Electoral Area F Official Community Plan Update

Hi Cristina, thank you for your comment and participating in the Electoral Area F Official Community Plan (OCP) Update. Agri-tourism accommodation is provincially regulated by the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) and currently permitted within the Agriculture 1 (A-1) zone of Zoning Bylaw 1285 (see document library) which outlines regulations and requirements related to this activity. Further information can be found on the ALC's website: https://www.alc.gov.bc.ca/alc/content/home. Policies to expand/modify the agri-tourism regulations as part of a subsequent zoning bylaw review is something that can be encouraged within the OCP Update.

Hi Miranda, thank you for taking an interest in your community and getting involved in the Area F OCP Update. Land use designations within an OCP can address minimum lot sizes and this topic is identified under the diverging topic section within the Growth Community Workbook. We encourage you to submit your comments related to minimum parcel size requirements as part of this process or attend an upcoming town hall to further discuss this, or any other topic of interest to you. 

Good morning and thank you for your question. An OCP must ensure there is enough land designated for new housing to meet the needs of a growing population, while also balancing both environmental protection and affordable and adequate housing. An OCP can support affordable housing initiatives, secondary suits and diverse housing options like tiny homes. An OCP can also dictate minimum parcel size requirements within different land use designations that can directly impact the availability of land. An OCP cannot however control housing market conditions related to cost of land, housing and material that are driven by factors outside of local government control. We encourage you to review the community workbooks as they propose policy options that address housing and growth within Electoral Area F. 

Thank you for your comment and question. The comments you provided on the topic of an incorporation study will be included in an Engagement Summary Report as part of the first round of community engagement for this project. Undertaking an incorporation study is not part of this OCP Update, but it could be included in the OCP in a list of implementation actions to be done at a later date.

To share additional ideas and comments about the update, we invite you to attend one of our upcoming in-person events or provide your feedback through an online survey that will be available soon. Stay tuned for more opportunities to provide comments and ideas in the spring when there will be a second round of community engagement looking at options for specific changes that could be made to the OCP to address the challenges and opportunities heard during this first round.

Thank you for your comments and question!

Affordable housing is one of the key topic areas of this OCP Update project. The comments you provided on challenges and opportunities for affordable housing are helpful to the conversation and will also be included in an Engagement Summary Report as part of the initial round of engagement. To share additional ideas about affordable housing, you can attend one of our upcoming in-person events, or provide feedback through an online survey that will be available from February 16 – March 9.

Stay tuned for more opportunities to provide comments and ideas in the spring when there will be a second round of community engagement looking at options for specific changes that could be made to the OCP to address the challenges and opportunities heard during this first round.

Also, if you haven’t seen it already, have a look at the Housing Snapshot on the website that includes background information on housing and the current OCP policies.

Thanks for your question. The property on which the Meadowood Store is located is zoned C-1 (Commercial 1) where a number of commercial uses, and one dwelling unit, are permitted. The details of what is permitted in this zone can be read here.  

The RDN has not received a development application for the land behind the Meadowood Store.  The parcel would need to be rezoned to allow more than 1 dwelling unit. After a rezoning application is submitted to the RDN, the owner is required to post signage on the property with information about the proposal, and how residents can provide their input.

The Meadowood Store is within the Qualicum River Estates Rural Village Centre and the Official Community Plan currently supports higher density housing and commercial uses in this area where it can be adequately serviced, subject to rezoning and the public process that is required. 

I will get the most up-to-date information to answer your questions about the community hall and second access and respond on the website here as soon as I can. 

Thanks for your question. The RDN has not received a development application for the land behind the Meadowood Store.  The parcel on which the store is located would need to be rezoned to allow more than 1 dwelling unit. After a rezoning application is submitted to the RDN, the owner is required to post signage on the property with information about the proposal, and how residents can provide their input.

The Meadowood Store is within the Qualicum River Estates Rural Village Centre and the Official Community Plan currently supports higher density housing in this area where it can be adequately serviced, subject to rezoning and the public process that is required.  

Thank you for your interest!

To receive notifications about the project, look for the ‘Stay Informed’ box on the website, enter your email address, and click the ‘Subscribe’ button. If you have any difficulty, you can email us directly at areafocp@rdn.bc.ca and we would be happy to provide further assistance.