Summary of Scoping Exercise

The purpose of the questionnaire was to help scope the types of issues and opportunities related to village centres and village planning in Area 'H'. In analyzing the feedback, staff focused on understanding the types of topics mentioned in responses, as well as understanding which topics were mentioned more frequently. Here is a summary of that scoping exercise:

1. Changes over the last few years

What has been happening in Area 'H' since 2004 (when the Area 'H' Official Community Plan was adopted)? (12 questionnaire responses + open house comments sheet)

Growth has been noticed by most respondents, both in general terms and in terms of specific locations, with Bowser/Deep Bay being mentioned as higher growth areas than the Dunsmuir and Qualicum Bay areas.

Topics also noted include changing demographics, housing affordability, tree and habitat loss, water supply and quality, environmental pressures, and regulations/bureaucracy.

2. Guiding Principles

The RDN, through a number of policies and initiatives, has committed towards working to become a more sustainable region (See open house information for more details). The following questions were asked to gage community support to develop guiding principles for the project that are based on sustainability goals.

Should we at the beginning of the project, have a set of sustainability principles that village planning would need to address? (14 questionnaire responses + open house comments sheet)

Responses to this question were favourable, with 12 of 14 answering yes, and two answering that they were unsure. Open house comment sheets were also supportive.

Does it make sense to use the RDN Strategic Plan Vision Statement, the Regional Growth Strategy Goals and the Official Community Plan Community Values Statement as a basis for developing a set of sustainability principles ? (14 questionnaire responses + open house comments sheet)

Responses to this question were also favourable, with 11 of 14 answering yes, 1 answering no (wanted OCP only to be used), and 2 indicating that they are unsure. Open house comment sheets were also supportive.

Do you have other thoughts about guiding principles for village planning? (10 questionnaire responses)

Respondents provided a wide range of responses:

• urban containment boundaries,
• more village nodes with greater densities to take pressure off larger rural acreages,
• transportation alternatives (bus service, bike lanes, improved/safer artery roads),
• balancing environmental sustainability with human needs for housing and services/balance development with local social needs,
• a mixed community in terms of age and socio-economic factors;
• not a commercial strip from one node to another,
• no golf courses which use large amounts of water and fertilizer;
• encourage local business rather than franchises and big box-stores;
• service clusters (Asian model - suite of services for every housing development)
• no need for any
• planning should be where there is some activity such as New Malaspina Research Centre

3. Issues & Opportunities - General

The following questions were developed to help identify the scope of issues related to the village centres and village planning in general, and to identify planning issues which might relate to all village centres areas.

What kinds of things do you think are important to consider as we begin thinking about planning for village centres in Area 'H'? (12 survey responses + open house comment sheet and e-mail).

Are there planning issues that relate to all three village centre areas? (12 survey responses, open house comment sheet and e-mail)

Given the open-endedness of these two questions, a range of responses were provided. The following table provides a list of the topics identified. The categories that were mentioned most often include mobility and commercial uses.

Table 1 - General Issues & Opportunities - Scope of Responses

Category	Topics
Mobility	Additional road access from Hwy 19 to Deep Bay Public Transportation Walking & cycling routes Traffic safety along Hwy 19 Corcan Road Beach access Rail
Commercial uses	Additional services Tourism/green tourism Additional commercial opportunities Location and types of retail/commercial Promote local businesses
Health & Family Services	Location of health & medical facilities Childcare facilities More health services
Infrastructure	Sewage treatment Green infrastructure Underground wiring
Social impacts	Affordable housing Changing demographics
Sense of Place	Preserve rural character Keep large scale developments (eg. 1200 house project proposed a few yrs ago) in urban areas Gentle ways of living
Form & Character	Building height
Economic	Tax implications Importance of shellfish industry
Regulations	No more regulations Personal infringements
Sustainability/ Quality of Life	Sustainability - appropriateness Quality of life
Timing of development between village nodes	Bowser active; Dunsmuir/Qualicum Bay dormant What is probability of seeing dev in Dunsmuir as opposed to Bowser/Deep Bay?
Locations of village centre size of boundaries	Dunsmuir Deep Bay

4. Issues & Opportunities - Area Specific

The following questions focus on planning issues and opportunities related to each village centre area or surrounding area.

