Letter to Parents About North Van District's Official Community Plan

Hello friends of NVPAC,

I am a Learning Support Teacher in the district as well as the parent of a kindergarten student at Braemar. For the past 18 months I have been sitting as a volunteer on a community committee overseeing the development of the District of North Vancouver's Official Community Plan (OCP). The OCP looks at goals and targets for our communities in the areas of land use, economic development, housing, transportation, recreation, social supports and environmental issues. The plan currently under development has a 20 year outlook. What do we want our community to look like in 2030? I joined the committee because I was concerned that at District of NV meetings and events, I wasn't seeing many people who look like me - the parent of a young child, and the member of a family who would like to raise the children in the District. For me, like many other families, this plan will inform the District's directions and choices for the duration of my child's childhood.

During the process of developing the OCP draft to date, there have been numerous public events to engage the community. So far, about 3000 of the District 80,000 residents have participated in some form. I have been at most of these events, Despite the District's efforts at advertising and creative engagements strategies, I have still not seen significant representation from families in the development of this plan. A draft of the new OCP is now available for public review http://identity.dnv.org/ and in January there will be public open houses where residents can meet with planners and District staff to ask questions and provide feedback. There will also be an online feedback form in January.

During this same time, period, I like many of you, have attended countless NVSD meeting around issues of school closures, program changes and budget challenges. The parent turnout at many of those meetings has been strong. NV parents are passionate about what they want for their children and have been strong voices for the needs of the community. This OCP will have a significant impact on many issues that relate to schools - development of new housing areas, transportation hubs, jobs closer to home, etc.

I am writing to ask NVPAC to encourage every PAC to share this information with individual school PACs and to encourage every school to find three or four parents who will attend upcoming OCP meetings and speak on behalf of families. The plan is currently a draft; public feedback will inform the final document. District staff need to hear clear voices from the community about our vision for our neighbourhood. Please help get the message out so those voices can be heard.

I am happy to speak with anyone from NVPAC or any school PAC about this process and how the plan relates to our school. I have one page summary sheets that could be posted in schools for parents to view. Please let me know the best way to get these to individual PACs. I can be reached at ktulloch@nvsd44.bc.ca

Sincerely,
Krista Tulloch
Learning Support Teacher, Boundary Elementary