What on earth is an OCP? And why should I care?!

These are pretty common questions members of Kaslo's Official Community Plan Citizen's Advisory Committee (CAC) have been hearing from friends and neighbours over the past few months. The easy answers are: the Official Community Plan (OCP) establishes the ground rules for the kind of community we want to live in - the kind of community we want our children and grandchildren to live in. And of course the simple answer to the question, why should I care?, is that if you don't put your ideas and thoughts forward, someone else will - and you'll have to live with the consequences!

As many of you know, we're in the midst of reviewing and shaping a new version of Kaslo's OCP. The Village, working with Victoria-based consultantancy SmartGrowth BC, has held a number of public meetings over the past several months,  where those folks who showed up had an opportunity to learn what an Official Community Plan can and cannot do, its role in shaping bylaws and ordinances, the impact it can have on future economic, social, transportation, education, cultural, and recreational developments in our community, and then voice an opinion or two on issues of particular interest or concern.

In the midst of this process, the CAC was formed, a group that includes a number of Kaslo residents from various walks of life, the Mayor and members of Kaslo Council. 

We're now at a point where it's time to share the latest draft of the "new" OCP with as many Kaslovians as possible - including those of you who haven't had a chance to attend any of the public meetings (as well as those of you who've had it up to here with public meetings of any kind). So the CAC has decided to launch a number of informal "kitchen table" meetings, reaching out to folks who either don't know much about the OCP, or conversely have  some very specific concerns, issues, and/or ideas but haven't had the opportunity or the urge to state them to-date in large public settings.

The CAC is going to reach out to residents - as individuals - who care about the future of their community generally, and may have some particular areas of focus as well. Seniors, youth, the arts community, tourism and hospitality owners and workers, developers, emergency responders, law enforcement officers, forestry industry owners and workers, educators, people concerned with Kaslo's heritage, recreation advocates, health care providers - if any of these categories rings a bell - or if you'd simply like to chime in and make a contribution to Kaslo's future - then call any of the CAC members listed below and let your voice be heard.

So what's a "kitchen table meeting?" In this case it's simply a small, informal gathering (it could literally be in someone's kitchen - how about yours?!) that will include a couple of CAC members, who will come with the latest draft of the OCP, a pad and a pen, ready to take down your thoughts and suggestions and ensure they're considered as the final OCP draft is prepared. Some of the meetings' objectives might include:

    -  discussing the intent and meaning of the land use plan designations in the draft OCP, its current design guidelines, and addressing potential
    misconceptions, while gathering community feedback to help ensure that CAC members are on the right track on these issues;

    - go over some of the issues that were raised during the recent OCP survey (not a huge response, but some interesting points were raised);

    - ensuring that people who have concerns about the OCP process or contents (or lack thereof) of the draft plan have an opportunity to make those     concerns known.

Virtually everyone has an idea or two about how to "make things better" in Kaslo. Well, here's your chance to ensure that those great ideas of yours actually have a chance to see the light of day! Pick up the phone right away and call any of these CAC members (or the Village of Kaslo office if you prefer). You may want to host a small gathering of friends and neighbours around your own kitchen table, or attend a get-together at someone else's place (that way they'll have to make the coffee). Just tell the CAC person you're interested, and they'll help you set something up. It's up to you, Kaslovians!

Jim Holland (2975)

Suzan Hewat (2909)

Randy Morse (2853)

Dawn Lang (7315)

Erika Bird (7492)

John Addison (2045)

Village Office (2311)