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POLICIES
1. Develop a public art policy that articulates the
vision, values and criteria of the community, es-
tablishes the protocol of evaluation, recommen-
dation and public input, and determines priority
locations for public art’s display.
2. Consider public art features (with public access)
as amenity contributions to the City when volun-
teered during the development application pro-
cess.
3. Give high priority to the downtown, community
cores, large shopping centres and strategically lo-
cated parks for public art development.
PARKS AND GREENSPACE
Parks and other open space have become an import-
ant benchmark of livability and healthy communities.
They bring not only an aesthetic value to the urban
landscape, but also community health benefits to
all ages. Oftentimes, they are social gathering plac-
es, especially in high density areas (such as Central
Community Park and Salish Park) and they represent
a critical social development and community health
priority. This priority, however, is challenged in ur-
ban redevelopment areas where vacant lands are in
short supply and costly, and the traditional ways of
parkland acquisition are insufficient to keep up with
increasing demand.
Over the past decades the City has developed system-
ic standards for park provision. Meeting these park
standards is a formidable task. Its difficulty will only
compound in the next 30-years as the City grows pri-
marily through densification. The expectation is that
the City will provide more parks to serve an increas-
ing population within the same urban footprint –
with few additional green fields. While parkland ded-
ication at time of subdivision can provide adequate
parkland in “green field” development areas, redevel-
opment of formerly single family areas to multi-fam-
ily does not yield parkland dedication. This calls for
innovative ways to expand the city’s park capacity.
Increasing the park capacity may mean adding: recre-
ational equipment to existing parks and public lands,
or requiring multi-family and strata developments to
provide greenspace and recreational facilities on site
(private areas). Green street and urban landscaping
could also expand our park experience. Concurrently,
the city’s aging population and health conscious citi-
zens will make new demands on the municipal park
system. The future park challenge is not just quanti-
tative, but also qualitative.
The city park system not only serves leisure purposes,
but also aims at developing corridors for pedestrian
and cycling movements between neighbourhoods
and different parts of the City. At times, it embrac-
es environmental enhancement objectives, incorpo-
rating wooded hillsides and riparian corridors into
greenways for protection. These natural areas, even
when they are not accessible, constitute important
vistas and view corridors that enhance our outdoor
experience and define our community character. This
multi-purpose, integrated approach to park planning
is the foundation of the City’s Parks, Recreation and
Culture Strategic Plan, Greenspace Plan, and Trail
Network Plan, which will shape Chilliwack’s park and
greenspace planning and development in the coming
decades.
OBJECTIVES
1. Provide adequate parks and open space for the
growing and demographically changing popula-
tion.
2. Ensure the park and open space system offers
diverse active and passive outdoor recreational
opportunities.
3. Integrate park and open space design into the
urban landscape and healthy living, and render
Chilliwack a vibrant, green, healthy, inviting and
livable community.
4. Extend park experience to community cores, sig-
nificant public gathering places, major streets/
traffic corridors, and critical pedestrian/cycling
routes.
Goal 5 - Build Healthy Attractive Communities