Glossary - View Royal OCP

Term	Definition
Accessibility	The ability to access goods, services, places, people, or housing. In the context of transportation, accessibility is the ability to access transportation choices and easily get around without prohibitive mental, physical, or financial barriers.
Active Transportation	A means of transport in which one uses their own power to travel from one place to another. This includes walking, cycling, and rolling.
Adaptive Ecosystem Management	Involves a continuously evolving method of natural resource management that plans, implements, monitors, researches, evaluates, and incorporates new approaches to respond to the changing conditions of the environment to best protect its long-term integrity.
Affordable Housing	means housing that costs less than 30% of a household’s gross before-tax income.
Age-Friendly Housing	Housing designs and typologies that allow residents to age-in-place and enable residents to live and remain in their community through changes in lifestyle and income.
Aging In Place	Refers to the ability for individuals or groups of people to grow older without having to change their place of residence and/or community.
Agricultural Land Reserve	Lands that are classified, protected, and regulated under the Agricultural Land Commission Act.
Apartment	Refers to a residential building containing three or more self-contained dwelling units. Dwelling units within the building share a common entry access and may be separated from one another vertically and/or horizontally.
Asset Management	An integrated approach to planning, operating, and maintaining physical infrastructure and amenities, such as roads, sewer systems, and treatment facilities, amongst others.
Attached Dwellings	A building used or designed with a minimum of two self-contained dwelling units with at-grade access. Common examples include a single detached dwelling with a secondary suite, duplexes, and triplexes.
Attainable Housing	Housing types that suit the need of a household in terms of size and type of housing, as well as subsequent housing costs that are community-specific.
Below-Market Housing	Homes offered at rates set below the market rate. These homes are typically intended to serve households with low-to-moderate incomes who do not qualify for subsidized housing.
BC Energy and Zero Carbon Step Codes	The BC Energy Step Code establishes the performance requirements for energy efficiency in new buildings. The BC Zero Carbon Step Code complements the BC Energy Step Code by setting the emission reduction targets for new buildings.
Bike facility	A bike facility is a broad term for any physical infrastructure, pavement marking, or street provision designated to accommodate or encourage bicycling. These facilities range from protected lanes to secure parking, and their primary goals are to improve cyclist safety and comfort.
Calls to Action	The 94 actionable recommended steps that resulted from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission research into the impact of the Indian Residential School system on Indigenous Peoples. The 94 Calls to Action are policy recommendations that speak to all sectors of Canadian society.
Civic	Relates to the Town of View Royal, its administration, areas of influence, and public entities (i.e. schools).
Climate Change	The long-term change in the average weather patterns that a given region experiences, including average temperature, precipitation and wind patterns. It involves changes in the variability or average state of the atmosphere over durations ranging from decades to millions of years. These changes can be caused by dynamic processes on Earth (ocean processes, volcanoes), external forces including variations in sunlight intensity, and, more recently, by human activities.
Climate Change Adaptation	Adjustments to processes, practices, and structures to moderate damages associated with climate change.
Climate Change Mitigation	Avoiding and reducing emissions and stabilizing the levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere to slow the effects of climate change.
Colonization	The process by which European settlers and the Canadian Government sought to establish control, seize land, and impose European language, religion, and legal systems in place of Indigenous ways of life.
Core Housing Need	Households that are required to spend at least 30% of their gross before-tax income on adequate housing, with no alternative options.
Corridors	Major transportation routes where increased development density is generally encouraged to maximize accessibility for vehicles, public transit, and pedestrians. In View Royal, key corridors include Admirals Road, Helmcken Road, Island Highway, and the Western Gateway Employment District Corridor.
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) / Declaration Act	An act passed in 2019 in British Columbia that mandates the provincial government to bring provincial laws into alignment with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and establishes the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as the province’s framework for reconciliation.
Decolonization / Decolonizing	The process of examining the colonial assumptions, narratives, and beliefs, deconstructing and dismantling the colonial ideology, and reshaping structures to reflect other worldviews.
