The Editor,
Re: Letter: Why is Burnaby making SFU do its public engagement with 'secret' assembly? (Jan. 11, 2024)
A recent letter to the Burnaby Now lacked understanding about the Burnaby Community Assembly and its role in the broader public engagement process underway to renew Burnaby’s Official Community Plan (OCP), known as “Burnaby 2050.”
We are currently in year three of a four-year process to update our OCP. It is one of the most robust public engagement processes in Burnaby’s history, connecting with and seeking input from residents every step of the way.
The OCP will shape how our city grows over the next 25 years, and it is crucial that it is shaped and informed by the Burnaby community.
In 2022, the City attended more than a dozen events and received input from more than 3,500 residents as part of the first phase of the OCP update.
This phase was about building awareness in the community about what an OCP is, its purpose and the renewal process underway. The process also included an option for residents to submit their feedback online.
In 2023, we entered the “Visioning” stage, working with residents to develop vision options for our city’s long-term growth.
Input from the first phase was incorporated into the discussions as we sought further input about their vision for the future of Burnaby, their values or deeply held core beliefs, and priorities on key policy themes.
Throughout the spring and summer of 2023, community members shared their thoughts through many opportunities, including a survey, in person at pop-up events throughout Burnaby, and at one of six Visioning Dialogue events hosted in all four quadrants of the city. There were also four additional sessions, focusing on community partners and organizations that serve equity-deserving groups.
We received more than 20,000 comments through this second phase.
Throughout this OCP process, we have structured engagement to provide opportunities for people from all walks of life, reflecting Burnaby’s diversity. And, as with all important engagements, consultation with the four host First Nations has been key.
And now, in 2024, we enter an exciting part of the project. We are beginning to develop the draft vision, goals and objectives to include in the final OCP document. And once again we’ll be returning to the community with a mix of online and in-person engagement activities.
The Burnaby Community Assembly, launching this spring, is an innovative complement to this process. Run by SFU’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, the community assembly will use a lottery process to select 45 community members reflective of Burnaby’s diversity to take a deep dive into some of the issues that must be grappled with as we update the city’s OCP.
Their recommendations will be just one of many sources of public input into the new OCP, complementing and augmenting the ongoing four-phase public engagement plan.
For such an important document, it’s important to take the time to do it right. We’re just over halfway through.
In 2025, the public will see a draft of the new OCP and will have one more opportunity to have their say. And finally, following years of working side-by-side with the community to develop a new OCP, City Council will receive the final report for consideration.
I encourage people to learn more at our Burnaby 2050 website online.
- Ed Kozak, General Manager Planning and Development, City of Burnaby
