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Process / Important Dates

A Shared Community Vision
Area A - OCP Review

The following diagram outlines the Electoral Area 'A' Official Community Plan review process.

Electoral Area 'A' Official Community Plan Adopted

The Electoral Area 'A' Official Community Plan was adopted by the Regional District of Nanaimo Board on Tuesday, July 26, 2011. The notices and information below represent a record of the public engagement and events of the Official Community Plan review.

Community Information Meeting and Public Hearing

Community Information Meeting and Public Hearing
'A Shared Community Vision'Community Information Meeting and Public Hearing Electoral Area 'A' Official Community Plan ReviewCommunity Information Meeting and Public Hearing.

Adoption Procedures Initiated for Draft Official Community Plan

Official Community Plans are adopted by bylaw which requires three readings and then adoption by the Regional Board. The adoption process generally includes the following steps as outlined in Section 882 of the Local Government Act:

1. 1st and 2nd reading by the Regional Board
2. Referrals to various agencies and stakeholders
3. A formal Public Hearing is held which is a legal requirement and represents the last opportunity for the community to provide comments into the Plan
4. 3rd reading by the Regional Board
5. Approval by the Minister of Community, Sport, and Cultural Development
6. Adoption (4th reading) by the Regional Board

The draft Official Community Plan received 1st and 2nd reading at the February 22nd Board meeting.

South Wellington Community Workshop

A workshop was held in South Wellington on November 23rd at the Cranberry Community Hall to discuss a potential expansion to the South Wellington Industrial Commercial Area as well as to find out if there was support in the community for a small rural neighbourhood centre. The following provides information which was available at the workshop as well as a summary of the workshop proceedings.

• South Wellington Workshop Summary
• South Wellington Workshop Handout
• South Wellington Surrounding Area Nanaimo

Community Development Forum

A meeting was held in Cassidy on November 12, 2009 at the Western Maritime Institute to obtain community input on a potential expansion to the Cassidy Rural Village. The RDN and Island Timberlands gave separate presentations and then meeting participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire. The following provides information which was available at the meeting as well as the results of the questionnaire.

• Cassidy Meeting Handout
• Cassidy Meeting Questions and Answers
• Cassidy Questionnaire Results
• Cassidy Air Photo

Community Development Forum

A Community Development Forum was held on June 15th at the Cedar Community Hall. Approximately 150 people attended the Forum, which provided an opportunity for developers, Electoral Area 'A' residents, and those with an interest in the area to get together to share information and discuss some of the upcoming and on-going development projects in Electoral Area 'A'. In addition, the forum provided an opportunity for developers to obtain valuable community input on their projects.

Presentations were made at the forum for the following developments.

During the Forum, participants were provided an opportunity to fill out evaluation forms. The results have been tabulated and are provided below.

• CDF Community Forum Evaluation Form Results

Citizen's Committee Speaker Series

Following the Community Workshops the OCP Review Citizen's Committee held five meetings on specific issues related to the Official Community Plan Review.

These issues are:

• the Regional Growth Strategy;
• agriculture,
• transit, parks, and recreation,
• environmental protection, sustainability, and community sewer; and,
• community diversity and affordability

The purpose of these meetings was to provide background information, to get the Committee and the community to start thinking about the topics, and to solicit community feedback and obtain specific direction on each topic. The community was invited to provide input on a number of different policy options by completing a series of five workbooks. There was a different workbook for each of the five meetings, which are provided in the table below.

All Committee meetings were open to the general public. There were also guest speakers in attendance at each meeting to provide background information on the topic and there will be an opportunity for questions and discussion.

Please see the table below for a list of speaker series meetings and workbook results.

Topic	Speakers	Workbooks, Presentations & Results
March 9, 2009
Regional Growth Strategy (RGS review, purpose of the RGS, village centres)	Paul Thompson, Manager Long Range Planning, Regional District of Nanaimo	Meeting Workbook Workbook Results Presentations RGS Review RGS Village Centres & UCB Options
	Lynnia Clark, North Cedar Improvement District Administrator: Community Water Servicing
	Greg Keller, Senior Planner, Regional District of Nanaimo
March 23, 2009
Agriculture	Roger Cheetham - Agricultural Land Commission	Meeting Workbook Workbook Results Presentations RDN ALC Ministry of Agriculture
	Wayne Haddow – Ministry of Agriculture and Lands
April 6, 2009
Transit and Parks and Recreation	Laura Kiteley, Manager of Transit Projects and Planning Regional District of Nanaimo	Meeting Workbook Workbook Results Presentations Parks and Recreation Transit Planning
	Joan Michel, Regional District of Nanaimo Parks and Trails Coordinator
	Greg Keller, Regional District of Nanaimo Senior Planner
April 20, 2009
Environmental Protection, Sustainability, and Community Sewer	Maggie Henigman – Ministry of Environment	Meeting Workbook Workbook Results Presentations Ministry of Environment RDN Liquid Waste Gilles Wendling
	Jack Anderson – Official Community Plan Review Citizen's Committee
	Sean Depol, Regional District of Nanaimo Manager of Liquid Waste
	Lindsay Dalton, Regional District of Nanaimo Liquid Waste Coordinator
	Greg Keller, Regional District of Nanaimo Senior Planner
	Gilles Wendling, GW Solutions
May 4, 2009
Community Diversity and Affordability	Chris Midgley, Regional District of Nanaimo Sustainability Coordinator	Meeting Workbook Workbook Results Presentations Community Diversity Midgley Community Diversity and Affordability

Community Workshops'

As part of the Electoral Area 'A' Official Community Plan review process, four workshops were held to develop goals and objectives that help us achieve 'A Shared Community Vision'.

