Official Community Plan
Also known as: OCP · Official Community Plan (OCP)
A long-range land-use and policy bylaw adopted by a BC local government under Part 14, Division 4 of the Local Government Act; zoning bylaws and rezoning decisions must be consistent with the OCP.
The Official Community Plan (OCP) is the highest-level land-use document a BC municipality or regional district adopts. Authorized under Part 14, Division 4 of the Local Government Act (RSBC 2015, c. 1), the OCP designates broad land-use categories — residential (and what density), commercial, agricultural, industrial, parks — across the whole municipality, sets policies on density and built form, and identifies development permit areas where additional design controls apply. Every subsequent zoning bylaw, subdivision approval, and rezoning decision must be consistent with the OCP. To amend the OCP itself, council passes a bylaw and (in most cases) holds a public hearing.
For buyers and sellers, the OCP is load-bearing in three situations. First, on a redevelopment thesis: a detached lot designated in the OCP for higher-density future use carries an assemblage premium not visible in detached-only comparables. Second, on a Bill 44 SSMUH or Bill 47 TOD overlay analysis: the provincial frameworks layer on top of the OCP, sometimes overriding lower-density designations. Third, on Bill 44 (2023) amendments: in-OCP rezoning that adds residential housing now no longer requires a public hearing, materially accelerating approval timelines. Pull the current OCP map from the municipality's planning department before pricing redevelopment optionality on any specific parcel.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I read the Official Community Plan for a specific BC address?
- Every BC municipality publishes its OCP as a bylaw with associated maps on the city or district planning department website. Search "[municipality name] Official Community Plan" — most municipalities offer an interactive GIS map where you can enter an address and see the OCP designation, zoning, and any development-permit overlays. For the Township of Langley, the map is at tol.ca/planning. For the City of Surrey, at surrey.ca/services-payments/permits-licences-development/zoning-bylaw. For Vancouver, the citywide plan is published at vancouverplan.ca. Confirm the live designation before relying on any redevelopment thesis for the specific parcel.
- Can a municipality's zoning bylaw conflict with its OCP?
- In principle no — the Local Government Act requires zoning bylaws to be consistent with the OCP. In practice, transitional inconsistencies can exist when an OCP is updated and the zoning bylaw has not yet caught up. Where a conflict arises, the OCP designation tends to govern future rezoning decisions, but the existing zoning bylaw still controls what is permitted by-right today. For redevelopment-curious buyers, the gap between OCP designation (future use) and current zoning (today's permitted use) is exactly where the assemblage premium lives.
- Does Bill 44 SSMUH override the OCP?
- Partly. Bill 44 (2023) Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing requires municipalities to amend their zoning bylaws to permit multiplex housing on most residential lots regardless of the OCP designation. The OCP itself can be amended in parallel to align with the new SSMUH framework, but the SSMUH entitlements are statutorily required — a municipality cannot use its OCP to refuse the multiplex form. Bill 47 TOD overlays operate the same way: provincial statutory entitlements override conflicting local OCP designations within designated Transit-Oriented Areas.
Related terms
- Bill 44 (2023) — SSMUH — BC housing legislation requiring most municipalities to permit 3-4 units on lots zoned for single-family/duplex and up to 6 units near frequent transit, with most municipalities adopting bylaws by the June 30, 2024 statutory deadline.
- Transit-Oriented Development Areas (Bill 47) — BC legislation (Bill 47, in force December 7, 2023) designating transit hubs as Transit-Oriented Development Areas where municipalities must permit minimum density and height in tiered distance bands — up to 5.
- Agricultural Land Reserve — A provincial zone covering about 4.
See also
Use any of these formats. Codex content is licensed under CC BY 4.0 — attribution required.
@misc{bronsonjob-bc_lga_official_community_plan,
author = {Job, Bronson},
title = {{BC Official Community Plan framework (Local Government Act)}},
howpublished = {BC Real Estate Codex},
year = {2026},
url = {https://www.bronsonjob.com/codex#bc.lga.official_community_plan},
urldate = {2026-05-22},
note = {Fact ID: bc.lga.official_community_plan, version 1.}
}Job, B. (2026). BC Official Community Plan framework (Local Government Act). *BC Real Estate Codex*. Retrieved 2026-05-22, from https://www.bronsonjob.com/codex#bc.lga.official_community_plan
BC Official Community Plan framework (Local Government Act) — Bronson Job PREC, BC Real Estate Codex (2026-05-22). https://www.bronsonjob.com/codex#bc.lga.official_community_plan
Fact id: bc.lga.official_community_plan · v1 · machine-readable: /api/v1/facts/by-id/bc.lga.official_community_plan.json
Verified sources (2)· re-verified 2026-05-22Click to expand
Every claim on this page is sourced to a primary government, regulator, or industry-association URL. We re-verify quarterly; the verification dates below show when each source was last confirmed against the live government page.
- BC Governmentretrieved 2026-05-22Local Government Act, RSBC 2015, c. 1https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/r15001_00
- BC Governmentretrieved 2026-05-22Official Community Plans — Province of BChttps://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/local-governments/planning-land-use/land-use-regulation/official-community-plans
bc.lga.official_community_plan · v1View in Codex →License: This definition is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Cite as: "Official Community Plan", BC Real Estate Glossary by Bronson Job, https://www.bronsonjob.com/glossary/official-community-plan.
