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Community Planning - Rural Princeton Bylaw Review

An OCP is an important policy document that provides the Regional District and the community with general direction on land use matters such as environmental protection, growth management, parks and recreation, community servicing, and land use.

The Plan will also help to inform the long‐term use of land in the unincorporated areas surrounding Princeton, including the Princeton Fringe Area, Tulameen, Coalmont, Eastgate, Missezula Lake and Five Mile Valley.

The basis of the current OCP was formulated in the mid‐1990s with the Plan formally adopted by the Regional District Board in 1998. It is generally considered good practice to review the policies contained within an OCP every 5‐10 years to ensure they respond to changing circumstances within the community such as shifting population, affordable housing and climate change.

OCP Review Committee Appointed!

At its meeting of April 15, 2010, the Regional District Board resolved to appoint the following individuals to the Electoral Area 'H' Official Community Plan (OCP) and Zoning Bylaw Review Committee:

Linda Allison;
Spencer Coyne;
Susan Dixon;
Tim Hall;
Ole Juul;
Treena MacLeod;
Chris Pemberton;
Dave Rainer;
Marg Reichert;
Ken Ruttan;
William Sawchuk; and
Charles Weber.

Public Open Houses

A series of Open Houses were held the third weekend of November in order to provide a progress update on the OCP. Meetings were held at:

Eastgate (November 21st - 1-3pm at the Fire Hall)

Princeton (November 21st - 7-9pm at the Riverside Centre)

Five Mile Valley (November 22nd - 1-3pm at the Hayes Creek Fire Hall)

Tulameen (November 22nd - 7-9pm at the Community Centre)

A copy of the presentation related to the OCP Review process and the results of the Survey can be downloaded here:

Official Community Plan Review Presentation

Jillian Tamblyn, Environmental Coordinator (RDOS), presented an update on the Sensitive Ecosystem Inventory (SEI) Mapping currently being undertaken in Eastgate, Otter Lake and the Five Mile Valley areas. A copy of SEI Mapping Presentation can be downloaded here:

Sensitive Ecosystem Inventory (SEI) Mapping Presentation

Melanie Bagley, Community Liason / Project Manager for the Sustainable Similkameen Project presented an update on that project.

Area Director Brad Hope addressing attendees of the Tulameen Open House

Resident Survey Results

Board Report - Resident Survey Results (file size: 149 KB)

Schedule A - Initial Survey Results (file size: 1.32 MB)

Schedule B - Round 1 Survey Results (file size: 443 KB)

Schedule C - Round 2 & 3 Survey Results (file size: 52 KB)

Schedule C-1: Land Use Responses (file size: 1.65 MB)

Schedule C-2: Economic Development Responses (file size: 2.1 MB)

Schedule C-3: Recreation Responses (file size: 971 KB)

Schedule C-4: Service and Infrastructure Responses (file size: 2.64 MB)

Schedule C-5: Environmental Responses (file size: 1.35 MB)

Schedule C-6: Local Government Responses (file size: 789 KB)

Schedule C-7: Survey Feedback Responses (file size: 672 KB)

Background Statistics - Electoral Area 'H'

Land area is 4,815 km², making it the largest Electoral Area in the RDOS (comprising 46% of the total);
Population is 2,208 persons (2006 Census), which represents 2.8% of the total RDOS population;
Average annual population growth between 2001 and 2006 was 2.32% (for a total of 239 new residents);
It took 30 years to double the population (i.e. 950 residents in 1966 vs. 2,053 residents in 1996);
Almost half of all households (46.4%) are occupied on a seasonal basis — RDOS average is only 9.2%;
59% of dwellings occupied on a year-round basis were constructed prior to 1986;
Median age of year-round residents in 1981 was 30, by 2006 it was 52.4 vs. Provincial average of 40.8;
74.4% of households are comprised of either one person or couples with no children; and
The largest employment sector is “Agriculture and other resource-based industries”.