Vernon Matters file photo

By Liam Verster

Official Community Plan

Vernon’s new OCP officially adopted

Dec 15, 2025 | 5:18 PM

The plan that guides Vernon’s growth vision and strategies for the next 20 years is now in place.

Vernon City Council adopted the new Official Community Plan (OCP) at the regular meeting Monday, Dec. 15.

Just before council passed the bylaw to adopt the plan, Mayor Victor Cumming thanked the public for their role in providing input and feedback through the public engagement sessions and online surveys, and also thanked staff for their work putting the plan together.

The plan was adopted in a unanimous vote.

Speaking with Vernon Matters following the meeting, Mayor Victor Cumming said the development of the plan took significant work, but said it was essential to have in place.

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“It’s a slight shift from our previous ones, there’s some really good, significant things within it, it’s critical for us going forward,” Cumming said.

“2025 is a very different situation than, as people will know, 10 years ago, so it’s really important to have this in front of us.

“The biggest shifts were around the environmental stuff, we’ve got to have a very good set of environmental bylaws which will make a significant difference; we’ve adjusted something on building heights; we really set a containment boundary. Some really important things that will continue to help Vernon develop as the public has set out and asked for.”

Cumming noted the plan is also flexible and can be modified so that it continues to meet the changing needs of the community in the future.

“It’s going to be tweaked when we get some things that are more specific,” Cumming explained.

“The OCP is quite general, and in places where it needs to adjust a small bit, that’s what we’ll see come forward, but not the general direction. Just adjustments in very specific locations.”