In partnership with community representatives, the Cowichan Valley Regional District is sponsoring a design and planning exercise for the Village of Shawnigan Lake.
The ‘Think Shawnigan’ is considered a village centre vitalization, a collaborative project that enables residents to express and record their vision for what is considered the heart of their community. The design process is expected to tackle a number of challenges including mobility improvements, intensity of desired development, amount of future retail and commercial space, and a more detailed assessment of housing needs.
“In Shawnigan Lake we are very conscious of our values and we want our village to reflect them,” said Sierra Acton, Director of Area B – Shawnigan Lake. “Can we use design to reflect our values? Absolutely! I believe if we can come together to share and accentuate what we already have, we can define our village goals, protect our sense of place, and create a path forward to achieve what we want as a community.”
MVH Urban Planning and Design Inc (MVH) has been retained to work with the community to develop a Village Centre Plan, with preliminary community consultation work underway since July. The consulting team will be in Shawnigan Lake Village next week, hosting several events at the Shawnigan Lake Community Centre where the community can participate and observe the process.
- Ideas Fair: An opportunity to add to what the designers have heard so far. Thursday, October 17 from 7:00 – 8:30 pm.
- Studio Drop-In: Watch the designers at work, and see the ideas taking shape. Friday, October 18 from 4:00 – 6:00 pm.
- Design Presentation: Unveiling draft design concepts for the future of Shawnigan Saturday, October 19 from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m.
The resulting plan, anticipated to be completed by December, will aid future decision making in response to development applications, and provide clear design direction to potential applicants. Residents are also encouraged to participate through PlaceSpeak, and can sign up for regular updates about the project by emailing thinkshawnigan@gmail.com.
For more information, please contact:
Barry O’Riordan
Manager, Economic Development Cowichan
250.746.7880 ext 246
barry.oriordan@cvrd.bc.ca
Sierra Acton
Director, Area B – Shawnigan Lake
250.715.6763
sierra.acton@cvrd.bc.ca
Visit the Facebook page @ShawniganGathering
Check out www.iloveshawnigan.com/events
Watch the youtube video
Participate in the Online Survey
