Official Community Plan

In November 2023, the BC government passed legislation which effectively eliminated single family zoning throughout the province. The new legislation required municipal zoning amendments to be made to permit 3 housing units on parcels less than 3,013 sq. ft. (0.069 acres) and 4 housing units on parcels greater than that size (with 6 housing units permitted on parcels near transit hubs).

This means that in the Uplands, Oak Bay’s zoning bylaw now permits 4 housing units on a parcel, called small-scale multi-unit housing (SSMUH), in a variety of forms, including secondary suites in single family dwellings, and detached accessory dwelling units (ADU) like garden suites or laneway homes, duplexes, triplexes, townhomes and house-plexes.

The new legislation also required municipalities to make changes to their Official Community Plans (OCP) by December 31, 2025. In fulfillment of this requirement, Oak Bay, assisted by its planning consultant, Modus, held four public participation workshops in May/’25 to receive public input on proposed changes to its OCP. The focus of these sessions was on receiving public input on the approximate location, amount, type and density of residential development that will be necessary to achieve Oak Bay’s 20-year housing need for 3,761 new housing units. This includes determining where in Oak Bay greater density development should be permitted.

Three different land use scenarios were presented at the public participation sessions. They are:

a) Transit-Oriented Growth – higher density development that is focussed on existing main bus routes, including in the Uplands, and the future high frequency transit corridors along Foul Bay and Henderson Roads and along Oak Bay Ave.

b) Distributed Growth – low to medium density development including SSMUH and ground-oriented townhomes distributed throughout most of Oak Bay, including in the Uplands

c) Concentrated Village Growth – higher density development that is focussed around the Oak Bay and Cadboro Bay Road commercial areas, existing secondary village areas (e.g., Estevan) and near other important community amenities.

Modus and Oak Bay staff have looked at each option from several policy perspectives: housing choices and affordability, transportation and mobility, infrastructure and taxes, complete communities, greenhouse gas emissions, trees and green spaces, hazards and risks, and community designs.

The UNA has reviewed the three different land use scenarios. In addition to considering the policy perspectives above, the UNA also considered what best preserves the original goals for the Uplands: to maintain and reinforce its historic landscape and streetscape design; to ensure the sensitivity of new development to existing dwellings, the tree canopy, biodiversity and design standards (as set out in the Uplands Design Guidelines).

The UNA Board believes that the Concentrated Village Growth scenario is the preferred policy option to guide the necessary revisions to the OCP, for the following reasons:

1. It achieves the best outcome of all scenarios or combinations of scenarios when measured against the policy areas identified by Modus and Oak Bay staff
2. It is consistent with outcomes of the densification strategy (Infill Housing consultation 2020-2022) that Oak Bay conducted prior to the provincially-mandated SSMUH changes, which recommended a village-oriented model of growth, with multi-family zones and significant density in existing commercial areas (Oak Bay Avenue, Estevan Village and Cadboro Bay Road)
3. It can provide the most diverse (type, cost, non-market) housing options through densification, in proximity to existing commercial services or where future commercial services are best constructed
4. It can create additional housing around pedestrian-friendly, active streetscapes to meet the needs of all community members throughout all life stages
5. It can most easily include community-serving uses, like childcare and public facilities in residential and commercial areas, to accommodate younger residents which Oak Bay needs to attract
6. It most efficiently addresses (e.g. feasibility, cost, and scalability) the infrastructure requirements of densification (water, sewer, roads, walkability, cycling, bus routes, and parking)
7. It best protects the existing tree canopy and ecosystems within Oak Bay
8. It best avoids the problems/issues other jurisdictions have recently been experiencing with unrestricted developer-driven infill housing.

The UNA Board has communicated its preference for the Concentrated Village Growth scenario to Oak Bay and Modus.