Official Community Plan (OCP) Review

Consultation has concluded

Our Official Community Plan (OCP) is the city's blueprint for managing change to achieve our shared goals. It contains policies that guide Council's 'land-use' decisions for where and how we grow in the future, helping to conserve what we love about the city as well as improve the quality of life for current and future residents.

An OCP is typically reviewed every five years to ensure it remains relevant and continues to meet the needs of the community, but changes to the OCP can be considered by Council in between major updates. Council has expressed their desire for re-engagement with

Our Official Community Plan (OCP) is the city's blueprint for managing change to achieve our shared goals. It contains policies that guide Council's 'land-use' decisions for where and how we grow in the future, helping to conserve what we love about the city as well as improve the quality of life for current and future residents.

An OCP is typically reviewed every five years to ensure it remains relevant and continues to meet the needs of the community, but changes to the OCP can be considered by Council in between major updates. Council has expressed their desire for re-engagement with the public on certain aspects of the current OCP which was adopted in October 2017, to ensure that it reflects the community's values. Initial public engagement on several aspects of the OCP was undertaken in 2019, however due to the restrictions on in-person public engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic this engagement was paused.

In November 2020, Council directed staff to resume engagement on the OCP Review, with a focus on reviewing building heights, particularly in the Town Centre, outside the Town Centre and in the waterfront areas. This consultation has primarily been done through virtual methods (online and paper surveys, and digital open houses) while public health restrictions remain on public gatherings.

The City has worked with the public to get feedback and make sure the community's aspirations and concerns were understood and shared with Council before they made decisions on changing the OCP.

In March 2021, following Council's review of the input from public engagement, direction was given to prepare amendments to the Official Community Plan. These changes were on the Land Use and Planning Committee agenda for May 31, 2021, and the OCP Amendment Bylaw was given first and second reading, as amended. A public hearing for the Bylaw was held to receive input from the community on June 21, 2021, and the Bylaw was given third reading, as amended, and finally adopted on July 12, 2021.

The new consolidated OCP Bylaw can be downloaded from the City's website (https://www.whiterockcity.ca/DocumentCenter/View/276/Consolidated---Official-Community-Plan-Bylaw-2017-Number-2220-PDF) or the Documents Library on the right-hand side of this page.


Consultation has concluded

  • Waterfront Enhancement Strategy - Mayor for a Day Online Survey

    The online survey for the draft Waterfront Enhancement Strategy is now available. If you are not able to attend the open houses on November 24 and 26, you can answer the same questions being asked at the open houses through this. Either click on the "Survey and Forms" button above to get to the survey, or click the following link to get their directly: https://www.talkwhiterock.ca/ocp-review/survey_tools/waterfront-enhancement-strategy

    Note that you will need to register in order to complete the survey, and all survey submissions will be entered into a draw to win a $50 VISA gift card, along with those who enter at the open houses.

    Odds of winning depend on the number on entries received and a skill-testing question must be answered correctly to receive the prize.


  • Upcoming Events for the Waterfront Enhancement Strategy - November 24 and 26

    Come check out the draft Waterfront Enhancement Strategy! There will be two open houses at the White Rock Community Centre (Art Room), on Sunday November 24, 2019 from 2:00pm to 5:00pm, or Tuesday November 26, 2019, from 6:00pm-8:00pm. We will also plan to 'pop-up' at the White Rock Museum during the Christmas Craft Fair to be closer to the action on Marine Drive.

    We want to hear from you on this proposed 'road map' for City actions and initiatives over the next 10-20 years in the Waterfront / Marine Drive area. Attendees will be asked to act as 'Mayor for the Day', by using play money to share how you would budget resources on the top Waterfront issues as identified through previous public and business consultation. We will also ask for your thoughts on the value and effectiveness of specific proposed initiatives in the Strategy. A full copy of the draft Strategy is available in the documents library, and if you are unable to attend either November 24 or November 26, an online survey will be available.

    A summary of the public engagement on the waterfront portion of the OCP Review is also available in the October 7 Land Use and Planning Committee report, which is on the City's website at the following link: https://www.whiterockcity.ca/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10072019-782.



  • Waterfront Design Workshops - July 23

    Thanks all who participated at the Waterfront Community Forum last Thursday - some great ideas shared to work with and build on as we move forward to Waterfront Design Workshops on July 23. If you missed the Forum, you are still welcome to come out for the Workshop.

    There will be two sessions of the Waterfront Design Workshop on July 23, at the White Rock Community Centre. The afternoon session (from 2:00pm to 4:00pm, in the Gallery Room) is intended for business owners and operators to accommodate their work schedules, and the evening session (from 6:30pm to 8:30pm) is for the general public. Both sessions will include the same activities.

