Official Community Plan (2041) Update
Towards a Sustainable CommunityWhat is your vision for the City of Richmond in 2041? The City of Richmond is updating its current Official Community Plan to enable the City to better manage social, environmental and economic changes.
Moving Towards a More Sustainable Richmond
The City is updating the OCP to reflect a move toward a more sustainable Richmond. The most commonly understood definition of "sustainable development" is:
"Development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs"
Richmond defines sustainable development as development that strengthens social institutions and values, enables a vibrant, innovative and resource efficient economy, and protects and enhances ecological resources to ensure that these continue to provide valuable services for all.
For more information on sustainability, please visit the City's A Sustainable City webpage.
An Updated OCP with a Sustainability Vision
At the core of Richmond's drive towards sustainability is the understanding that in order to provide future generations with healthy social, economic and environmental systems, we must look for new, sustainable strategies for maintaining our high standard of living. Exploring new sustainability strategies and identifying those which inspire us is what the OCP is about.
OCP will Address Current Trends and Future Needs
In the OCP update the City will clarify where and how the population and employment will be managed outside the city centre and address current trends such as provincial legislation concerning green house gas reduction targets, policies and actions. It is anticipated that the Metro Vancouver Regional Growth Strategy (RGS) will be adopted in mid-2010 and the Local Government Act requires municipalities to prepare a Regional Context Statement (RCS) in their OCPs that is consistent with the RGS within 2 years of the RGS being adopted.
Richmond has undertaken regular updates (every ten years) and periodic amendments since its first OCP was adopted in 1986 and now Richmond is due for another update.
Related Staff Reports
Official Community Plan (2041) UpdateOCP Public Survey
The City of Richmond wants to hear what you think about your community today, and how you want your community to look in the future. Your input is important and will be considered in updating the OCP.
OCP Update 2041 - Chinese Language Survey (for viewing/printing)
To complete the Chinese language version of the survey, please pick up a copy at City Hall and any Richmond Community Centre or Library. They are also available at the Richmond Chinese Community Society, in the lobby of The Caring Place, 7000 Minoru Boulevard or upstairs at the SUCCESS Offices at 220 - 7000 Minoru Boulevard.
First Round OCP Public Consultation Documents OCP Update 2041 Newspaper Insert Page1 OCP Update 2041 Newspaper Insert Page2 OCP Update 2041 Display Boards
OCP Update and Public Participation
Upcoming OCP Public Open Houses
To identify what our sustainable community will look like and to fairly reflect community values and aspirations in the OCP, we are holding a number of Public Open Houses. Your input is important and will be considered in updating the OCP. We want to find out from you how the City can make Richmond an even more healthy and vibrant city. There will be more opportunities to give us your comments at Open Houses next Spring and Fall 2010 when the plan is taking shape.
Minoru Cultural Centre - Atrium
7700 Minoru Gate
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
6:30 pm to 9:00 pmHamilton Community Centre
5140 Smith Drive
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
6:30 pm to 9:00 pm
Steveston Community Centre
4111 Moncton Street
Saturday, November 28, 2009
2:00 pm to 4:30 pmWest Richmond Community Centre
9180 No. 1 Road
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
South Arm Community Centre
8880 Williams Road
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
6:30 pm to 9:00 pmCambie Community Centre
12800 Cambie Road
Thursday, December 3, 2009
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Thompson Community Centre
5151 Granville Avenue
Saturday, December 5, 2009
1:00 pm to 3:30 pmSea Island Community Centre
7140 Miller Road
Monday, December 7, 2009
6:30 pm to 9:00 pm
Main Studies for the OCP Update
To help us update the Official Community Plan, we will be working on several background studies. Some of the main studies are:
Demographic and Employment Study
We will be developing comprehensive city wide population, dwelling unit and employment projections to 2041.
Employment Lands Strategy
Employment lands include all lands that are used for business and jobs. They include our commercial, office, industrial and agricultural lands. The study will help identify how much employment land we will need to meet our growing business and employment needs in 2041.
Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA) Management Strategy
Typical natural areas found in Richmond are our river shorelines, waterways, wetlands, bogs, woodlots and marshes. The study will make sure our ESA inventory is up to date, add new areas to the inventory and help us find ways to improve the way we can protect them in the future. The ESAs are legal areas and the ESA map is part of the OCP.
Green House Gas Reduction Targets, Policies and Actions
The Province of BC's new Climate Action Legislation (Bill 27) requires local governments to incorporate Green House Gas (GHG) emission reduction targets, policies and actions for achieving those targets in their municipal Official Community Plans by May 31, 2010. To help the process, the Province has generated a Community Energy and Emissions Inventory (CEEI) for each municipality. The CEEI uses 2007 as a baseline year and looks at three sectors:
- Buildings (residential, industrial and commercial buildings)
- On Road Transportation (cars, trucks and motorcycles)
- Solid Waste
Within a community, the majority of greenhouse gas emissions come from the burning of fossil fuels for generating heat and electricity, powering vehicles and from the decomposition of waste in our landfills. The Province has set its own targets of a 33% reduction of GHG emissions by 2020 and an 80% reduction by 2050. Over the next few months, Richmond will identify GHG emission reduction targets for the community as a whole. The City of Richmond will be steering the target setting process and wants to know your thoughts and suggestions on this initiative.
Need more information?
For further information please contact:
June Christy
Senior Planner
Email: OfficialCommunityPlan@richmond.ca
Phone: 604-276-4188
Fax: 604-276-4052
