City of Richmond - Official Community Plan Targeted Update – Proposed Strategic Policy Directions
As mentioned in previous updates, at the General Purposes Committee Meeting on May 23rd, Council received a report for information titled “Official Community Plan Targeted Update – Proposed Strategic Policy Directions” and endorsed the proposed consultation outlined in the report and directed staff to report back on the consultation results.
Phase 2 of the OCP public consultation plan is expected to launch on June 11, 2025 beginning with a press release, a LetsTalkRichmond survey, and the release of promotional materials for a series of public open houses. The results of the consultation will be forwarded to Council in the fall 2025 with proposed policy directions for the OCP targeted update. Following this, a revised OCP and accompanying bylaw amendments will be brought forward for Council's consideration which would include a public hearing prior to bylaw adoption (Phase 3 of the public consultation plan). This will be in keeping with the Provincial deadline of December 31, 2025.
Additional information can be found in the full report by City staff.
March 4, 2025
At the General Purposes Committee Meeting on April 7th, Council received a report for information titled “Official Community Plan Targeted Update – Proposed Update to the Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA) Map” and endorsed the draft Environmentally Sensitive Maps for public and stakeholder consultation. The report presents an update to the City of Richmond's ESA map as part of the OCP targeted update project. This specific work task and deliverable is associated with Target Area #3: Environment Protection & Enhancement of the OCP targeted update project. One of the key directives of Council to staff was to prepare an update to the City's ESA map using a landscape ecology, science-based approach. The intent of this update ESA map is to contribute to improving and further advancing the policy framework for the protection and enhancement of natural areas.
An updated mapping and associated spatial data for ESAs was prepared, which included recommended updates to the ESA Map. Some of the key highlights include:
- The total assessed ESA inventory is 3,190 ha (an increase from the 2012 assessed total area of 1,396 ha);
- The updated ESA Map reflects revisions to ESA boundaries in response to previously approved ESA development permits or areas that are currently being used for agricultural production in the ALR.
- The following areas, including a number of City-owned lots and land, have been added as ESAs, and thus represented on the ESA Map, including:
- Richmond Nature Park;
- Bog areas of the Garden City Lands; and
- Recreational corridors such as the Bridgeport, Shell and Railway trail.
Please see the table below for the existing and proposed ESA categories:
Additional information can be found in the full report by City staff.
March 4, 2025
At their regular meeting on February 24th, Council received a report for information presenting the results of phase one of the OCP Targeted Update community engagement process, and an overview of the intended next steps. Overall, there were over 740 interactions with people online and in person. This input will inform the development of the updated OCP policies, reflecting community priorities and preparing Richmond for future growth. Phase two will focus on the identification of proposed strategic policy directions for the four key target areas of Housing Affordability, Equity, Environmental Protection & Enhancement and Climate Mitigation and Adaptation. Multiple staff reports will be presented to Council to provide opportunities for feedback on proposed strategic policy directions prior to community consultation in late spring/early summer 2025.
Additional information can be found in the full report by City staff.
