From Peace River Regional District: https://prrd.bc.ca/052224-1/

The Peace River Regional District (PRRD) is working with member municipalities (City of Dawson Creek, City of Fort St. John, District of Taylor, District of Chetwynd, District of Hudson’s Hope, District of Tumbler Ridge, Village of Pouce Coupe) and other project partners including provincial ministries and organizations (e.g., Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, Northern Health) on the PRRD’s first Regional Growth Strategy (RGS).

We are moving into the second phase of the project and have now scheduled a week of engagement events that we will be hosting in June. From June 8th until 11th, 2024, the PRRD staff and the supporting consultant team will travel between communities throughout the region. We will host community open houses, attend events like the Chetwynd Chainsaw Carving Competition and Fort St. John Farmers Market, and hear from the public, community organizations and stakeholders. We are inviting community members throughout the region to stop by at any of the events to hear an update on the project progress and to share feedback about the development of the RGS.

Background:

An RGS is a long-range, high-level plan that will help us better guide long-term regional growth and support more coordinated region-wide planning with the PRRD and member municipalities. Enabled by provincial legislation, an RGS is prepared and enacted by a regional district with the involvement of its member municipalities. They can cover a wide range of interconnected policy topics but must meet basic provincial requirements, which include:

• A 20-year time frame
• A regional vision statement
• Population and employment projections
• Regional actions or policies for key areas such as housing, transportation, regional district services, parks and natural areas and economic development.

The province leaves the process for preparing an RGS largely up to each region, so ours will be made in the PRRD and include policy guidance for the things residents and others tell us are important.

Like all regional growth strategies in the province (there are 10 so far), ours will not regulate land use. Land use and development are regulated by Official Community Plans, Zoning Bylaws and building permit requirements where they exist in our region.

To know more about the project, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/Regional_Growth_Strategy_Project.pdf

We have been working on the project since last summer and are planning to complete it by next spring (May 2025) or earlier.

The project is entirely funded through provincial grants and the PRRD gratefully acknowledges the support of the Province of British Columbia through the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) Canada Community Building Fund.

To learn more about the PRRD RGS, and for a detailed June engagement schedule, visit the PRRD’s Have Your Say website (https://haveyoursay.prrd.bc.ca/regional-growth-strategy) or send an email to RGS@prrd.bc.ca to be added to the mailing list.

Quotes:

“As we transition into the second phase of our Regional Growth Strategy project, we’re eager to deepen our collaboration with all stakeholders. This project is a collective endeavor to shape the Peace region’s future. We’re amplifying our public consultation efforts with in-person sessions from June 8 to 11, designed to gather your valuable input. We’ve been listening to our community and look forward to hearing more. Public participation is key in this journey. Together, we can turn our shared vision into reality, identify guiding opportunities and create a prosperous future for our region.” – Brad Sperling, Chair, Peace River Regional District

“The Peace River Regional District’s Growth Strategy Project will help ensure that local development and planning goals are organized in a way that benefits everyone. Your suggestions will help all orders of government plan in a way that protects natural resources and supports community health and well-being for years to come.” — Anne Kang, Minister of Municipal Affairs