Ten year community vision set by council

West Kelowna Council has endorsed its first-ever Community Vision which sets the direction for the next 10 years and beyond.

The initiative was designed with two rounds of public engagement starting last summer that invited the community to share what was important as part of the ‘Listen and Learn’ phase and then once again on the ‘Did We Get It Right?’ phase to refine the Draft Community Vision ending in January 2021.

Highlights of activities included a series of online community and stakeholder collaborative workshops, questionnaires, choose your own adventure feedback forms, and interactive children’s activity books throughout the process. Pivoting to electronic and print measures garnered 2,157 completed questionnaires/feedback forms, which collected 6,500 distinct inputs that were used to form an overarching vision, five foundational themes and 23 key directions to work towards collectively as a community.

“Establishing a long-term vision for West Kelowna is a significant accomplishment for our Council and our community and will serve as the foundation for the City’s Official Community Plan update that we will undertake this year,” said Mayor Gord Milsom. “A strong Community Vision is the basis of all of our plans and policies in a community. It provides the direction for where we want to go as we grow. Council and staff are grateful for the community’s participation in sharing what they value as we look to the future of this beautiful city.”

Focusing on the key directions will guide future decision-making and priority-setting. While progress is intended to be made on each of the key directions over time, priorities will continue to be set incrementally to reflect opportunity, Council Strategic Priorities, and goals of the community.

“The planning exercise may have concluded, but it is only the beginning as we move forward on a number of other major initiatives,” said Milsom. “Continued collaboration and partnerships with Westbank First Nation, agencies, organizations and people who learn, live, work and play in West Kelowna will achieve the vision of a caring and resilient Greater Westside community for everyone.”

Next steps will see the Official Community Plan and the Transportation Master Plan updates set in motion this spring and will inform future master plans as they arise.

The updated Final Community Vision document will be available online Monday, March 1. Visit www.ourwk.ca for more information.