Come learn about Rossland Community plan at public open house
By Contributor
Selkirk College second-year Integrated Environmental Planning students will hold a public open house to present their Rossland OCP Action Plans. The event will be held on Tuesday, March 14, from 5 – 7 p.m. in the Lily May Room of the Rossland Miner’s Hall, 1765 Columbia Ave, Rossland.
The meeting is an opportunity for citizens to familiarize themselves with the draft plans and provide valuable input. There will be a formal presentation and group question and answer session at 6:30 p.m.
Topics include:
Laneways
Sustainability Checklist;
Stormwater Management;
Infill Development;
Industrial Land Management;
Centennial Trail;
Community Forest Feasibility;
Downtown Parking Management;
Sourdough Alley Arts and Land Use;
Food Security;
Lower Rossland Neighborhood Plan;
Co-Op Housing.
These plans are being prepared by the 12 students in Selkirk’s Integrated Environmental Planning program. They are being prepared on a pro bono basis for the City of Rossland. The plans are intended to help Rossland further some of the many goals and initiatives identified in the City’s, recently adopted, Official Community Plan (OCP).
The students have been working under the supervision and leadership of Selkirk IEP instructor Peter Holton, MCIP, AICP, in association with the City of Rossland.
The involvement of Rossland citizens, relevant government agencies, businesses, and non- governmental organizations has been actively solicited throughout the planning process with direction from the City. The March 14 open house is part of that strategy.
Selkirk’s Integrated Environmental Planning students have a 23 year history of preparing pro bono plans for a variety of agency and interest group clients throughout the West Kootenay. Previous planning efforts and their associated clients include:
Selkirk College Land Use Plans – Selkirk College Grounds Committee;
Brilliant Flats and Terraces Land Use Plans – RDCK;
Cottonwood Creek Protection Plan – Friends of Cottonwood Creek;
Rossland Trails and Laneways Plan – City of Rossland;
Rossland Sustainability Plan Implementation – City of Rossland;
Castlegar OCP Implementation Plan (two years) – City of Castlegar;
City of Nelson OCP Implementation Plan – City of Nelson;
Lower Columbia Corridor Plan (two years) – Lower Columbia Community Development Team;
RDCK Integrated Sustainability Support Plans – Regional District Central Kootenay;
Kootenay Lake Partnership Stewardship Plans – Kootenay Lake Partnership;
Village of Slocan OCP Implementation Plans – Village of Slocan;
Lower Columbia Action Plans 2015 – Lower Columbia Community Development Team Society.
Plan Preparation:
Rossland’s Official Community Plans identified numerous areas for future study, research, plan development, and implementation. The purpose of the OCP Action plans is to aid in this process. During the plan preparation processes Selkirk’s Integrated Environmental Planning students are:
Compiling existing data on each selected topic in order to define the relevant issues and guide the development of a focus plan;
Gathering information, input and ideas from the public, agencies, residents, landowners, businesses, and elected and appointed officials;
Developing a set of planning goals and objectives for each individual topic;
Researching how other entities and jurisdictions address similar issues
throughout North America and document technologies and practices appropriate
for Rossland;
Outlining discrete action steps that can be taken to address issues and identify
the parties that would be responsible for each action step;
Providing order of magnitude cost estimates.
Final plans will be completed in April and presented to the City of Rossland later this spring. For more information, please contact Peter Holton, pholton@selkirk.ca 250-354-3559
