The Existing OCP:

The Official Community Plan was forwarded for adoption in the spring of 2012. The OCP has the highest legal status in the hierarchy of City plans and is adopted as a City bylaw. Under the BC Local Government Act, the OCP provides a framework of objectives and policies to guide decisions on planning and land use management. While community well-being and environmental considerations were considered “optional”, the City opted for an OCP that was broader in scope and included items such as food security and emergency management.

Victoria’s 2012 OCP was adopted following two and a half years of public consultation. Many OCP amendments were made during the ensuing years with a final “Refresh” amendment on September 7, 2023, to align the OCP with the policies created from 2018 through 2020.

The 10-year OCP Update – Review and Revision Timeline (See Appendix: Compressed Timeline):

OCPs typically take 3-4 years to plan and complete. However, staff recommended a compressed timeline of about 22 months of work over a 30 month period for the 10-year OCP Update, acknowledging reduced opportunities for public input.

Some Councillors proposed even less consultation, with a 16 month timeline – the 2022 election result was cited as sufficient public input to justify this further reduction. Council directed staff to develop another plan with an abbreviated time-line.

In May, staff returned to Council with a further reduced timeline which further limited public input. The revised timeline proposes finishing in Q2 2025 rather than Q4 2025. This represents a 20% reduction from the originally proposed timeline that was already comparatively ambitious. Much of the time “saved” was taken from public input opportunity. Rather than using discussions to seek public input over 7+ months followed later with a 3 month consultation on draft directions, the reduced timeline offers one 4 month citywide engagement period on draft directions.

The final vote on this reduced timeline with significantly less opportunity for public input was 7-2 with Councillor Coleman and myself in opposition.

The 10-year OCP Update Approach:

Staff identified changes in process that would facilitate the revision in the reduced timeline including rescinding the local area planning (LAP) direction. This leaves Oaklands, the Jubilees and James Bay at a disadvantage as the city-wide approach does not allow for the community-led neighbourhood-based components to the planning process that were developed in other parts of the city.

Direction in planning documents: “This OCP 10-year Update will seek to create one citywide plan to foster an equitable, nimble Victoria that can meaningfully confront the housing crisis and increase our resilience to climate change . . . A citywide approach, focused on diversity and targeted conversations, strives for genuine engagement and equitable empowerment in planning for Victoria’s future, while balancing the need for immediate housing and climate action . . . While the process will include direct and targeted engagement with diverse stakeholders, such as non-profit housing organizations, local builders and developers, adjacent municipalities, the Greater Victoria School District, BC Transit, advocacy groups, and diverse community groups and organizations.”

Staff have not yet finalised a stakeholder list for the early outreach identified in the abbreviated timeline chart. This early outreach will focus on community-serving groups. As the process advances, the stakeholder groups will be broader.

Staff began their work on the preparation and technical work in June. Several tools will be used in the engagement approach. The engagement plans will soon be completed as the “early process communications” is to begin in early October. In-person events as well as print and digital advertising or mailouts may be used to reach people. Word-of-mouth will help spread the word about opportunities to participate.

Working groups formed for past work on Local Area Plans, which usually had some members from neighbourhood land use groups, were considered to not always reflect the city’s diversity. Hence, the city’s equity policy will guide selection of the “right” people to form any OCP Update working group.

Staff understand that the tight timeline may require the process to remain somewhat nimble. The staff report states “While targeting a public hearing after one phase of engagement, if any concerns or complications arise, the City may opt, with Council direction, to revise the approach prior to public hearing.”

I will continue to work on your behalf to ensure that you have a voice in the future of our city.

Please make your voice heard, become familiar with the current OCP, be prepared to participate in the months ahead. Consultation will be completed in the first part of 2024.

There are several topics which I hope to explore in the weeks ahead including the City Council response to the MNP Governance Review Report (including remuneration) and a few comments on the upcoming 2024 budget.

Regards,

Marg