This project aims to:

• Clarify policy direction by:
  • Removing repetitive policies
  • Clarifying policy intent
  • Standardizing language and formatting
• Restructure the document to make it easier to find information.
• Incorporate policies and land-use maps changes required by new provincial housing changes (such as Transit-Oriented Areas, Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing, and the Housing Needs Report).

This project will not:

• Identify any new areas for growth, unless required by the Provincial Housing Changes.
• Create new policy directions, unless required by the Provincial Housing Changes

Coquitlam's OCP was originally adopted in 2002. Over the last 20 years the OCP has been incrementally reviewed and updated through area and neighbourhood planning processes and housekeeping amendments. Today, the OCP has grown to be over 1,000 pages and includes:

• Over 2,100 policies across:
  • Eight Neighbourhood Plans
  • Seven Citywide policy sections
  • Four Area Plans
• 150+ maps and figures
• 60+ land use designations
• 1,000+ development permit area guidelines

In June 2023, the City initiated the review and streamlining the OCP. However, in late 2023, the Province passed several pieces of housing legislation that significantly changed how local governments could plan for, support and fund growth and development in their communities. The impacts of this legislation made it clear that a simple, easy-to-use document was needed – both to meet the new legislated requirements and to guide future growth management and public consultation.

• Streamlined OCP Document (described further below)
• Provincial Legislation – Required land use and policy updates for the following:
  • Transit-Oriented Areas
  • Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing
  • Housing Needs Report
• Streamlined Design Guidelines
• Updated Regional Context Statement

The policy updates required to support the provincial legislative changes will be provided from other project teams that are undertaking the Provincial Housing Changes work and are being incorporated into the streamlined OCP. No new policy, except what was necessary to align with legislation, will be introduced through the OCP Review Project.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) introduced the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) program in 2023, a $4-billion funding initiative for local governments to streamline planning regulations and boost housing supply. One of the City’s Housing Accelerator Fund initiatives is to update the OCP’s Urban Design Guidelines. The outcome will foster smoother application processes, shorter review timelines, and faster housing construction.

Metro Vancouver updated its regional growth strategy, Metro 2050, in 2023. Every municipality must have a Regional Context Statement – a section in the OCP that shows how the City’s plans line up with the regional vision for growth, housing, jobs and transportation. Updating the OCP’s Regional Context Statement is included in this project.

Streamlining the OCP: Our Approach

Streamlining the OCP to a smaller, more user-friendly document will be accomplished by restructuring, consolidating and reformatting. Maps will be consolidated into one clear, citywide set.

Restructuring the OCP

Currently, the OCP is made of many citywide, area and neighbourhood plans that were adopted at different times and with different structures. Because of this, the documents often contained different levels of detail, repeat the same policies across the plans and can be difficult to locate all applicable information.

This project proposes a standard OCP structure, including a clear outline (context, vision, goals, objectives, policies and implementation) and consolidation of citywide maps.

1. Consolidating Policies and Guidelines

Many policies repeat several times throughout the OCP and may use inconsistent terminology or jargon that have changed over time (e.g. bicycle network vs. active transportation network vs. micromobility network). A key element in streamlining the OCP will be consolidating repetitive policies and removing any outdated ones.

A similar process is proposed for the Urban Design Guidelines.

2. Reformatting of Statements

All goals, objectives, policy and guidelines will be rewritten in a standard format with a specific structure and clear language for each statement. Every policy will have a directive word that makes it clear what is required, what is recommended and what is optional.

By rewriting each statement using this clear language it becomes easier for staff, applicants and the general public to understand and apply the OCP policies.