Prince George city council passed second reading of the new Official Community Plan at its Monday, Feb. 24 meeting after some members pushed for a postponement to allow for more public consultation.
That sets up a public hearing on the OCP during a special council meeting to be held on Wednesday, March 19.
At the Feb. 10 meeting, councillors decided to hold off on granting second reading to the bylaw amending the Official Community Plan and scheduling a public hearing on the new plan.
That’s because after the public hearing starts, the OCP cannot be amended without holding another public hearing and councillors expressed a desire to have more time to consider amendments ahead of time.
Coun. Trudy Klassen said in reviewing emails council have received about the new plan, it seems that some residents don’t believe they’ve been listened to.
She moved for consideration of the OCP to be postponed and for a list of community groups to be consulted during the postponement.
“I think it’s time to do something grander with our OCP than what we’ve done so far,” Klassen said.
While the document is fluid, it costs developers to apply for amendments to the OCP later, Klassen said. By taking a closer look now, she said it might reduce the cost of housing in future.
She specifically referenced concerns from business and industry owners wanting more areas designated as commercial and industrial spaces and advocacy group Ginter’s Green Forever looking for more protections for parks like Ginter’s Green.
In a series of releases sent out by Ginter’s Green Forever ahead of the council meeting, the group said it was glad to see the extension of Foothills Boulevard removed from this version of the OCP but expressed concern over what they saw as the proliferation of urban sprawl near the park and called for additional protections.
She also said the Prince George Airport Authority expressed concern that it hadn’t had enough of a chance to comment on the plan. Other groups Klassen included in her motion as requiring further consultation include larger land holders, BC Transit, the BC Northern Exhibition, UNBC, Ginter’s Green Forever, the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George, School District 57, the Ministry of Transportation and more.
Coun. Cori Ramsay asked about what the process to amend the OCP would be like after it is adopted.
Director of planning and development Deanna Wasnik said while the new document has been worked on extensively, it is not considered a perfect document and can be amended by bylaw similar to land use decisions made by council.
Ramsay said she was opposed to postponing the decision since she felt consultation can take place as council continues to approve it and it will be reviewed both in one year and after five years.
Coun. Tim Bennett moved for the decision on the OCP be postponed until after the three public hearings scheduled for that evening had concluded. That motion passed.
When discussion recommenced, Mayor Simon Yu said there would be “great value” in holding another round of consultation before council makes decisions regarding the OCP.
He said he would especially like to consult with Lheidli T’enneh First Nation as the nation is investigating land development opportunities with the airport and he would like to see how that might interact with the OCP.
Coun. Brian Skakun, who connected to the meeting remotely, said he has a minimum of 10 to 15 amendments and probably an hour or more worth of questions on the OCP. He said he would like a delay in part because he has a poor internet connection.
He also brought up an email council had received from someone at the Aberdeen Glen Golf Club regarding concerns relating to sewer system extensions.
If council decided to proceed forward with adopting the plan at the meeting, Skakun said he would bring give notice of motion for each of his amendments and have the conversations later.
Wasnik said the original timeline to adopt the new OCP was December 2024 and further consultations would likely mean the plan returns to council for consideration sometime after May. She also said that the city no longer has a consultant under contract for the OCP and does not have amounts budgeted for future consultation efforts.
Many of the groups on the list of Klassen’s amendment have already been contacted in the earlier consultation efforts, Wasnik said.
The mayor said he would be interested in personally reaching out to the groups in Klassen’s motion to ask about what changes they’d like to make and that he’d also like more time to review the draft OCP.
He said a plan of such importance requires at least two or three rounds of consultation.
Ramsay pointed out that the city is required under provincial legislation to have its OCP revised by the end of the year and required to review it again by the end of 2028.
She said she was willing to sit through extra meetings and consultation on the OCP but expressed concern about running out of time. She also said she thought council should hold the public hearing to hear what residents have to say, arguing that these groups mentioned in Klassen’s motion would have the chance to comment then.
Coun. Susan Scott said she takes consultation seriously but hasn’t heard anyone offer a mechanism through which these groups would provide comment.
Yu said he would organize two round table meetings with representatives on Klassen’s list.
Coun. Ron Polillo said he didn’t think that was adequate for what is being proposed, also taking issue with the budget involved. He said city staff have been working on the file since December 2023 and there has been sufficient consultation already.
The mayor asked administration to provide a ballpark estimate of how much time has been spent working on the OCP and working with the consultant; Wasnik said she could not provide that estimate and gave an outline of the public consultation done to date.
Coun. Tim Bennett said he believed that the added consultation being asked in Klassen’s motion would be setting city staff up for failure. He also said that some of the groups mentioned in the motion were vague and that a budget for extra consultation would have to be defined.
For instance, how does the city define what a “large land holder” is, Bennett asked.
Coun. Kyle Sampson said his views were similar to those of Ramsay and Polillo. He said the organization on Klassen’s list already had a chance to provide feedback, adding that the document will always be imperfect because it represents the viewpoints of many different people and groups.
“We could do consultation to the end of time and I don’t think everybody’s going to be happy,” Sampson said.
Should council direct further consultation, he said the list of groups should be scrapped and consultation to be opened up to everyone in the city.
The mayor rebutted by noting that Klassen’s list ends with “any other organization identified through the process.”
He said that based on the emails he’s received, he’s not convinced the city got this draft of the OCP right and for that reason, there should be further consultation to avoid amendments in the future.
Yu seemed to take aim at city staff, saying that the OCP belongs to all citizens of Prince George and “not the people on the second floor.”
Addressing the deadline issue, Skakun said he didn’t think the province would go after the city if it saw that Prince George was working constructively to build a new OCP.
Skakun said he would essentially force a second public hearing should the process not be postponed by introducing amendments after the first is postponed.
He said it was past 1 a.m. where he was and due to time constraints, he wouldn’t be able to introduce amendments that night due to his vacation, which he scheduled a year in advance without knowing when the OCP discussion would take place.
Sampson said he struggled with Skakun’s argument because the city’s business needs to proceed no matter who’s present. He also said he didn’t see a problem with having to hold a second public hearing to accommodate amendments stemming out of the first.
Coun. Garth Frizzell said he agreed with a point made by city manager Walter Babicz that the city can accomplish its goals by holding one or more public hearings. He said he thought the concerns raised in emails and face-to-face meetings with councillors could be addressed this way.
Klassen’s motion was defeated, with only herself, Yu and Skakun voting in opposition.
Second reading of the OCP bylaw passed with Klassen and Yu voting against. Skakun had departed the meeting prior to this vote.
The first three readings of four bylaws relating to the new OCP passed with Klassen and Yu opposed again.
