HAPPY VALLEY-GOOSE BAY, N.L. — The Town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay is in the process of looking at how the community will develop over the next decade.
A public consultation was held recently related to the 10-year municipal plan review. Anna Myers, senior planner with Tract Consulting, said it was a very diverse and informative meeting,
“It was really good,” she said. “Each table was quite diverse and what was helpful was that different people, from the Town and my colleague, we were able to circulate around the tables and got different flavours from each one.”
Issues that came up covered areas such as greenspace, zoning, development and housing.
“Affordable housing was a big thing that came up,” she noted. “People wanted to make sure that zoning allowed for the kind of housing that people now need.”
Myers said it was a cross-section of people who seemed interested in affordable housing, in that there are people who do have the income that want bigger homes, but there’s also a lot of people that want housing that’s affordable because they’re either just starting or they’re seniors that are downsizing.
“What came across is that the housing needs to be attractive and the community needs to be attractive to bringing more people to decide to move to Happy Valley-Goose Bay,” she said. “It was the combination package that you need, the community amenities and also the feeling of Happy Valley-Goose Bay being a community you could live in of equal attraction as any other community of the same size in the province.”
Myers said the plan is still at the information gathering stage and that the survey the Town has put out about the plan is open until July 31 and available on the Town’s Facebook page. She said people should fill it out and let the community know what they want to see.
Once the data gathering stage is complete in the fall the consultants will provide a background report to council, which will be available for the public to comment on.
“Following that we develop the municipal plan and development regulations. These findings become the underpinning, the foundations for the plan,” Myers said.
The first draft of the plan should be completed by the end of the year. There is a public hearing process to give people the opportunity to see the plan as it’s developed and to have a chance to comment on it.
