Gibsons council is looking at several changes to its official community plan (OCP) adding in new policies for greenhouse gas reduction, sea level rise, growth management and aquifer protection.
The OCP update was brought forward at Tuesday’s committee of the whole meeting.
“We did an OCP update project for over a year, extensive public consultation, lots of advice from the community, from the steering committee, and from some referral agencies,” said director of planning André Boel. “We are ready to finalize this process.”
That process still needs a reading of the bylaws, a public hearing and a final adoption from council.
The Town of Gibsons completed an aquifer mapping study in 2013 as part of the OCP. The mapping provided a better understanding of aquifer boundaries, hydraulic properties, recharge and discharge from the aquifer. The study concluded that a groundwater management framework needs to be developed further.
Updates to signage require freestanding signs to reflect a West Coast character by using wood and stones. Backlit signs will not be permitted.
Land use designations will allow for two designations of low-density residential lots. The first can contain 20 to 25 units per hectare, the second can contain 25 to 40 units per hectare.
Phase one of the update process began in 2013. Once put into effect, the update process is scheduled to last one year with a budget of $60,000. The addition of the aquifer protection plan has already put the project over budget by about $12,000.
The OCP update has gone through three phases of review and community discussion since it began. The full OCP is a 20-year plan for the Gibsons community.
