2004 Strategic Plan

On February 7, 2005, City Council endorsed the 2004 Kelowna Strategic Plan that outlines future directions for City policies and services over the next five to ten years, taking into account the most recent trends, issues, priorities and community input.

A Strategic Plan is one of the most important ‘big picture’ documents that a community can have as it assesses the changing needs of residents, the ways in which those needs can best be met, and how to implement strategies to address those needs in the most efficient and effective way.

The 2004 Strategic Plan is divided into five main components:

1. Vision – a statement of what residents value the most about the city and wish to retain in the future.
2. Goals – qualitative statements that highlight the key issues raised during the strategic planning process and add depth to the vision statement.
3. Objectives – measurable steps that lead to achieving the goals.
4. Actions – specific tasks with timeframes and assigned responsibilities that must be undertaken in order to achieve the objectives.
5. Implementation – how the Plan will be adopted and used by City Council and staff.

The Strategic Plan describes a vision of what residents hope Kelowna will be like in the future. Three strong themes emerged from the input received from the community showing that residents aspire to live in a community that:

• aims to co-exist with the physical environment and minimize negative impacts to air, land, and water resources, including Okanagan Lake and the surrounding natural and agricultural areas.
• works to develop and maintain a strong, diversified local economy that offers residents opportunities for high-paying jobs.
• embraces the social, cultural and physical well-being of its residents through the delivery of quality services at a reasonable price, the development and maintenance of quality infrastructure and built forms, and meaningful opportunities to be involved in major decisions made by the City.

The background research showed a strong link between these themes. Kelowna’s most defining characteristics are its natural and agricultural setting. These attributes contribute to the stability and strength of the local economy and to the quality of life of local residents.

Kelowna is evolving from small-sized city to a medium-sized city. People move to Kelowna to take advantage of the economic opportunities and the quality of life. As the city continues to grow, urban livability issues will be tied more to the community’s economic vitality and standard of living than they have been in the past.

From these themes, a vision was developed and a number of goals and objectives were identified in support of achieving the vision. For each objective, a number of action steps were identified. Each action step represents an activity that must be carried out by the City in order to support the vision, goals and objectives.

IMPLEMENTATION

In order to ensure that the Strategic Plan is used as a guiding document to influence and shape the City’s decision-making, a clear implementation process has been put in place. Each department responsible for implementing an action item will develop operational work plans, including performance measures, benchmarks and multi-year budgets to support implementation of the action items. The City Manager will report progress on an annual basis to City Council.

The annual progress report, including the performance measures and benchmarks, will be made available on the City website and in hard copy at City Hall.