There will be newly elected directors by the time the Sunshine Coast Regional District’s (SCRD) revised Official Community Plan (OCP) is ready for adoption, if a Feb. 20 committee meeting motion gets board approval.
In addition, that committee recommended the board request to the province to further extend the timeline for the area’s compliance with Bill 44’s multi-unit housing zoning requirements.
The SCRD’s electoral services committee supported asks for completion of both planning department projects to be deferred to late 2027. And that will be within the first year of the term of the board to be elected in the fall of 2026. In introducing his report to the committee on the subjects, director of planning Ian Hall stated the adjusted timeframe would “better support growth and changes happening in our community."
What the OCP does and why update it
The SCRD’s “Let’s Talk” page on the OCP project states that plan provides “the guidebook” for decisions on regional infrastructure, services and growth. In conjunction with its zoning bylaw, the OCP establishes “the vision for the SCRD and outlines how and where growth and development will occur. Policies set in these bylaws impact nearly everything that the Regional District does and touch on many aspects of how the region’s communities operate, look, and feel,” according to a background report released last October.
That document outlines that five rural SCRD areas have OCPs, adopted between1995 to 2018 (municipal and First Nation areas have separate plans). ”As times change, priorities change, so an update is needed to ensure the OCPs reflect the current needs of the SCRD and its constituents,” the report states.
The web page's timeline for the OCP project shows the first phase of the update work, SCRD internal review of background material and of its existing OCPs, was completed in 2024. Planned for this May through June is community engagement, focusing on identifying community “vision, values, and needs." The regional government anticipates a draft of a new comprehensive OCP will be prepared by later this year and public engagement on that proposal is planned for early 2026. Factoring in time to incorporate input received, it is anticipated the updated OCP draft will be presented to the board in October 2027 with a public hearing to follow. If things go as planned, the revised OCP could be ready for adoption by the end of 2027.
“Engagement of the public is paramount on this,” Area B (Roberts Creek) director Kelly Backs stated at the committee meeting in support of the recommended extended timeline. He said his community was “chomping at the bit to get involved. It is up to our communities to tell us what they want and for us to distill it down into a plan."
Housing analysis: a key OCP component
“A Community Profile report was completed, looking to provide insights on the characteristics and demography of the communities throughout the SCRD," the OCP project backgrounder outlines. Along with statistics about the population, details related to infrastructure and housing stock are part of that.
A housing needs analysis, one step required by the province under Bill 44, was also completed, after the SCRD requested and was granted a timeline extension to June 2026. That report, completed by a consulting firm KPMG and presented to the board in November of last year, was called “wildly inaccurate” by Area E (Elphinstone) director Donna McMahon. The misrepresentations that were of concern to her were explained as issues with how different types of housing were defined to meet the requirements of the province. The report was accepted by the board and forwarded to the province to meet that requirement.
Adjustment of regional government zoning to enable increased housing density is another requirement of Bill 44. The staff report on the committee meeting agenda states that in areas served by regional wastewater and/or water systems, "it is recommended that SCRD apply to the province for an amendment to this extension to align SSMUH (Small Scale Multi-Unit Housing) compliance with updated OCP Renewal project timelines.”
The staff report states that if the second extension is denied, interim compliant zoning (to be put in place before the OCP is updated) would be required to be adopted by June 2026.
