The regional board of directors spent some time debating the validity of trend information included in the recently released snapshot summary of the Regional Growth Strategy.
On April 1, 2010, the Board of Directors of the Regional District Okanagan-Similkameen resolved unanimously to adopt the Sub-regional Growth Strategy.
The RGS must be reviewed every five years to ensure that it remains a relevant document. Beyond this legislative requirement, the RDOS partnered with the BC Real Estate Foundation and the South Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Program (SOSCP) to create a monitoring regime for the RGS that used as its base a set of performance indicators.
Using the performance indicators developed in 2007, the RDOS commissioned the Sheltair Group (now Stantec) to conduct a baseline study. This was completed and released in late 2008. RDOS committed to releasing a regional snapshot each year using a selection of the performance indicators. The data collected for this snapshot was collected and analyzed by RDOS staff, through the use of the Information Service department and planning.
Area “F” Director Michael Brydon was first to express concerns over the validity of the data used in making the trend assessments, saying that there “was not a lot of data.”
Area “C” Director Allan Patton agreed with Brydon, noting that Climate Action targets should also be included in the trend information, something that staff will be adding before this summer.
The Administrative recommendation to receive the regional snapshot was amended to say “The South Okanagan Regional Growth Strategy Volume 1 for 2008 / 2009 be recieved and that the trend information be recognized as potentially insignificant.”
Performance Indicator Trend
Population Growth: an estimate of growth rate Increasing
Agriculture: net amount of land included into the ALR Increasing
Biodiversity and Natural Spaces: annual and
cumulative area of parkland and protected areas Increasing
Affordable Housing: housing starts by structural
type and average house price Decreasing
Energy Use: residential gas and electricity energy use
Water Management: water consumption Neutral
Municipal Solid Waste: municipal solid waste
disposed per capita Decreasing
Crime Rate: number of criminal offences per 1,000 Decreasing
Trails: total length of trails Neutral
Arts: Public funding for the Arts Decreasing
