Success of the Local Area Plan (LAP) process relied on public participation and community input into the process. The following public events greatly contributed to the development of the LAP.

Public Open House - November 14, 2007
The first Public Open House for Sidney's Downtown / Downtown Waterfront Local Area Plan was held on November 14, 2007, at the SHOAL Centre at 10030 Resthaven Drive, from 3:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The purpose of the event was to provide an overview of the Local Area Plan process, outline how the public can get involved, and gather initial feedback regarding the downtown and downtown waterfront area. Local Area Plan Steering Committee members and Town staff were in attendance to answer questions and discuss the Local Area Plan process.

The event was very well attended by over 260 people over the course of the evening. The Town would like to thank all those who attended the Open House and gave their comments and feedback on the Local Area Plan and Sidney's downtown and downtown waterfront areas.

Design Workshop - February 26, 2008
A Downtown Design Workshop was held on February 26, 2008, at the Mary Winspear Centre at 2243 Beacon Avenue from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 pm. The event was organized by the LAP Steering Committee and involved approximately 90 Sidney stakeholders, including property owners, representatives from the business community and development community, service organizations, and interested citizens. The workshop focused on three key themes - Land Use, Movement, and Built Form. Under these three themes, a total of nine sub-topics were explored through focus group discussions and urban design exercises, facilitated by LAP Steering Committee members, Town staff, and community members.

The link to the left provides a summary of results of the workshop. The results of the workshop assisted in guiding the following stages of the LAP process, including the creation of the draft LAP document.

Design Charrette - April 30, 2008
As a key public consultation step in the LAP process, the LAP Steering Committee held a Design Charrette on April 30, 2008, at the Mary Winspear Centre. "Charrette" is a term used to describe an intensive planning and design session. The purpose of the charrette was to generate a range of ideas, rather than a single "correct" solution to a challenge. A total of 35 people consisting of Steering Committee members, local urban design professionals, Town staff and community representatives participated in the all-day event. Urban design consultants from Hotson Bakker Boniface Haden facilitated the charrette.

Participants at the event were divided into three teams for the completion of the charrette exercise and were tasked with the challenge of addressing three key topics: land use, movement (i.e. traffic, circulation and parking), and built form. Each team was provided with base plans, aerial photos and scaled blocks to build models, and was given seven hours to develop a design concept.

The links to the left provide a summary of the outcome of the charrette. Sections 1-4 of the Charrette Summary Report contain background information to the charrette event and team results from the day. A key component of the report is Section 5, where team concepts from the charrette are compiled into a common vision by a series of illustrative plans.

It is important to recognize that this Design Charrette Report was not intended to serve as a draft Local Area Plan. Instead, key elements contained in the report formed the basis of the Plan.