PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT REPORT: DRAFT OFFICIAL COMMUNITY PLAN UPDATE – RESTART PLAN

LEGISLATIVE REQUIREMENTS:

Division 4 within the Province of British Columbia’s Local Government Act (LGA) lays out the requirements for every municipal government when adopting an OCP. It first and foremost identifies the purpose of an OCP:

471.1 An official community plan is a statement of objectives and policies to guide decisions on planning and land use management, within the area covered by the plan, respecting the purposes of local government.

An OCP must include certain content which is outlined in the LGA. The minimum requirements are outlined as follows:

• statements and map designations that show the approximate location, type, and density of residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, agricultural, recreational and public utility land uses
• statements and map designations that show lands that are subject to hazardous conditions or that are environmentally sensitive to development
• statements and map designations that show the approximate location and phasing of major roads, sewer and water systems
• statements and map designations that show the approximate location and type of present and proposed public facilities
• housing policies that detail affordable housing, rental housing and special needs housing
• consider the most recent housing needs report that a local government must complete (i.e. Housing Needs Assessment)
• targets for greenhouse gas emissions and reductions targets.

Supplementary guidelines, statements, and policies relevant to the community, determined by Council and through the public engagement process, may be added.

The LGA also outlines consultation requirements during the OCP development, consultation on planning of school facilities, requirements of the bylaw which adopts the OCP, adoption procedures, and the effect of the OCP.

BACKGROUND:

An OCP review is a priority project in Council’s Strategic Plan 2019 – 2022. Since its adoption in 2011, the current OCP has not received an update or review. While the existing OCP has served the community well, the Plan requires an important update and review to ensure that it still meets the objectives and intent of the community’s interests and vision for the growth and development of the Town. The Town engaged EcoPlan International in 2021 to begin work on the OCP update. Since then, staff have worked closely with EcoPlan to deliver a draft OCP.

Substantial work and community consultation has occurred in developing the draft OCP update. Many voices, perspectives, lived experiences, and time were dedicated to the OCP review process. The OCP update was featured on the Town of View Royal’s website and throughout the review, there were social media posts, advertisements, direct mail-outs, signs at park entrances and notices sent through stakeholder networks. Twelve walkshops, six online workshops, two comprehensive surveys, meetings with View Royal’s Advisory Committees, and Council workshops were conducted to seek early and ongoing feedback from the public. Staff also presented to Committee of the Whole (COW) and Council several times to keep members informed and seek direction and feedback throughout the project. A complete project timeline is summarized in the Table 1 below.

Table 1 - OCP Update Timeline

Scope of Work

At the outset of the project, Council agreed that the update of the 2011 OCP was not to undertake a major OCP re-write. This would have required significant financial resources and was viewed as unnecessary given that the current document structure works very well for current and long-range planning purposes in the Town. This was reiterated by Council at different stages of the project. Rather, the purpose of the update was to focus on a few key strategic areas, including: housing, urban design, climate action, environment, transportation, economy, and First Nations reconciliation. Transition areas were added around existing Neighbourhood Centres and Community Corridors. The draft plan has placed an emphasis on sensitive infill development within neighbourhood nodes and along major transportation corridors in recognition that the Town Centre site (i.e. Fort Victoria property) is unlikely to be redeveloped within the next 10 years.

Information from the Parks Master Plan, Community Climate Action Strategy, the Housing Needs Assessment, and the Land Economics Report have also been integrated into the draft document. The draft Plan also incorporates updates to population, housing, employment and land projections, and new policies related to social needs and community well-being, place making and urban design, and form and character principles and design guidelines. There is also a strong focus on preserving and protecting the environment.

DISCUSSION:

The draft OCP has been updated to address emerging issues facing the Town and ensures that the document is consistent with other plans and studies that have recently been endorsed by Council. A comprehensive list of changes being proposed in the draft OCP update (Attachment 1) may be reviewed in Attachment 2 – Summary of Major OCP Changes – January 27, 2023. However, for clarity purposes, a brief summary of the proposed land use and development permit area changes are also summarized below:

1. Added “Transition Areas” in the Community Growth Framework. These areas were recognized as desirable and encouraged throughout the framework. They are mostly located along major roads in Community Corridors and serve as an area that is known to have land use and design character transitions from one type to another and as a potential area for development (refer to Figure 1 below)