Density	The amount of people, jobs, housing units, commercial units, or industrial units within a defined area. Building height and Floor Space Ratio are common measures of density. Revised definition for Density to match the definition on pg. 41.
Detached Dwelling / Detached House	A building consisting of one dwelling unit, or two dwelling units if one of them is a Secondary Suite.
Development Cost Charges	Means a levy applied by a municipality to new development to offset the long-term cost of providing new or extended infrastructure services to the community.
Drinking Water Protection Act	Provincial legislation that covers all water systems other than single-family dwellings (and systems excluded through the regulation) in the province that sets out the requirements for drinking water operators and suppliers to ensure the provision of safe drinking water to communities.
Duplexes	Refers to two attached, ground-oriented dwelling units.
Dwelling Unit	Refers to one or more rooms which constitute a self-contained residential unit that is used or intended to be used by one household for living and sleeping purposes and includes only one room equipped for the preparation of food and at least one bathroom.
Environmentally Sensitive Area	Ecosystems and/or habitats that provide high value to the natural environment through their ability to support biodiversity, animal and plant species, and natural systems such as purifying the air and water. These areas may also house rare ecosystems, habitats for species at risk, or areas easily disturbed by human activity.
Equity	Equity involves creating a fair distribution of opportunities, power, and resources regardless of age, ability, gender, culture or background. This takes into account an understanding of the historically different social, political and environmental conditions that have shaped power structures and created barriers for individuals and communities to cultivate an environment that places everyone on the same level.
Equity-Deserving People	Refers to those who often face discrimination or other forms of systemic disadvantage. They include, but are not necessarily limited to, persons of colour, persons with disabilities, people with low incomes, youth, Indigenous peoples, 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals, and women.
Extreme Core Housing Need	A household is said to be in extreme core housing need if its housing falls below at least one of the adequacy, affordability, or suitability standards and it would have to spend 50% or more of its total before-tax income to pay the median rent of alternative local housing that is acceptable.
FireSmart	A provincial initiative aimed at reducing the risk of wildfire damage to homes, communities, and forests. This may involve embedding FireSmart principles into home and area management or participating in the FireSmart program.
Floor Space Ratio	Floor Space Ratio is the maximum allowable density expressed as the ratio of built (or buildable) area to land area.
Food Security	Means that all community members, regardless of age, ability, gender, culture or background, have equitable access to food that is affordable, culturally preferable, nutritious and safe.
Frequent Transit Routes	Transit routes that provide high-density areas with a convenient, reliable and frequent 15-minute or better service, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, as defined by BC Transit.
Garden Suite	A legal, detached, ground-oriented rental suite located in the backyard of a property with a single-family home as its primary use.
Green Infrastructure	Natural and semi-natural engineered systems that support with managing drainage. Examples include green roofs, permeable pavements, and rain gardens, amongst others.
Green Space	Any area that should be maintained in perpetuity because of its environmental, educational, scientific, recreational, or aesthetic qualities and may include trails, parks, reserves, natural forests, wetlands, and any other land set aside for such a purpose through agreement between the Town of View Royal and the property owner.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG)	Refers to gases present in the atmosphere, which reduce the Earth’s loss of heat into space and therefore contribute to global temperatures through the greenhouse effect. Greenhouse gases are essential to maintaining the temperature of the Earth, however, an excess of greenhouse gases can raise the temperature of a planet to uninhabitable levels.
Greenways	Linear green spaces that connect natural areas and communities, associated with watercourses, trails, and transportation routes, which provide wildlife habitat and increase recreational opportunities.
Ground-Oriented Housing	A residential unit with direct access to ground level outdoor space, such as a townhouse or duplex.
Heritage	A broad concept that touches on a wide range of places and experiences, including tangible, physical remnants of the past as well as society’s intangible values, beliefs, customs, and traditions. Heritage is flexible and responds to diversity and accessibility to ensure that all forms of heritage are celebrated in the community.
Heritage Conservation Act	Provincial legislation that encourages and enables the protection and conservation of sites with historical, cultural and/or archaeological value in British Columbia. Most of the archeological sites in British Columbia are of Indigenous origin. Altering these protected sites without a permit is prohibited under the Heritage Conservation Act.
