176269 - RFP2023-061 - Official Community Plan (OCP) Public Engagement Program

The City of Salmon Arm ("City") is seeking the services of a qualified consulting team (“Consultant”) with experience and knowledge of planning and implementing effective public engagement processes to solicit public comments for the review and rewrite of the City’s Official Community Plan (OCP) (the “Project”).

The OCP is the City’s principal land use planning document, and will guide future community decision making by Council and the organization. The existing OCP was approved in 2011, and there has been considerable change in the community since that time. The OCP is the City’s principal tool to manage change in the community, and to guide the future growth and future decision making. It is essential that the plan remains current and relevant to the conditions and circumstances in which it is used.

Given the level of growth and change in the community since the OCP was approved, it is necessary to undertake a review of the OCP, so that it addresses issues, trends, patterns and concerns that are relevant to the current community. Significant changes affecting the community since 2011 include:

• Climate change and greenhouse gas emissions
• Significant infrastructure planning and upgrades in the community
• Shifting transportation options
• Changing housing and housing related costs
• Changing commercial and retail related patterns.