Figure 1 - Proposed Community Growth Framework

2. Refinements to Land Use Designations: a. Removed heights from the Land Use Designation Section. b. Updated the maximum Floor Space Ratio (FSR) for i. Residential land use designation from .6 to 1.25 ii. Mixed Residential use from 1.25 to 1.4 for Small Lot Detached Houses, and 1.5 to 1.6 for Apartment Dwellings iii. Neighbourhood Mixed use from 1.5 to 2.0 c. Changes to land use designations for the following areas (refer to Figure 2 below): i. Six Mile Road & Trans-Canada Highway from Neighbourhood Mixed Use to Mixed Residential and Residential Use; ii. Wilfert Road from Neighbourhood Mixed and Park use to Commercial Use; iii. End of Hart Road and Lloyd Place from Residential to Mixed Residential; iv. Bessborough Avenue and Helmcken Road; Stewart and Pallisier Avenue; Beaumont Ave and Pallisier Ave, and Pallisier Ave and Plowright Road from Large Lot Residential to Residential; v. Admirals and Hallowell Road from Commercial to Neighbourhood Mixed Use; vi. Watkiss Way from Neighbourhood Mixed Use to Mixed Residential; and vii. Erskine Lane from Mixed Residential to Neighbourhood Mixed Use.

Figure 2 – Proposed OCP Land Use Designation map

3. New policy (LU2.4) which supports the construction of garden suites on properties greater than 350 m².

4. Development Permit Areas (DPA) a. Replaced “Residential” with “Intensive Residential” DPA. Intensive residential DPA establishes objectives and form and character design guidelines for small lot intensive residential (lot size of less than 360m²) and ground oriented multi-family residential development. See Figure 2. below. b. Updated form and character development permit areas to reflect approved developments.

Figure 3 – Proposed Form and Character Development Permit Area Map

c. Added “Natural Hazard Fire Interface Zone” as a new DPA to establish guidelines for fire protection. Refer to Figure 4 below.

Figure 4 - Proposed Environmental Development Permit Area Map

SUSTAINABILITY/CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS:

The proposed draft OCP has included statements, objectives, and policies that recognize the impacts of climate change on the community. The draft plan also includes existing environmental development permit areas (DPA) that are used to regulate the development of land in environmentally sensitive and hazardous areas. In addition, the draft OCP includes a new Natural Hazard and Wildfire Interface DPA to protect parkland and minimize the threat of wildland fires in the community.

NEXT STEPS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENGAGEMENT:

In June 2022, staff recommended that the report be placed online on the Town’s OCP project webpage and that feedback be collected as part of this process; however, a formal public review process did not get initiated because the project was placed on hold. Furthermore, it was recommended by staff that the Council’s Advisory Committee be engaged in reviewing the draft. However, Council decided to delay that review until such time that the Town was ready to engage with the public on the draft OCP following the municipal election.

To move forward with the final phase of the OCP update and complete the project that has been underway for the last two years, the following work is planned to be completed:

• two staff-driven public open houses on the draft OCP update
• consultation with the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations to ground truth in some of the language and continue important relationship-building
• further policy edits and refinements following external agency (i.e. Ministries and School District), community and legal review and feedback
• updates to the Development Permit Areas and associated design guidelines.

In addition to the above, Council must consider the proposed OCP in conjunction with the Town’s Financial Plan and CRD’s Waste Management Plan, following first reading of the bylaw to amend the OCP, in accordance with LGA.

Once the following referrals are made, and comments are reviewed and incorporated as required, Council must schedule a Public Hearing to allow the public to provide comment on the OCP. The feedback provided may be incorporated into the plan as per Council’s direction, prior to adoption of the bylaw to amend the OCP.

Finally, once the OCP is adopted, the Town will be required to engage with the Capital Regional District Board for approval of the Regional Context Statement.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:

The remaining budget to complete the final phase of the OCP update project, which includes community engagement, consultation with the Nations, policy updates and refinements, etc., is approximately $26,290.00. The total project cost to date has been $135,903.00. For comparison, the cost of an OCP rewrite project would be approximately $200,000 in addition to the work that has already been completed. As discussed above, Council’s direction was not to undertake a wholesale review of the OCP as the current plan is still relevant and it was viewed to be unnecessary at this time.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS:

Council may review supporting documents in review of the Draft Official Community Plan to better understand the process to date, scope of work, and community consultation that has been completed. The documents are listed below for convenience; however, they have also been added to the View Royal Official Community Plan Update Project webpage.

CONCLUSION:

The OCP update project began in June 2021 and substantial time and resources have been allocated towards this project in the last two years. Following extensive community engagement and work on this project, a draft OCP was completed in June 2022. However, the project was put on pause until after the municipal election in October 2022. The final phase of the project will include additional community engagement on the draft plan and an opportunity for the public to provide comments and feedback to help shape the plan. It is recommended for Council’s consideration to restart the OCP update and complete the final phase of this project.

ALTERNATIVE:

THAT Council delay the restart plan for Draft Official Community Plan Update.

ATTACHMENTS:

1. Draft Official Community Plan (Ver. 2) (Committee of the Whole report dated June 14, 2022)
2. Summary of Major OCP Changes – January 27, 2023