Official Community Plan Amendment

At the Regular Council Meeting of April 25, 2022 staff were directed to find a solution for the inconsistency between the allowable uses in the District’s Public Watershed area in the Zoning Bylaw No.1368 and the Official Community Plan Bylaw No.1304 (OCP). The OCP, a high-level long-term vision for land use in the community, and our Zoning Bylaw, a more detailed regulatory document for land use, are meant to complement one another and in turn should be consistent in what is allowed in each.

The Zoning for the designated Public Watershed area (attachment A) is A1 – Outdoor Recreation, Agriculture and Resource Zone. This zone permits the development of recreation adventure, recreation outdoor, campgrounds, and some natural resource development. The Public Watershed OCP designation does not allow for these uses.Public Watershed Designation Area

Staff reviewed the District’s publicly informed strategies such as Council’s Strategic Priorities, Recreational Trails Master Plan, Community Economic Development and Tourism Plan, and they align with that of the Zoning Bylaw’s allowable uses in this area. As a result, staff are recommending amending the definition of the Public Watershed OCP designation to match more closely to that of the A1 – Outdoor Recreation, Agriculture and Resource Zoning.

The Public Watershed (PW) designation is intended to protect the community's water supply. The proposal will include adding an appropriate development permit process to ensure new developments in the area are still carefully reviewed to ensure they do not cause harm to the watershed or the community’s local water source.

Updating the Public Watershed definition in tandem with implementing the Development Permit process would give staff a tool to provide consistent and appropriate technical review of both future crown land referrals/applications as well as District operations in our environmentally sensitive areas.