Shawnigan area residents: What do you want your village centre to look like? How do you want it to function? Your ideas are wanted to help the long-term vision of your community.
The Cowichan Valley Regional District and community representatives are joining forces with a design firm to offer several design and planning events that, once complete, will help decision makers when it comes to responding to development applications and future growth.
“In Shawnigan Lake we are very conscious of our values and we want our village to reflect them,” said Shawnigan Lake director Sierra Acton. “Can we use design to reflect our values? Absolutely! I believe if we can come together to share and accentuate what we already have, we can define our village goals, protect our sense of place, and create a path forward to achieve what we want as a community.”
MVH Urban Planning and Design Inc. will work with the community to develop a Village Centre Plan.
The consulting team is hosting three events at the Shawnigan Lake Community Centre where the community can participate and observe the process: First, an Ideas Fair: an opportunity to add to what the designers have heard so far. It runs Thursday, Oct. 17 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Second, a Studio Drop-In: watch the designers at work, and see the ideas taking shape. It runs Friday, Oct. 18 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and third, a Design Presentation: unveiling draft design concepts for the future of Shawnigan Village, which runs Saturday, Oct. 19 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Residents are also encouraged to participate through PlaceSpeak, and can sign up for regular updates about the project by emailing thinkshawnigan@gmail.com.
The Think Shawnigan project is a collaborative project that enables residents to express and record their vision for what is considered the heart of their community. The design process is expected to tackle a number of challenges including mobility improvements, intensity of desired development, amount of future retail and commercial space, and a more detailed assessment of housing needs.
