COMMUNITY PLANNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR RURAL NEIGHBOURHOODS

Community planning is a process which engages residents to establish visions, goals and policies for achieving social, economic and environmental sustainability within our communities.  Community planning can be undertaken using the approaches outlined in the Local Government Act or by using a variety of non-legislative planning methods. Plans can be directed at the community as a whole, specific neighbourhoods and individual properties. They can also be directed at particular sectors such as economic development, social development, housing, parks, or environmental management.
Community planning is an orderly process that allows residents to identify and address pressing issues in their communities. This planning method can begin with three simple questions:

• Where is our community today?
• What do we want our community to be like in the future?
• How can we effectively move toward the future?

Keys to a successful community plan:

• Identify the geographic area of the community to be included in the planning area.
• Form a planning committee consisting of 8 to 15 members who rally participation from the entire community. The committee should be representative of the community and be comprised of a cross section of residents (age, professions, gender, geographic area, etc.)
• Identify key issues based upon a SWOT analysis (strengths / weakness / opportunities / threats).  Issues to consider should include: demographics, community pride, recreation, education / schools, land zoning (residential, agricultural, industrial),  transportation, facilities, health, economic development, social development, safety, housing, parks, beautification / landscaping, sensitive areas, infrastructure, environmental management;
• Developing a goal (outcome the community would like to attain) for each of the issues identified. 
• Develop an action plan that can be used to carry out steps to attain the identified goals.  This plan should outline how the actions will be implemented.   
• Continual monitoring of the plan to assess the progress toward meeting the goals and recommended strategies adopted by the community. 

IF YOU SEE VALUE IN HAVING A PLAN FOR YOUR COMMUNITY AND WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PLANNING PROCESS, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.  I ENVISION THE POTENTIAL OF HAVING PLANS FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS WITHIN AREA B: BOUCHIE LAKE / MILBURN LAKE TEN MILE LAKE / MOOSE HEIGHTS / PARKLAND CINEMA / STRATHNAVER