Oak Bay Council will establish a steering committee to review the process of implementing a new Official Community Plan.
The committee, to consist of four Oak Bay residents and three Oak Bay councillors, will advise council on selecting a consulting firm and work with the consultants to develop a detailed OCP review process.
“This is the first step in what is a very important challenge for our community, namely to create a common vision for what we want our community to look like in 25 to 50 years time,” Oak Bay Mayor Nils Jensen said. “It will require hard work from all of us, and thoughtful introspection and debate.”
A call for residents interested in joining the committee will be advertised on the municipal website soon, Jensen said.
Council will also put out a request for consultants interested in assisting with the OCP. The consultants will lead the review and present a new plan to council.
“This planning (process) will guide us in making decisions about our community,” Jensen said.
Council expects to have both the committee and consultants chosen sometime in June, with requests for proposals to qualified consultants sent out by the end of June, according to Jensen.
The review steering committee will meet with council at least once every two months, according to a staff report presented to council on April 30.
Consultants would be in direct contact with council regarding key decisions.
The Oak Bay OCP was first developed in 1981 and has not been revised since the mid-1990s.
Council has set aside a maximum $140,000 for consulting services for the OCP review project. The project, which was introduced in March, is expected to be complete in late fall 2013.