Editor:
Please could the Burnaby NOW report on when and how the residents of Burnaby will have meaningful opportunities for input into the development of a new Official Community Plan for Burnaby?
The City of Langford recently invited its residents to a free public forum on the subject of Building Cities Better: Improving Urbanism in a time of Climate Change and Housing Need, to be led by a well-regarded ubanist, former city planner and thought leader. (Unfortunately, the free public forum that had been organized for April 24, 2023 has had to be postponed but it is going to be rescheduled.)
The City of Langford website states that: “The City of Langford hopes this thought-provoking presentation will be the start of an ongoing conversation about how Langford can continue to progress in a way that contributes to the creation of a vibrant, climate-resilient, healthy, cost-effective and sustainable community.”
Interestingly, the Langford city councillors will be learning alongside their residents about how to move, expeditiously, towards creating a city that meets the many complex challenges facing cities today.
The City of Langford made it easy for residents to participate in the event by ensuring the event was well advertised; tickets were free through Eventbrite; the event was going to be hosted in a large public space (a high school gymnasium) so many citizens could attend in person; and the event was going to be live-streamed so it could be watched later. These efforts by the City of Langford suggest that the City of Langford genuinely wants to engage with its citizens on a learning journey to make Langford a great place to live.
I am hoping that we, in Burnaby, are on a similar course. I would appreciate any light you could shed on how the City of Burnaby proposes to engage with Burnaby residents on the development of Burnaby’s Official Community Plan and where we are at with the process.
Sincerely,
Christine Cunningham
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