FAQs
Official Community Plan Update
What is the Official Community Plan (OCP)?
Victoria's Official Community Plan provides a long-term vision for how the community will grow and change in the coming decades. City Council, staff and citizens refer to the plan for guidance on decisions such as where to locate housing and businesses, transportation priorities and how the community will respond to climate change.
What is the key focus of this OCP update?
The OCP update focuses on solutions to the housing and climate crises. It will consider key policy areas related to planning for growth and change, including residential and local business needs, mobility, parks and amenities and natural assets. Modernized zoning and regulations will also be a focus to help ensure diverse housing, mobility, urban forest and public realm objectives can be met to better support our growing population.
Didn’t the City just do an update on the OCP in 2022?
The City made small updates to the OCP in 2022 to ensure it aligned with current master plans (i.e., Go Victoria) and to improve clarity and interpretation. These updates put the City on a strong footing to consider more comprehensive changes now.
Why update the OCP now?
The existing OCP and related regulations are falling behind in meeting anticipated population growth, housing demand and climate goals. The 10-Year OCP Update will create one comprehensive plan with responsive and effective policy that will help build a stronger, more resilient Victoria, today and into the future.
How is this OCP update different from previous updates?
The 10-Year OCP Update takes a citywide view and focuses on changes to the land use tools within the OCP to respond to the housing crisis and climate emergency quickly and more equitably.
What existing policy and engagement inform the 10-year OCP update?
Council direction, existing City Policy, technical analysis and years of public feedback gathered through public consultation on key City plans (i.e., Climate Leadership Plan, Go Victoria, Parks and Open Spaces Master Plan) have provided a solid foundation with which to develop drafted policy directions.
Why the shift away from local area planning?
A city with one equitable citywide plan for all neighbourhoods can better respond to the housing and climate crises with clear and consistent policy for all communities that is easier to understand and use.
To date, local area planning has been the primary method for keeping the OCP up to date but has taken more time than anticipated and many neighbourhoods now have outdated plans and a lack of capacity to meet evolving needs. Local area planning has also resulted in a complex policy framework that can be confusing for residents, businesses and the development community.
What are the proposed changes to the Zoning Regulation Bylaw?
The Zoning Regulation Bylaw, originally adopted in 1981, remains largely unaligned with the OCP, leading to a continued stream of applicant-driven site-specific rezoning applications and resulting in an increasingly complicated and difficult to manage regulatory scheme. Under this process, the City’s zoning would be modernized for easier interpretation. The Bylaw will also be updated to better align with the vision of the OCP, reducing the need for rezoning processes for priority housing and business development in key locations.
Survey
Why does the survey ask only about four and six storey housing? Can we choose less?
The survey questions seek community input on priorities and preferences that can realistically accommodate the housing Victoria needs which is approximately 34,600 new homes by 2050. Victoria is a built-out city with high land costs. This means there are limited ways in which we can accommodate current and future housing needs (as we are now legislatively required to do). Providing a lesser alternative would have been disingenuous considering legislative requirements and established City directions.
Growth projections and analysis of options for accommodating housing need are discussed in greater detail in the February 8th report and presentation to Council. The choices provided in the first question are the most viable ways to catch up and keep up with housing needs. The choices provided are also aligned with existing City policy (developed in part through previous public engagement) and the directions in Council’s 2023-2026 Strategic Plan related to housing, mobility and climate action.
Feedback beyond the scope of these policy options is welcome. We are collecting feedback at open houses, pop-ups, online sessions, by email, through other focused conversations and at the public hearing. Council will be provided a summary of feedback collected from all channels and will consider that together with technical information, professional advice and with the guidance of established policies and legislative requirements.
Is the online survey the only way to provide comment on the OCP update?
The survey is only one part of the engagement process. Feedback will also be collected at open houses, pop-ups, online sessions, other focused conversations with the community and at the public hearing. What is most important in this process is inclusion and equity of engagement, including through multiple, accessible and diverse platforms as laid out in the City’s Engagement Framework.
The OCP engagement process is complex and nuanced. Council will be provided with a summary of feedback collected from all channels and will consider that together with technical information, professional advice and with the guidance of established policies and legislative requirements.
Is the OCP survey only available online?
The survey is available in print form upon request. City staff are happy to arrange this option with community members if needed.
Inclusion and equity are core to the City’s engagement framework. The City has observed that online surveys are the preferred method by the majority of participants and the online approach reaches the greatest number of residents, including those community members who have historically been hard to reach and are often underrepresented. Completing the survey online, through the City’s engagement platform, allows for more consistent review and analysis of feedback.
Housing | Climate | Community
What does the Province require of municipalities to meet housing and climate targets?
For the most up to date and complete information, please refer to the Province of British Columbia’s Local Government Housing Initiatives.
How does this address the housing and climate crisis?
Modernizing municipal land management tools advances solutions to both the housing and climate crises as they enable:
The right supply of housing – multi-unit forms that can realize rental, affordable and diverse housing options in the right locations – near services, amenities and active transportation and transit routes.
in the right way – with a supportive, high-quality public realm and modern infrastructure. These actions together can reduce transportation emissions (which account for 40 per cent of B.C.'s greenhouse gas emissions) and building emissions. They also ensure we make room for infrastructure (like trees and greenspaces) that improve our ability to adapt.
