February 13 Committee of the Whole: Official Community Plan
An email from David and Susan Brown in support of the current version of the draft Official Community Plan (OCP) and recommending enhanced outreach mechanisms for future consultation phases.
Correspondence
From: Susan Brown
Sent: Monday, February 13, 2023 6:52 PM
To: Mayor And Council Email mayorandcouncil@viewroyal.ca
Subject: February 13 Committee of the Whole: Official Community Plan
We watched the February 7 Council discussion on the next steps regarding the draft Official Community Plan (OCP) and see that Committee of the Whole will be having a follow up conversation tomorrow evening (February 13) on this matter. We wish to express our support for taking this current version out for the next phase of public consultation and engagement. We are concerned with the suggestion made that this draft should essentially be thrown out and the process should begin from scratch. Too much time and money has been invested to date, and we do not feel that it is fiscally responsible to shelve this document and start over. Without doubt the draft OCP is not a perfect document, but it is not wrong in its entirety. As it is still draft, we see this as an iterative process that allows for change and refinement based upon further public feedback.
For the next phase of engagement, we would ask Council to consider the following:
- more than two consultation sessions as pandemic restrictions did constrain prior opportunities for engagement;
- innovative outreach mechanisms to gather input from all neighbourhoods in the Town and to engage a broader array of Town residents; and
- developing plain language materials to better explain to the public what the OCP is (and what it isn’t), what it does, how it’s used, and why we should care about it.
Thank you for considering our input.
David and Susan Brown
309 Bessborough Avenue
View Royal