Christina Lake Official Community Plan Review

Christina Lake OCP Bylaw, No. 1855 adopted by the Board of Directors

At the April 10, 2024 Board of Directors meeting the new Christina Lake Official Community Plan (OCP) was adopted, replacing Bylaw No. 1250.

The OCP Bylaw No. 1855 and its maps have been uploaded onto the RDKB Bylaws website here and the land use designations and development permit areas have been uploaded onto RDKB's interactive web map, which can be found here. 

Thank you to everyone who participated in the process! Your input was essential!

OCP Open Houses and Public Hearing

In Person: Christina Lake Community Hall for an Open House and Public Hearing on Tuesday, March 26, 2024.

4:30-5:30pm (OCP Open House): RDKB staff will be on hand to answer questions about the Bylaw.

6:00pm (Formal Public Hearing): RDKB staff will record your comments to share with the Board of Directors. 

Written comments can also be submitted ahead of the Public Hearing. All written comments can be sent to plandept@rdkb.com. Those received before 2pm on March 26 will be shared at the public hearing and included in the minutes that go to the Board of Directors for when they consider Bylaw No. 1855 for 3^rd reading and adoption.

An online 'Open House' was held on Wednesday, March 20, 6-7pm. RDKB Planning staff presented briefly, followed by Q&A about the OCP Bylaw No. 1855. Written comments are encouraged to be submitted ahead of the Public Hearing if members of the public are not able to attend in person. A recording of the online Open House is provided below.

Removal of the Riparian Development Permit Area

The RDKB Board of Directors passed a resolution at their Wednesday, February 14 meeting which is as follows:

“That staff be directed to remove Section 22 from the draft "Electoral Area C/Christina Lake Official Community Plan, Bylaw No. 1855" and bring the amended document to a future meeting of the Board of Directors along with a staff report.”

A new version of the OCP Bylaw has been posted under the Documents section and can be seen here.

The Christina Lake Official Community Plan (OCP) review is nearing its finish!

The proposed Official Community Plan Bylaw is available in the documents section along with draft maps. 

If you would like a printed draft sent to you, contact Liz Moore at srplanner@rdkb.com or 250-368-0252, and we will mail you a copy.

An Open House was held at the Christina Lake Community Hall on July 5 starting at 4pm.

Director Grace McGregor, RDKB Planning staff and the Steering Committee were available at the Open House at Christina Lake Community Hall to discuss the OCP and the review of Development Permit Areas. (See the video below)

Presentations (5.30 – 7pm) were available in hybrid format to enable participants to join remotely via Teams.

• A representative from Interior Health presented on how septic systems work
• RDKB staff presented on the importance of Riparian Areas and what Development Permit Areas do
• Sign up for FREE water assessments with RDKB’s WaterSmart Ambassador for those living within the Christina Lake Water Utility

For more information on Development Permits visit: https://rdkb.com/Portals/0/Planning/Docs/RDKBPlanningDP.pdf

Printed copies of the draft OCP were available at the Open House, as were copies of the draft maps.

How an Official Community Plan (OCP) goes into effect

Before an OCP is enacted into law it will go to the local area Advisory Planning Commission, then the Electoral Area Services Committee.

With a recommendation from the EAS Committee, a draft OCP will go to the Board of Directors for 1st and 2nd reading. After 2nd reading, the Board will direct Planning staff to hold a Public Hearing to gather comments from the public. These comments will be recorded in minutes that will be sent back to the Board to consider.

 The Board may ask for changes to be made to the draft OCP before reading it for a 3rd time and adopting it as a new OCP.

What is an OCP review?

An OCP sets out an area’s long-term strategy for physical, economic, environmental and social development. Each OCP includes policies that reflect community goals and objectives. Our Board adopts OCPs as formal bylaws.

The current Electoral Area C/Christina Lake OCP Bylaw was passed in 2004, so it's time to go through it and see what still works and what needs to be added or updated.

The review includes assessing the OCP for whether it meets legislated requirements and whether it still reflects the values that Christina Lake residents hold for how your community will develop in the next ten years. Policies laid out in the OCP will then be reflected in the Zoning Bylaw, when it is updated.

A Steering Committee leads the process

A steering committee was formed to undertake the review. The committee is made up of Christina Lake community members, including local business owners, retirees, long-time residents, summer residents and everyone in between.

The current committee members are:

Jennifer Horahan, Phil Mody, Kathy O'Malley, Suzanne Paquette, Annie Rioux, Jason Taylor, Dianne Wales, Jeff Sim, and Director Grace McGregor

This committee has met regularly with the local area director and Planning staff to discuss the ideas and policies in the OCP, propose changes and discuss changes proposed by staff. The committee members provide guidance to the process through highlighting the desires and concerns of their community.