Currently, the Town of Smithers is working on the following Priority Projects:
1. Economic Development Plan
Residents and the business community are invited to share their ideas about Smithers’ economy and quality of life via a community survey.
2. Parks and Recreation Master Plan
The Master Plan will guide how the Town provides and invests in parks and recreation services (facilities, programs, and events) over the next 10 years. It was developed to ensure that future decision-making is informed and best aligned with community needs.
3. Child Care Plan
The Town of Smithers recognizes that access to quality child care is an essential service and critical piece of social infrastructure. It benefits families, local economy, contributes to a healthy community and overall resident quality of life. The Smithers Child Care Plan, completed in 2021, is a guiding document for the Town of Smithers to use to fulfill its role in addressing child care gaps and support new space creation.
4. Accessibility Plan
With the intent to support the rights of individuals with disabilities and achieve a barrier-free Canada by 2040, the Government of Canada introduced the Accessibility Canada Act (ACA) in 2019. On June 17, 2021, the Province of British Columbia adopted the Accessibility British Columbia Act (ABCC), with a mandate to support a policy framework that will proactively identify, address, and remove barriers that prevent equal participation of disabled individuals while interacting with organizations under provincial jurisdiction. The provincial legislation stipulated various categories of public institutions under the provincial jurisdictions to comply with specific requirements aimed to support creating an inclusive delivery of services and better meet the accessibility needs of their employees.
As of October 11, 2023, the Town of Smithers fulfilled the following three legislative requirements established by the provincial accessibility legislation.
5. OCP-Zoning-Housing Need Update Project (Bill 44 Amendment Project)
With a mandate to expedite the delivery of a range of housing forms that meet the needs and affordability of people across BC in a shorter timeframe, the Province of British Columbia adopted the Homes for People plan in April 2023. Local governments are required to amend their zoning bylaws by June 30, 2024, to meet the SSMUH requirements established in the Local Government Act.
6. Active Transportation Plan
The purpose of the Smithers Active Transportation Plan is to identify strategies that integrate accessible, multi-use, pedestrian, and cycling improvements to replace CO2-generating transportation and decrease dependency on fossil fuel vehicles with active transportation alternatives.
7. Short-Term Rental (STR) Regulations Update Project
The provincial Short-Term Rental Accommodation Act came into effect on October 26, 2023, establishing a range of requirements for legally operating STRs across the province while also introducing new tools for local governments to enable them to effectively regulate STR use at the local level.
