Official Community Plan consultation wrapping up

By Robert Randall • Published on Wednesday, June 2, 2010 • Categorized as Business & the Local Economy, Construction & Land Development, Heritage, Infrastructure, Local News, Sports and Outdoor Recreation, Urban Issues

The City of Victoria is nearing the end of an extensive series of community consultations for the new Official Community Plan.

The Official Community Plan, or OCP, is the master document that guides City Hall in all aspects of development, from building heights to environmental standards to economic vitality. It was last updated in 1995.

Time is running out for Victorians to have input in the newest Official Community Plan. Photo by Robert Randall © VibrantVictoria.ca.

Mindful of past consultation projects that involved only a handful of long-time community volunteers and activists, the City is casting the net wide in an attempt to get a broader range of citizens involved in the visioning process. Their goal is to get input from 5,000 people over the course of the program through open houses, a citizens’ advisory committee, Community Circles and online questionnaires.

Included in the OCP process is the Draft Downtown Core Area Plan. Made public last week, this subset looks specifically at revitalizing the economic life, transportation links and design standards of the Downtown neighbourhood. Planners are redefining the traditional Downtown core by including areas of the Rock Bay neighbourhood lying within a few minutes walk from the planned Douglas Street rapid transit corridor.

The City has set aside two dates for the public to attend a community forum that will assist the City in creating the OCP. Held at the Victoria Conference Centre on Douglas Street, the first session begins Friday, June 25, from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Another session will be held Saturday, June 26, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Local consultant Bernard von Schulmann will host an OCP discussion at his Burnside-area home this Friday, June 4, at 7 p.m. All are invited. Von Schulmann cites the preservation of Rock Bay’s diminishing industrial land base as a key topic. RSVP Bernard for location and directions.

Updated information on the June 25/26 Community Forum will be posted on the City’s OCP website.

To discuss the City’s OCP on the VibrantVictoria forum, click here.

Click here for a discussion of the draft version of the Downtown Core Area Plan on VibrantVictoria.ca’s forum.

http://www.shapeyourfuturevictoria.ca/process/citizen-advisory-committee/

Responses to this Headline or Article

The five most recent replies to VibrantVictoria.ca's discussion forum's Victoria Official Community Plan thread, the most relevant thread to the above headline or article:

VicHockeyFan

Jul 07, 2010 at 12:05 pm

Quote: These weekend forums only engage the non-apathetic. .

That sounds OK to me.

Rob Randall

Jul 08, 2010 at 12:30 am

Remember that a lot of the background for the current consultation process was done three or four years ago with workshops and open houses. For example, one of the new things that came out of that was an expanded idea of what feels like Downtown. The borders haven't changed but the Downtown Draft Plan incorporates areas on the fringe of Downtown. Another example was the recreation infrastructure workshops held a couple of years ago.

Jared

Jul 08, 2010 at 2:37 pm

Quote: That sounds OK to me.

The apathetic of today might not be the apathetic of tomorrow, particularly if the OCP ends up containing something that irks the masses. They'll end up revolting at the polls or doing civil disobedience like tent cities.

And by not engaging the full community you miss out on some of the best ideas, which I think was the point of this engagement in the first place?

Bernard

Jul 08, 2010 at 3:04 pm

There are things the City could be doing to increase participation.

1) Offer some manner of forum online at their website to discuss the OCP
2) Hold a few more "thinking outside of the box" public workshops
3) Create an event that is more than just planning stuff, have other interesting things on hand like stories about the City in the past, children's entertainment, and more
4) Would it have been that hard to work with the three main High Schools where Victoria kids go to get them to offer input into the OCP process?

There many things that could be done other than the sort of bland traditional meetings the City has held.

If there is not a wide public participation in the OCP process, then this reflects a lack of imagination and commitment to public engagement by the City.