The Peace River Region District and member municipalities - Dawson Creek, Fort St. John, Taylor, Chetwynd, Hudson's Hope, Tumbler Ridge, and Pouce Coupe - have begun work on a new regional strategy.
“The final product will be a high-level document that will support more coordinated region-wide planning and help us better understand the region, including the shared opportunities it has and the challenges it faces,” reads an explanation of the need for the strategy.
Regional growth strategies are enabled by the provincial Local Government Act, and this one is four-phase project. The project is intended to become a 20-year strategy once complete, helping to navigate a growing population, new service demands, the regional economy, and a changing climate.
It starts with collecting input from residents in each of the participating municipalities, identifying broad goals on topics like transportation, housing, parks and natural areas, economic development, and regional environmental issues.
However, the strategy is not intended to regulate land use and development, as those are already covered under official community plans, zoning bylaws, and building permit requirements.
The project began in August of 2023 and will continue until May 2025. For information on the strategy, you can click here.
