn about planning issues.”
