Have your say on Penticton’s future

By now you’ve probably heard the term OCP (Official Community Plan) bantered about. The city has embarked on the task to update the OCP which started 18 months ago.

The last update was in 2002 and, I must admit, back then I was aware of the city undertaking the process, but never participated or thought too much about it.

In 2002 the OCP was built around a forecast that our population would be 45,000 people, with urban sprawl into the hillsides, and golf resorts would be a major economic driver.

This time around there has been significant opportunities and attempts to capture the concerns and ideas around what needs to be incorporated and modernized into our OCP. I invite you to visit www.shapeyourcitypenticton.ca to view the OCP slideshow and participate with your comments, concerns or ideas.

We all have seen development that doesn’t really fit within a neighbourhood. This update should help to mitigate that. Sometimes that fit is based on one’s perspective on whether or not it is attractive and falls within their architectural preferences. Some like modern and boxy, others prefer traditional homes with pitched rooflines.

We shouldn’t be hampering an individual’s desire to build the style of the home they want, so creating some parameters around form and character can help to complement their project while softening the impact amongst others in the neighbourhood.

Currently some consultants along with staff and community stakeholders are working on creating design guidelines for infill, multi-family, commercial, downtown, heritage neighbourhoods, and hillside developments. These guidelines will help address scale, fit, integration with public spaces, and our distinguishing neighbourhood attributes.

We all want a livable and walkable community along with neighbourhoods that are friendly, charming and well laid out.

We also need to leave room for neighbourhoods to transition and understand that transition may take several years, election cycles, and policy changes before completion. The OCP is a living document which means it will change and adapt as required. An OCP should also be updated every five years to ensure building and housing trends are reflected in the plan.

The new OCP covers agriculture, arts and culture, economy, environment, housing, parks and recreation, and transportation so it is very comprehensive.

We need to think about what Penticton will be like in the future. In 2046 our population should grow from the current 34,000 to 42,000. Currently 59 per cent of our population is working age, but in 2046 it drops to 52 per cent.

Also, 29 per cent of our population is 65-plus years of age, but in 2046 that number jumps to 38 per cent. These are a sample of key statistics and indicators that we need to be mindful of today as we plan ahead.

It is exciting to witness a strong cross section of the community participating in building this new OCP as it is meant to be the roadmap or blueprint for our future.

This Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Gyro Park the city will be providing an update to many of the draft policies and design guidelines to get a temperature read and ensure we have captured community input, concerns and vision.

Thank you to those of you who have already participated; there still is opportunity for others to get involved.

Andrew Jakubeit is mayor of Penticton.