Smart Planning for Communities helps Village of Kaslo develop its ICSP

Smart Planning for Communities (SPC) is pleased to be working with the Village of Kaslo and the community on its Integrated Community Sustainability Planning (ICSP) process.

The Village of Kaslo, located on the shores of Kootenay Lake, was developed in early 1890s as a result of the mining boom in the region. It was the first city in the Kootnay’s to be incorporated. In recent years, the Village has undergone an Official Community Plan update and has participated in a number of other regional planning processes such as the Climate Adaptation Strategy, SustainABLE Central Kootenay, and an Agriculture Plan. 

The Smart Planning for Communities team will be reviewing the previous planning work and looking for the synergies and complementary goals, as well as the gaps that need to be addressed and integrated into the coming ICSP. The result will be a strategy with the priorities and actions to help Kaslo progress along the road to becoming a resilient sustainable community. The final report is expected to be completed in the fall 2013.

Getting Ready

The process started earlier this spring when SPC facilitator Joan Chess, in collaboration with Laurie Cordell from Columbia Basin Trust, met with the Village Council and staff to discuss their vision for this plan and ways to engage community members in the process.

The ICSP will get into full swing through community engagement and focus groups that will allow Kaslo residents to participate in defining commonly used terms, confirming the community’s vision statement, and setting goals for the four ‘pillars’ of sustainability—social, economic, environmental and cultural. For each of the goals, action plans will be established that include activities, timeframe, and responsibilities and indicators for measuring success will be developed to keep track of the progress and maintain focus. Indicators need to be relevant for Kaslo as part of a practical monitoring program. 

What’s Next  

Using a ‘sustainability lens’, the SPC staff has been reviewing current plans developed for the Kaslo to identify and address common goals and gaps apparent in those planning documents. In the coming weeks, SPC team will be working on organizing focus group sessions to help establish common definitions to be used for the ICSP process and define goals for the four pillars of sustainability—social, economic, environmental and cultural.

The final report will capture Kaslo’s strategy for becoming a sustainable community.

 Meet Joan Chess, Sustainability Facilitator

Joan Chess is the Sustainability Facilitator for central and northern BC. Joan brings a practical approach to applying sustainability principles to community planning and is able to assist with all steps in a planning process, such as gathering information, analysis, community involvement and urban design for small communities.

Her career includes working with provincial, local and First Nations governments, which has given her a good understanding of the inter-jurisdictional nature of planning and sustainability. Joan is currently President for the Planning Institute of British Columbia.

Joan loves the unique places and people of northern BC. When she's not on the road, she's usually playing with her horse or skiing with her family. Contact Joan