Friday, March 5th, 2021 – The District of Sooke is updating its Official Community Plan (OCP) to help manage growth and development in a way that meets community goals. The OCP contains district-wide policies that influence how people live, work, shop, play, and move around Sooke. From March 5th to April 2nd at picturesooke.ca, the community is asked to comment on how Sooke will grow – informing an updated OCP.
Through this phase of engagement, the District is seeking to answer several questions:
- Did we accurately capture the community’s vision and goals?
- Where should growth take place?
- Where growth will be taking place, what should it look like?
Maps identifying growth scenarios and images showing what development could look like are being presented to the community with an invitation to rate and comment on each element.
Mayor Tait is excited for this phase in the OCP review process, “These your typical surveys. We are providing tangible pieces for the community to see how Sooke could grow and what it could look like as it does. This is a chance for residents to really picture Sooke with us. I encourage all residents, of all ages, to join the conversation.”
Sooke, just 20 years young, has seen a lot of changes in its short history as a District. The Official Community Plan will critically guide the future of the community. Residents can join the conversation online at picturesooke.ca until April 2nd, with further opportunities to provide input throughout the OCP process. Print surveys will be delivered to Sooke households and businesses on March 11th. Residents are asked to return their print surveys to the District of Sooke Municipal Hall drop slot at 2205 Otter Point Road before April 2nd. Additional copies of the print survey will be available for pick up at the Sooke Municipal Hall after March 11th.
Sounding boards will also be popping up throughout the community. Residents can participate on the board by sharing their impressions of the emerging vision and goals and picking up a comment card to share further ideas on the proposed growth scenarios. This activity was designed with COVID-19 safety protocols in mind, offering growth scenario information on takeaway sheets for individual review and feedback.
In addition to residents’ active participation in providing input, they are invited to tell their neighbours about Picture Sooke and the OCP review – sharing with their networks through email and social media.
For more information and to picture Sooke with us, visit picturesooke.ca.
Input received from this phase of engagement will be combined with additional research, such as the housing needs report, to revise the current OCP. A draft OCP will be available for public comment in the summer. Once community input has been incorporated, the draft bylaw will be presented to Council later this year.
Contact:
Christina Moog, Communications Coordinator
District of Sooke
Tel: 250.642.1634, ext. 678
e: cmoog@sooke.ca
Related:
- Project Website: picturesooke.ca
- Survey #1: Where should growth take place?
- Survey #2: Where growth is taking place, what should it look like?
- Current OCP Bylaw (under review)
- 2020 Background Research Report – OCP Review
- 2021 OCP Interim Engagement Summary
Pictured: Phase 2 OCP Review Survey invites residents to rate and comment on images – where growth occurs in Sooke, what should it look like?
