The Regional District of Central Kootenay is moving forward with its Regional and Local Community Needs Project. The goal is to better understand how the RDCK can meet its residents’ needs and support sustainable growth in the region.
The project is analyzing growth management in all 11 electoral areas of the RDCK and seven partnering municipalities – City of Castlegar, City of Nelson, Town of Creston, and Villages of Kaslo, Nakusp, Salmo and Slocan. The Villages of New Denver and Silverton will not be participating.
The final document will be a series of recommendations – informed by technical analysis and community input – to protect the region’s natural, rural, and agricultural features while meeting its needs for housing, transportation, infrastructure and community services.
Licker Geospatial Consulting Co. was awarded the contract for the project, for a total of $234,922. It will be funded by a $300,000 grant from the UBCM Complete Communities Program.
Licker Geospatial and its partner, MODUS Planning, are in phase one of the three-phase project.
To begin, the consultants are collecting data from RDCK staff and directors and conducting community engagement. Before moving into analysis, they need to understand current infrastructure and demographics, the evolving needs of residents, and how these needs differ between communities.
In phase two, Licker and MODUS will use the data and engagement results to model potential growth directions.
“What changes are on the horizon, and how can they be leveraged to benefit the community to achieve its goals and visions?” said Patrick Oystryk, senior planner with MODUS. He and representatives from Licker presented to the RDCK’s Rural Affairs Committee (RAC) on Oct. 16.
With models and examples in hand, Licker and MODUS will come back to communities and host a set of workshops to share their progress and garner more feedback.
In phase three, the consultants will present their recommendations for implementing and monitoring growth in the area.
Throughout all three phases, Licker and MODUS will engage with local First Nations groups. The project is anticipated to wrap up in April 2025.
Rural lens
According to the Union of British Columbia Municipalities, a ‘complete community’ provides diverse housing options to accommodate individuals at all stages of life, and offers a wide range of amenities, services, and employment opportunities within a reasonable distance.
During the RAC meeting in October, many directors expressed concern that the project’s approach is too urban. While it may benefit the participating municipalities, many don’t see how it’s relevant for rural areas.
“I think you’ll find, once you dig into our rural areas… you might find that some communities already feel that they are complete,” said Electoral Area A director Garry Jackman. “Where [communities] may have gaps, [residents] are willing to travel to fill those gaps.”
A website dedicated to the project describes the completeness of a rural community as the “balance of local community resources and services with strong connections to neighbouring communities.” This means recognizing that a resident’s needs don’t all have to be met in their immediate area.
“I need [the project] to really expand the approach, to not be urban and to really grasp the rural context,” said Area D director Aimee Watson.
Directors asked the consulting team to engage with rural directors to get a better baseline of what issues the electoral areas are dealing with.
To be part of the community engagement process, and to find more information on the project, visit engage.rdck.ca/regional-and-local-community-needs-project