    This workshop-style event is a chance to roll up your sleeves and use your creative ideas to shape the future of the City's Waterfront / Marine Drive area, with a design team and other members of the community. Come out and have your say!


  • Town Centre Design Workshop tonight (July 9, 2019)

    The second of two Town Centre Design Workshops is happening tonight at the White Rock Community Centre, between 5pm and 9pm. Please register in advance for the Build Town Centre or Design Town Centre activities by emailing your preferred time slots and number of participants to planning@whiterockcity.ca. There are some spots left for all time slots (5:20-6:20pm, 6:30-7:30pm, and 7:40-8:40pm), and if they are not filled in advance you can still join if there is space.

    • Design Town Centre is a graphic facilitated table station where participants will share their ideas and input for the Town Centre in a plan view (two-dimensional).
    • Build Town Centre is a model block facilitated table station where participants can use the blocks to explore their ideas for building heights, open spaces and massing for future development in the Town Centre (three-dimensional).

    You can also view the posters used at the Town Centre Design Workshops on this site's Document Library.


  • Public Open House Posters

    If you were not able to attend the Public Open House on June 25th, you can still see the display boards (posters) used at the Public Open House that share information about existing policies and what we've heard so far from the online survey. Go to the 'Documents' section on the top right of this page to download and view the posters.

  • Waterfront Enhancement Strategy - Draft Resource Book

    For the Enhancing the Waterfront component of the OCP Review process, the City of White Rock has retained a consultant, MVH Urban Planning and Design (‘MVH’), to assist with developing a Waterfront Enhancement Strategy. The MVH team, in collaboration with the City of White Rock and the White Rock Business Improvement Association, has developed a Waterfront Enhancement Strategy draft Resource Book, which will be used as a resource to help create a common foundation of knowledge about the existing conditions in the Waterfront / Marine Drive area and inspire potential ideas for improvements. The draft Resource Book includes a detailed analysis of the Waterfront, an outline of the important opportunities and challenges, and numerous enhancement ideas that have been successfully implemented in other communities.

    To learn more about how the City is looking to collaborate with residents, business owners and others to achieve the full potential of the Waterfront, please refer to the draft Resource Book link in the “Documents” section of this page.







  • June 2019 Update: Town Centre Workshop Activity Registration

    The Town Centre design workshops on July 6 and July 9 are open to the public and there will be display boards and interactive activities for all attendees with no need to register.

    For those interested in a more hands-on session facilitated by our design consultants, there will be two activities which require registration, in order to ensure there is enough time for all participants at the table to contribute.

    The activities which require registration are 'Design Town Centre' and 'Build Town Centre'.

    • Design Town Centre is a graphic facilitated table station where participants will share their ideas and input for the Town Centre in a plan view (two-dimensional).
    • Build Town Centre is a model block facilitated table station where participants can use the blocks to explore their ideas for building heights, open spaces and massing for future development in the Town Centre (three-dimensional).

    Each workshop day will have three rounds where both 'Design' and 'Build' activities are going at the same time. You can register for one, or both of the activities. The options are:

    • Saturday, July 6, 2019 - 1:20-2:20pm
    • Saturday, July 6, 2019 - 2:30-3:30pm
    • Saturday, July 6, 2019 - 3:40-4:40pm
    • Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - 5:20-6:20pm
    • Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - 6:30-7:30pm
    • Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - 7:40-8:40pm

    Please register by emailing planning@whiterockcity.ca with your preferred date/time slot and activity by July 5, 2019. If you register for a time slot that is at capacity, we will respond with alternative times that are still available.



  • Upcoming Events for the OCP Review

    There are several upcoming events in June and July where you can participate in the OCP Review. Further details will be shared as they are available, but for now please save the date in your calendar. All events will be at the White Rock Community Centre at 15154 Russell Avenue (in the Miramar Village building).

    • Tuesday, June 25 (5:00-8:00pm): Public Open House (relates to all topics, except the Waterfront Enhancement Strategy)
    • Thursday, June 27 (7:30-9:00pm): Waterfront Community Forum (relates to only the Waterfront Enhancement Strategy)
    • Saturday, July 6 (1:00-5:00pm): Town Centre Design Workshop #1 (Town Centre review only; registration is required for some activities; see above post for details)
    • July 9 (5:00-9:00pm): Town Centre Design Workshop #2 (Town Centre review only; registration is required for some activities; see above post for details)


  • May 2019 OCP Review Update

    To start off the OCP Review process, we have created a short online survey that will help staff to design our public outreach in a way that supports informed participation from all members of the community. We want to know who is participating now to understand who we are reaching, and how we can make it easy for your continued involvement. We also have a few quick questions on each of the review topics to get an early indication of the community's understanding and opinions in key areas. Please register so that you can participate in the survey.