B&A Project Receives UBCM Award
Out of change comes opportunity and B&A’s client, the Village of Canal Flats seized that opportunity.
Canal Flats’ major employer, a lumber mill, closed permanently forcing the Village to explore ways to reinvent itself. As part of this transformation the Village hired B&A Planning Group to create a new Official Community Plan (OCP) and Zoning Bylaw that will achieve its goals of economic development, population growth, a mixed-use downtown, innovation in housing and development of a high-tech centre.
The Village’s now adopted OCP and Zoning Bylaw were recognized at the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) with an Honourable Mention award in the Governance category. Chris Fields, Economic Development Officer for the Village says “The OCP is innovative; it’s economic development-led, has some of the most advanced housing innovation policy in the province and even has a “plan on a page” visual handout that keeps you awake!”
B&A’s Jonathan Schmidt, a senior planner involved in the project, says, “B&A is privileged to have had this opportunity to work with the Village, its community members and Council over the past few years to help make a positive and lasting impact. We know the work has only begun and the hard work will continue during implementation, but we’re excited to see such energy and innovation in a community that has overcome so much.”
