In 2015, the City of White Rock launched a process to revise its Official Community Plan. For a city experiencing rapid growth, with a population expected to rise from approximately 20,000 to 27,000 residents by 2041, the Official Community Plan visioning process offered an opportunity for community members to consider how this growth should occur and how to best manage change. The City of White Rock retained CitySpaces to lead the first phase of the Official Community Plan project, consisting of a community engagement visioning process to raise awareness in the community and to better understand issues of concern.
Our team developed a visioning process strategy that utilized several methods and techniques to engage White Rock residents, businesses, and other stakeholders in meaningful ways. This included a Visioning Fair with over 100 participants engaged in interactive exercises and activities on a variety of topics. Our team also issued, managed, and analyzed over 300 responses from a Visioning Survey on land use and planning issues most important to them.
The Visioning Fair and Visioning Survey gave community members an opportunity to get intimately involved in the Official Community Plan process, helping them to shape the future of their community. These activities provided key insights into how residents feel about important land use issues, such as how to accommodate growth, manage new development, protect the environment, and provide community amenities and services. The visioning process also helped identify Guiding Principles, a Vision, and Goal Statements for the new Official Community Plan. Findings from the visioning process provided a strong foundation for future phases of the Official Community Plan revision process.