Click on the links below for more information on each meeting.

Workshop 1 Growth Management Workbook Workshop 2 Community Well-Being Workbook Workshop 3 Environmental Integrity Workbook Workshop 4 Economic Health Workbook

Workshop 1 Growth Management Results Workshop 2 Community Well Being Results Workshop 3 Environmental Integrity Results Workshop 4 Economic Health Results

Community Visioning Workshop

As part of the Electoral Area 'A' Official Community Plan review process, a Visioning Workshop was held on December 6, 2008 to develop a shared community vision. Approximately 50 people attended the workshop, which provided a diverse range of community ideas, discussion, and comments. The intent of the community vision is to articulate the future desired characteristics of Electoral Area 'A' based on the input from the community. The purpose of the Visioning Workshop was to ask participants to consider a number of questions including: What do you like about your community now and what do you want more of in 25 years?

• Please Click Here to view A Shared Community Vision
• Please Click Here to review the results of the workshop
• Please Click Here to view the workshop presentation

Sustainability Principles Workshop

Approximately 60 people attended the workshop held on November 17, 2008 which was a critical component of the Official Community Plan review.

The purpose of the workshop was to develop a set of sustainability principles applicable to Electoral Area 'A' that will provide the framework for sustainable decision making during the Official Community Plan review process and following the adoption of a new Official Community Plan.

• Click Here to see the results of the workshop
• Click Here to see the workshop program

The input provided by the community at the Sustainability Principles workshop, has formed the basis for drafting 15 sustainability principles. Sustainability principles are high level broad statements that form the framework for making effective decisions and provide guidance in the formation of goals, objectives, and policies.

• Click Here to see Comments received at the Sustainability Principles Workshop

September 2008 Open Houses

Approximately 100 people attended the three Open Houses which were held at the Western Maritime Institute on September 15, at the Cranberry Community Hall on September 16, and at the Cedar Community Hall on September 17. The purpose of the Open Houses was to provide background information on Electoral Area 'A' and to discuss the process for the Official Community Plan review. The Open Houses also provided an opportunity to obtain information on how to participate in the review and how to stay informed about the process.

Communiuty Mapping Sessions

Approximatley 50 people attended one of three Communiuty Mapping Sessions which were held as follows:

Electoral Area 'A' OCP Review Open House and Presentation Schedule
Date	Time	Location	Address
October 16, 2008	6:30 pm – 9:00 pm	Western Maritime Institute Hall	3519 Hallberg Road
October 20, 2008	6:30 pm – 9:00 pm	Cranberry Community Hall	1555 Morden Road
October 27, 2008	6:30 pm – 9:00 pm	Cedar Community Hall	2388 Cedar Road

The purpose of the mapping sessions is to share local knowledge with the Regional District of Nanaimo to assist with the creation of a community map for use in the later stages of the Official Community Plan review

• Large Culture & History Public Comments
• Large Environment Public Comments
• Large Local Economy Public Comments
• Large Transportation Parks & Rec Public Comments
• Large Water & Septic Disposal Public Input

Community Forum

The Regional District of Nanaimo is initiating a review of the Electoral Area 'A' Official Community Plan by holding a Community Forum. The purpose of the Community Forum is to achieve the following objectives:

• To kick off the OCP review process and raise awareness.
• To share information about and discuss sustainability and community planning.
• To provide an overview of the current OCP.
• To determine what the community would like to see included in the OCP review.
• To obtain input on how the community would like to be involved in the OCP review.
• To determine suitable methods informing the community on progress and upcoming events related to the OCP review.
• Please Click Here to review the Program for the Community Forum which includes the agenda, background information, and the questions that participants were asked to discuss

We wish to thank everyone who attended the Community Forum. There was some great discussion and many suggestions on how we can develop a comprehensive Official Community Plan review process which will encourage participation from a broad range community members, which addresses community needs, is transparent and rationale, and which leads us towards creating an Official Community Plan which reflects the needs of the community.

A few general themes emerged from the Community Forum including the need to overhaul the existing OCP, a desire to focus more on sustainability (environmental, Social, and Economic), a need to use clear concise and understandable language, and a desire to maximize opportunities for community involvement in the process. The following list includes a summary of the community presentations as well as a summary of the responses from the small group discussions.

• Summary of Community Presentations: Description: Click Here to read what people had to say about community sustainability and what it means to them
• Summary of Small Group Discussions: Description: Click Here to read a summary of the responses from the small group discussions