OCP Regional Context Statement

REGIONAL CONTEXT STATEMENT

The Town’s current Official Community Plan (OCP) was adopted in 2011, and is the third OCP adopted since incorporation in 1988. The Regional Growth Strategy (RGS) was originally adopted in August 2003 and is undergoing a Five Year Review between 2009 and 2011. The current OCP presents a strong Community Vision and supporting policies for guiding long-term growth and change in a healthy and sustainable manner. The OCP conforms to the current RGS, as reflected in the Regional Context Statement (RCS) below. Following the update of the RGS, the Town will review and, if necessary, amend the OCP and RCS to ensure consistency with the RGS in accordance with the Local Government Act.

Local Context

View Royal incorporated as a municipality in 1988. Since that time, the Town has grown and changed from a bedroom community for Victoria into a more dynamic community. The OCP sets out a Community Development Framework to guide the planning and development of seven neighbourhood-serving centres and one community-serving Town Centre. The intent of these areas is to provide expanded amenities, services, jobs and housing opportunities closer to established neighbourhoods. Detached, ground-oriented housing will remain the predominant housing form in the established neighbourhoods, with provision made for other types of housing within many neighbourhoods and in the centres. An extended network of trails and transit will provide neighbourhoods with better access to shopping, recreation, natural open space and commuting alternatives. Natural amenities associated with shorelines, streams, estuaries, hillsides and forested areas will be protected.

Managing and Balancing Growth

Keep Urban Settlement Compact

The OCP has established an Urban Growth Boundary (See Schedule K.) that is within the Regional Urban Containment and Services Policy Area shown on Map 3 (Growth Management Concept Plan) in the RGS. In Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4, the OCP contains a range of policy tools that direct growth and servicing to appropriate locations within the Urban Growth Boundary.

Over the next two decades, View Royal is projected to grow by approximately 2,460 people. About 1,270 new housing units will be built during this period, the majority (50% - 80%) of which are forecasted to be ground-oriented. The OCP explicitly directs new growth into higher density mixed-use centres and as infill in existing neighbourhoods within the Urban Growth Boundary. Auto-dependence, suburban growth patterns and outward expansion of non-rural uses beyond the Urban Growth Boundary are not supported in this Plan. (For examples, see Policies LU5.2, LU5.4)

Protect the Integrity of Rural Communities

View Royal plays a key role in regional management of urban sprawl as it contains a considerable amount of privately held rural land. Almost all of this is located in the Thetis Planning Area, which is separated from the Town’s urban area by the Regional Urban Containment and Services Boundary. Strong policies are included in the OCP to ensure that the rural character of this area is maintained through low residential densities, limited uses and open space conservation.

The Capital Green Lands are designated Parks, Open Spaces and Recreation in the OCP, and are consistent with RGS Concept Plan. Additionally, many environment-related policies meet the RGS actions related to the integrity of rural areas. The OCP includes policies that specifically require buffering to protect not only natural habitat area, but also adjacent land within neighbouring municipalities, including those lands within Saanich identified in the RGS as Renewable Resource Lands. (For examples, see Policies LU12.2, LU12.3)

Environmental Resources

Protect Regional Green and Blue Space

Major parks identified in the RGS are designated Parks, Open Spaces and Recreation in the OCP, and are consistent with the RGS Concept Plan. Planning policy for trails in View Royal is found in the Land Use, Transportation and Parks and Recreation chapters of the Plan. The OCP contains policies supporting the preservation of existing parks, trails and conservation areas, and the acquisition of additional dedicated greenspace. Unlike the Town’s earlier OCPs, the current Plan includes policies supporting the expansion of the both the local and the regional trail networks. The Plan also directs the finalization and adoption of a detailed Parks and Trails Master Plan.

Unprotected Greenspace Areas in the RGS—specifically those in the Thetis Neighbourhood—are managed to meet RGS actions as described above. Policies contained in the Land Use and Urban Design chapter and Natural Environment, Energy and Climate Change chapter, including the identification and protection of Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESAs), are consistent with RGS actions.

View Royal contains the lower sections and estuaries of Millstream and Craigflower Creeks, and also includes a notable portion of the Esquimalt Harbour, all of which are identified in the RGS as Blue Space Core Policy Areas. Specific policies are directed to acquiring protection of and access (where suitable) along riparian corridors, and to marine waterfronts that are privately held. As with Unprotected Greenspace Areas, the OCP establishes ESAs consistent with the locations of Blue Spaces. The ESAs are protected through comprehensive Development Permit Guidelines in Part 4 of the OCP. (For examples, see Policies TR1.7, TR1.10, NE1.2, NE1.5)

Sustainably Manage Natural Resources and the Environment

One of the nine principle goals of the Plan is “To confirm View Royal as an environmentally responsible community committed to becoming a more sustainable place and planning for global climate change.” Policies in chapter 4 protect essential resources, restore those that have become diminished, and direct residents and the Town to make contributions to sustainability. Policies in Chapter 1: Land Use and Urban Design support these directions as well as identify other ways to promote environmentally responsible land use and sustainable building design.

Current municipal-wide policies, as well as the more detailed policies associated with ESAs, meet RGS actions and can effectively manage natural resources in conjunction with other planning tools. These are further supported by the inclusion of community sustainability indicators intended to help the Town measure and evaluate the long-term economic, ecological and social health of the Town. (For examples, see policies NE2.4, NE2.12, NE4.1 and NE4.2)

Housing and Community

Build Complete Communities

The RGS objective of locating services, jobs and amenities closer to where people live is supported throughout the OCP. Creating more self-sufficient neighbourhoods and a complete community is a key underpinning of the current Plan. Chapter 1 includes a wide range of policies related to developing a series of compact, mixed-use centres throughout the Town to promote walkability, enhance access to services, reduce automobile reliance, strengthen the Town’s sense of place and increase housing choice. Chapter 1 and Chapter 3 include specific policies for supporting higher density housing and greater housing choice in the mixed-use centres as well as other already developed areas of the Town. Specific policies are also included to address the unique housing needs of families, seniors and people with disabilities.

Chapter 2 further describes how the centres will be interconnected and easily accessed from established neighbourhoods through a multimodal transportation network. (Foe examples, see Policies LU1.1, LU1.4, LU2.3, and LU2.4).

Improve Housing Affordability