The City of Nanaimo has moved into the next phase of its Reimagine Nanaimo process, creating a draft vision of what Nanaimo will look like in 25 years time. (File Photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

NEXT 25 YEARS

Nanaimo ‘reimagined’ as new City master plan guides path forward

Feb 28, 2022 | 5:34 AM

NANAIMO — After countless surveys, documents and engagement sessions, City staff are confident they’ve got a direction to move the region forward.

The Reimagine Nanaimo process has culminated in a draft City Plan, which will guide the region forward and be presented to Council at two meetings on Monday, Feb. 28.

Lisa Bhopalsingh, manager of community planning, told NanaimoNewsNOW the 304-page document pulls together existing planning, including strategies on active transportation, infrastructure, land use and more, and weaves in into one fluid document.

“As a small midsize city that will grow from 100,000 where we’re at currently to around 140,000 in the next 25 years based on our projections, this plan is very much about not reacting to that growth that’s coming…but responding in a thoughtful manner.”

Merging multiple directions on different topics into one master document will make various City operations more streamlined, according to Bhopalsingh.

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The new City Plan will supercede individual documents and be looked to as the defining path forward for the future of Nanaimo.

“What that means is that when we look at updating something to do with our transportation network, it is integrated with our land use more fully in one document. All departments see themselves in this document.

A majority of the plan stems from round after round of public consultation, done throughout a pandemic and in the midst of heat domes, flooding and excessive snowfall.

Much of it was done online however, which allowed for easier access for those wanting to take part. The City also mailed out surveys to a cross section of 2,000 random Nanaimo households in a bid to garner a “statistically valid” opinion of the region as a whole.

Currently in a draft form, the plan will be subject to another round of feedback beginning March 1 with changes due back to Council before final adoption scheduled in early July.

The plan will outlive the current Council and help position newly elected or re-elected officials in October on the right track.

“We went out for vast community engagement about what their preferences were and in what areas. I do hope that when it comes to things like a new Council coming along, they’ll pay attention to the engagement summaries and the feedback we received that are informing this draft.”

Councillors will be briefed on the plan and how to navigate its 300+ pages during a governance and priorities meeting Monday afternoon, ahead of it being formally presented to Council as a draft document later in the evening.

The draft City Plan is available here, with the accompanying maps in a separate document.

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alex@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @alexrawnsley