The town’s new draft Municipal Development Plan is now officially “in the public realm” after councillors accepted it as information without discussion at their July 8 meeting.
The draft plan, a 116 page document, is meant to be the overarching plan for future development and redevelopment in town.
The front page of the document states, “The Municipal Development Plan is the official statement of goals, objectives and policies affecting the town’s long-term livability and sustainability and offers a vision of the town’s future aspirations, while providing a roadmap to guide decisions and a measuring stick to measure progress.”
Councillors authorized staff to refer the plan to external agencies and set a time for a public meeting and open house.
“Presentation of the MDP draft in entirety … will include a full day of presentations and open house format providing opportunities for one-on-one consultation,” stated a report from Tim Schmidt, director of planning and development.
Public distribution of the plan goals and objectives took place at a community barbecue June 19 where about 200 people attended.
“At the core of the document is the community vision as created through the town’s Municipal Sustainability Plan,” said Schmidt’s report. “The five key pillars of a sustainable community (environmental, social governance, culture and economy) remain as fundamentals and provide guidance on key principles such as conservation of resources and integration of nature into the town; economic prosperity; grow as a compact, complete community; housing affordability and diversity; coordination of land use and transportation; and an engaged and involved citizenry.”
A Community Vision open house is scheduled for Aug. 1 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at the community centre to allow the public “to review a draft of the town’s Municipal Development Plan and share your vision for the town’s future”.
The current Municipal Development Plan was initially adopted in November 1996 and amended in March 2003.