Growing Livable Neighbourhoods

Recently, the British Columbia Provincial Government imposed changes that require municipalities to update zoning and planning tools to improve housing availability over the next 20 years. In response, the City is updating the tools we use to plan our communities, including our Official Community Plan (OCP) and Zoning Bylaw. As we plan for future growth, we're committed to keeping our city welcoming, friendly and vibrant.

In July 2025, the City conducted a series of community engagement activities that included 6 pop-ups, a Community Workshop, a Town Hall meeting, and an online survey. In total, over 600 people participated in activities and gave their feedback. These activities are now closed and City staff have compiled the data collected through engagement in a What We Heard Report that can be downloaded here.

What changes are City staff proposing to Council?

The City is currently exploring two strategies to grow in a livable way:

1. Adding more low-density homes, which have also been called multiplex, "gentle infill housing" or “missing middle” housing that include up to 6 units on a property. Low-density houses might look like duplexes, fourplexes, townhouses, or rowhouses.
2. Rezoning some City-owned lands to plan for future higher-density developments.

To learn more about the proposed changes, please explore the linked webpages above, browse through City staff's Oct. 6th presentation to Council, or access Council minutes and video (published a few days after Council meetings).

Questions?

Please reach out to the project team at zoningupdate@cnv.org with any questions. You can also leave us your email in the "Stay Informed" box at the top of this page to receive future project updates, or head to the CNV webpage on Official Community Plan and Zoning Bylaw updates for more information.

Last updated: November 25, 2025.