10-Year Official Community Plan Update

We are updating the Official Community Plan (OCP) for Victoria to meet the needs of our growing population and address the housing and climate crises.

What’s Happening
This July, Council provided direction to move forward with next steps to update the OCP. As part of the process, the City has prepared bylaws for final review this summer and scheduled a public hearing on Thursday, September 11, 2025, for you to have a final say on the OCP update. You’re invited to learn more about the public hearing at an online information session on August 20 from noon to 1 p.m. Register here.

The proposed changes are part of a citywide process that may affect all properties and neighbourhoods in Victoria. They are intended to support housing solutions, climate action and complete communities that will shape Victoria through to 2050. The core materials Council will consider are now available for public review. You can also catch up on all OCP Council sessions in case you missed any here.

Upcoming Public Hearing - Have Your Say
The public hearing on September 11 is your final opportunity to have your voice heard on the proposed OCP update and related zoning modernization. To prepare for the public hearing, you can attend the information session, review a summary of the proposed changes and access links to additional information, bylaws and reports below in the news feed section.

The Official Community Plan: It's. A. Big. Deal.
The Official Community Plan (OCP) shapes how we live, work and play in Victoria. It's the long-term plan that determines how our community will grow and change. Decisions on where housing, businesses and parks should go, how we move around the city and ways Victoria can respond to the climate crisis are all determined by the OCP. If the City was a train, the OCP would be its conductor leading the way.

We are updating the Official Community Plan (OCP) for Victoria to meet the needs of our growing population and address the housing and climate crises.

News Feed

About the OCP Public Hearing
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.
Learn more about the approach to these changes in Schedule B of the proposed OCP and in the documents below:
- Approach to Development Permit Areas and Heritage Conservation Areas
- Official Community Plan Bylaw, 2025 (No. 25-045)
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. 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
OCP at Council

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. 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.
Let's Talk: Climate - OCP Online Information Session

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.
Let's Talk: Community - OCP Online Session

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.
Open House Boards

Did you know you can view the OCP open house boards online? It's true!

If you couldn't make the first two open houses and are unable to attend the next one on July 6, you can still check out the information boards to learn all about the OCP update and how Victoria can grow and change into the future.

You can also view the event photos from the first two open houses and some of our pop-ups here.
Meeting in a Box

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.
Let's Talk: Housing - OCP Online Session

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.