OFFICIAL COMMUNITY PLAN REVIEW AND UPDATE: DRAFT VISION STATEMENT AND GOALS

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the report titled “Official Community Plan Review and Update: Draft Vision Statement and Goals” from the Senior Planner and dated May 7, 2025, be received.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to present the Draft Vision and Goals that have been prepared as part of the Phase 1 Official Community Plan (OCP) review and update, for Council’s information.

BACKGROUND:

An OCP vision is a statement and collection of goals, values, needs and wants for the future. It establishes where we want to be and how we get there. Reviewing the OCP vision is an important first step and is one of the deliverables that the project team outlined in Phase 1 of the OCP review and update.

The project team shared a draft Vision and Guiding Principles Survey with the OCP Advisory Committee on January 13, 2025, and Council on January 21, 2025. Both the Advisory Committee and Council had an opportunity to provide comment prior to the publication of the survey on January 24, 2025.

On January 24, 2025, the Town launched its OCP review and update, “View Royal 2050: Our Future View”. As part of this project launch, the Town published its Vision and Guiding Principles Survey and its project webpage, Engage View Royal. The Vision Survey closed on February 18, 2025, and the Town received 130 surveys responses. The survey consisted of 18 questions, 10 of which were focused on the vision and guiding principles for the update of the OCP. The questions included both quantitative and qualitative questions. The remainder of the questions focused on demographics about the respondent. All questions were voluntary.

Respondents were asked to provide feedback on what they valued in their community and what was important to them. A summary of the questions asked include:

1. What do you love most about living, working, or playing in View Royal?
2. What are the most important things to have within walking distance (10 min) from your home?
3. What are the most important aspects of ensuring that View Royal is a great place to live, work, and play in the next 20 years?
4. What is missing in our community?
5. What is the biggest challenge View Royal will face now and in 2050?
6. If you could change one thing about your neighbourhood or View Royal, what would you change?

In addition to the main Vision and Guiding Principles Survey, the project team also worked with Shoreline Community Middle School and launched a Youth Survey, which students responded to between February 21 and March 2, 2025. A total of 86 surveys were completed. All respondents were in grades 6, 7, or 8 and between the ages of 10 to 14.

The respondents were asked the following questions:

1. Let’s start by getting to know what makes View Royal special to you! Tell us about your favourite place in View Royal.
2. Now that you have written about your favourite place in View Royal, can you think of something that might be missing to make it even better?
3. Now imagine that you are 20 years older than you are now and you are about to become the Mayor of View Royal. You have some big decisions to make! As Mayor, what are some things you would change about View Royal?

In addition to the two surveys, the project team also collaborated with the West Shore Chamber of Commerce and held a business mixer on March 6, 2025, at the Victoria Scottish Community Centre. The event was open to all local business owners to encourage participation in the OCP review and update process. Approximately 36 participants attended the business mixer. During the mixer, staff facilitated a small workshop with participants and asked the following questions:

1. What is View Royal doing well that helps the growth of your business?
2. Are there any challenges, specific to View Royal, that are affecting your business?
3. What can be improved in View Royal to facilitate economic growth?

The project team and project consultant, Urban Systems, reviewed the data submitted through the Vision and Guiding Principles Survey, Youth Survey, and Business Mixer and completed an analysis to determine what values and goals are important to the community, now and into the future. The OCP What We Heard Report – Business Mixer and OCP What We Heard Report – Visioning and Guiding Principles Survey are provided in Attachment 3 and 4.

The result is a new draft vision statement and ten goals that will guide the Town moving forward. A copy of the draft vision statement and goals are available for review in Attachment 1.

ANALYSIS:

In preparing the draft vision statement and goals, the project team considered the existing vision statement and objectives in the existing 2011 OCP (see Attachment 2). The focus in updating the vision was to establish a clear and consistent vision statement, and create concise goals, that are reflective of what was heard in the two surveys.

Each goal is categorized by a major theme, which was identified through the surveys, as well as direction and strategic priorities of Council. Within each theme is a single goal that provides a clear vision for the community’s future. Beneath the goal is a brief description that explains how this goal is to be achieved in the lifetime of this plan. Through subsequent phases of the OCP review and update, the project team will be preparing objectives, policies, and guidelines that will put these goals into action.

The project team is preparing a third engagement touchpoint that will provide another opportunity for the public to weigh in on the draft vision statement and goals. Through a survey and upcoming open houses, the public will be asked: “Did We Get It Right?”. It is anticipated that the third round of engagement will be launched on May 16, 2025, and conclude on June 8, 2025. The project team will present a “What We Heard Report” along with a 50% draft of the OCP to Council in the summer.

Impacts and implications can be summarized as follows:

ALIGNMENT:

The recommended option aligns with the Town’s following core guiding documents as follows:

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION GOAL:

The desired level of public participation for the recommended option is:

[x] Inform [ ] Consult [ ] Involve [ ] Collaborate [ ] Empower
[ ] N/A

TIME CRITICAL:

This report is not time critical.

ATTACHMENTS:

1. Draft Vision Statement and Goals, View Royal 2050 Official Community Plan Review and Update
2. 2011 Official Community Plan Vision Statement and Objectives
3. OCP What We Heard Report – Business Mixer
4. OCP What We Heard Report 1 – Vision and Guiding Principles