First and second readings for a bylaw amending Prince George’s Official Community Plan will be up for discussion at the next city council meeting on Monday, Feb. 3.
City staff have been working on changes to the OCP since December 2022, when council ordered them to update the documents to reflect Prince George’s current needs for land use and infrastructure.
Since then, staff and consulting firm Urban Systems have been developing an updated version of the plan, which led to public consultation including a round that ended in November 2024 focusing on the plan’s first draft.
The provincial government states on its website that “official community plans describe the long-term vision of communities. They are a statement of objectives and policies that guide decisions on municipal and regional district planning and land use management. These decisions impact communities' sustainability and resilience.”
At the beginning of the proposed amended OCP, is the following vision statement:
“Our community is the 'Gathering Place' of the north, specifically a confluence where people, cultures, regional economies, transportation, and river systems come together. In 2050, the City of Prince George will be rich in cultural diversity, honour our heritage, and celebrate a high quality of life surrounded by natural beauty.
“Our community will have a vibrant urban core, and a diverse local economy that attracts new businesses, amenities, and emerging technologies. This community recognizes that to ensure resilience, we must collectively protect our environment, strategically invest in cost-effective infrastructure, and manage growth. This will assure us to be the “Gathering Place” and a confluence of the north.”
To accomplish that vision, the new plan sets out five long-term goals:
- Create complete communities that meet residents’ daily needs, including a wide range of housing options,
- Protect, enhance and build trails in parks and open spaces,
- Invest strategically in existing and cost-effective infrastructure to serve current and future generations of residents,
- Maintain a strong, diverse and flexible economy with mixed-use developments and
- Be an environmentally conscious and responsible city that integrated climate projections into its approach for land use, servicing, development and transportation.
The OCP is then broken down further into 12 policy areas that it covers: truth and reconciliation, growth management, housing, economic development, infrastructure, transportation and mobility, arts, culture and heritage, parks and recreation, social health and well-being, climate change and resilience, natural environment and hazard lands.
Extrapolating figures provided by BC Stats, the city projects that its population will reach 100,000 around 2040 and 110,000 around 2050. The most growth is expected in the 34-to-59 age range with an increase of 77 per cent from now until 2050.
In that same time frame, the percentage of residents who are under 20 years old is expected to decrease from 23 per cent of the total population to 19 per cent, though the overall number of those residents is projected to increase.
The amendments to the OCP reduces the number of land uses and aligns with provincial legislation on small-scale housing and multi-family developments. It would also add development permit designations for “significant sloped areas” and include all potential exemptions for development permits.
A staff report attached to the meeting agenda outlines some of the key concerns residents identified during public engagement.
Residents said they wanted protections for greenspaces, as they are believed to improve the well-being of the community, generate tourism, manage stormwater runoff and provide a habitat for wildlife.
Specifically, residents wanted more protections for Ginter’s Green and more areas added to Riparian Protection Development Permit Areas. Riparian areas are transition points between water features like rivers and creeks and dry land.
On growth, residents said they worried about the lack of servicing, transit and transportation access and potential impacts to forested, riparians and floodplains because of new developments.
“Some submission expressed that there could be an even greater focus on mixed-use development and densification to avoid urban sprawl,” the report said. “Overall, there was a desire to invest more into existing infrastructure before expanding low density development.”
Digging deeper into transit and transportation, residents said they wanted subdivisions to have more than one access route, better signage for transportation networks, more routes to travel to the airport and adding a Highway 97 North cyclist overpass near the College of New Caledonia.
Some written submissions said they were unhappy with the removal of food security elements from the 2011 edition of the OCP while others disliked policies that discourage residents from planting fruit-bearing trees and vegetables.
Other written submissions expressed thoughts that the city could do more when it comes to truth and reconciliation, including working with Lheidli T’enneh First Nation on tourism opportunities that showcase local history and as a joint host for local events.
There was also support for the city adopting policies to promote climate friendliness and broadening economic policies to incorporate tourism and arts opportunities.
Some opposition was expressed towards a perceived lack of flexibility for small- and medium-sized residential development and hindrances for private medium-density developments.
After council grants the amending bylaw first reading, it is obligated by the Local Government Act to give the OCP consideration in the contexts of this year’s financial plan, the current regional district solid waste plan and any other city plans or policies that council interact with it in the future.
Then council must pass second reading, hold a public hearing and then pass third reading of the bylaw before it can vote on the fourth and final reading of the bylaw.
To align with the new plan, council must also amend the city’s zoning, subdivision and development servicing, tree protection and development procedures bylaws.
Monday's council meeting starts at 6 p.m. on the second floor of city hall. Meetings are livestreamed on princegeorge.ca for those who cannot attend in person.