Are there planning opportunities or issues that relate to a particular village centre area or surrounding area? (12 questionnaire responses + open house comments)

Table 2 shows the range of responses provided for each village centre area, as well as for the Deep Bay area.

Table 2 Area Specific Issues & Opportunities - Scope of Responses

Area	Topics
Dunsmuir	Timing or location questioned Questions re commercial uses Horne Lake Road safety Lack of identity
Qualicum Bay	Tourism opportunities Keep beach public First Nation involvement Community hall
Bowser	Rail Additional tourist businesses Traffic congestion/safety issues at businesses accesses Developing nicely Additional retail & services Bowser Elementary School
Deep Bay	A more desirable location/needs to be considered for a node Focal point for water access & activities Opportunities for more tourist commercial Opportunity for green development Infrastructure Growth management needed
Other	General beach access Personal infringements as a result of further planning Environmental protection

The open house displays provided background information regarding the original identification of village centres, and the process by which the original village centre boundaries were created. Planning staff were interested in knowing whether there were any questions from a community perspective, on the locations, size or boundaries of the centres.

The boundaries of the village centres in Area 'H' originate from the 1996 Shaw Hill-Deep Bay Official Community Plan, and to the best of our knowledge, were based on historical/existing commercial and residential areas, and the presence of adjacent, relatively large land holdings. Do you have any thoughts or questions about the location, size, or boundaries of any of the village centres in Electoral Area 'H'? (10 questionnaire responses + open house comment sheet)

Comments were provided relative to each of the village centres as well as the Deep Bay Area.

Table 3. Questions/Thoughts on locations, size or boundaries of Village Centres (Scope of Responses)

Area	Topics
Dunsmuir	Questions why this is a node Horne Lake at Hwy 19 should be commercial with potentially some housing
Qualicum Bay	Danger of spreading along hwy Size and location works well
Bowser	Centre area is limited Traffic safety issues Size and location works well
Deep Bay	Should be a village node
Other	Combine Bowser and Deep Bay areas Individual village nodes but an overall plan for sharing resources Cancel all boundaries

5. Village Centre Plans vs. Village Plans

The open house displays provided an overview of the Official Community Plan (OCP) policies and implementation actions (i.e. further work required) related to village centre planning. The OCP directed that "Village Centre Area Plans" be created , which would imply on face value , plans for the village centres only. Staff were interested in knowing whether residents saw value in thinking about a "village plan" which would provide direction for village centres, and also provide a more holistic view of a village.

The Official Community Plan directed that "village centre plans" be created. On first read, this would imply a plan that only covers the area of a village centre itself. However, some village centres, such as the Bowser village centre, are surrounded by residential neighbourhoods... Do you think that there is a need to have a "village plan", which provides a more complete picture of a village, its centre and its relationship to the surrounding areas? (12 questionnaire responses + open house comment sheets)

10 of 12 questionnaire respondents answered 'yes' to this question, with 1 'no' response and 1'unsure' response. Open house comments were supportive generally.

6. Survey Participants

A series of questions were asked to get a better sense of the diversity of respondents.

Did you participate in the review process for the Electoral Area 'H' Official Community Plan (around 2003-2004)? (12 responses)

Responses indicated a good split between those who did and those who did not participate in the last OCP review.

Table 4. Participation in last OCP Review

Responses	#	%
yes	5	36%
no	5	36%
unsure	2	14%
skipped question	2	14%

How long have you lived in Electoral Area 'H'? (12 responses)

Again, responses indicated a good split between those who are more recent to the community, and those who have lived in the community a long time.

Table 5. Length of time lived in area

Responses	#	%
under 2 yrs	0	0%
over 2 yrs & under 5 yrs	5	29%
over 5 yrs & under 10 years	0	0%
over 10 yrs & under 20 yrs	2	14%
over 20 yrs & under 30 yrs	0	0%
over 30 yrs	5	36%
landowners but not residents	1	7%
skipped question	2	14%

What community do you live in? (11 responses)

Respondents come from various parts of the area.

Table 6. Location of Residence/Ownership

Bowser	3	21%
Qualicum Bay	1	7%
Dunsmuir	3	21%
Deep Bay	4	29%
Skipped Question	3	21%

7. Community Mapping Exercise

Respondents were asked to show on a map what they considered to be the boundaries of their community. 5 responses were mapped by participants, and others provided input through text. It is interesting, and perhaps not surprising to note that the Bowser Village Centre was identified by most respondents as being a part of their community.

