During the development of a comprehensive District Plan (DP) or Official Community Plan (OCP), citizens, partners, and other stakeholders work together to create a vision, identify issues, develop goals and outline strategies to ensure the long-term success of the community. Our process utilizes ten steps:
- Compile background research (e.g. collect historical information, statistics, existing studies, etc.).
- Community meeting(s).
- Formation of a working group.
- Review vision & guiding goals.
- Map the community’s current condition.
- Map the community’s future vision (e.g. begin outlining areas for enhancement or improvement within the various policy areas identified by the community, such as land use, recreation, heritage, green space, facilities and environmental stewardship).
- Provide potential for a set of measurable indicators and targets for each theme.
- Write, present & revise the Official Community Plan.
- Partners adopt the OCP and Implementation Plan.
- Annually monitor and evaluate (using SMART principles – Simple, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely) and report on plan progress.
Project tasks are organized in four phases: 1) gathering and collecting information; 2) community assessment and community engagement 3) developing an OCP or Regional Community Plan; and 4) concurrently providing guidance and input into related projects, activities and programs.
This comprehensive community planning process may take anywhere between four and 18 months, depending on the community’s needs, wants, and resources. Each plan is based on deliverables agreed to between the client and our team. Note: Demand for OCPs has increased, which can affect when a start date may occur.