Lake Country’s next 20 years has been planned out to a certain degree with the adoption of the new Official Community Plan.
The District of Lake Country council adopted the official plan, or the OCP, and it will guide the community through its development until the year 2038. The plan, of course, is not set it stone. It will undergo a review every five years to make room for amendments.
The OCP is the working product of several years of community consultation, research and review by district council, staff, special consultants and the public.
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Engagement events including an On Point: Choosing Our Future Lake Country event alongside other pop-in and listen events in 2017 were a few points of entry for public input.
“Council is very pleased with the level of participation and consultation that went in to preparing the updated document,” Mayor James Baker said. “The community was very interested in providing input on important topics such as tree removal, rural character, growth management, sand and gravel extraction, housing and Main Street town centre, as well as short-term accommodations.”
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The community has grown from 9,200 in 1995 to more than 14,000 in 2016 and the OCP is one way the current council can peer into a crystal ball, so to speak, to better prepare for growth trends.
The OCP will guide decisions on land-use management within the community, including housing density; commercial, industrial, agricultural and recreational land use; approximate locations and phasing of major road, sewer and water system upgrades and build-outs; and sets targets for energy and greenhouse gas goals.
“It’s great to see the high level of engagement from the community,” director of community development Mark Koch said. “Including more creative feedback opportunities allowed the project team to connect with the community in more meaningful ways.”
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