10-Year Official Community Plan Update

The public hearing will consider replacing Victoria’s current OCP with Victoria 2050 and related bylaw updates that will modernize the City’s zoning.

The proposed updates will guide and regulate new development across the city to enable housing to be built faster and ensure new development supports climate solutions and communities with amenities and services close to home.

Learn more about Victoria 2050 and zoning modernization below. Several other policies and bylaws are being considered for final approval along with the OCP and zoning. Read a full summary here.

Victoria 2050: The Updated Official Community Plan

The proposed plan includes new development permit areas, heritage conservation areas and guidelines that will impact properties across the city. It guides:

• Development for land use that aims to meet future housing and employment needs.
• Low-carbon growth that is responsive to climate change.
• Thoughtful decision making that protects what we love about Victoria, like heritage and ecological assets and our unique, walkable neighbourhoods.

Zoning Modernization

Victoria is modernizing its zoning through amendments to Zoning Bylaw 2018 which regulates use, height, density and other key features on private property (see large zoning map). The proposed approach to zoning:

• Enables diverse housing, between four and six storeys, to be developed in residential areas throughout the city.
• Simplifies regulations, making the process for realizing new housing easier and new development regulations clearer.
• Ensures development makes space for trees and open space and contributes to an enjoyable and interesting city.

Learn more about the approach to Zoning Modernization.

Access a blackline copy with proposed changes:Zoning Bylaw 2018 (Blackline copy with proposed changes)

Review the full amendment bylaw: Zoning Bylaw 2018, Amendment Bylaw (No. 17), No. 25-038

Both updates above require changes to the City’s other zoning bylaw for alignment. Read the Zoning Regulation Bylaw, Amendment Bylaw (No. 1361), No. 25-051

Staff brought forward the draft OCP and related policies and bylaws to Council in a series of presentations between February and April of this year, followed by a public hearing in September to gather additional community input. In case you missed it, you can view all the OCP Council meetings below:

February 27
Draft Official Community Plan and proposed regulatory directions were presented to Council.

March 6
Presentations continued, questions were asked and answered and changes were proposed.

April 3
Council considered a series of changes to the proposed directions based on reports directed at the March 6 meeting and voted to move the process forward.

April 17
The decision to move the process forward was ratified by Council.

July 24
Council moved the process forward to a public hearing scheduled for September 11, 2025.

September 4
Council approved the next steps to advance the relevant bylaws and policies for consideration of their final adoption with updated OCP following the public hearing.

September 11

Council held the first session of the public hearing to receive input on the proposed bylaws and OCP amendments.

September 15

Council continued the public hearing, gathering additional feedback from community members by phone and in person.

September 18

Council continued the public hearing with pre-recorded video submissions and asked staff questions. The public hearing will reconvene on October 2, 2025 at 6:30 p.m.

October 2

Council concluded the public hearing and adopted the new Official Community Plan, zoning bylaw amendments, as well as the other bylaws and policies included as part of the OCP update.

Check out this video of our Aug. 20 OCP public hearing information session. This session was held in preparation for the OCP public hearing coming up on September 11. Thanks for all your questions! We have updated the FAQ with some of the frequently asked questions from this session.

In this session we covered the OCP update and zoning updates, the public hearing process and how you can participate.

Thanks to all that attended. You can learn more about how to participate in the upcoming public hearing here.

Check out the video of our July 16 Let's Talk Info session! This was the last online OCP information session of the series and focused on OCP topics as well as climate topics and how Victoria can grow and change to become a more resilient and adaptable city.

Thanks to those that attended and provided feedback.

This may be the last info session, but you can still have your say by taking the OCP survey until September 1, 2024.

On June 11 and June 13 we held the third and fourth of our online information sessions to provide information on the Official Community Plan update, collect your input and answer your questions.

In addition to looking at OCP topics, these sessions also dug a bit deeper into transportation, local economy and parks and open spaces topics.

View the June 11 session above and don't forget to register for the next ones focused on climate topics on July 16 and July 18.

Looking for more ways to have your say? Check out our upcoming events.

Introducing Meeting in a Box! This is your toolkit to help lead community conversations and collect written feedback on the 10-Year Official Community Plan update.

The OCP is a big deal and everyone's voice is needed to help shape how Victoria can grow and change into the future to meet the needs of our growing population and address the housing and climate crises.

Meeting in a Box includes a presentation and discussion questions to guide you through group discussions about the OCP. Click to download the Meeting in a Box Host Package and the Participant Package.

Completed Meeting in a Box materials should be submitted by September 1, 2024. Please email us at ocp@victoria.ca if you intend to submit your materials after August 1, 2024.

Thank you for taking the time to gather and share your thoughts on Victoria's future. We look forward to hearing from you.

On April 16 and April 18 we held online information sessions to provide information on the Official Community Plan update, collect your input and answer your questions.

The session covered key points of the OCP update and also dug a bit deeper into OCP housing topics.

View the April 16 session above and don't forget to register for the next ones focused on community topics related to transportation, local economy and parks and open spaces on June 11 and June 13.

Looking for more ways to have your say? Check out our upcoming events.