Osoyoos Town Hall. (File photo)
Dale Boyd
Osoyoos Times
The Official Community Plan (OCP), a guiding document which featuring public input on the future of Osoyoos, is expected to come before council in summer of 2020.
Engagement sessions including an online survey and in-person events are coming to a close in winter of 2020, with input gathered over the past few weeks and months from graffiti boards and workshops highlighting specific areas of interest are now included in the report.
The main change to Osoyoos citizens want to see addresses the lack of housing for service industry workers, with 62.7 per cent of respondents identifying the issue.
Another standout is the strong desire from residents for a community pool, with 59 per cent of respondents looking for a local swimming spot.
After public engagement, which saw 329 online survey respondents to a total of an estimated 850 engagement — though due to the anonymity of the process it is unclear how many unique individuals have been involved, since some people attend more than one event.
A housing needs report is planned including seven or eight targeted interviews of people with housing needs and housing stakeholders in the community, dependant on a grant from the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM).
The report is scheduled to be completed in March or April 2020.
Policies in the new OCP will also address the impacts of surrounding communities including the regional district and the Osoyoos Indian Band, according to Gina Mackay, director of planning development services.
According to MacKay, the engagement by the public in the process has reached a good level.
“This is my fifth (OCP), and this is the smallest community I’ve done one in,” Mackay said at the committee of the whole Monday. “The turnout at our engagement sessions is quite large. When you see 60, 70, 80 people turn out for an event, those are good numbers.”
A public hearing will be held when the first draft of the OCP goes before council in summer 2020.
