REQUEST FOR DECISION
DATE: August 17, 2016 Report No. DEV-16-057
TO: Laurie Hurst, Chief Administrative Officer
FROM: Marlene Lagoa, Community Development Coordinator
SUBJECT:
Title
Official Community Plan Review - Phase 2 “Looking Forward Forum” Public Input End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
That Council receive Staff Report DEV-16-057 for information and direct staff to give consideration to the public input received when drafting new Official Community Plan policies.
Body
RELEVANT POLICY:
Official Community Plan
Local Government Act
STRATEGIC RELEVANCE:
The public input received will help to inform the Official Community Plan Review.
BACKGROUND:
The purpose of this report is to present the public input received during Phase 2 of the Official Community Plan (OCP) Review process. The majority of the community engagement took place between May and June 2016.
A community forum was held on May 4th at the Esquimalt Recreation Centre and was attended by more than 50 people. The feedback collected at the forum is enclosed as Appendix A.
A survey was available from May 4th to May 31st, 2016. In total 221 surveys were collected either online (176 surveys) or printed copies (45 surveys) which were available at the Esquimalt Recreation Centre, Municipal Hall and Esquimalt Library Branch. The survey results are enclosed as Appendix B.
Due to the under-representation of youth in the OCP “Kick Off” survey in 2015, a concentrated effort was made to consult with local youth. During Phase 2 input was collected from 183 youth who either attended one of the local schools or participated in Esquimalt’s Teen Centre programs. A consolidation of all the youth input received is enclosed as Appendix C.
Also during Phase 2 the Township received five written submissions from members of the public which are enclosed as Appendix D.
Phase 3 of the OCP Review process - analysis of the “Looking Forward Forum” public input - was originally scheduled from July to September 2016. The presentation of the public input received in this staff report marks the end of Phase 3 one month ahead of schedule. The OCP Review project timeline is attached as Appendix E.
ISSUES:
1. Rationale for Selected Option
The Local Government Act section 475 (1) states:
“During the development of an official community plan, or the repeal or amendment of an official community plan, the proposing local government must provide one or more opportunities it considers appropriate for consultation with persons, organizations and authorities it considers will be affected.”
The public input received during Phase 1 (OCP Kick-off Survey) and Phase 2 (Looking Forward Forum) will be reviewed by staff prior to the drafting of new OCP policies and guidelines.
2. Organizational Implications
The OCP Review is part of the 2016 departmental work plans and reflective of the department’s approved 2016 Operational Strategies.
3. Financial Implications
Funding to conduct the OCP Review was approved as part of the 2016 budget.
4. Sustainability & Environmental Implications
There are no direct sustainability or environmental implications.
5. Communication & Engagement
The complete results of the public input received during Phase 2 will be posted to the website. The availability of these documents will be publicized by way of a media release, story in the fall community newsletter, and email to OCP Review subscribers.
Staff will be creating a Q & A sheet to address the questions posed in the survey comments (indicated with blue highlighting in Appendix B).
In the fall a staff report will be coming back to Council outlining the community consultation plan for reviewing the draft OCP policies and guidelines in early 2017.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. That Council receive Staff Report DEV-16-057 for information and direct staff to give consideration to the public input received when drafting new Official Community Plan policies.
2. That Council request further information from staff.