The March 2nd Martensville City Council meeting focused on one main item – the Official Community Plan Engagement Kick-Off.
In Fall of 2019, the City of Martensville initiated a review to update the Official Community Plan (OCP), which is a visionary document that defines policies and actions when it comes to future land use and development, community well-being, and stewardship of the natural environment.
Within the OCP, there are goals and policies for areas such as land use and development, housing, transportation, infrastructure, the natural environment, parks and recreation as well as economic development.
The City of Martensville contracted Wallace Insights, V3 and Trace Associates for the review and development of required amendments to the existing OCP to make it more current.
Alan Wallace of Wallace Insights spoke to Council about the amendments and provided a review of what changes took place, explaining that this plan will create a basic framework for Martensville’s growth up to approximately triple the current size, 20-30 years into the future.
While many amendments were made, one of the largest changes was to the overall format and visual appearance of the document, giving it an updated, more user-friendly look.
Previously, two engagements were held as part of this project, with one being an evening public session, and the other including one-on-one meetings with specific stakeholders, which includes Ministries, First Nations and Metis, community groups, developers, builders, school boards, public health, P4G and others that participated in the first engagement session.
There are still several steps to be taken before the OCP can be completely finalized; however, if no other changes are required, Council will be including three readings for this bylaw at a May Council meeting, with the OCP being sent to the province for Ministerial approval as the final step.
Much work went into this project, with Mayor Muench taking a moment to thank everyone for their hard work and to comment on how well done the project was.
