The Official Community Plan was officially accepted in Fort St John. The provincially mandated document speaks on the city’s aspirations, values, and history.
After receiving a letter with feedback and opening the opportunity for a dialogue with residents, Fort St John city council moved forward to adopt a new Official Community Plan. This plan will be in place for five years and discusses the future of the city – including programs to support providing low-cost recreation, improving spaces for urban agriculture, and ensuring there is affordable housing.
“Everything in the plan isn’t necessarily going to be achieved. This is speaking to the community’s wants and aspirations,”, said Jennifer Decker, the director of development services for the city of Fort St John. She was responding to a resident concerned about fiscal implications of the work outlined. Decker clarified, saying each individual project will be reviewed by the council of the day during budget deliberations.
City council stood by its parks and recreation portion of the plan, which said it will “improve amenities within city parks and along trails.”
“We hear from the community having playground space is really important (as is) having the walking trails,” said Fort St John Mayor Lilia Hansen.
As the budget for next year is not on the table, it is unclear how many individual projects are planned, how much it will cost the city, and the amount, if any, which can be funded via a grant. $4 million in funds from the city’s share of the Peace River agreement were used to cover the costs of the upgrades to Kin Park. Work done at the park includes an upgraded parking lot, lit walking trails, and new equipment.
Staff began drafting this plan last year. Since then, several opportunities for public engagement were offered – including multiple workshops at City Hall over the summer. Monday’s public hearing was the final step for its approval.
As the mayor reiterates at the top of each of these hearings, residents’ feedback must pertain to the matter at hand. These meetings are not a space for comments on issues relating to higher levels of government, unrelated topics or unbacked claims.
