The District of Sechelt has more work to do in finalizing the new official community plan (OCP) after the public got their say Tuesday night.
With an almost full house March 1, more than a dozen citizens voiced concerns over affordable housing, urban containment, transportation issues, use of agricultural land reserves, and commercial and residential zoning bylaws.
Citizens spoke personally as well as on behalf of associations and community groups.
Jane Hopkins of the Coast Community Builders Association (CCBA) shared concerns over additional costs and delays the OCP could cause to future endeavours.
"Rather than having restrictions and specific references to green guidelines and development requirements, like LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), the document ideally should be more visionary," Hopkins said. "Being so specific to ask for LEED measurements may limit the District's ability to consider the innovations that are going to be coming out in the future."
Others felt the OCP lacked specifications, with one citizen saying he would like to see better land definition of the urban containment boundaries.
Lynne Forrest of the Tuwanek Ratepayers Asso-ciation, presented council with a list of what the association feels are significant problems with Tuwanek's future land use designations. According to their final comments, the association feels the OCP does not adequately capture the physical setting of their neighbourhood.
Jim Cleghorn, president of the Sechelt and District Chamber of Commerce, took issue with the OCP's reference to excessive noise in manufacturing and processing on resource lands, stating that "excessive noise" was not clearly defined.
"The reality is that commercial and industrial uses in some cases create noise. We certainly hope it's not excessive, but it does create noise," he said.
Some speakers made specific comments regarding the Target Marine Hatchery rezoning application, which went before council Wednesday night.
Mayor Darren Inkster politely reminded the crowd to keep their comments related to the OCP.
But while citizens shared concerns and disagreements over the OCP, nearly every speaker applauded council for their work and thanked them for a job well done.
"It was good to have a number of people come out to talk to us about a document that's been many years in the making," Inkster said of the meeting. "Council is doing its best to reflect community values."
The OCP provides guidelines for future development and land use, acting as a framework for managing change. Normally, it's reviewed every five to 10 years. The District's current OCP was adopted in 1995, with a major reorganization in 2003. No policy changes were made at that time.
The current plan has been in development since early 2010, with new policies on growth management and sustainable development practices added.
