Duration: 2008 - 2011+

One of the important directives of the Regional Plan is to engage citizens in a visioning process for the plan's designated growth centres.   Started as a pilot project, the communities of Fall River, Musquodoboit Harbour and Bedford Waterfront were the first to complete community visions.

Moving beyond the pilot project Regional Council approved a multi-year program for visioning in 2008.  Community Visioning was next launched in the Penhorn-Woodlawn area of Dartmouth, Middle Sackville and Spryfield communities.  In 2010, the community of Woodside began it's process.  Porters Lake and Tantallon will follow in 2011.

The multi-year program evolved through the development of evaluation criteria and comprehensive analysis on the part of the Regional Planning Advisory Committee (RPAC) and HRM staff.   Both social and physical planning factors were considered.  In addition to identifying priority communities for visioning, the report to Council identifies key studies needed in advance of community visioning.  The rationale used to prioritize communities for future visioning is described in the report. 

Community Visioning is an effective and widely-used community consultation tool.  Community Visioning is holistic in scope and is intended to allow a community to determine its own priorities; priorities which will guide the community into the future.