Over the past two years, District of Squamish Council and staff asked residents, business owners, community stakeholder groups and governments including Squamish Nation, to help us define a clear, shared vision for Squamish of the future.
Before we launched the update process, we generated awareness and excitement throughout the Squamish community by creating an identifiable Official Community Plan project brand.
Anchored by the Stawamus Chief, the Squamish2040 logo with prominent hashtag linked all of our engagement materials.
Youth ambassadors were hired to spread the word about the project and connect face-to-face within the community at Farmer’s Markets, shopping centres and parks.
A Community Advisory Committee comprised of local citizens appointed to work with District staff and Council to select the project engagement consultant team, design the engagement process and community questions, review inputs and provide feedback on emerging directions.
PHASE 1
During Phase 1, we held one-on-one stakeholder interviews, a kick-off Public Visioning event, youth World Café workshop with District of Squamish Council, and a drop-in event with members of the Squamish Nation to identify key issues and gain a solid understanding of our community interests, needs and goals.
In 2040, Squamish will be ____.
A total of 1,045 responses were received . The above Vision Tree provides an overview of key themes. The largest words within the tree were mentioned most.
Youth provided important input through a World Café-style event at our local high school. A Children's Charter of rights, developed by local Squamish children, also provided important inputs for integration into the plan.
PHASE 2
In Phase Two we presented emerging policy directions based on early input, and brought them to the community for feedback and discussion across three key themes:
Growing, Thriving and Resilient.
We also ordered a lot of pizza.
OCPizza parties were held in kitchens and boardrooms throughout the community as workbooks were being completed, and the future of Squamish was being shaped. Pizza was on us.
What We Heard
PHASE 3
Are we on the right track?
In Phase Three, we produced a Discussion Draft based on community input. The Discussion Draft, along with a 12-page Executive Summary, created at the suggestion of the Community Advisory Committee, was circulated as an insert in The Squamish Chief newspaper.
We presented a collective vision for Squamish2040 and five key goals that reflect the community's aspirations, interests and concerns expressed in the first two phases.
District planners brought together Council members, community groups, business leaders, students and Squamish residents to talk about the Official Community Plan and why it's important for our community.
18 OCP pop-up mobile engagement events were hosted at 14 locations around town to promote the Squamish2040 Discussion Draft. We talked to residents, answered questions about the plan and the approvals process and how the community could continue to provide input in the fourth and final phase.
What we heard
PHASE 4
The fourth and final phase launched with the public release of the draft Squamish2040 Official Community Plan that was available online as an interactive booklet.
Our GIS team also developed an interactive map portal that invited residents to explore proposed OCP Land Use designations, compare them to the existing designations, and leave comments right on the map.
In #Squamish2040, and in 2018, the community is passionate and engaged in community and civic life.
At the beginning of the OCP update process, we set a public engagement goal of 5% of the Squamish population. During the four phases, an estimated 4,000 unique engagements out of a population of 19,893 engaged through this process including: individual community members, community groups, businesses, sector representatives and landowners.
The OCP was adopted by Council on June 5, 2018.