Victoria city council has now determined that specific developments can go ahead, bypassing rezoning and public hearings. And other municipal councils in the region seem to agree with this idea.
So it seems that in the eyes of Victoria’s council, the Official Community Plan (OCP) can be used as the definitive, and final, determination of development in that city. Will councils then later decide that a level playing field should exist to allow any developers to use their OCPs to bypass existing zoning bylaws and public hearings?
Sidney’s CAO suggests that our OCP is just a high-level guide to council and community members when considering future developments in our neighbourhoods.
If OCPs can be used to circumvent rezoning and public hearing requirements, then should not the OCPs be structured with detailed requirements and instructions rather than as just a high-level guide?
And if not, should councils be required to follow existing rezoning and public hearing protocols?
Don Grant
Sidney
