Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 1180, 2026

TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL COUNCIL REPORT

TO: Council DATE: June 29, 2026 FROM: Leanne Taylor, MCIP, RPP, Director of Development Services Stirling Scory, MCIP, RPP, Senior Planner MEETING DATE: July 7, 2026

OFFICIAL COMMUNITY PLAN BYLAW NO. 1180, 2026

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the report dated June 29, 2026, from the Director of Development Services titled “Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 1180, 2026” be received for information.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to present to Council Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 1180, 2026 for first and second reading.

BACKGROUND:

At the Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting on June 9, 2026, staff presented the final draft of the Official Community Plan (OCP). At the Council meeting on June 16, 2026, Council passed the following motions:

• C-137-26 THAT the first bullet point in Objective 1.1 – Summary of Policy Direction in section 16.2 “Regional Context Statement Alignment” in the draft Official Community Plan be amended as follows: “Enable infill and redevelopment with existing neighbourhoods through the Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing land use designation.”
• C-138-26 THAT the Action Plan be separated from the draft Official Community Plan and maintained as a standalone document.
• C-139-26 THAT Objective 8.2.4 “Regional Traffic and Resident Needs” in the draft Official Community Plan be amended to recognize both resident and business needs as a priority.
• C-140-26 THAT a photograph of the rock wall art installation on Island Highway titled “Love Story” be included in the draft Official Community Plan.
• C-141-26 THAT the final draft of the Official Community Plan be updated to incorporate all amendments from the June 9, 2026 Committee of the Whole meeting prior to first and second reading of the bylaw; AND THAT a bylaw be prepared to proceed with first and second reading of the final draft of the Official Community Plan.

At the same Council meeting, Staff also presented the draft Regional Context Statement in the OCP to seek a resolution from Council to refer to the Regional Context Statement to the Capital Regional District Board of Directors for consideration and approval. Council passed the following motion:

• C-134-26 THAT the Official Community Plan and section 16.2 of the Regional Context Statement be amended to incorporate the following: “The Town supports the objectives of the Regional Growth Strategy and recognizes that growth and transportation function as an integrated system. Decisions regarding the location, intensity, and timing of growth directly influence travel demand, congestion, infrastructure costs, accessibility, and community livability. The Town notes that regional transportation planning work has identified increasing pressure on key transportation corridors and growing communities throughout the Capital Region. Growth patterns, transportation network performance transit effectiveness, and infrastructure capacity are closely interconnected and should be planned together. Accordingly, the Town supports growth that is aligned with available and planned transportation infrastructure and services. The Town considers transportation capacity, transit service levels, active transportation connectivity, emergency access, and regional mobility performance to be important factors in determining the pace, scale, and location of future growth. Where transportation infrastructure and services are not keeping pace with population and employment growth, the Town may advocate for transportation investments and capacity improvements before significant additional growth is accommodated. Expectations regarding future growth should be informed by realistic assumptions regarding the delivery of provincial, regional, and local transportation infrastructure. The Town will continue to work with the Capital Regional District, neighbouring municipalities, BC Transit, the Province of British Columbia, First Nations, and other partners to support integrated land use and transportation planning that maintains mobility, supports economic activity, and protects community livability. AND THAT the Regional Context Statement, as provided in Attachment A of the report dated June 9, 2026 from the Director of Development Services titled “Official Community Plan – Proposed Regional Context Statement” and amended with the inclusion of the above statement be referred to the Capital Regional District Board of Directors for consideration and acceptance.

Following the Council meeting, staff referred the draft OCP to the Town’s legal counsel for a comprehensive legal review. The final OCP that is being considered for first and second reading incorporates revisions in response to the motions summarized above as well as several edits to ensure that the OCP addresses the relevant legislation in the Local Government Act and does not create any potential legal implications for the Town in the future.

ANALYSIS:

Draft OCP Revisions

In response to Council resolutions and subsequent legal review of the OCP, the significant revisions that were made to the document are as follows:

• Revised bullet point in Objective 1.1 – Summary of Policy Direction in section 16.2 “Regional Context Statement Alignment” to read as follows:
  • Enable infill and redevelopment with existing neighbourhoods through the Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing land use designation.
• Removed the Action Plan to be a standalone document.
• Updated Objective 8.2.4 “Regional Traffic and Resident Needs” to recognize both resident and business needs as a priority.
• Added a photograph of the rock wall art installation on Island Highway titled “Love Story”.
• Incorporated the wording in resolution C-134-26 in the Land Use and Transportation and Mobility sections as well as in the Regional Context Statement.
• Revised reconciliation context and some of the policies to provide clarity on the Town’s role in reconciliation and government-to-government relations as well as soften or remove some of the mandatory language to ensure that it does not impose unintended implication and inconsistencies with future bylaws.
• Replaced the title “Commitments and Targets” with “Community Targets” as “Commitments” is strong language and if there are any inconsistencies between the commitments and bylaws then the bylaw could be void.
• Revised some of the mandatory language to provide some flexibility and minimize potential legal implications or unintended consequences in the future when objectives and policies are formalized into bylaws. Furthermore, it is critical that OCP objectives and policies do not overreach a municipality’s jurisdiction.
• Fixed any spelling, grammar and punctuation errors.

A redline version of the draft OCP documenting the proposed changes summarized above is attached to this report as Attachment 1.

Next Steps

Bylaw Process

Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 1180, 2026 has been prepared for Council’s consideration for first and second reading following receipt of this report. The diagram below provides a summary of this process.

Other Legislative Requirements

Section 477 of the Local Government Act requires local governments to fulfill the following tasks following first or second reading of the bylaw:

a) First, consider the proposed OCP in conjunction with: i. its financial plan, and ii. any waste management plan applicable to the municipality or regional district. b) Next, if the proposed OCP applies to agricultural land, refer the plan to the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) for comment; and c) Hold a public hearing.