On March 6, the Village of Pemberton (VOP) hosted a Community Open House as part of Phase 1 of its Official Community Plan (OCP) Review. The event sought community input regarding issues that will shape the future of Pemberton to 2050.
The main takeaways from the Open House are being compiled into a “What We Heard” report. The report will be presented in April, and will include all the details gathered from various engagement activities to date.
“The Community Open House was extremely well-attended, with over 160 community members coming by to provide their input,” said Mayor Mike Richman in a press release. “This kind of engagement is a huge success that will guarantee a strong outcome for this OCP Review.”
At the gathering, VOP staff and consultants gave a short presentation to inform audience members about what an OCP is and how it affects Village bylaws, policies, and projects over its lifetime. Display boards at the Open House briefed visitors on Pemberton’s community values, character, and how the VOP can advance the path of reconciliation.
Following the presentation, residents took part in smaller roundtable discussions about four main topics: reconciliation, housing, environmental sustainability and resilience, and the local economy.
“The roundtable discussions offered a cross-section of residents a chance to interact and consider how the Village can address these important topics,” said planner Colin Brown in the release. “We developed Discussion Guides that provide background information on each of these topics and suggestions of things to think about. These are available on the project website.”
The OCP Review process is currently in Phase One, which focuses on gathering information from the community and bringing together all relevant data and other plans, such as the Community Climate Action Plan. Concurrent to the OCP Review, the VOP is updating its Housing Needs Report that is due in June 2023.
VOP staff have offered several opportunities for the community to get involved with the OCP Review since January. Kitchen Table Discussion Packages have been available from the Village Office and the Pemberton and District Community Centre, designed for residents to host their own OCP discussion with family and friends. More than 100 residents have participated in these conversations to date.
Furthermore, staff and elected representatives have been engaging with local children and youth at Signal Hill Elementary and École La Vallée, with a visit to Pemberton Secondary School planned for some time after March break. Students have been encouraged to express what they love about their home and what they think could make Pemberton “even more fun.”
Although some youths may not yet recognize the importance of the OCP Review, Brown and his colleagues think it is vital for their perspectives to be acknowledged.
“The vision for this OCP is for the next five, 10 or even 20 years … so [the children of today] will be young adults when the OCP comes to fruition,” Brown said. “So, it's very important that they feel included and that they have their say.
“We're looking forward to speaking with the high school students as well, because they're the ones that are about to graduate, enter the workforce and maybe look for their own housing. They’re going to have some really unique perspectives on how Pemberton works for them, and the areas we can improve upon.”
Phase One of the OCP Review continues until June 2023, at which point a first draft of a vision, guiding principles, goals and objectives will be written.
Pembertonians will have a chance to submit feedback about early OCP drafts to ensure that they have been heard correctly. Phase Two would involve further versions of the new OCP and engagement activities that will occur at popular local summer events.
“The Community Open House created space for many meaningful and constructive conversations, and we’re looking forward to hearing the details of these in the ‘What We Heard’ report,” said Richman. “The Village would like to extend its sincere thanks to the community for the tremendous turnout and for engaging in this process.”
The VOP welcomes all feedback and community inputs during this process. For more information about the OCP Review process, visit haveyoursay.pemberton.ca/ocpreview or contact Brown at [email protected].
