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).

How can I share feedback on the changes?

If you are interested in providing further feedback to City Council, a public hearing will take place on November 17th, 2025. A public hearing is part of a regular Council Meeting; each person registered to speak has the opportunity to provide their comments for five minutes on the specific topic of that hearing. Learn more about how to participate on our Public Hearings and Meetings page.

Public Hearing: Official Community Plan
November 17th, 2025 beginning at 6:00 p.m
Register to speak or learn more by clicking here.

To stay up to date about upcoming opportunities and reporting, subscribe for updates in the "Stay Informed" box at the top right corner of this page.

Questions?

Please reach out to the project team at zoningupdate@cnv.org. You can also leave us your email in the "Stay Informed" box at the top of this page to receive future project updates.

Last updated: October 6th, 2025