Heritage Register	A list of properties in a local government that have heritage value due to their historical, cultural, or architectural significance.
High-Tech Uses	Industries in the North American Industry Classification System that BC Stats classifies as being high technology. These uses are generally less-polluting industrial production and industrial service industries that rely on advanced technology like aerospace, computing, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, and medical manufacturing.
Home-Based Business	Businesses for gain or support clearly secondary to the principal residential use of a property, but do not include occupations that may be permitted as principal uses of a property, or which are secondary to principal non-residential uses of a property (e.g., agricultural use on land zoned to allow agriculture as a principal use is not a home occupation).
House-plex	Attached housing with four or more dwelling units in one building.
Housing Needs Report	Municipal reports, required by provincial legislation, that support a community in better comprehending the current and future housing needs. Housing needs are identified by identifying existing and projected gaps in housing supply by collecting and analyzing quantitative and qualitative information about local demographics, household incomes, housing stock, and other factors.
Housing Needs Report Method	The methodology that local governments use to calculate the total number of housing units needed over 5 and 20 years. The six components of the method include: 1. Supply of units to reduce extreme core housing need (those paying more than 50% of income for housing); 2. Supply of units to reduce homelessness; 3. Supply of units to address suppressed household formation; 4. Supply of units needed to meet household growth over the next 5 or 20 years; 5. Supply of units needed to meet at least a 3% vacancy rate; and; 6. Supply of units needed to meet local demand. This component is only included for municipalities.
Housing Statutes (Transit-Oriented Areas) Amendment Act	Provincial legislation adopted in 2023 that mandates municipalities to designate areas within 800 metres of a rapid transit station and 400 metres of a bus exchange as transit-oriented development areas where local governments are required to ensure minimum levels of density, remove restrictive parking minimums, and consider guidance and details in the Provincial Policy Manual.
Infill	A land use planning concept that involves the redevelopment of existing developed sites, generally to increase the density of the lot by revitalizing underused lands. The type of infill will depend on the lot location, but may include typologies such as Small Scale Multi Unit Housing developments, larger scale residential developments, mixed-use buildings, and office buildings.
Inflow and Infiltration	Rainwater and groundwater that gets into sanitary sewer pipes through holes, cracks, leaks, or improper connections. Inflow and infiltration impact sewer performance and increase treatment costs.
International Association of Public Participation	Commonly referred to as IAP2, a global standard for how organizations and governments can meaningfully engage and include all people and groups in the decision-making process.
Land Use Designation	Policies that reflect spatially defined areas established through the Official Community Plan and include permitted uses and development densities.
Land Use Transition	Refers to the gradual change of land use from one use to another over time in support of an intended outcome, such as ecological and hazard resilience.
Local Government Act	Legislation enacted by the province to establish, give powers to and regulate local governments; this includes regulation and guidance on Official Community Plans.
Lot	Means any parcel, block or other area in which land is held or the extent to which it is subdivided whether under the Land Title Act or the Bare Land Strata Regulations under the Strata Property Act and includes a water lot, but does not include a phase subdivision boundary.
Lived and Living Experience	The experiences of people on whom a social issue or combination of issues has had a direct impact, such as people who have experienced or are experiencing mental illness, substance use and addiction.
Managed Retreat	The strategic relocation of people and structures, often accompanied by ecological restoration and a permanent change in land use in support of decreasing the vulnerability to natural hazards and flooding in light of climatic shifts due to climate change.
Memorandum Of Understanding	A formal yet non-binding agreement that outlines the intention between two or more parties to create a roadmap for collaboration and future legally binding agreements.
Micro-Mobility	Refers to transportation via a small, typically electric, lightweight device that allows for individual human transport, such as scooters, hoverboards, bicycles, and skateboards.
Mixed-Use	A development typology that accommodates a variety of uses with clear and convenient connections to the public realm. Mixed-use developments typically have retail, commercial, civic, or industrial uses located on the ground level and lower floors, and residential or office units occupying the upper floors. Mixed-use developments provide conveniently located amenities and services accessed by multi-modal transit within a neighbourhood.
