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Read All Latest NewsCITY OF LANGFORD ADOPTS NEW OFFICIAL COMMUNITY PLAN
(Langford, B.C.): At the Council meeting on June 25th, Langford Council formally adopted the new Official Community Plan, after an intensive and creative 18-month process. Updated for the first time since 2008, the “innovative and inspiring” new Plan is designed to strategically support a growing population and create a more sustainable and livable community where everyone can thrive.
An Official Community Plan (OCP) is an important long-term land use and policy document that guides how a municipality grows and develops. Over the past year and a half, City staff and advisors have worked diligently to create a “Made In Langford” OCP that reflects the community’s priorities and responds to evolving Provincial initiatives, including housing targets.
“The new OCP marks a significant milestone in the history of Langford, ensuring quality growth, densification in the right locations, and diverse transportation choices”, said Scott Goodmanson, Mayor of Langford. “Developed through extensive public engagement and collaboration, the updated Plan reflects our shared values and addresses the challenges posed by a growing population. Together, we are creating a vibrant community where everyone can thrive.”
Public engagement has been the cornerstone of this process, enabling community input and feedback to shape the Plan along with in-depth research on current and future challenges and opportunities, best practices, and technical analysis. Feedback was gathered at every stage of the process from thousands of community members, including conversations at events, formal survey submissions, public hearings, and Council deliberations. At every stage, the community response has been largely supportive and encouraging.
In addition to public input, one of the most important best practices used to develop the new OCP was to structure it around a set of “Big Ideas.” These Big Ideas, introduced during the engagement process, aim to strategically meet the needs and improve the quality of life of a population growing to 100,000 residents. They also tackle critical challenges, referred to as the ‘Five Crises’: climate change, housing affordability, social equity, public health, and rising infrastructure costs. By planning for population outcomes rather than a fixed timeframe with uncertain results, the City can more efficiently manage growth patterns and ensure that development addresses these issues, irrespective of the duration required to achieve them.
The updated Plan introduces a clearer, more predictable approach to growth in general, and building height and density specifically, one that supports Langford’s response to the Five Crises. While tall buildings remain enabled in select, strategic locations, the Plan emphasizes more mid-rise and ground-oriented housing choices. For the first time, it also sets specific height limits to ensure clarity and consistency in decision-making. These changes are grounded in public interest objectives and aim to support a vibrant, walkable downtown and smart, transit-supported urban areas that balance livability, sustainability, and economic success.
The refreshed Plan also prioritizes greater mobility choice by reducing reliance on cars, and supporting more transportation options that lower costs, cut emissions, reduce pollution, use space more efficiently, and support broader public benefits.
With the adoption of the new OCP, the City has established a Plan that integrates collaborative planning, one that is rooted in the community, guided by evidence, and prepared to meet future challenges.
The new OCP will be made available for review in the next few days. For more information visit: letschatlangford.ca/ocp
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