This article is part of an ongoing series provided to the Sounder by Gabriola Trustee Tobi Elliott to better explain (from the Islands Trust perspective) what an Official Community Plan and Land Use Bylaw Review is.
Tobi Elliott
Trustee, Gabriola Local Trust Committee, Islands Trust
Why is Gabriola reviewing its OCP?
The Gabriola community is currently reviewing its Official Community Plan (OCP), which was last updated in 1997. An OCP is a legal document that implements a community’s long-term vision for land use, development, and environmental protection. It identifies what the community wants into the future.
Gabriola’s context has changed significantly over the past few decades—our population is aging, there is a growing need for diverse forms of housing, and we face urgent challenges related to climate change and reconciliation. These realities require new goals and strategies that reflect who we are today and who we want to be in the future.
What area does our OCP cover?
The Islands Trust governs through 12 Local Trust Committees, plus Bowen Island Municipality. Each committee is responsible for developing and updating the OCPs and Land Use Bylaws (LUBs) for their local trust area. The Gabriola Local Trust Area includes Gabriola, De Courcy, and Mudge Islands, each of which has its own distinct OCP, as well as associated smaller islands.
What Does an OCP Do?
The Islands Trust’s role in land use planning means that the OCP should answer: What kinds of development or activities are allowed—and where? An effective OCP includes:
Directive policies: For example, setting limits on the number of housing units in each zone or requiring environmental buffers.
Enabling policies: Encouraging or supporting actions such as watershed protection or climate resilience in development proposals.
Designates land for specific uses: Land designations which describe the intended use and character of the land are included on a map in the OCP and described throughout.
What Must an OCP Include?
• Under the Local Government Act (LGA), an OCP must include policies related to:
• Residential development needed to meet housing needs over at least 20 years.
• Land uses such as commercial, industrial, institutional, agricultural, recreational, and public utilities.
• Locations of sand and gravel deposits.
• Land use restrictions for hazardous or environmentally sensitive areas.
• Housing policies, including affordable, rental, and special needs housing.
• Greenhouse gas emission targets and policies. (LGA, Section 473)
What impacts does the Declaration Act on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples have on an OCP?
A significant gap in the enabling legislation is there is currently no requirement that a community’s OCP should consider, require or even acknowledge the relationship between a community’s Plan, and First Nations’ rights, interests, and relationships to their territories. While not a requirement, the intent is that Gabriola’s OCP will fill this gap, guided by Snuneymuxw First Nation. We will explore the ways an OCP can respect and recognize the rights of Snuneymuxw First Nation and Indigenous Peoples in a future article.
What an OCP for Gabriola Island is not
The Islands Trust is unique in British Columbia. Unlike municipalities or regional districts, its sole mandate is land use planning and environmental protection—it does not provide services or infrastructure. That means Gabriola’s OCP will look very different from the OCPs of other local governments, which often include policies related to roads, water systems, transit, and waste management.
It’s important to understand what an OCP for an island community in the Islands Trust does not do:
It does not have jurisdiction over the provision of infrastructure or services. The Islands Trust jurisdiction is focused on land use planning and advocacy. Services such as roads, utilities, waste management, and regional parks are the responsibility of the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) and other agencies like the Ministry of Transportation.
It does not regulate building design. For example, the OCP can not prescribe the form or character of single dwelling units. Multi-family housing design can be regulated through Development Permit Areas.
It is not a zoning bylaw. The OCP provides the broad policy framework. Zoning regulations set the rules for permitted uses on a property through density, siting, size and form. It regulates land use in a clear and enforceable way by identifying what’s allowed and where, through the Land Use Bylaw (LUB), which must be consistent with the OCP. Updating the LUB will follow the OCP review.
It should not include too many advocacy policies. Advocacy policies help identify things that are outside the Islands Trust’s jurisdiction. While they are important to encouraging collaboration they must be clear, focused, and implementable.
While an OCP sets out the vision, goals and objectives for a community, it does not commit the community to any project outlined in the plan. Its function is to ensure that all regulatory bylaws that follow are consistent with the plan. For instance, with the exception of lands within a development permit or heritage conservation area, which would require a permit for subsequent development on that land, an OCP itself has no immediate or direct impact on land use.*
What will Gabriola’s updated OCP include?
The revised OCP will be structured around the following key sections:
• Governance and Planning Context
• Community Context: history, demographics, environmental characteristics, housing needs, and economic conditions
• Community Vision and Guiding Principles
• Goals, supported by Objectives and Policies (which guide the LUB)
• Implementation Plan with measurable actions to track progress over time—so by 2050, we can evaluate whether we achieved what we set out to do.
Where Are We in the Process?
Gabriola’s OCP review began in 2023/24 with a community visioning process and engagement with Snuneymuxw First Nation. In summer 2024, we reviewed the draft Vision, Principles, and Goals that emerged from community input. We have just wrapped up a number of focus group discussions on specific topics to explore ideas and refine policies. A draft set of policies will be shared with the community over the summer for further input before a full draft of the new OCP is put together for engagement and review.
What’s Next?
The next article will share highlights from the focus group process and key learnings to date. In the meantime, we invite you to participate in two surveys, open until mid-May:
1. OCP Focused Topics Survey
2. Freshwater Footprint Survey
Scan the QR code to find the surveys and learn more at: islandstrust.bc.ca/island-planning/gabriola/projects/gabriola-ocpreview/
*Young Anderson Seminar paper www.younganderson.ca/assets/seminar_papers/2021/Official-Community-Plans.pdf
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