Mobility Hub	A strategic location offering access or connections to multiple modes of transport, including transit, cycling, walking, rolling, and private vehicles. These hubs are usually central to concentrations of medium- to high-density development.
Mode Share	The proportion of travellers using a particular type of transportation to get around, such as walking, cycling, transit, rolling, ride share, or private vehicles.
Multi-Model Transportation / Multi-Modal Network	The provision and accommodation of a variety of transportation modes, including, but not limited to, walking, rolling, cycling, transit, and vehicle usage in moving about the community.
Natural Amenities	Place-based attributes created by the environment that provide local benefits, such as forests and watercourses.
Natural Area	Areas within the urban and rural landscapes that contain native species, ecological areas, or habitat features to support biodiversity.
Natural Asset	Natural resources, ecosystems and their services that support the health and well-being of the community. May include trees that prevent erosion and provide shade, or a wetland that provides important habitat for species at risk.
Natural Hazards	Atmospheric, hydrologic, seismic, volcanic and wildfire phenomena that, because of their location, severity, and frequency, have the potential to seriously affect society.
Net Zero	The objective to emit no greenhouse gas emissions or to offset emissions, such as through carbon capture, to prevent further increase GHG levels in the atmosphere.
Nodes	Refers to community focal points, such as intersections or transit hubs, that act as key centers of activity. They typically include higher-density, mixed-use areas that are community-focused, provide services and amenities, and enhance transit service.
Non-Market Housing	Housing designed for independent living by single persons or families who cannot afford to pay the prevailing market rent or who have needs that are not being met by the market, and where the housing units are owned and operated by a government agency or a not-for-profit society.
Non-Motorized Vessels	Refers to lower-impact vessels on the water that are propelled either by human power (i.e. a kayak, canoe, or paddleboard) or other vessels without a motor like a sailboat.
Open Space	See Green Space.
Ownership, Control, Access, and Possession (OCAP)	Principles that establish First Nations' exclusive ownership, control, and collective rights to data sovereignty. These principles establish how First Nations’ data and information will be collected, stored, interpreted, used, and shared.
Prescribed Bus Stop	Determined by transit frequency and timing and is considered to be a prescribed bus stop if it is served by at least one bus route that is scheduled to stop at least every 15 minutes, on average, between the hours of: • 7am and 7pm, Monday through Friday, and • 10am and 6pm on Saturdays and Sundays, as defined by the Provincial Policy Manual & Site Standards for Small-Scale, Multi-Unit Housing.
Public Realm	The areas accessible to all members of the public, regardless of income or social status or income. These spaces can include right of ways, parks, public plazas, libraries, community centres, waterways, and foreshores.
Purpose Built Rental Housing	Multiple dwelling unit buildings with the intent of the units being rented in the private market and not sold to private owners.
Qualified Environmental Professional	A worker licensed or registered in good standing with a professional organization in one of the following categories: an agrologist, applied technologist or technician, professional biologist, professional engineer, professional forester, professional geoscientist, or registered forest technologist.
Rapid Transit Routes	Fast, frequent and reliable service between areas of highest demand in the region, with buses expected to arrive at least every 15 minutes between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. every day of the week, as defined by BC Transit.
Reconciliation	The ongoing process of establishing and maintaining mutually respectful relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peoples, grounded in recognition and respect of rights, histories, traditions, cultures, languages, and perspectives of Indigenous Peoples, and commitment to learning from and working in partnership with First Nations.
Rental Vacancy Rate Adjustment	Rental Vacancy Rate Adjustment adds surplus rental units to restore local vacancy rates to levels representing a healthy and well-functioning rental housing market. Typically, rates between 3% and 5% are considered healthy vacancy rates.
Riparian Area	A transitional zone between upland and freshwater ecosystems. The vegetation it supports is in contact with the stream or is sufficiently close to have a major influence on the total ecological character and functional processes of the stream.
