The City of Estevan has moved into Phase 2 of the Our Estevan initiative.
Our Estevan will result in a new official community plan (OCP) being adopted in 2019, putting in place policies and growth strategies that the city hopes will help make Estevan stronger, greener and a more vibrant community.
Phase 1 included eight different public surveys, which covered such topics as city beautification, downtown revitalization and more. Another survey was sent out to those who operate home-based businesses.
About 1,100-1,200 surveys were completed.
“It was probably about 10 times what I expected,” said Richard Neufeld, the manager of land development services for the City of Estevan.
He attended a couple of Estevan Farmers’ Markets, and met with various stakeholders and community organizations to gather input. There was also plenty of one-on-one discussion.
Phase 2 of Our Estevan will begin with open house meetings in the multipurpose room of the Estevan Leisure Centre. The first will be March 20 from noon to 4 p.m., and the other will be March 23 from 4-8 p.m. There will be about 20 display boards on various topics, and Neufeld hopes those will start some conversation, so that people can go from kiosk to kiosk, and see what the city is looking to do.
“Myself and other representatives from the city will be there to take questions, and I will have other materials there available for the public to look at or to take home, and then they can get back to me,” said Neufeld.
There will be information on a host of land-use topics in the community. All information available has yet to be reviewed, so Neufeld said it will be “unfiltered.”
One of the tables will summarize everything from the public, what they desire and how they plan to respond to it. It will be available for people to take home.
Neufeld noted that one of the items that they will present is how residents want to see protection around the helipad at St. Joseph’s Hospital. People are concerned about the size of neighbouring buildings.
“The whole idea behind the helipad protection area will be to ensure there’s a safe approach area vector for an ambulance coming into the hospital. A communication tower wouldn’t be constructed that would block their way.”
Another idea that came out of the surveys was a desire to have more input on important decisions coming out of land development. Neufeld wants to propose a public notification policy and bylaw that would be applicable to land development services.
If people are unable to attend the open house, he will be available for consultations over the next few months and can be contacted at city hall.
Neufeld pointed out that he has been in Estevan for a little more than a year, and he said he has been impressed with how open-minded residents are, how they take care of what they have and live within their means.
“From the … data that came in from the consultations, I’m probably adopting about 95 per cent of it. That’s a testament to how practical and how positive thinking people in the community are.”
