An OCP...

• Communicates a community's vision, goals, and objectives.
• Outlines long-term development plans for a community.
• Guides planning and land use management.

The Local Government Act enables municipalities to adopt OCPs.

OCPs are informed by regional plans where a regional government exists. In our case, the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George’s regional plans (e.g., Agricultural Strategy and Cultural Plan) provide input into the Prince George OCP.

OCPs set the overarching planning framework for a municipality and are implemented (in part) by Zoning Bylaws. You can think of an OCP like an umbrella that all other municipal plans and studies fall under and must be consistent with.

The goals, objectives and policies of an OCP are much broader than those found in area plans, like the Civic Core District Plan, because they apply to the whole city and not one area.

OCPs also acknowledge the traditional territories of Indigenous Peoples. The OCP Review will be an opportunity to advance truth and reconciliation with the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation and Urban Indigenous members of our community.

The infographic below shows how the different layers of planning policy work together.

The OCP is a high-level policy document to guide decisions on planning and land use management within the City. The OCP provides statements of objectives and policies intended to guide decisions in a way that meets the long-term development plans for the City. The OCP also identifies changes needed to other City plans, bylaws and regulations. It is not a regulatory document like a zoning bylaw which regulates how land, buildings, and other structures may be used.

Community input is essential to the OCP planning process. Engagement has been split into three phases throughout the OCP Review process:

• The feedback provided through the first round of engagement was used to draft a vision statement, guiding principles, goals, and objectives for the updated OCP.
• The second round of engagement asked community members and those interested whether the proposed OCP vision and proposed policy direction accurately reflected the feedback received in the previous phase. Community members had the opportunity to provide their input through two more community open houses and seven pop-up events between December 2023 and April 2024. Feedback received was used to formalize the policy direction of the updated OCP.
• During the final phase of engagement, the City released a complete draft of the OCP to gauge whether the policy direction accurately reflected the feedback received through the OCP update process. Community members had the opportunity to provide their input through a survey and two pop-up events between October and November 2024. Feedback received was used to finalize the OCP for Council’s consideration. Amendments included:
  • Rural land use policy in support of farmland, agricultural uses and local food systems.
  • Clarity on climate resiliency and mitigation measures.
  • Elimination of the medium residential land use designation to support more complete and well-connected neighborhoods through the establishment of additional Neighbourhood Centres and Corridors.
  • Removal of the future road connection between 18^th and 22^nd Avenues from Schedule 5 – Road Network.

• The draft OCP Bylaw proposes objectives and policies to protect and enhance parks, open spaces green corridors, wildlife corridors, and tree cover.
• Sections relevant to greenspace include Section 13.0 - Parks & Recreation, Section 16.0 - Natural Environment, and Section 18.7 - Parks & Open Space. Each set of objectives comes with its own set of policies (or guiding actions) to support the objectives. The objectives and policies work together to inform decision-making and effect change.

• Ginter's Meadow, specifically the path from 18th Avenue to Ferry Avenue, including the off-leash area, is a public area and is technically road dedication. Road dedication is a not a parcel of land and therefore does not have a legal description or property title. The City holds ownership rights for municipal road dedication within city boundaries. Since a portion of Ginter's Meadow is road dedication, an OCP designation is not applied to it.
• The land surrounding the road dedication is a mix of City of Prince George owned lands, Crown lands, and privately owned lands. These lands are designated under Schedule 12 – Future Land Use Plan with City owned lands being “Park & Open Space” and the remainder predominantly “Rural Resource”. There are no plans to develop Ginter’s and the City continues to maintain trail and washroom access.
• During the final phase of engagement, the City heard how important it is to maintain Ginter’s Meadow and removed the future road connection between 18^th and 22^nd Avenues from Schedule 5 – Road Network.

• Agricultural initiatives supplement the local food system. The draft OCP Bylaw proposes policy to protect Rural Areas composed of agricultural lands by discouraging non-agricultural uses from encroaching into areas actively used for farming and agricultural activity. The OCP also provides policy support to improve the economic viability of local food production in the community.
• Since the OCP is used to guide decision-making and navigate change as Prince George continues to grow, these land use policies are essential for the preservation of agriculture and farmlands.

