Official Community Plan - update process

The Official Community Plan The OCP sets the overall framework for community development, including land use planning, parks and recreation, arts and culture, mobility networking, and infrastructure servicing within the District. The document provides strategic guidance (goals, objectives, and policies) for Council and staff in departments throughout the organization. The document is a product of public engagement, including visioning, consultation, and dialogue: the OCP belongs to the entire community, including residents and stakeholders.

As noted above, the OCP provides policy guidance. It is neither a regulatory document nor does it obligate Council to complete projects described in the Plan; however, the Local Government Act requires bylaws enacted by Council to be consistent with the OCP.

Council adopted the current OCP in 2019, which captured the vison for the growth and development of the community over 20 years (2018 – 2038). The current OCP includes the following guiding principles:

1. Preserve our rural and agricultural character.

2. Create a vibrant town centre.

3. Promote development in existing neighbourhoods.

4. Achieve sustainable development through smart growth.

5. Protect and enhance our natural environment.

6. Facilitate an active, healthy, inclusive community.

7. Maintain high-quality municipal services.

Why Review and Update the Plan?
The District has made progress toward many of its guiding principles. In keeping with best practice, there is a need to review the OCP to determine how effective the current polices have been, and if changes are needed to reflect current conditions and priorities.

The current OCP includes the current topic areas:
Environment & Sustainability
Infrastructure, Services and Utilities
Growth
Community & Social Considerations
Neighbourhood Planning Urban Design, Form & Character Economic Development Future Land Use Housing Development Permit Areas & Approval Information Transportation Financing & Implementation Council has directed staff to begin a general OCP review in 2025. The OCP review will allow the District to evaluate the existing policies in the context of the change experienced in the community since 2018 (population growth, increased development, housing affordability, environmental hazards, etc.) and associated key priorities (development approvals, provision of municipal services, economic diversification, community safety, etc.). Staff proposes the general OCP update would build on the policies of the existing OCP, and focus on the following: 1. Review and evaluate existing policies and guidelines (for example, urban containment boundaries, future land use designations, Development Permit Areas), 2. Update the OCP to include the specific policy documents created since 2018 (for example, Water Master Plan, Liquid Waste Management Plan, Transportation Master Plan), 3. Fill information gaps with data generated through updated population demographic projections, housing needs assessments, and land capacity analyses, 4. Include new priorities into the District's strategic policy fabric (for example, Council’s 2025 strategic priorities), and 5. Monitor progress towards the updated policy guidance. In addition to the general review, the District must update the OCP in 2025 to comply with the Local Government Act (Bill 44) legislation. The Bill 44 update of the OCP will be limited to: ensuring that the 20 year need for housing can be accommodated by the future land use designations supporting residential housing, and including housing policies for each class of housing need described in the District 2024 Interim Housing Needs Report. Staff anticipate that the OCP amendments required to comply with Bill 44 legislation will be presented for Council’s consideration this summer (2025).

Community Open House - Thank you to everyone who joined the open house hosted on April 18th.

March 27, 2024

The OCP is Lake Country’s roadmap for the future. It provides guidance on how neighbourhoods and employment areas will grow and change within the District. More specifically, an OCP sets the strategic vision for the community, addressing land use, housing, transportation, economic growth, and environmental preservation. The OCP serves as a framework for growth, and making decisions about zoning, development permits, and infrastructure investments.

The current Lake Country OCP (Bylaw 1065, 2018) needs a set of amendments to ensure best practices for Development Permit approvals. The overall objectives of these amendments include improving the clarity, transparency and process improvements for development approvals, as well as ensuring adherence to provincial legislative requirements. All OCP amendments involve public input to ensure the community’s aspirations and needs are considered.

Legislated Requirements

Local governments in British Columbia are granted the authority to adopt an OCP under the Local Government Act (LGA), which stipulates what must be included the OCP. Specifically, section 488 of the legislation describes the specific conditions on when a municipality can exempt a development proposal from requiring a Development Permit. These conditions must be clearly spelled-out by reading the OCP, to determine whether a DP exemption is available. For example, there might be a DP exemption from a Natural Environment DP Area for a new building constructed entirely within the footprint of an existing building (that is to be demolished). One of the main purposes of these amendments is to make sure that these legislative requirements are very clear for when an exemption for a Development Permit can be obtained (without staff approval or Council approval).

Streamlined Development Approvals Process

The current Lake Country OCP contains 11 Development Permit Areas (DPA's) that are displayed on 14 different maps and contained within 79 pages of the OCP. These DPA’s are:

• Agricultural DPA;
• Multiple Unit DPA;
• Town Center Commercial DPA;
• Commercial DPA;
• Agri-Tourism Accommodation DPA.
• Industrial DPA;
• Natural Environment DPA;
• Hillside DPA;
• Stability, Erosion and Drainage Hazard DPA (4 maps)
• Wildland Fire DPA;
• Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Resource Conservation DPA;

When Planning staff receive an application for development, they must review the development proposal information against all of the applicable DPA’s to ensure that all the policies and regulations are being adhered to. Through the experience of Planning staff, this review process is extremely onerous, time consuming, and causes significant delays to application timelines. Staff are suggesting in these amendments that the existing vision and values described in the OCP can still be maintained, but also the Development approvals process can be streamlined through rewording and integrating the principles of the Greenhouse Gas DPA, the Agri-Tourism DPA, and the Hillside DPA into the 8 remaining DPA’s. The Greenhouse Gas DPA, the Agri-Tourism DPA, and the Hillside DPA would subsequently be eliminated through these OCP amendments.