After reviewing the distance that mail notification gets sent to inform residents about new development proposals and expanding that distance to better keep residents informed, the District of Lake Country has continued its efforts to engage and communicate with residents in meaningful and fun ways.
Most people at some point have noticed the big white legal-looking ‘Development Proposal’ signs on a property in their neighbourhood, but not everyone knows why they are there and what they mean.
That signage is all about public notification.
Tasked with updating the notification signs that get posted on applicable properties proposing new development changes, district planning technician Jocelyn Ratzlaff and planning summer student AJ Taylor took on the challenge of designing notification signs that would be more visible and less bureaucratic.
“Our goal is to keep the public informed, so we really want the signs to be bright and understandable in plain language—so that people can clearly know what is proposed when development occurs,” explained Ratzlaff.
Municipalities have to post signs at certain steps in the development approval process, so Lake Country took the opportunity to simplify the old black and white signs by adding colour and clarifying the messaging.
“We were happy to also see a slight money savings to printing the new notification signs since the printing company recently purchased a machine that could produce them at lower cost,” said Ratzlaff.
Considering the growth that Lake Country is experiencing, Mayor James Baker highlighted the importance of engaging residents.
“As an evolving community, inviting our residents to have a conversation on development is important, and this is a small step in trying to do so,” Baker said.
The new notification signs will be phased in as the remaining inventory of old signs run out.
