OCP - 2020 - Town of Port McNeill - Official Community Plan

The Town of Port McNeill is seeking the services of a consultant or team of consultants to undertake a comprehensive review of the Town's 1997 Official Community Plan (OCP) Bylaw No. 490, 1997 and provide a current OCP to meet the visions of the community for the current and future directions.

The Town of Port McNeill has a population of approximately 2300 residents and is located 195 km north of Campbell River on the north east side of Vancouver Island. Historically, Port McNeill has served as a centre for forestry, however the Town is transitioning away from the traditional industries towards a diverse tourism and service centre economy. Vancouver Island North is a popular summer destination for fishing, hiking, camping, boating and many other outdoor activities. The Town's Official Community Plan (OCP) was last updated in 1997. In the last twenty-two years since the adoption of the OCP, significant changes have occurred, and the world has become a different place.

The OCP is one of the principle means available to local governments to engage their community in the creation and implementation of a future community vision, strong and resilient in the face of changing times and changing conditions. A healthy community is one that demonstrates economic, environmental, and social sustainability in planning for its future. The Town of Port McNeill needs to consider all these factors and how they interact to affect Council's decision making.

The development of a new OCP should be a community building process, an opportunity for the community to come together in the early part of Council's term to help Council examine current realities, refine the vision for the community, and participate in establishing policies that will help the community achieve its goals.

Accordingly, we request proposals from consultants with proven inter-disciplinary experience in master planning, urban design, community and stakeholder consultation, land use regulation and bylaw preparation to assist the Port McNeill in generating a new vision-driven OCP that will provide direction to the community and be a guide for Council in their future decision making.