Prince George residents will still have a chance to provide input to the city on a proposed plan for the downtown, just a little later than initially planned.
Last September, the City of Prince George hired consulting firm Stantec to develop a new Civic Core District Plan for the city, at the direction of city council. On Dec. 19, Stantec unveiled its plans for the process, which included consultation with stakeholder groups and the public to happen between January and June. A draft plan was expected to be complete between June and September.
“With the Civic Core Plan, while our contractor was able to offer some public participation options, staff felt a more local approach with a larger variety of engagement options is warranted for such a significant project. The public engagement portion of the project will now be conducted by city staff,” a spokesperson for the city said in an email. “There are workshops with key organizations planned in the next few weeks. In late summer there will be broader community engagement.”
City staff will provide residents with a number of ways to provide their feedback on the project, the spokesperson said. Details about the public consultation process will be released later this year.
“The Civic Core District Plan is a continuation of the Smart Growth on the Ground Concept Plan which was developed in August 2009,” city director of planning and development Deanna Wasnik wrote a report to city council in December. “The Civic Core District Plan is intended to focus on the expansion of the existing Civic Plaza with the benefit of attracting development in the area, the expansion of greenspace in the downtown and to provide the opportunity for a downtown transit exchange. The expanded Civic Plaza will look at opportunities to address challenges with aging facilities infrastructure (Kopar Memorial Arena, PG Playhouse, Studio 2880, etc.), as well address other opportunities to create a vibrant downtown.”
