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North Cowichan extends public review of draft OCP

Original timeline considered too short
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North Cowichan extends the public review of the draft OCP to Dec. 22. (File photo)

The public review of North Cowichan’s draft official community plan has been extended to Dec. 22.

Council and staff heard from a number of residents and stakeholders regarding the original 30-day time frame as being too short, in particular in light of the recent flooding in the area.

“Hearing from every part of the community about what we got right, and what we missed the mark on, is very important,” said Mayor Al Siebring.

“There is a lot of information in the OCP for people to read and understand, and with the distractions of the flood, and of course COVID-19, we want to provide as much time as possible without impacting the overall project schedule.”

The OCP is a local government’s long-term framework for a wide variety of policies and strategies including growth, housing, the environment, and the economy.

People are encouraged to read and comment on an online version of the document.

Feedback heard through this engagement will be considered in the next draft OCP before council receives it for discussion and potential endorsement in early 2022.

The draft OCP can be viewed and commented on through a platform called Konveio which prompts for survey feedback as users move through the document.

Comments can be made on the entire draft OCP, the executive summary, or just on specific chapters.

Alternatively, a PDF can be downloaded along with a survey feedback form and returned via email or in-person at municipal hall.

The Konveio link and PDF can be found at www.northcowichan.ca/OCP along with a recording of the webinar that launched this stage of the process held on Nov. 8.

Anyone needing assistance or wishing to provide input in other forms can reach out to staff by contacting communityplanning@northcowichan.ca.

The OCP Project began in 2019 and the community and stakeholder groups have been given several opportunities to provide input and comment during the multi-phase project.

This round of engagement builds on the OCP vision and goals and the growth management strategy which were established from community input over the past two years.