[ Click here ] to view the results of this mapping exercise.

Respondents were also asked to identify the places they value most in their community.

Responses included:

Fresh air; quiet; slower pace; affordable living; wildlife; green space/ trees; walking & hiking; community centre; legion; Bowser Elementary; variety of building styles; Bowser Village; Tom's Store; Deep Bay Dock and Boating; Deep Bay Spit; beaches; lakes, creeks, people and water. (bold = mentioned most times)

8. Getting Around

Staff was interested in understanding better how easy it is for people to get around their community, and where and how people are travelling outside of their community for work, school or shopping.

Unfortunately, there were not a lot of responses to these questions. However, it was noted that responses were in line with other information provided elsewhere in the survey.

9. Retail & Services

Where do you do the majority of your grocery shopping? (name of village, town or city)

Of the places identified, Qualicum Beach was mentioned the most (33% of all responses), then Parksville and Courtenay (19% of all responses), followed by Bowser and Nanaimo (14% of all responses).

How much of your shopping needs are met locally? (locally means within a 5-10 minute drive or an easy bike/walk away)

Most respondents indicated that less than half or very few of their shopping needs are met locally.

What types of additional retail or services would you like to see locally?

A range of responses were received from this question, from no additional retail or services required to all services that you would find in a small town. However, most respondents indicated a few additional retail or services, with Pharmacy, Doctor, larger grocery store and restaurants being mentioned more often than others.

10. Public Involvement

To assist in preparing a public consultation program for the project, staff asked for input on who should be involved in village planning and preferred participation methods.

Who needs to be involved in village planning (specific groups, clubs, business associations, others)?

Respondents identified the following:

Everyone; youth; seniors; utility providers; business associations; community clubs and organizations; resident associations; absentee property owners; non-property owners; shellfish industry; RDN planning department; elected representative.

Resident Associations were raised by some. At present, there is one Resident Association that staff is aware of and this association represents a small geographical area, relative to the Dunsmuir to Deep Bay catchment area.

How should the RDN communicate with you? What methods work best for you?

Table 7. Preferred Community Methods (Questionnaire Feedback)

Choices	Response count	Response %
open houses	9	90%
workshops	1	10%
evening meetings	3	30%
weekend meetings	0	0%
day time meetings	1	10%
newsletters	6	60%
RDN internet website	2	20%
personal e-mail	3	30%
other
Skipped Question	4

Additional comments included:

• Open house is good. I want to be heard and am willing to make the effort. Face to face is critical - communication is never complete without face to face element
• Beacon, internet
• Mail which will reach red-dotted mail boxes
• Open house when plans available; newsletters to go to every home to keep updated
• All of the choices (in questionnaire), but I quit using internet

Open house comment sheets noted:

• Email - collect addresses from interested parties
• Advertise meetings in The Beacon
• With a referendum - let us vote on it
• Public hearing process that includes presentations from planners & input from public
• All of the above

11. Other

Respondents were given an opportunity to provide other feedback. Please refer to survey results for details.

12. June 2008 Open House Evaluation

The open house questionnaires contained an open house evaluation form, which was completed by 7 attendees. Approximately 40-50 people attended the open house.

The majority indicated that they heard about the open house through the Beacon (6 of 7) and the PQ News (3 of 7).

The majority found the information in the displays useful and easy to understand (6 of 7 said yes; 1 said no).

All respondents found staff approachable and easy to speak with.

All respondents found it worthwhile coming to the open house.

Suggestions were made for future open houses, including:

• more of the same;
• planners time should not let their time be dominated by aggressive attendees/keep discussions on topic;
• use of a small central office by RDN staff at Magnolia court worked well during the last OCP review.

Conclusions

The purpose of the June 2008 Open House was to share background information on the village centres and village planning in Area 'H' with area residents, and to begin to learn more about the planning issues and opportunities related to the village centres and village planning from a community perspective.

Given the relatively few number of responses, it cannot be assumed that the results are representative of the community at large. However, those who participated in the open house and the survey provided a range of ideas and comments, and together helped to identify a broad scope of ideas and issues related to village centres and village planning, not dissimilar to a brainstorm of ideas.

This information will be made available to the community at large, will form part of the background information for the project, and will be taken into account in the drafting of the project Terms of Reference (the work program).