OCP PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT UPDATE

RECOMMENDATION

THAT Council receive the report dated December 8, 2021 from the Community Planner entitled “OCP Public Engagement Update” for information.

CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER’S COMMENTS

I concur with the recommendation.

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES’ COMMENTS

I concur with the recommendation.

PURPOSE OF REPORT

This report briefly introduces the attached Phase 1 Consultation Report “What We Heard”, prepared by Ecoplan, the Town’s lead consultants for the ongoing OCP Update project. It then outlines the major components of the Phase 2 consultation program which begins in January 2022.

PROJECT INFORMATION

Phase 1 Engagement

The attached ‘What we Heard’ report summarizes the View Royal Official Community Plan (OCP) update Phase 1 of community and stakeholder engagement, which took place between September to November 2021. This phase of public consultation focussed on gathering community members views on the vision, priorities, issues and opportunities to direct View Royal’s future. The consultation included 11 neighbourhood walk shops, 3 online workshops and an online survey. The inputs received through these consultations are summarized in the attached report.

Emerging Themes from Phase 1

Overall, community members expressed care about View Royal and wrote extensively about their neighborhoods. Many engagement participants took the time to provide thoughtful and detailed responses in all engagement streams. Emerging themes include:

Pedestrian and cyclist focused streets In View Royal, most streets should be pedestrian and cyclist focused. Streets are places for playing and socializing, not parking. Some participants expressed concern that increased housing will bring increased vehicular traffic and on-street parking.

Affordable Housing Many residents would like to see more affordable housing in the area particularly or young families and generations to come. In most neighbourhoods, there is support to increase housing density through the slow development of smaller housing types (e.g., carriage homes, townhomes, duplex/triplexes) in existing residential areas and along transit corridors.

Multi-modal transportation Many participants would like to see a shift toward more transit options such as bus or rapid transit systems and active transportation including biking and walking.

Walkability Participants want to be able to walk to amenities in mixed-use neighbourhood “hubs”. Having complete, age-friendly neighbourhoods is one action several participants felt could help View Royal be more sustainable, resilient, and adapt to climate change.

Placemaking Many community members want to maintain a unique and cherished “View Royal” identity that has the small community feel, with green space, trees and space for neighbourly connections.

Parks, greenspace, and water access Community members value parks and greenspaces in View Royal and want to see more public access to the ocean and waterfront.

NEXT STEPS

Phase 2 Engagement

The second phase of community and stakeholder engagement is outlined as follows:

Objectives for Phase 2 engagement:

Education: Share information on the connections between land use, density and transportation, as they relate to future considerations for managing growth in View Royal.
Collaborate: Provide participants an opportunity to voice what matters to them/ perspectives on future land use and design directions.
Build Relationships: discussions are an opportunity to have important conversations, listen to diverse perspectives and continue building and fostering relationships with View Royal residents, business owners, and developers.

Consultation Goals

Help to build shared understanding of design directions that will support desired redevelopment along existing community corridors and neighbourhood centres. Community corridors identified in 2011 OCP include: Northern Gateway; Helmcken-Harbour; Western Gateway; Eastern Gateway. Neighbourhood centres identified in 2011 OCP include: Thetis Cove; Hospital; Burnside Corner; Arbutus; Lakeside Village.
Gather input on what level of acceptance is there for different forms of housing redevelopment adjacent to and within existing residential neighbourhoods – what are appropriate transitions (form, scale, height, typologies, design elements/ guidelines) with existing detached residential and mixed-use neighbourhoods?
Addressing common concerns of residents related to traffic and parking. In tandem with climate action strategy goals – using OCP as a climate action implementation tool.
Realistic land use and design directions for major transportation routes within View Royal and supporting better north-south connections. VR recognizes that the Island Highway is a community corridor (TransCanada the route for moving thru VR).

Who are we engaging?

Community members / general public
View Royal organizations, associations
Advisory Committee members, as individuals
Developers and business owners

How are we engaging?

Online delivery with presentation and input formats – Mentimeter and Mural
Online community survey
Town staff will consider delivering in-person sessions at Town Hall – using the same materials developed for online engagement subject to COVID conditions at the time.

Proposed Dates:

Town office closed from Dec 23 to January 3rd. Advertising begins week of January 3rd, 2022, using Town social media and email list Phase 1.
Delivery of Phase 2 workshops and survey start January 24th and complete mid-February.
Complete Phase 2 ‘What we heard’ report by end of February 2022.

RECOMMENDATION

THAT Council receive the report dated December 8, 2021 from the Community Planner entitled “OCP Public Engagement Update” for information.

SUBMITTED BY: J. Davison, MCIP RPP, Planner

REVIEWED BY: L. Chase, MCIP RPP, Director of Development Services

ATTACHMENTS:

What We Heard – Phase 1 Consultation Report – Ecoplan – December 2021

OCP PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT UPDATE

TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE REPORT