A commentary by a Victoria councillor and Capital Regional District director.

The provincial government has set housing targets for municipalities with the greatest need and highest projected population growth.

The legislation also requires that local governments update their official community plans every five years. In the case of Victoria, this requirement represents a timely opportunity to update the 2012 Official Community Plan, which is out of date in addressing the city’s current challenges, including housing affordability, growing transportation issues, and a changing climate.

After spending the past year engaged in extensive consultations — in-person and online engagements, surveys, and pop-up events — and listening to the feedback of citizens, staff put together a vision that, if implemented following a public hearing this year, would position Victoria to become the most sustainable small city in North America, building on its network of villages, its high rates of active transportation, and its unique identity and heritage.

The OCP update involves the creation or modification of several different policies, regulations, and bylaws, but I’d like to highlight three key issues that the plan aims to solve.

First, it is the intention of the new OCP to increase housing affordability and distribute density more equitably across the city. The draft OCP identifies a need for 34,600 units of new housing to be constructed by 2050, to comply with provincial housing targets,........

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