• The Urban Containment Boundary concept is not new and is directly related to the Growth Management objectives, policies and schedules within the current and proposed OCP. In the current 2011 OCP the urban containment boundary is called “Urban Area” and is shown on Schedule B-4: Growth Management. In the proposed 2025 OCP the urban containment boundary is called “Urban Containment Boundary” and shown on Schedule 1. Growth Management. We chose to rename the Urban Area to Urban Containment Boundary to better align with the wording used in the recent Local Government Act amendments for small-scale multi-unit housing.
• The Urban Containment Boundary is maintained as the principal growth management tool to protect agricultural land, natural areas, and rural character while also focusing public and private investment on community services, parks, housing, transit and other forms of sustainable infrastructure within Growth Priority Areas.
• One of the key themes that emerged throughout the OCP public consultation and community engagement process is the importance of carefully managing the City’s growth. In response, the proposed 2025 OCP includes a smaller Urban Containment Boundary, with a focus on supporting our existing neighborhoods and infrastructure. In the current 2011 OCP the urban containment boundary was mapped based on geographical features (i.e., contours). In the proposed 2025 OCP the urban containment boundary was mapped based on parcel boundaries. This has resulted in some visible increases and decreases around the perimeter of the urban containment boundary when compared to the 2011 OCP. Changes of note in the proposed 2025 OCP include the removal of the Blackburn/Giscome Area, Blueberry Hill, and industrial areas along PG Pulpmill and Northwood Pulpmill Roads. The reduction is intended to help the City better support its existing infrastructure in fully serviced, urban neighbourhoods, rather than extending infrastructure further into unserviced rural or agricultural areas of our community.
• View the Urban Containment Boundary 2025 vs Urban Area 2011 [PDF].

• The Urban Containment Boundary has not been altered in this area from what is included in the current 2011 OCP.
• The area in question encompasses lands owned by the University of Northern BC.
• As mentioned above, the Urban Containment Boundary in the proposed 2025 OCP is mapped following parcel boundaries and does not follow geographical features.

• All land that is eligible for small-scale multi-unit housing (SSMUH) densities following the City’s implementation of Bill 44 on June 12, 2024, will continue to be eligible for SSMUH densities.

• The City understands that it must not unreasonably restrict use or density that is permitted under SSMUH legislation, by altering the location of the urban containment boundary or servicing areas. To account for this, the City has proposed a consequential amendment to the zoning bylaw to include a schedule outlining all eligible properties for SSMUH at the time the legislation was passed. Schedule “A” to proposed Bylaw No. 9526 displays the areas where SSMUH will continue to apply per legislation, following the proposed reduction in the urban containment boundary.

• The intent is to maintain SSMUH densities where it has been adopted to date to meet legislative requirements, while still decreasing the size of our urban containment boundary.

• The current 2011 OCP is a large document and includes a lot of extra facts not always relevant to the purpose and intent of an OCP. To make the proposed 2025 OCP more user friendly and easier to read, extra information that does not offer guidance on decision-making for land use management has been removed. In doing so, the history of the 2003 exchange of the airport from being federally operated to locally operated is no longer included in the proposed 2025 OCP.
• Instead, the proposed 2025 OCP has created a standalone land use designation for the airport with policy support for continued collaboration with the Prince George Airport Authority in the implementation of the Airport Master Plan.

• If an OCP is adopted or updated, BC Assessment reviews market evidence to determine any impact on the market value of affected properties. BC Assessment appraisers will review comparable market sales to determine any impact on market value.
• If a property is rezoned, BC Assessment must review market evidence and determine any potential impact to the assessed value as well as property classification. Should the evidence indicate there is an impact on value or a change in permitted use regarding classification, BC Assessment appraisers will review comparable sales and permitted use to determine the impact to the market value as of July 1.

Learn more on the BC Assessment website.