Letter to the Editor - A yes vote unlocks the future

Posted by on 23 October 2009 | 0 Comments

The Daily Townsman - October 23, 2009

 Can you picture the City of Cranbrook in 20 years? Will it have plenty of parks, good streets, affordable neighbourhoods and a strong economy? What will our City be known for in British Columbia? Will the surrounding environment be healthy and accessible to everyone?

With good solid long term strategic planning, the East Hill Expansion can also be all of those things and more. But it will require a flexible road map to the future. It will require our focused attention to short and long term projects and plans. It will require commitment from all members of our community.

That is why the Cranbrook City Council with the help of the Official Community Plan‚ has developed a strategic plan to guide this community into the future. The Official Community Plan‚ which was developed and approved by City Council in 2006 after four years of development including numerous public meetings with input from a cross section of interested citizens and community user groups. The ''Official Community Plan'' for the city, as a whole, downtown, north, south, east and west includes the cities vision for the community into the year 2020 that reflects what we hope the community can accomplish and what it can become.

The East Hill Boundary Expansion will be an integral part of that Official Community Plan vision which will facilitate the planning and manage the growth of East Hill development. As we keep looking forward we have to keep in consideration local, regional and provincial population trends and for each scenario potential growth areas will be mapped and accompanied to determine potential future land uses and densities of development within anticipated growth areas.

I was a member of the Cranbrook City Council when we wrote and approved the original terms of reference for the Growth Management Study‚ which included potential boundary expansion. What we wanted was a tool, a technical document that would be a long term guide for the Cities most efficient use of our infrastructure, utilities, water and sewer resources for the growth of our city as we move towards 2020. The Growth Management Study‚ gives us the tools we need to get us there and the Official Community Plan gives us the vision.

There is nothing detrimental about the Growth Management Study. It is not a rigid blueprint to be used once and then put on the shelf and then forgotten about, but rather a living and flexible guideline to help the entire City achieve the efficiencies we will require to face the challenges as a growing city to become the best we can be. The City Council will regularly measure progress and make course corrections when necessary.

The keys to unlock our future will start with a yes vote on November 14th referendum.

Bruce Mollison
Cranbrook