COUNCIL REPORT: OFFICIAL COMMUNITY PLAN AMENDMENT BYLAW NO. 1163, 2026

TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL COUNCIL REPORT

TO: Council DATE: February 24, 2026 FROM: Stirling Scory, RPP, MCIP Senior Planner MEETING DATE: March 3, 2026

OFFICIAL COMMUNITY PLAN AMENDMENT BYLAW NO. 1163, 2026

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT Council give first and second reading to Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 811, 2011, Amendment Bylaw No. 1163, 2026.

AND THAT following second reading, a public hearing date be scheduled for March 17, 2026.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to introduce Official Community Plan Amendment Bylaw No. 1163, 2026, for consideration of first and second reading and schedule a public hearing date. This Official Community Plan (OCP) bylaw amendment is required to add back in the existing Residential and Large Lot Residential land use designations to the existing Land Use Policy, Policy 1.5 Land Use Designations, table in the OCP that were unintentionally omitted following multiple changes to Official Community Plan Amendment Bylaw No. 1156, 2025, prior to its adoption on December 2, 2025. This administrative error was recently discovered by staff and needs to be fixed as there are some properties in View Royal that are currently designated Residential and Large Lot Residential in the OCP.

BACKGROUND:

Last year, Council amended the OCP by adding three new land use designations, including the Hospital Transit-Oriented Area (HTOA), Neighbourhood Village (NV), and Small-Scale, Multi-Unit Housing (SSMUH). These OCP bylaw amendments were to satisfy the housing legislation requirement by the December 31, 2025, deadline, and provide the land use and density necessary to satisfy 20-year housing need in the community. The Town was successful in meeting both requirements with the adoption of the amendment bylaw.

While Council adopted Amendment Bylaw No. 1156, 2025, it has come to staff’s attention that the Residential and Large Lot Residential land use designations are missing from Land Use Policy 1.5 in the OCP. It appears that the two land use descriptions were unintentionally missed following several changes to the land use map prior to the adoption process of Official Community Plan Amendment Bylaw No. 1156, 2025, on December 2, 2025.

ANALYSIS:

The Residential and Large Lot Residential land use designation are long-standing uses in the 2011 OCP, found within land use policy, LU1.5 Land Use Designations. The designations are listed below for reference.

The Residential and Large Lot Residential land use designations apply to all single-family dwelling properties, and some duplex and townhouse properties, that are not designated Small-Scale, Multi-Unit Housing (SSMUH). Council may recall that in the OCP Amendment Bylaw No. 1156, 2025, adopted December 2, 2025, the SSMUH land use reclassified the majority of lands designated Residential and Large Lot Residential to SSMUH. However, there are some properties that remain designated Residential and Large Lot Residential on the land use map as they do not qualify for the SSMUH designation, due to a factor of reasons, such as size of the property or not having municipal services (water and sewer).

The proposed Amendment Bylaw No. 1163, 2026 is attached to this report (see Attachment 1). Council will notice that the Residential and Large Lot Residential uses have been added to the first two rows of LU Policy 1.5. There are no other proposed changes to the descriptions of the land use designations. Adding the two land use designations back into Land Use Policy 1.5 maintains consistency with the policy and Schedule L – OCP land use designation map in the OCP.

Impacts and implications can be summarized as follows:

ALIGNMENT:

The recommended option aligns with the Town’s following core guiding documents as follows:

Strategic Plan:

• Sustainable Development
  • Goal 1: Managed Growth
  • Official Community Plan (OCP) review to align with Housing Needs Report and Zoning Bylaw, update Development Permit Area design guidelines, and other aspects of the OCP.
• Enhance Liveability
  • Goal 3: Access a broad range of housing options to meet the needs of various ages, family types and incomes.
• Community Engagement and Good Governance
  • Goal 1: Strong and active citizen participation in community engagement in Town of View Royal meetings, open houses, surveys, budget development.

Official Community Plan:

• 2011 OCP: Community Vision
  • Goal 2: Create an inclusive community that provides housing, transportation and healthy living options, and services and facilities for families and individuals of diverse backgrounds, culture, ages and economic means.
  • Goal 9: Ensure that all citizens of View Royal have opportunities to be informed and meaningfully involved in planning and decision-making processes.

Other Policy Documents: N/A

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION GOAL:

The desired level of public participation for the recommended option is:

☐ Inform ☒ Consult ☐ Involve ☐ Collaborate ☐ Empower ☐ N/A

TIME CRITICAL:

The amendment is time critical. An OCP is required to designate all lands within its jurisdiction, and to specify how these lands are intended to be used. Omission of the Residential and Large Lot Residential land use designations in Policy LU1.5 Land Use Designations presents operational and legislative challenges for the Town. It is staff’s recommendation to move forward with the amendment bylaw to rectify this administrative error.

ATTACHMENTS:

1. Official Community Plan Amendment Bylaw No. 1163, 2026.