City of North Van OCP Could be Revived Before Election

Reports of the death of the City of North Vancouver’s CityShaping official community plan may have been greatly exaggerated. The high-level vision for the next 20 to 30 years of the city is merely stuck in legislative limbo.

A split council voted down third reading of the OCP bylaw after a public hearing on Sept. 29 following three years and untold thousands of hours of city council, staff and community volunteer time spent drafting and refining it through public consultation.

Couns. Linda Buchanan and Craig Keating and Mayor Darrell Mussatto cast three of the deciding “nay” votes, largely on the grounds that the latest draft of the document stripped away the ability for homeowners to build both a coach house and secondary suite on their property, choking off the development of affordable housing units.

Coun. Guy Heywood said he supported the land use and housing plans in the 125-page document, but couldn’t support the remaining chapters that focus on broader topics like arts, health and recreation, which he argued should be done with the District of North Vancouver. Heywood is and has spent much of the last year pushing the city to reconsider amalgamation with the district.

But the OCP, which the province mandates must be updated, could still be revived and passed before the Nov. 15 election if council moves quickly, according to city staff.

Read more: http://www.nsnews.com/news/city-of-north-vancouver-flip-flops-on-ocp-fate-1.1418477