About the Plan

xʷqʷəlqʷəliwən ct ʔə tə sʔa:nɬ xʷəlməxʷ  translates to:

Thinking About Our Community (Village).

This is the guiding phrase that accompanies the MIB Master Plan.

Click here to listen to the phrase.

The word “thinking” reflects the concept that the IR2 master plan is a living document. All master plans are guiding principles throughout the development process and it is important to understand that this work will carry on for many years to come. 

During this time, our resources and assets will change with younger generations coming into positions of leadership. Despite having a “Master Plan”, many things will change, and so we continue thinking of how to move forward and progress with all of our community, and all the generations to follow.

Many know the term xʷəlməxʷ  as a reference to an Indigenous person; however, it encompasses much more to its meaning. Its context includes someone that comes from the land, and/or the place where our village and community is.

We placed the term “village” in brackets because it is much more than just our village. We only tend to think of Musqueam IR2 and the surrounding neighbourhood as our village, but it includes all our Musqueam assets and land around us historically and presently.

Simply put, this Master Plan will be the guiding document for our community’s future. 

This plan will be our long-range vision for organizing and planning the use, development, and/or preservation of our lands. It will be a community-driven site plan that preserves environmental and heritage assets, specifies land uses on specific parcels including housing, and assigns open spaces, streets, and community amenities to the entire site. 

A Master Plan should be much more than a set of buildings on a map. It should also be a guiding document, informed by your ideas of what you want your community to look like. It should address how residents and visitors interact with each other, how comfortable you will feel in your community in both private spaces and public spaces, and how your community should grow over time.

More importantly, an enduring Master Plan will organize the built environment (buildings, homes, roads, infrastructure, green space, etc) in a way that reflects xʷməθkʷəy̓əm values, goals, culture, and history.

The Master Plan is a living document that will be evolved through more detailed development plans for specific parcels of land. There will be further opportunities for more community consultation for each development in accordance to Musqueam Land Code, laws and policies.

With your participation, suggestions, and ideas, together we can collectively arrive at a unified vision that will define your home for generations to come. 

A Master Plan is much more than “what buildings go where.” The Master Plan you can help create will include several different layers to guide the community’s future. These elements may include: 

• A heritage plan that indicates all heritage, archaeological and environmental assets to be preserved or enhanced on site.
• A landscape and cultural framework plan that identifies lands to be retained as natural, undevelopable areas, lands to accommodate recreational and open space activities and walks, and lands to be developed for residential or non-residential uses. 
• A framework plan that divides developable areas into streets, blocks and lots.
• A land-use plan that includes a development program to distribute different intensities across the site for different housing options, a village centre, commercial activities, civic amenities and more. 
• A transportation plan that defines the trajectory and character of each street and path in the community.
• A green infrastructure plan that efficiently and sustainably distributes above grade and below grade utilities and water services to the community.
• Architectural building prototypes that assign and propose a stylistic character(s) for the various building types you want to see in your community.
• A sustainability plan to which all plans are anchored to, that meets your aspirations. One that ensures the longevity and successful evolution of your community.

But the most important part of a Master Plan? You! Without your suggestions, ideas, and participation, this Master Plan will never be successful. So sign up today and start designing your community’s future!