Official Community Plan
Encyclopedia
In Canada, an official community plan is a comprehensive plan created by an incorporated municipality
which dictates public policy in terms of transportation, utilities, land use, recreation, and housing. OCPs typically encompass large geographical areas, a broad range of topics, and cover a long-term time horizon. The process of creating an OCP is today often referred to as a Community Vision.
In the United States such a plan is known as a comprehensive plan
.
In some large jurisdictions and metropolitan areas experiencing significant growth, regional transportation plans
are made that work in conjunction with municipal OCPS.
Official community plans is the formal term for documents created by an incorporated municipality and filed with the provincial government, usually the Ministry of Municipal Affairs.
OCPs have to be periodically updated to remain relevant. For example, the City of North Vancouver created an Official Community Plan in 1980, 1992, and again in 2002. When objectives of the plan have been achieved new objectives are set. For example, the City of North Vancouver
in Metro Vancouver states as its achievements the construction of 5,000 units of housing in the city center, commercial and institutional development, a balanced mix of transportation modes, modern telecommunications infrastructure, a high percentage of multifamily housing, an accessible waterfront, and a balance between jobs and labour force..
Community planning may also be done on a smaller scale. The resulting plan is not an official community plan but is known as a neighborhood plan
. In Vancouver such Neighborhood Plans are also known as community visions. The primary motive for these neighborhood plans in Vancouver was to find ways to accommodate more housing (or new housing choices) in existing neighborhoods in a way sensitive and responsive to the concerns of existing residents. The official statement being more vague:
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
which dictates public policy in terms of transportation, utilities, land use, recreation, and housing. OCPs typically encompass large geographical areas, a broad range of topics, and cover a long-term time horizon. The process of creating an OCP is today often referred to as a Community Vision.
In the United States such a plan is known as a comprehensive plan
Comprehensive planning
Comprehensive planning is a term used in the United States by land use planners to describe a process that determines community goals and aspirations in terms of community development. The outcome of comprehensive planning is the Comprehensive Plan which dictates public policy in terms of...
.
In some large jurisdictions and metropolitan areas experiencing significant growth, regional transportation plans
Transportation planning
Transportation planning is a field involved with the evaluation, assessment, design and siting of transportation facilities .-Models and Sustainability :...
are made that work in conjunction with municipal OCPS.
Official community plans is the formal term for documents created by an incorporated municipality and filed with the provincial government, usually the Ministry of Municipal Affairs.
OCPs have to be periodically updated to remain relevant. For example, the City of North Vancouver created an Official Community Plan in 1980, 1992, and again in 2002. When objectives of the plan have been achieved new objectives are set. For example, the City of North Vancouver
North Vancouver, British Columbia (city)
The City of North Vancouver is a waterfront municipality on the north shore of Burrard Inlet, directly across from Vancouver, British Columbia. It is the smallest of the three North Shore municipalities, and the most urbanized as well...
in Metro Vancouver states as its achievements the construction of 5,000 units of housing in the city center, commercial and institutional development, a balanced mix of transportation modes, modern telecommunications infrastructure, a high percentage of multifamily housing, an accessible waterfront, and a balance between jobs and labour force..
Community planning may also be done on a smaller scale. The resulting plan is not an official community plan but is known as a neighborhood plan
Neighborhood planning
In 1915, Robert E. Park and E. W. Burgess introduced the idea of "neighborhood" as an ecological concept with urban planning implications . Since then, many concepts and ideas of a neighborhood have emerged...
. In Vancouver such Neighborhood Plans are also known as community visions. The primary motive for these neighborhood plans in Vancouver was to find ways to accommodate more housing (or new housing choices) in existing neighborhoods in a way sensitive and responsive to the concerns of existing residents. The official statement being more vague:
"THAT Council and Departments use the ... Community vision directions to
help guide policy decisions, corporate work, priorities, budgets and capital plans in
this community."