An official community plan (OCP) is a statement of objectives and
policies to guide decisions on planning and land use management. It is adopted by a local government as a bylaw, and sets out the form and character of
existing and proposed land use and servicing requirements. It is a vision statement for how the
community will grow.
An OCP must contain map
designations and policy statements on some specific issues, such as:
·
residential
housing;
·
commercial,
industrial, institutional, agricultural, recreational and public utility land
uses;
·
location and area
suitable for future sand and gravel extraction;
·
restrictions on the
use of land subject to hazardous conditions or environmentally sensitive to
development;
·
location and
phasing of major road, sewer and water systems;
·
location and type
of public facilities such as school, parks and waste treatment and disposal
sites;
·
policies for
affordable housing, rental housing and special needs housing.
OCP’s can also include policies
relating to other matters within a local governments jurisdiction.
However, an OCP cannot regulate developments outside a
municipality’s boundaries, or on land it does not control, such as land in the
Agricultural Land Reserve, First Nations land, or Crown land. OCP’s must be consistent with regional growth strategies, and may be coordinated with other plans.
Developing
an OCP
Before the
public hearing on a new OCP or OCP amendment, the council or board must consult
with “persons, organizations and authorities it considers will be
affected.” This authority is very broad
and allows councils and boards to decide what level of consultation is needed.
Prior to the adoption or
amendment of an OCP, a public hearing must be held,
giving all persons who believe that their interests in property are affected
the right to be heard.
Many local governments also develop local area plans or
neighbourhood plans, to state in more detail specific requirements for a
defined area. This allows consultation
to focus on the needs of a particular neighbourhood.
Effect of an OCP
OCPs do not directly regulate the specifics of land development and do
not authorize capital expenditures (e.g. just because a park is shown in an OCP
doesn’t mean that the Local Government has committed the money to purchase the
land for it). However, they set the
overall development context for a community and all bylaws and works must be
consistent with them. This includes zoning
bylaws, capital
expenditures, and development permits.
OCP’s also provide direction to subdivision approving officers and
councilors. It is important that OCPs
include precise policy statements and guidelines that will provide more precise
standards for land use decisions.
In practice, bylaws and works are seldom invalidated because of
inconsistency with an OCP. Courts
require that there be a “direct conflict” between the OCP provision and a bylaw
provision – rather than merely a tension – before they will strike down a
law. In practice, if a local government
wants to amend a zoning bylaw that would make it inconsistent with the OCP,
both the OCP and the zoning bylaw will be amended at the same time. These minor amendments, over time, result in
significant changes to the OCP and development direction for the community.
While the
objectives and policies in an OCP will rarely result in a bylaw or work being
struck down, sections of an OCP that require permits can give an OCP
teeth. The OCP may set out areas in
which:
·
development permits will be
required, as well as specifying guidelines as to when council should issue a
permit;
·
Special information (known as development
approval information) may be required before development can proceed; or
·
temporary commercial and
industrial use permits can be required under the OCP.
While ESAs
may be designated in an OCP, there is no further requirement that a local
government impose restrictions on land use once the ESA has been identified for
the council or board. It is only when
restrictions on the development of ESA land are imposed, they must be included
in the OCP as statements and map designations.
Related Guide Pages:
·
Local Government Act
·
Local Government Planning
·
Development Permits
·
Local Government Act –
Miscellaneous Tools
For more information on official community
plans:
·
West Coast Environmental
Law’s The Smart Growth
Guide to Local Government Law and Advocacy (2001).
·
OCP
Purpose and Content and OCP
Process and Consultation – Two October 2000 Bulletin of the Ministry of
Community, Aboriginal and Women’s Services.
·
“Official Community Plans”
from the Successful Communities Forum’s Citizen’s Guide to Development
Planning.