How will heritage buildings be preserved in Town Centres and other areas?
The City has a strong heritage program, applicable to all areas of the city and will be working to enhance and renew it through the OCP update.
Some existing Town Centres may already have guiding heritage policies contained in local area plans. These policies would be retained where they are aligned with the outcomes of the OCP update. Newly proposed Town Centres in areas that have outdated local area plans, such as Stadacona / Oak Bay Junction, will be considered in greater detail (including for their heritage assets) as part of place-based planning which is anticipated to result in new policy guidance.
What does building viability have to do with storeys?
Getting enough revenue to pay back a loan and make some profit requires enough rentable or sellable floor area in a building. If this isn’t possible in, for instance, a four-storey building covering less than half the site, more floor area can be achieved by expanding the building footprint and/or by adding storeys to the building. Bigger building footprints means less usable outdoor space and/or space for our urban forest. Bigger building footprints also make for bulkier buildings set closer to each other and the public spaces. Adding storeys can reduce the need for bigger building footprints, helping balance trade-offs while.
What is Secured Rental Housing?
Secured Rental Housing generally refers to any form of purpose-built apartment buildings that are designated as long-term rental housing and secured by a legal agreement.
Why does secured rental have less viability than condo development?
The costs of construction and land don’t differ much between condo and rental buildings, but rental buildings have less payback per square foot built and that payback may come more slowly (making loan interest over time a bigger cost). So, while studies for the OCP Update and other recent planning processes have shown ownership housing like townhouses and small condo buildings may be viable in three and four storey forms, the analysis is showing that secured rental projects usually require five or six storeys to achieve a payback.
How does this relate to Missing Middle? Are you engaging again on this policy?
The Missing Middle Housing Initiative has been approved and the outcomes will continue to be monitored and reported on. This process will not reconsider the recently established policies and regulations for Missing Middle. However, new capacity for other housing forms will be considered through this process, both in OCP policy and in zoning.
Does climate-friendly building mean tearing down old buildings? Can some be converted into other forms of housing like duplexes or multi-plexes?
The City’s current policies and regulations allow for conversion of existing buildings to accommodate more units. Conversion is supported inby the Missing Middle and House Conversion regulations. The City also supports retrofits of existing homes and multi-unit buildings to be more climate-friendly. The OCP engagement process is not looking to rethink these established directions. However, the City recognizes that conversion of existing units will not be enough to meet housing needs. Construction of new, multi-unit buildings will be required.
Will the urban forest be protected in the OCP update process?
This process fully recognizes there are two fundamental challenges the City is working to address simultaneously – the housing crisis and the climate emergency. It is a complex challenge to address both in an urban context and finding ways to support a healthy urban forest as we grow is fundamental to the City’s approach.
A healthy urban forest is a clearly established priority for the City, as reflected in the City’s Urban Forest Master Plan, the Climate Leadership Plan and Council’s 2023-2026 Strategic Plan, all of which informed the proposed directions in the OCP update and Zoning Modernization. The OCP engagement process is not looking to rethink this priority. The draft directions seek to advance action on the urban forest through linear parkways, improved design guidance and by ensuring the development forms the City enables and regulates achieves urban forest opportunities on private land as much as possible.
How does this improve mobility?
Adding housing close to safe, high quality mobility infrastructure will encourage more people to walk, roll and cycle. Locating housing close to transit options increases the viability of more frequent, reliable service both within and outside of the city. Making room for housing in the Capital Region’s urban core also reduces the need for long commutes and urban sprawl outside our local boundaries.
Why is there no engagement on parking in the OCP process? Where will residents of new buildings park?
The City is undertaking a separate Parking Modernization Process which will be informed by guiding policy in Go Victoria and Council’s Strategic Plan, as well as a separate engagement process (note the timeline proposed in the original report may be delayed to evolving Provincial legislative changes, but the work is intended to proceed). The project will comprehensively consider parking needs in varying redevelopment conditions and will be incorporated into Zoning Modernization together with the OCP update outcomes.
OCP Engagement Process
How will the City engage on the OCP Update?
The City will provide both online and in-person opportunities that make the most of people’s valuable time. Some activities include an online survey, public open houses, pop-ups in busy locations or areas affected by proposed changes and online focus groups. It will also include place-based planning to create more detailed land use guidance for areas with outdated plans.
Will the OCP update be informed by public feedback?
The City will engage thoughtfully with the community to make sure people understand the process and how they can have a say. The City’s updated Engagement Framework will help guide our communication and outreach to ensure it is equitable, welcomes all voices and honours our communities’ diverse ways of knowing, learning and sharing.
Council direction, existing City policy, technical analysis and years of public feedback gathered through public consultation on key City plans (e.g., the Climate Leadership Plan, Go Victoria, Parks and Open Spaces Master Plan) also give us a solid foundation to determine policy directions.
How will the City ensure a diverse group of voices are heard in the upcoming OCP engagement?
The City’s updated Engagement Framework will help guide our communication and outreach to ensure it is equitable, welcomes all voices and honours our communities’ diverse ways of knowing, learning and sharing.
Why isn’t there an OCP working group?
While valuable to the process, working groups don’t always reflect the diversity of the community, are resource intensive, time-consuming and in some cases ineffective at engaging participants over a long period of time.