The District of Kent continued looking for public input into community planning through a series of workshops held throughout the week.
Nine collaborative events were planned over three days, called OCP In A Week.
They included varied topics such as agriculture, preliminary land use, planning for youth, amenities, transportation and the environment.
On Tuesday, the District held an OCP Picnic in the Park workshop at Pioneer Park, with Urban Systems as hosts.
Tina Atva, from Urban Systems, said the current Official Community Plan "is pretty good, but could be more user friendly, a little more graphic and little clearer in areas."
The District hired Urban Systems to facilitate the discussion around the OCP, and are looking for feedback from residents and business owners regarding every aspect of life in the area.
The entire process will take about a year, Atva said Tuesday. Currently they are moving into Phase 2 of the process, creating the draft OCP. The OCP will look at how the community will manage growth and development through to 2040.
An OCP is a guideline for growth, she said, and the District is looking at certain pieces of land that are being considered for development.
While some people are giving feedback so far that growth should be in the hillsides, others are saying they want to retain their farming community's roots.
Growth is difficult in the District, Atva pointed out, because of the proximity to farmland.
"Anywhere you go is going to be in the ALR, so that's not an easy decision either," she said.
OCP In a Week, is the second District-to -community outreach initiative. The first was a series of coffee house chats, of which about 40 people took in. There is also an online place to communicate with the District and Urban Systems, called PlaceSpeak.
To provide input, anyone is also invited to contact Darcey Kohuch, Director of Development Services at 604-796-2235 or dkohuch@district.kent.bc.ca.