The District of 100 Mile House held their OCP and zoning bylaw open house on April 30.
Around 12 people showed up in the District Council Chambers to hear a presentation by Stantec community consultants Chris Wilcott and Taylor Varro, as well as share their thoughts about where the district should be going.
Several display boards shared information about what the district has been doing relating to the OCP, zoning bylaw update, a map of the current zoning bylaw, the OCP land use map, an explanation on what a zoning bylaw is and why they were doing this. The district asked attendees to use sticky notes to list the challenges 100 Mile House is facing, what opportunities the district should explore in the future and the district's strengths and weaknesses.
By the end of the open house, these boards were populated by sticky notes with feedback.
Some people said they loved the conservative values and the friendly, hardworking folks of 100 Mile House. Others praised the friendly and small-town atmosphere of the community. The district's biggest strengths were listed as quiet living and recreational choices.
What was disliked were the lack of support for low-income people, on street parking which restricts traffic flow, frequent closures of the emergency department of the 100 Mile District General Hospital and crime. The high cost of rental units and a shortage of senior housing were also listed as concerns.
Opportunities residents thought 100 Mile should seek to explore in the future include attracting businesses that support housing companies, senior housing complexes, more employment, as well as health food outreach. Challenges being faced were the town being "tired," drugs, homelessness, crime and a high risk to property owners.
Wilcott, who is a registered professional planner with Stantec, said the presentation covered deliverables and key milestones of the OCP and zoning bylaw update.
"This presentation will briefly go over the general project plan - go over what an OCP and zoning bylaw are, because you probably don't spend Friday night reading zoning bylaws," Wilcott said. "And we'll outline the engagement strategy for the project."
He added he wanted to know what residents of 100 Mile House hope for the future of their community before they begin the process of updating and guiding the community documents and regulations.
Throughout the presentation, there was an explanation about the legal structure of planning, with the OCP acting as a high-level guiding document, as well as a requirement from the Province of B.C. that the District of 100 Mile House demonstrate capacity for 508 additional housing units over the next 20 years and update their housing needs report.
In addition, Stantec explained they wanted community feedback on community strengths, areas for improvement, opportunities and challenges, and specific geographic concerns. Finally, the presentation stated the currently existing OCP and zoning bylaw generally work well, so the update will be more of a refresh and fine-tuning to meet with provincial directives.
Joanne Doddridge, who is the director of economic development and planning with the District of 100 Mile House, said they were happy with the turnout.
"People are engaged and interested in what we're working on, and there was a lot of buzz in the room as people were talking about their ideas," Doddridge noted.
Mayor Maureen Pinkney added it was nice that some of the conversation had been very targeted.
"People came with ideas and thoughts on what about our senior housing and what about multi-family housing? And so it's good they really were interacting and checking out all the documents," Pinkney added. She also stated the presentation had put everything into context.
"The more they know about the rules around an official community plan, and what it is supposed to be doing, what it's for, how it benefits them, how it helps you plan the town, I think it's information that's important to get out there, even if sometimes it's not that exciting to hear," Pinkney added.
There will be a draft OCP with ideas for zoning bylaw amendments, which will lead to another engagement process where the draft OCP and the zoning bylaw amendment will be reviewed, which is set for August 2025. Afterwards, the OCP will be finalized and the zoning bylaw amendment will be drafted, which will lead to a council adoption process with a public hearing set for sometime in November or December later this year.
