Christina Lake Official Community Plan Review

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

A draft of the Official Community Plan 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.

Presentations (5.30 – 7pm) will be available in hybrid format to enable participants to join remotely via Teams. The Link can be found on the RDKB website calendar: https://rdkb.com/Regional-Government/Meetings

• 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.