REQUEST FOR DECISION
DATE: August 28, 2015 Report No. DEV-15-043
TO: Mayor and Council
FROM: Bill Brown, Director of Development Services
SUBJECT:
Title
Commencement of the Official Community Plan Review
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
That Council:
1) adopt the Official Community Plan project charter (Schedule "A") and instruct staff to begin the review of the Official Community Plan;
2) authorize the Mayor to send a letter to all of the stakeholders identified in Schedule "B" indicating that Council has commenced a review of its Official Community Plan and inviting them to indicate whether or not they wish to actively participated in the review; and
3) authorize staff to draft an on-line/paper kick-off survey for Council's review;
all as outlined in staff report DEV-15-043.
Body
RELEVANT POLICY:
Council strategic plan.
STRATEGIC RELEVANCE:
The Strategic Priorities 2015 - 2019 identifies the undertaking of a process to update the Official Community Plan as a strategic priority for the Township.
BACKGROUND:
Esquimalt's current Official Community Plan was adopted by Council on March 19, 2007. Although there is no statutory review timeline, it is imperative that the Official Community Plan be periodically reviewed and updated as part of the good governance model espoused by Council and staff. The Plan must continue to reflect the values and aspirations of the community as it evolves. This report first provides an overview of Official Community Plans and then outlines the proposed review process.
The role of the Official Community Plan
Section 875 (1) of the Local Government Act states, "An official community plan is a statement of objectives and policies to guide decisions on planning and land use management, within the area covered by the plan, respecting the purposes of local government". The Official Community Plan is in essence, a municipal constitution (Buholzer, 2001 (including Service Issue...
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