District of Sooke council has lumbered over the first hurdle to approving a 10-year plan encompassing land use, development, climate change and the environment.
Council voted unanimously Monday to give SookeB次元官网网址檚 official community plan bylaw first reading and send it to a public hearing in June.
Council, staff and community volunteers have been working on the plan for 18 months, bringing in more than 2,500 pieces of public input.
While the draft OCP spans dozens of topics over 238 pages and seven chapters, much of the discussion in recent weeks has been about zoning designations and a decision by council to retain a 15-metre foreshore setback after a 30m setback was proposed. Other residents have lobbied council and staff individually and there are still questions about provincial housing and Indigenous policies.
Matthew Pawlow, the districtB次元官网网址檚 director of planning, said any law or documents from other government levels could be added later to the OCP as an amendment.
The district will hold an open house on the OCP on May 7, where residents can comment on the draft before it receives second and third reading and goes to public hearing in June. The open house at Sooke Community Hall is from noon to 4 p.m.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e not going to dismiss (the publicB次元官网网址檚) concerns,B次元官网网址� said Coun. Al Beddows, councilB次元官网网址檚 representative on the OCP committee. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙eB次元官网网址檚 going to look at each and every one of them. Two weeks ago the public came to us with some errors. Council reacted to that and we made the necessary changes.B次元官网网址�
Couns. Tony St-Pierre and Ebony Logins urged council to pass the first reading of the bylaw, which would move the document to a public hearing.
B次元官网网址淲e do need a new OCP. ThereB次元官网网址檚 no doubt about it. The last one is swiss cheeses at this point,B次元官网网址� St-Pierre said.
Couns. Megan McMath and Jeff Bateman were concerned with the lack of public consultation, hampered by provincial health restrictions and the pandemic.
McMath said some pieces donB次元官网网址檛 lie within some councillorsB次元官网网址� expertise, so they receive more insight and perspective as they continue to hear from the public.
B次元官网网址淭he OCP is meant to be a high-level document, and then council needs to adopt other policies,B次元官网网址� said Mayor Maja Tait. B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 think this document will be everything to everyone. There are some decisions to be made as we go into the the future.B次元官网网址�
Council hopes to adopt the OCP before this fallB次元官网网址檚 municipal election. The Capital Regional District reviews the document before final adoption.
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