Complete Community Assessment

The Complete Communities Assessment Final Report, was presented to Council on March 10, 2025, and is now available to view and download.

The report explores actions to address community needs and current gaps in the city's levels of completeness. It outlines potential policy actions for consideration in the city's Official Community Plan (OCP) Update.

The report will help guide discussions on potential changes to land use designation for increasing housing density in and adjacent to the downtown core. These discussions are part of the OCP update.

The 203-page final report has a LOT of information in it. The report's Executive Summary contains some of the highlights.

Of particular interest is existing 'completeness levels' of the City's neighbourhoods, as listed below.

Of particular interest in Complete Communities Assessment Final Report, is the levels of completeness, listed below by City neighbourhood.

• The Bench has the lowest completeness level of all neighbourhoods in the city which has land designated for housing. 85% of its housing stock comprises of single and semi-detached dwellings, and daily services and employment uses are more than a 15-to-20-minute walk from housing. The Bench neighbourhood has the highest levels of socioeconomic health and well-being in the city, with lower levels of residents spending more than 30% of their gross income on shelter costs than any other neighbourhood. Sidewalk and cycle lane coverage and connectivity is low, increasing vehicular reliance to access services. There are servicing infrastructure constraints in the north and northwestern areas impacting future growth potential
  
  
• The Horseshoe neighbourhood has a moderate level of completeness, benefiting from a greater diversity of housing, closer walking proximity to Downtown services, and some north-south sidewalk and cycle lane connectivity. It is heavily reliant on School Parks to provide outdoor recreation space, and there are some east-west gaps in sidewalk and cycle lane coverage. Its existing servicing infrastructure is sufficient to meet projected future growth in the neighbourhood.
  
  
• The Downtown neighbourhood has the highest levels of completeness in Terrace. It benefits from a mix of low and moderate density housing less than a 5-minute walk from city services, employment use and amenities. There are greater levels of core housing needs in and adjacent to Downtown with higher levels of residents spending 30% or more of their gross income on shelter costs, and with higher levels of housing in need of repair or deemed unsuitable compared to other city neighbourhoods. It is a walkable neighbourhood but lacks cycle lane connectivity. Existing servicing infrastructure has sufficient capacity to accommodate future growth.
  
  
• The South Side is ranked the third most complete neighbourhood in the city. It has a range of housing typologies, and tenures close to essential services like Mills Memorial Hospital and employment uses along Keith Avenue. Like Downtown, the northeastern areas of the South Side neighbourhood have higher levels of core housing need than in the Horseshoe and Bench neighbourhoods. The neighbourhood has moderate levels of sidewalk coverage, but no cycle network. The CN rail line is a significant barrier for active modes of commute and movement to services in Downtown. Following recent infrastructure upgrades, the neighbourhood's servicing capacity is sufficient to accommodate future growth.
  
  
• The Highway 16 West, Keith Avenue Corridor West, and Keith Avenue Corridor East have low levels of completeness given their primary land uses are commercial and industrial. While the Highway 16 West Corridor benefits from good east-west connectivity via the Grand Truck Pathway, the Keith Avenue Corridors have poor sidewalk and cycle lane coverage increasing the reliance on private vehicle access. The Keith Avenue Corridors have good levels of servicing capacity, although the Highway 16 Corridor in the western parts of the city has significant servicing constraints impacting growth.

Download the Open House booklet!

The booklet includes all the poster boards and info that will displayed at the November 7 open house. Review the booklet in advance so you are ready to ask questions and give feedback. Or, for those who cannot make it, here's your chance to review the materials send us any feedback or questions to: developmentservices@terrace.ca

Photo: Sneak peak of just some of the info in the booklet, that we'll be presenting.

Hope to see you at the Complete Communities Assessment Open House!

• Thursday, November 7
• 4:30pm - 8pm
• at the Sportsplex Banquet Room (3220 Kalum Street)
• Format is drop in.

It's time to present our findings and get your feedback. Learn more about the Complete Communities Assessment, review the growth scenario maps, and share your feedback on recommendations.

City staff and Stantec consultants who have been working on the project will be available for questions and discussions.

It's time to present our findings and get your feedback.

Join us at an Open House!

• Thursday, November 7
• 4:30pm - 8pm
• at the Sportsplex Banquet Room (3220 Kalum Street)
• Format is drop in.

Learn more about the Complete Communities Assessment, review the growth scenario maps, and share your feedback on recommendations.

Download the Open House booklet!

The booklet includes all the poster boards and info that will displayed at the open house. So you can review it in advance, and be ready to ask questions and give feedback. This also provides an opportunity for those who cannot make it to review the materials and ask questions.

Questions can be directed to developmentservices@terrace.ca

Or come to the meeting to get more information! City staff and Stantec consultants who have been working on the project will be available for questions and discussions. Hope to see you there!

Read the What We Heard report from Round 1 of engagement

On Wednesday, March 13, an in-person public open house was held at the Days Inn, from 4:30–8:00 pm, where attendees were encouraged to review display boards, speak with facilitators, and browse the additional map booklets. Throughout the evening, most who attended stayed for a prolonged period (30 min+), taking time to speak to multiple facilitators about a range of topics.

Feedback was collected during the meeting through sticky notes as well as optional feedback forms.

Over 60 people attended the public open house to discuss the Complete Community Assessment, with hundreds of comments shared throughout the evening and 15 feedback forms submitted. Those engaged included elected officials, municipal staff, local business owners, developers, and residents of various ages.

Read the What We Heard report

Join us on March 13, 2024, from 4:30-8:00 pm at the Days Inn Banquet Room to learn more about the Complete Communities Assessment, view the baseline information maps, and ask questions to the project team.

Provide feedback on the maps using this form. You may drop it off at City Hall or the Public Works building.

Using the information gathered in Step 1, we have mapped the baseline data that shows how complete our community is within the lens of HOUSING, DAILY NEEDS, TRANSPORTATION, and INFRASTRUCTURE. These maps can be viewed here. This information will be shared with the community at a Project Open House in Step 3 to gather insight into how we could improve the results through future development.

Over the past couple of months, the City has been working with Stantec Consulting, to kick off this project by reviewing existing data, plans, and studies. This information will be used to develop the baseline mapping in Step 2.

What is a complete community?

A “complete community” is one that provides a diversity of housing to meet identified needs and accommodates people at all stages of life. Complete communities provide a wide range of employment opportunities, amenities, and services within reasonable walking and cycling distances of people’s homes. They also support the efficient use of infrastructure through more compact forms of development and promote the reduction of a community’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through the provision of alternative modes of transportation and movement for residents.

Striving to become a more complete community is intended to operate as an overall goal, recognizing that complete communities may look different across regions. All communities have the potential to be more complete, regardless of their existing context and physical characteristics.

What is a Complete Community Assessment?

A Complete Community Assessment is a desktop-level, geospatial exercise that analyzes a community’s “completeness” by mapping its Housing, Daily Needs, Transportation, and Infrastructure assets to assess how well residents are served across the community, with the goal of having all services within a compact and energy-efficient 15-minute distance. The results of the assessment are then used to identify additional housing needs, improve connections between residents and services or amenities they frequently access, understand how municipal infrastructure can be used more efficiently, and determine where growth should be directed.

This assessment is being funded through the Government of BC’s Complete Communities Program(External link) and reflects a key commitment under the BC Climate Action Charter(External link) which requires all local governments to create complete, compact, and energy-efficient communities.

To learn more about how the Complete Community Assessment will be done, explore the Ask a Question section below.