Riparian Area Protection Regulation	Provincial regulation that calls on local governments to protect riparian areas on lots subject to development by ensuring that a Qualified Environmental Professional conducts a science-based assessment of proposed activities.
Secondary Suite	Refers to a secondary and subordinate dwelling unit that is entirely contained within, and is subordinate to, a detached dwelling.
Section 219 Covenant	A charge registered against the title of a property in favour of the municipality to impose an obligation on the property owner, as per the provisions of Section 219 of the Land Title Act.
Short-Term Rental	Refers to accommodation, often advertised online for tourists, provided to the public on a host’s property for a period of less than 90 consecutive days. These rentals do not include accommodation that was intended to be provided for 90 days or longer.
Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing	Includes detached homes, duplexes, house plexes, townhouses, garden suites, and secondary suites.
Supportive Housing	A specific type of social housing that provides on-site supports and services to residents to maintain housing stability. Some supports and services may be delivered through on-site staff or outreach programming. Supportive Housing primarily assists the community with housing for: • persons who are unhoused or at risk of becoming unhoused; • persons who have faced barriers to housing, such as struggling with mental illness or substance use; and/or • seniors or persons with disabilities or others who require services not available in other forms of housing.
Suppressed Household Formation	New households that would have been formed but are not due to a lack of attainable options. The persons who would have formed these households include, but are not limited to, many adults living with family members or roommates and individuals wishing to leave unsafe or unstable environments but cannot due to a lack of places to go.
Species At Risk	Legally protected wildlife under the federal Species at Risk Act that outlines actions to ensure that a species does not go extinct. Areas known to have species of risk require extra assessment to ensure that the proposed development does not affect the protection of the species.
Transit-Oriented Area / Transit-Oriented Development	Refers to high-density mixed-use development clustered around a transit station or stop designed to encourage transit use. The Province of British Columbia legislates municipalities to designate Transit-Oriented Development / Areas within 800 metres of a rapid transit station (e.g. SkyTrain station) and 400 metres of a bus exchange.
Transportation Demand Management	Comprises strategies that seek to improve the movement of people and goods, reduce dependence on the private car, and encourage travel via modes of alternate transport, such as transit, cycling, walking, rolling, and car share. Common desired outcomes of implementing transportation demand management strategies are reduced traffic congestion, lowered demand for parking, and cleaner air.
Truth and Reconciliation Commission	The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada informed Canadians about the significant impacts of Indian Residential Schools, documented the truth of Survivors, their families and communities, and prepared several reports, including 94 Calls to Action that shape how Canada, the provinces, and local communities can contribute to supporting and addressing the historical harms and wrongdoings put onto Indigenous peoples.
Townhouse	Ground-oriented side-by-side homes with a private outdoor amenity space at ground level that can be either in a stacked or row house form, designed to be compatible with the surrounding built environment.
Unceded	Refers to how the lands of View Royal were taken from Indigenous Peoples without their consent, and that the Town today is on land that was never given up to the Crown through a treaty of agreement.
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples	A declaration adopted in 2007 by the United Nations General Assembly that recognizes and respects the human rights of Indigenous peoples worldwide and provides a roadmap to advance lasting reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.
Universal Access Design	Ensures that the built environment is designed in a manner that is accessible to most people, regardless of their ability to move around within a space.
Urban Containment Boundary	Refers to the regulated boundary established by the Capital Regional District that defines the area for growth and sets aside land to be protected from most forms of development.
Urban Forest	All trees and woody area vegetation, with View Royal, including those in parks, forests, along streets, in public and private yards, and in other natural areas.
Watercourses	Refers to bodies of flowing water, such as rivers, creeks, lakes, ditches, and springs.
Watershed	A defined drainage and runoff area that contributes water to a particular body of water.
West Shore	Refers to the communities within the Capital Regional District located to the west of the City of Victoria, including Langford, Colwood, Highlands, Metchosin, and View Royal.
Wildlife Corridor	A designated area that aims to maintain or restore ecological connectivity by allowing species to move and natural processes to flow across the landscape.
Zoning Bylaw	Refers to the Town of View Royal Zoning Bylaw, as amended from time to time.