Official Community Plan Update 2024
What is an Official Community Plan?
An Official Community Plan (OCP) is a high-level community planning document that outlines the long-term vision for land use management and community development. The OCP is a bylaw adopted by City Council providing a statement of objectives and policies to guide community planning and land use management decisions within designated areas of the community.
The Local Government Act is Provincial legislation that governs local government land use planning. This Act sets out the parameters and process for the adoption of an OCP. Based on the requirements in the Act, an OCP must include maps and statements regarding residential housing, commercial and industrial land uses, agriculture, recreation, transportation, sewer and water systems, lands subject to hazardous or environmentally sensitive to development and reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.
OCP Update Process
Best practice is to update an OCP approximately every 5 to 10 years. The City of Terrace completed its last OCP update in 2018. The City had scheduled an OCP update to be completed in 2024 but recent Provincial legislation changes will extend the OCP update process into 2025. The deadline for municipalities to complete their OCP update is December 31, 2025.
The new Provincial legislation also now requires local governments to make changes to their zoning bylaw regulations to support small-scale, multi-unit housing on residential lots previously zoned only for single detached and semi-detached (Duplex) housing. For more information on the Housing Statutes Amendment Act, click here.
In support of the OCP update, the City of Terrace is conducting a Complete Communities Assessment. This grant-funded project will be completed in advance of and will help inform the OCP. It will review the current state of the community by mapping the community’s completeness as viewed through 4 lenses: Housing, Daily Needs, Transportation and Infrastructure. The project will also model potential future growth scenarios for further exploration through the OCP update process. Learn more about the Complete Communities Assessment.
The process of updating the OCP will begin in early spring of 2024 by forming subcommittees and stakeholder groups to review and recommend changes or updates to policies and objectives for specific topics. Periodically, throughout the year there will be public opportunities to review draft maps and documents. It is anticipated that Council will adopt a new OCP in the Summer of 2025 in advance of the Province’s December 31, 2025 deadline.
How to Get Involved
As part of the OCP update process, working groups will be formed to review topic-specific policies and objectives and provide recommendations. Working groups will include invited stakeholders, but each group may also include 2 to 3 members of the general public. It is anticipated that working groups will be formed by early spring and complete their policy reviews by late spring / early summer. If you are interested in becoming involved, you can submit an expression of interest form. If you just want to follow along and be kept informed about the process, please register on Engage Terrace and you will be sent periodic updates at key points. You will also receive notifications when there is an engagement opportunity such as an open house, pop-up event, or community survey.
Deadline extended: Expressions of interest should be submitted by April 15, 2024.
The policy topics for public involvement include.
- Abundant Food Systems (Agriculture)
- Compact and Complete Neighbourhoods
- Diversified and Coordinated Economy
- A Vibrant Downtown
- Natural Environments, Outdoor Activities and Access
- Visible and Vibrant Arts, Culture and Heritage
- Social Well-Being and Accessible Recreation
- Integrated and Active Transportation Network
Who's Listening
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Project Management
