Welcome. Thank you for visiting our website to learn more about the Townsite Neighbourhood Review. I am Daniella Fergusson, Senior Planner for the City of Powell River.

The purpose of the Townsite Neighbourhood Review is to look at the future of City-owned lands in the Townsite. At the end of this process, we will have prepared an update for the Sustainable Official Community Plan for Council to consider adopting. This is not a detailed site planning exercise. Instead, it’s a high level look at land use designations, objectives, and policies in the SOCP.

The Sustainable Official Community Plan is City of Powell River’s guiding bylaw for the future of the community. It was adopted in 2014. Since then, the City has purchased about 230 acres of land in the Townsite. Currently the SOCP designates these lands for: parks schools and green space; employment centre; resource; waterfront commercial/industrial; and agricultural uses, as shown on this map.

This year the City is hosting an engagement process to hear your ideas about what land use designations should be for these city-owned lands, so that any future development happens in accordance with those designations. We are currently in Phase 1. In this phase, we want to hear your thoughts on future land uses for these lands. We’ll use the ideas you share in Phase 1 to prepare a draft SOCP map and draft policy revisions. There will likely be some options and directions we can go in, and in Phase 2 you will be consulted on those options and directions. Feedback from Phase 2 will be used to finalize the SOCP map and policies. After that, we will go through the statutory approvals process so that Council can consider the proposed changes.

There are a few considerations when thinking about future land uses for City-owned lands in Townsite:

The consolidated waste water treatment plant is currently under construction here.

Cutthroat Creek and a 30 metre buffer are marked as a Riparian Area, or an area where development is limited to protect fish habitat. This won’t change as a result of this process.

The SOCP currently shows a green buffer around the Townsite National Historic District of Canada. The purpose of this green buffer is to keep the boundaries of this historic area distinct from new development. We don’t anticipate changing this as a result of this process, but deciding on an appropriate size for the buffer would be helpful.

This parcel of land, commonly referred to as Lower Millennium Park, was intended to be a City park when the former Catalyst lands were acquired by the City. It’s not likely that this engagement process will result in a proposal to change the land use designation away from Parks, Schools, and Green Space.

This parcel of land is part of the Agricultural Land Reserve. The ALR is governed by the province and has constraints when it comes to subdivision, development, and access. The soils have been tested, and proposed land uses here should relate to farming. Or, a good argument for ALR exclusion would have to be made, along with SOCP policy changes to section 4.3 of the SOCP.

Industrial traffic is a reality in this area today and going forward. Western Forest Products have protected legal access via a Statutory Right of Way to access the log dump, with the intentions to continue this use.

This land is subject to Section 21 of the Powell River District Incorporation Act, 1955. Section 21 essentially forbids the City from restricting the construction, maintenance, and operation of pulp, paper, or other mills using forest products or any other industrial works. On June 20, 2019, Council resolved to request the Lieutenant Governor in Council to exclude city-owned lands from Section 21. The successful removal would create more clarity about the future of industrial development on these lands.

The neighbourhood review lands represent significant access to the waterfront. The new Parks and Trails Master Plan recommends recreational waterfront access, such as making First Beach an official park with amenities like parking, seating, and water access. Other ideas include a boat launch and a waterfront trail. This way, there is continuous public access from Westview to Townsite along the waterfront.

The Parks and Trails Master Plan also includes an Active Transportation Study. The study looked at existing trails and the road network to propose an all ages and abilities cycling network in Powell River. Something to consider is how these trails and the active transportation network will integrate with future land uses.

The new Housing Needs Assessment has confirmed what many of us already know – that there is a housing shortage in Powell River, particularly for affordable rental housing. In the next 5 years, an estimated 319 to 989 homes need to be built to keep up with demand.

The 2014 SOCP recommends exploration of a marine-based business park on the former golf course lands. There is a shortage of employment lands in Powell River, i.e. places to start and run a business. Employment lands are an important part of our tax base and help attract and retain younger people to live here.

This area was historically used for gravel extraction, but no longer needed for that use. It will be part of the entrance to the qathet Regional District’s new waste recovery centre. This could be a good site for employment lands.

Please think about these opportunities and considerations when providing your feedback about proposed changes to the land use designations and policies for this Townsite Neighbourhood Review.

There are a few ways to get involved [show these features]:

You can use the mapping tool on this website to add your ideas about what these lands should be used for.

If you’d rather just share an idea, click on the “ideas” tab to write down your idea. You can also see what other people have shared.

If you’ve got a question, click on the “questions” tab. Or, you can join a Q&A session. Those dates are listed under “key dates” in the sidebar.

To stay in touch, sign up for updates!

Thank you for participating. We’re looking forward to hearing your ideas about the future of these lands in Townsite!