Official Community Plan (OCP) Minor Update for Modernization
Consultation has concluded
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OCP Amendment Bylaw No. 2297 and 2298 have been adopted by Council. The updated OCP will be uploaded to the Document Center on the City's webpage.
A Public Hearing was held November 9, 2021 at the Revelstoke Community Centre. The Public Hearing is now closed and no further input can be accepted. The City would like to thank all stakeholders for their participation in the Public Hearing.
At the August 10, 2021 Council meeting, Council passed resolutions to 'uncouple' items related to designating a “Resort Fringe” land use to the Thomas Brook neighbourhood from the OCP amendments bylaw No. 2297, and create a separate amending bylaw to consider the “Resort Fringe” land use designation for Thomas Brook neighbourhood. The “Resort Fringe” land use designation for the Thomas Brook area will be considered as Bylaw No. 2298.
OCP Amendment Bylaw No, 2298 to designate the Thomas Brook neighbourhood as “Resort Fringe” Land Use received First and Second reading on August 24, 2021.
OCP Amendment Bylaw No. 2297 for the remainder of the OCP amendments received First Reading on August 10, 2021, and received Second Reading on September 14, 2021.
Project Overview
A comprehensive review of the Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 1950 (OCP) is underway. Phase 1 includes project plan development, OCP vision check-in and update (completed July 2020), as well as minor updates to modernize the current OCP. The bylaw presented to Council for consideration on August 10, 2021 is not a new OCP - the intent is to address historical amendments that have created conflict within the OCP and the Zoning Bylaw, creating inconsistency in interpretation by staff and the public. Staff recommend amendments to Bylaw No. 1950 (the current OCP) to implement the changes outlined in the discussion section of the staff report to Council: https://revelstoke.civicweb.net/FileStorage/8FB380933F7F450490477769D3EB2C0D-Dev-OCPBylaw%20No.%202297%20Amendment%20Report%202021-08-10.pdf
Here is a brief overview of the changes being proposed:
General Amendments
General amendments include:
- Renumbering
- Formatting
- Spelling/Punctuation/Grammar
- Updates to references to Legislation that has changed
- Update cross references within document as required
Currently, the OCP presents unique challenges when staff and applicants are working to review applicable sections for a development proposal given the lack of a numbering structure. This also impacts how staff currently prepare reports and present the findings of their policy analysis to Council. The intent of these changes is to drastically enhance accessibility of the document for the public, applicants, Council and staff. Items like numbering and formatting will help with the next phase of the OCP process when there is comprehensive policy review with stakeholders. This will allow everyone to understand easily which policy is being discussed.
Vision and Priorities
Amend the OCP to include the updated Vision and Priorities the community was engaged on between December 2019 and June 2019.
Density Table
Replace the density table with general descriptions of the development form that constitutes high, medium, and low density. The zoning bylaw contains prescriptive information regarding the maximum permitted density and is the more appropriate bylaw for this measure.
Unified Development Bylaw and Transect Land Uses
Due to numerous OCP amendments in the past, these elements were not fully flushed out and therefore not implementable. This causes confusion on land use items and amendments. Staff are proposing to remove transect land uses and reference to the Unified Development Bylaw and streamline land uses identified in the OCP.
Thomas Brook Neighbourhood
This amendment brings recently annexed properties in the Thomas Brook neighbourhood under a proposed Resort Fringe land use. When the lands were annexed into the City, the land use was not changed and therefore they are currently governed by CSRD Bylaws. The intent is to bring this area into alignment with Revelstoke policy. As per Council direction on August 10, this change is being considered as a separate OCP amending bylaw no. 2298.
Development Permit Areas
Staff propose expanding the list of exemptions to align with the legislative requirements for each DPA, rather than having one standard exemption list applicable to each DPA. Why? One of the major challenges with administering the City’s current OCP is with respect to Development Permit Areas (DPAs). The current OCP does not include a prescriptive list of exemptions within a DPA that would provide clarity and consistency to the public and staff regarding what forms of development need and do not need a Development Permit (DP).
Floodplain Exemption Policies
Staff propose to create policies to guide development in the floodplain that are in line with provincial legislation. This will provide clarity to those that fall within the City’s floodplain areas.
Appendices - Smart Growth Checklist and Illustrative Plans
Appendix 6 and 7 are recommended to be removed as they are not implementable, outdated, and reference bylaws like the UDB that were never adopted by Council.
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