$150,000 for Official Community Plan update

More than five years later than recommended in provincial legislation, Osoyoos is jumping into a review and update of its Official Community Plan (OCP).

According to a report to council from planning director Gina MacKay, an OCP is “a local … bylaw that provides objectives and policies to guide decisions on planning and land use management,” for the town. “They are significant because, after their adoption, all bylaws and works undertaken by a council must be consistent with the plan.”

The Osoyoos OCP was last updated in 2008. The Local Government Act recommends updates every five years.

The first step in the review will be to float a “request for proposals” (RFP) in the municipal consulting world seeking a consultant to drive the process. Council on Monday gave pre-budget approval for $150,000 to pay for the OCP, including $125,000 for consulting services.

Deadline for responses to the RFP is April 22. Public consultations are expected to begin in June. According to MacKay’s report, “Ideally the project will be completed and the new OCP bylaw adopted in 2020.”

More study needed on public pot smoking

It’s back to the drawing board for Osoyoos town staff as council struggles with how to regulate the consumption of marijuana in public places.

In a report to council Monday from corporate services director Janette Van Vianen, several options were laid out as to how current non-smoking bylaws might be amended to deal with cannabis, including:
•Adding cannabis consumption and vaping to the definition of smoking under the parks and community facilities bylaw;

•Excluding smoking cannabis from certain designated smoking areas;

•Prohibiting cannabis consumption in public parking lots and all sidewalks under the traffic bylaw; and

•Preparation of a separate bylaw addressing all issues regarding public consumption of cannabis.

There was a lengthy discussion, mainly around the issue of whether public pot consumption should be any more tightly regulated than tobacco.

In the end, council members couldn’t agree on how to proceed. They instead ordered staff to come back to a later meeting with a “more detailed and comprehensive report” on the issues concerning the public smoking of cannabis and tobacco.