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Jaffray Area OCP heads to hearing Nov. 22
After more than two years of work the Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) board of directors Nov. 3 introduced and passed the first two readings of the Jaffray Area Official Community Plan (OCP) and South Country Zoning & Floodplain Management Bylaw.
With the first two readings on the books, Bylaw No. 2810 (Jaffray Area Official Community Plan) and Bylaw No. 2811 (South Country Zoning & Floodplain Management Bylaw) now go to public hearing on Nov. 22 at the Jaffray Community Hall (7 p.m. start time).
Electoral Area B Director Stan Doehle thanked RDEK staff for their efforts on the draft plan, calling the two-year process “probably the most trying thing I have ever done.”
Electoral Area A Director Mike Sosnowski was the lone vote against Bylaws 2810 and 2811, noting, “a portion of constituents in Jaffray have reached out to me. I’m not sure their voices have been heard.”
RDEK Board Chair, Electoral Area C Director Rob Gay also praised regional staff for their efforts, adding he believed some of the residents who have “their backs up” about the OCP process wouldn’t be so concerned “if they read the plan.
“I think your meeting (public hearing) will be lively,” he said.
“The Jaffray, Tie Lake and Rosen Lake areas have been regulated by a Land Use Bylaw since 1999. The conversion to an Official Community Plan provides an opportunity to consider land use policies that reflect existing conditions. The zoning for the area is proposed to be incorporated into the existing zoning bylaw that covers the portions of Area B that are zoned to the south,” a RDEK staff report explains.
“In addition to those areas covered by the Land Use Bylaw, the Jaffray Area OCP proposes to incorporate areas around Jaffray within the OCP. The proposed boundary would result in an OCP boundary that aligns with zoned areas to the west and south and the electoral area boundary to the north. Following the July 2017 decision to exclude the Galloway and Elko.”
In July the board voted to remove Grassmere and Elko from the plan area.
– Ian Cobb/e-KNOW
