The Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako (RDBN) is allowing the Town of Smithers to have input into the drafting of their Official Community Plan (OCP).
At the town’s Council of the Whole meeting Jan. 29, councillors focused on eight key questions brought forward by the RDBN and provided feedback to planner Adam Cseke, who is the town’s representative on the RDBN’s OCP Working Group.
Some of the questions brought forward for discussion included: Should the regional district entertain future residential development on ALR land; should industrial and commercial development be contemplated in the Lake Kathlyn corridor; and at what densities should rural residential development be permitted?
The town is also setting up a meeting with RDBN Electoral Area A director Stoney Stoltenberg in the near future to discuss these points in more detail.
RDBN director of planning Jason Llewellyn, a member of the OCP Working Group, said the regional district has also asked other stakeholders like the Village of Telkwa and First Nations’ groups, for example, for their input before the document is finalized.
An OCP is a community’s long-term vision and includes a statement of objectives and policies to guide decisions on planning and land use management, within the area covered by the plan. The documents normally have a life of 20 years or more but are reviewed every five years or so to make sure they are still relevant.
For the complete story, see the February 6 edition of The Interior News.
