Selkirk College students host open house on Nelson Life and Environment Action plans

Draft versions of Nelson’s Life and Environment Action plans will be presented to the public on March 13 at an open house.

Students in Selkirk College’s Integrated Environmental Planning Program have been working with the City of Nelson on Life and Environment Action plans. — Photo: Selkirk College

Draft versions of Nelson’s Life and Environment Action plans will be presented to the public on March 13 and residents are being invited to provide valuable input.

Prepared by second-year Selkirk College Integrated Environmental Planning Program students, the draft plans will be the unveiled at an open house on Monday, March 13 at Mary Hall on the Tenth Street Campus between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. The meeting is an opportunity for citizens to familiarize themselves with the draft plans. There will be a formal presentation and group question-and-answer session at 6:30 p.m. 

“There has been a great deal of work put into this plan with lots of input from community members,” says Selkirk College Integrated Environmental Planning Program Instructor Peter Holton. “The plans are intended to help Nelson further some of the many goals and initiatives identified some of their long range land use and sustainability plans.”

Public Input Important in Process

Under the supervision of Holton, 13 Selkirk College students have explored a diverse range of topics including: downtown laneways, native plants, community compost, subdivision and development servicing standards, natural environment and hazardous lands protection, sustainability checklist, wildlife management, construction waste landfill diversion, implementation and monitoring framework, Cottonwood Falls Park Nature Park, and storm water management.

The involvement of Nelson citizens, relevant government agencies, businesses, and non-governmental organizations has been actively solicited throughout the planning process with direction from the City of Nelson. The March 13 open house is part of that strategy.

“Selkirk’s Integrated Environmental Planning students have a 15-year history of preparing pro-bono plans for a variety of agency and interest group clients throughout the West Kootenay-Boundary,” says Holton. “The expertise we are able to provide has led to many important achievements in communities throughout the region.”

Some examples of the projects that have been worked on in past years include: Brilliant Flats and Terraces Land Use Plans (Regional District Central Kootenay), Cottonwood Creek Protection Plan (Friends of Cottonwood Creek), Rossland Trails and Laneways Plan (City of Rossland), Rossland Sustainability Plan Implementation (City of Rossland), Castlegar OCP Implementation Plan (City of Castlegar), City of Nelson OCP Implementation Plan (City of Nelson), RDCK Integrated Sustainability Support Plans (Regional District Central Kootenay), Kootenay Lake Partnership Stewardship Plans (Kootenay Lake Partnership) and the Village of Slocan OCP Implementation Plans (Village of Slocan).

Nelson’s various plans and studies have identified numerous areas for future study, research, plan development, and implementation. The purpose of the Life and Environment Action plans is to aid in this process. During the plan preparation processes Selkirk Integrated Environmental Planning students are:

• Compiling existing data on each selected topic in order to define the relevant issues and guide the development of a focus plan.
• Gathering information, input and ideas from the public, agencies, residents, landowners, businesses, and elected and appointed officials.
• Developing a set of planning goals and objectives for each individual topic.
• Researching how other entities and jurisdictions address similar issues throughout North America and document technologies and practices appropriate for Rossland.
• Outlining discrete action steps that can be taken to address issues and identify the parties that would be responsible for each action step.
• Providing order of magnitude cost estimates.

Final plans will be completed in April and presented to the City of Nelson later this spring. For more information please contact Peter Holton at [email protected].

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