Skip to content

Public meeting tonight for Lake Country sustainability report

Residents can give input on helping to shape issues in Lake Country

The District of Lake Country has released its first State of Sustainability Report describing the district’s performance on 15 goals in the areas of social, cultural, economic and environmental sustainability.

The full report will be presented at a public meeting in Lake Country Tuesday night and can also be viewed online at www.oursustainablelakecountry.ca.

The forum is the public’s chance to comment on the report and to suggest actions that could be taken by the district, community groups and individuals to make Lake Country more sustainable.

"I think this is partly a community document for residents and community groups to have an understanding of the initiatives the district is under-taking as well as a great tool for council and policy makers to look at how they can address some of the issues as we move forward," said Koch.

After the forum the consultants will take the feed back and make the necessary changes to the document and it's hoped that more funding can be acquired in the future to keep updating the document.

It's the first of what is expected to be a new report released every two years, allowing the district and the community to keep track of progress on the issues surrounding Lake Country.

“Knowing that our progress towards sustainability will be measured and publicy released every two years will help us stay focused and on track," said Mark Koch, director of planning and development at the DLC. “We are very pleased to see that Lake Country continues to be a safe community with increasing housing choices that appeal to young people and families. At the same time, this report highlights some issues that we need to focus on (see sidebar), such as reducing our reliance on single occupant cars and the health of Kokanee fish stocks in Wood Lake.”

The State of Sustainability report was developed as part of Lake Country’s Integrated Community Sustainability Plan (ICSP) that is currently under way. The sustainability goals measured in the report were developed jointly by the district and representatives of the general public, including community associations and arts and culture groups, as well as UBCO and Interior Health.

The report was put together by consultants and using a $250,000 grant received from the federal government's gas tax fund.

"Future funding resources are unknown but we would certainly like this to be a living document to see how progress is being made on the goals as identified," said Koch.