Official Community Plan Update

Diverse and appropriate housing is essential to a complete and thriving community, and over the past two years, the Province of British Columbia has been implementing legislation that requires municipalities to add more homes, more quickly.

As part of that legislation, the Province now requires us to update our Official Community Plan to provide for 22,369 new homes in the District by 2041, also referred to as our 20-year housing need. This is another phase in the work to increase housing supply in all communities in British Columbia.

It’s part of an ongoing conversation about shaping a community that meets current and future needs, but is also a significant change to how we have planned housing in the past. This work must be complete by December 31, 2025.

Public engagement: two approaches to how we grow

Following our conversations with the community last spring, Council directed staff to prepare two options in response to the Provincial housing legislation. Now, we're coming back to the community with two land use planning approaches to accommodate our 20-year housing need:

Option A: Allow additional housing diversity in key centres and corridors

• Facilitate more housing diversity and density in key town and village growth centres, corridors and some detached housing neighbourhoods with new land use and zoning.

• This option is the previous "Refined scenario."

Option B: No change to existing housing growth plans

• Continue with housing growth envisioned in the OCP with focus on key town and village centres.

• This option was Council's direction for a scenario reflecting the current OCP.

Visit the DNV website HERE for frequent updates.