Richard Drake writes...I have been a resident in the village of Cumberland for approximately 10 years. One of the reasons I came here was because of the inclusive nature of the last OCP, which was just wrapping up when I arrived.

The word got out around the province that Cumberland was not only an interesting place to live, but unlike many other places, cared about its heritage enough to be one of the few remaining intact historical towns/villages in BC. This was partly a function of what was contained in the OCP. In fact, out of the many young families who have been moving here, a number of them chose to come here, not because we had fantastic employment opportunities, but because we have a very good quality of life. For instance although many of us to drive, maybe too much, I can walk downtown, and get just about any thing I want from municipal services, businesses, entertainment, medical care, library, and just about anything else I might want.

I am very glad you included "Quality of Life" in one of the measurements of our new draft OCP. A livable community attracts people who want to contribute to where they live. A good quality of life goes hand-in-hand with a vibrant economic climate. There are minimal drains on social services, police etc. You could do well to draw on a significant work done through the Livable Communities organizations that came into being all over BC in the early 1990s. Mayor Ashley of Campbell River made a substantial contribution to this. Although this movement is long gone, we could study their conclusions, objectives, and those things that were implemented, without reinventing the wheel.

Cumberland's tentative agreement with Comox-Strathcona Waste Management - see this local news article - shows that the change in the wind that blew through Cumberland Council at last year's election is bringing a fresh approach to amenity negotiations. If approved, the agreement means up to $3m for Bevan Road repairs and $300,000 annually for 20 years.  That's a total of $9m, which, coincidentally, is the exactly double the amount previous councils and staff negotiated for the entire Trilogy Development, a much larger and more profitable enterprise.  The Trilogy agreement was arranged by a professional negotiation consultant, at considerable expense; it appears that this landfill agreement is the result of the hard work of a capable staff backed up by a strong but flexible position from Council.