A new (second) Revised Draft of the Official Community Plan (OCP) is now available for information and review and feedback. We are now at the end of the last of four phases of public engagement as part of the OCP review process.

If you have any questions, comments, feedback or suggestions on the second revised draft, please email the City at ocp2024@salmonarm.ca. We will be able to review additional input on the second revised draft until early April.

Thank you to those that provided feedback at the online and in-person showcases in Phase 4 in February and March. We have taken that feedback and revised the draft OCP. The links below will take you to the document, the related mapping and a summary of the engagement undertaken in all four phases.

• Second Revised OCP Draft (PDF)
• Revised OCP Maps A - H (PDF)
• Revised OCP Maps I - Q (PDF)
• OCP Engagement Summary Document (PDF)

The second revised draft was presented to the OCP Steering Committee on March 11, and then to the Development and Planning Services Committee on March 17, for discussion and comment. The proposed schedule for the OCP is that the formal bylaw will be presented to Council on April 14, and then it will be referred to external agencies such as the Agricultural Land Commission, the CSRD and the school district for comments. Once those comments have been received the bylaw can then be presented for second reading to Council and a formal public hearing on the bylaw can then be scheduled. This is likely to be in June 2025.

Unrelated but of interest, the City has recently completed a “Complete Community Impact Assessment Report (PDF) ” research project for the area designated as High Density Residential in the OCP, adjacent to the Downtown area. This looked at the implications of building out this area for high density housing, what this would need and what City policy needs to change to achieve this. The Report provides support to the directions established in the draft OCP. ("Complete Communities" is a broad concept that can be defined as a community that provides a diversity of housing to meet community needs, and accommodate people at all ages and stages of life, and provide a wider range of employment opportunities, amenities and services within a 15-20 minute walk.)

The City has also recently completed a “Housing Needs Report 2024 (PDF) ”, which indicates:

• over the next 20 years, an additional 4,100 housing units must be planned for and anticipated; and
• over the next 5 years, an additional 1,228 unit or 245 per annum, are to be anticipated.

Current OCP and zoning regulations are sufficient for these numbers to be achieved.

What is an Official Community Plan (OCP)?

An OCP provides the overall vision and direction for the future of the community – how the community sees itself growing and developing over time, and ultimately what kind of place the community will be. This community driven vision is balanced with expected population growth, opportunities for development and the availability of resources for infrastructure projects.

The current Official Community Plan (OCP) was approved by Council in November 2011, is approaching 12 years old, and needs to be reviewed and rewritten to reflect both current circumstances (that may have changed a lot since 2010/2011), and the current wishes of the community. Much has changed in the community since the OCP was approved, and the new OCP will reflect those changes and establish how the community wants to grow and change in the future. Community change is inevitable, and an OCP can help a community manage and direct how it wants that change to occur.

What is the difference between a Zoning Bylaw and the Official Community Plan (OCP)?

The Zoning Bylaw contains a detailed set of rules that are very specific about land use, density, building heights, setbacks and other issues such as landscaping and site coverage requirements as they relates to a property. The OCP is more strategic and often less detailed about specific sites. For instance, the OCP may say "this property will be a future growth area for high density housing" where the Zoning Bylaw will say that a building on that specific property can be an apartment, may not be more than 10 m tall, cover more than 45% of the property, and must be 5 metres back from the street.

What is the impact of the recent planning laws passed by the Province on the OCP?

City staff and Council are still in the process of evaluating what the impact will be of the recent changes made by the Province, and the impact that this will have on the OCP and the City’s Zoning Bylaw. It does mean that the review of the OCP will be more significant in deciding where new residential growth will occur in the City, and less so at the rezoning stage. Please review the attached Frequently Asked Questions document for more information.

How is an OCP used? Who does it affect?

All City policies, plans and regulations must be in alignment with the OCP Bylaw, so it is a powerful guide for Town decision-making. An effective OCP provides clear direction but does not preclude change to the plan based on evolving circumstances or interpretation of policies by Council and staff. In this way, an OCP is often considered a "living document".

Council, staff, developers and professionals (architects, engineers, planners, landscape architects, etc.) use the OCP to understand what the community wants as it relates to the delivery of housing and other land uses (types, character), transportation services, infrastructure and amenities. They also use the OCP to understand which areas are suitable for development and which are not (environmentally sensitive areas, steep slopes, hazardous areas, etc.).

The public can use the OCP to gain a better understanding of local issues and how they are planned to be addressed or what changes may happen in their neighbourhood. The OCP will also provide direct guidance to how land is zoned and developed in the community, and will inform the review of the City’s Zoning Bylaw that is scheduled to start once the new OCP is in place.

Why is there such a focus on land use and development policy? 

Provincial legislation (the Local Government Act) outlines the purpose, required content and discretionary content of an Official Community Plan (OCP). The purpose of an OCP, under this legislation, is a "statement of objectives and policies to guide decisions on planning and land use management," but can also extend into other areas and issues including environmental protection of sensitive areas, economic development, energy conservation and efficiency and culture and heritage. Council and the community can decide what issues that they would like their OCP to address. The current OCP has sections dedicated to the following issues: