South Highlands Local Area Plan: Let's Talk!

The Project Team would like to thank everyone that submitted feedback for the Draft SHLAP.

The feedback period on the draft is now closed. The Project Team will now review the input and refine the Draft SHLAP over the next few weeks, with the goal of presenting to District Council in September.

Stay tuned for updates!

The full Draft SHLAP is ready for community feedback!

The past several months has seen the completion of the Early Directions Survey, development of a preliminary draft SHLAP, extensive input from the SHLAP Task Force, and discussion and input from District Council. All of this contributed to the draft SHLAP. We are now looking for your input, once again, to help finalize the draft prior to presenting it to District Council in September.

You can view and download the document here or on the District website here.

Please, send your feedback directly to the District Planner, Laura Becket: lbeckett@highlands.ca

The Project Team will be receiving your feedback until July 10, 2022.

Thank you – your time and input is valuable.

Thank you to all who participated in the Early Directions Survey! This update provides information on the Early Directions Survey and next steps:

• We received 268 responses to the Early Directions surveys. WOW. The project team are processing and analyzing the data, to develop the Engagement Summary Report.
• The Engagement Summary Report serves as the next major deliverable for the project, and will be posted on the District’s web site once ready.
• After that is complete, the Project Team will draft early local area plan key content.
• Review of the draft early local area plan key content will be the subject of the next Task Meeting. We expect this to occur approximately 5 weeks after the Engagement Summary is made public.

We had great community participation in the Early Directions Survey – over 250 responses!

A big THANK YOU to all of those that took the time to participate.

Stay tuned for our Engagement Summary report, before we move into developing a draft of the South Highlands Local Area Plan.

The Early Directions Survey is now LIVE!

Have your say on a series of early directions that will eventually inform the development of the draft South Highlands Local Area Plan.

Share your feedback on:

• Placemaking and character of the South Highlands;
• Land use in key areas, including the 'Gateway' properties (e.g., OK-I, Millstream Meadows);
• Transportation improvements;
• and more!

The survey window is open until November 8, 2021.

We want to hear from you!

* Paper surveys are available upon request. Please, contact the District office: (250) 474-1773

Happy New Year from the Project Team! We look forward to hearing more from you in 2021.

On November 30, we hosted an online Stakeholder Workshop. A summary of the event can be found here, along with the overview presentation.

On January 19 and February 10, the next Task Force meetings will be held, in which we will review a draft set of Preliminary Plan Directions.

In late February, we will launch our second Community Survey on the Preliminary Plan Directions – as a way to test the outcomes of the project, so far.

Stay tuned for updates and a link to the Plan Directions Survey.

You can also visit the District website for the latest meeting documents (e.g., agendas, summaries, and draft Preliminary Directions).

The Visioning Survey is now closed – a big 'thank you' to all of those who participated.

These are the next steps in the project process:

• November 30 – Stakeholder Workshop to further explore solutions and scenarios for the area;
• December/January – Project Team will identify early themes and directions based on analyses and engagement input to date;
• January/February – Plan Directions Survey will harvest community input on early directions for the LAP;
• Late Winter – What We Heard report summarizing all of the community engagement to date;
• Early Spring – Development of Draft LAP and further feedback opportunities.

Thank you and stay safe over the holidays.

In the initial survey window, we heard from some Highlands residents about their vision for the future of the South Highlands.

But, we still want to hear from you!

Common themes and directions, so far, include:

• Protecting groundwater and surface water
• Requiring innovative green development
• Conserving forested areas and maintaining wildlife corridors
• Finding ways to mitigate heavy truck traffic on Millstream Road
• Creating/enhancing off-road routes for walking and cycling
• Supporting the creation of local businesses and gathering places (e.g., market, cafe)

We have extended the survey window until November 18, 2020.

Have your say!

Phase 2 of the South Highlands Local Area Plan (SHLAP) is underway! In this phase, the plan will actually be created – through iterative rounds of research, public engagement, and writing... until we collectively get it right.

Join us for the Project Launch on September 23, 2020 (*registration required)

What: SHLAP Project Launch Open House
Where: Highlands Community Hall
When: 4:00pm-4:40pm | 5:00-5:40pm | 6:00-6:40pm
How: Event registration required, due to COVID19 protocols
Please, contact the District to register for your preferred timeslot – info@highlands.ca or (250) 474-1773