RNA Supports Letter to Council Urging City to Uphold the Official Community Plan (OCP)
The Victoria Community Association Network (VCAN) presented a letter to city council last month asking council to uphold the Official Community Plan (OCP) when engaging in land use planning.
VCAN is an organization composed of representatives from Victoria’s neighbourhood and community associations, including the RNA. The RNA voted to support the letter to council.
The OCP is a 30-year planning document that governs long-term planning and sustainability goals citywide. It was adopted as a bylaw by council in 2012 after two and a half years of public consultation.
VCAN is concerned that “requests for OCP amendments [due to development] are coming forward on an ad-hoc basis with little public consultation,” which is “undermining of the public trust placed in our planning process.”
In the letter, VCAN requests the following:
1. That no more amendments be granted to Section 6: Land Management and Development (pg 33 ‐ 50) of the OCP, without first requiring and receiving a developer‐funded independent study of where and why changes are being proposed that are contrary to OCP policy. This study must be provided prior to the CALUC meeting and would form part of the public notice.
2. That for ALL potential OCP amendments, developers provide a detailed rationale that responds to all social and physical policy directions contained in the OCP. This rationale is to be specifically addressed in the first staff report prior to first reading of any OCP amendment bylaw.