Faster than expected growth creates need for Vernon reviews

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“It would have been a critical thing to have five years ago, to be able to articulate how we’ve done in terms of achieving our, at that time, amended OCP,” Cumming said during Monday’s meeting.

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“I think it’s critical this time that we go forward with clarity on the number of dwellings by neighbourhood, by type, so that when we’re fulfilling the plan — or implementing the plan — that we’re clear about how we’re doing.”

Vernon’s long range planner said those details could be included in the next report, along with specific housing supply targets passed down from the provincial government.

Everdene added that under Bill 44, the Local Government Act, public engagement will be restricted for certain housing development rezoning proposals, so developing the OCP would be “the primary channel” for public input on community growth plans and housing construction proposals. Public engagement sessions will be scheduled at a future date.

The OCP provides a guide on land-use for residential and commercial development, industrial use, agricultural protection, and transportation policies, which aligns with the TMP, which is a strategy for future transportation infrastructure with the aim of improved mobility, safety and efficiency across all modes of transportation.

“The OCP and the TMP together will inform infrastructure decisions and really influence the future location of our parks, schools, community and health services,” Everdene said.

“I think, most importantly for us at the highest level is really the OCP defines our growth and our low-growth or no-growth areas, setting out a boundary in which we can really fully achieve smart-growth in the community. Smart-growth refers to really efficient servicing, appropriate densification, that really provides that critical resourcing for transit, for all kinds of community amenities and for really vibrant neighbourhoods. It also, through managing growth in a certain area, protects agricultural land and the environmentally-sensitive land.”

Everdeen added the OCP would also highlight key topics and priority issues such as climate action and adopting emerging technologies.

The TMP will also be updated as it is closely tied with the OCP.

“Where we put more housing, we also need ways to get people there and get their services there,” Transportation Planner, Danielle DeVries, told council.

“This is an opportunity for us to look at those two things, hand-in-hand, and have an iterative process to make sure that where there’s well suited areas for better transportation options that’s where we direct housing, and where there’s well suited areas for more housing that’s also where we put our transit and active transportation and better transportation options.”

Terry Barton, director of planning and community services, added developing these plans would be a top priority and would require resources across his and several other departments including procurement, human resources, and communication.

The work to draft the OCP and TMP will take a few years.

Background studies to guide the OCP development started in the thrid quarter of 2023 and will continue into the end of 2024.

Council involvement and community engagement began in the last few months of 2023, and will continue until the end of 2025.

Options analysis and document drafting would begin in early 2024, with the analysis completed by mid-2025 and the documents drafted by the end of the thrid quarter of 2025.

The OCP must be adopted by the end of 2025, as per the new regulations under the Local Government Act.

Council received the report for information at Monday’s meeting.

Speaking with Vernon Matters following the meeting, Mayor Victor Cumming said the revision was necessary as community engagement is being cut from future property rezoning proposals through provincial legislation, so people need to have their say as details in the next OCP will need to be very specific.

“Therefore we’ll really need the community to come out and look carefully at what’s being suggested or what the current OCP is for their neighbourhood, and we’re really going to need people to show up at those OCP sessions and really provide systematic input,” Cumming said.

“[For the] Transportation Master Plan, obviously if you’re going to have industrial areas or commercial areas you need to have roads and sidewalks and et cetera, so the Transportation Master Plan has to fold directly into our long range Official Community Plan, so those two are going to happen at the same time.”

Vernon’s mayor also stated that community growth was a key factor in revising the plan.

“The growth projects for all the large Okanagan communities have all been surpassed, and our growth rate is much higher through immigration and emigration, as well as natural birth rates, and people are living longer,” Cumming told Vernon Matters, saying these factors are creating a faster than projected growth rate for the community.

“We’re seeing about a thousand people a year moving into the bowl here, [Vernon] and Coldstream and [RDNO] Areas B and C. We’re growing and we’re growing rapidly, and we need those plans to understand that and plan effectively for housing and roads and water systems and sewer systems and drainage systems and parks and recreation facilities.”

As of time of publication, public engagement sessions for the development of the OCP and TMP had not been scheduled.

Cumming stated drafts of the OCP and TMP should be written up by early 2025 to provide some oversight on the direction the city is heading, which would be further amended if required then put forward for final approval by the deadline at the end of that year.