Official Community Plan
Squamish’s Future in 20 Years

Squamish, BC – Council approved first reading for The Official Community Plan (OCP) at the July 21 Council meeting. The OCP is a vital document that lays the foundation for the future of Squamish. It is a plan that sets out objectives and policies for the community and guides the municipality on planning and land use management. It is Squamish’s vision for the next 20 years.

“I would like to thank staff and the community who contributed to this document. It has taken many years and Squamish has gone through many changes, but this document reflects those changes and provides the balance necessary to provide vision for our diverse but unified community, one Squamish,” said Mayor Greg Gardner.  “I encourage everyone to read the document and take part in shaping Squamish’s future.” 

Residents can become easily involved by reviewing the document on the District’s website at www.squamish.ca. The document is easy to read and easy to navigate giving readers a chance to review parts of the document one at a time.  The plan is organized into six parts:

Part 1 Introduction & Community Vision- provides the scope and content of the OCP, an overview of the review process and the Community Vision for the Plan.
Part 2 Community Context - provides an overview of the Squamish context –
geographically, historically, locally, and regionally. It includes projections for future population growth, housing demand, and employment growth.
Part 3 Growth Management -provides the objectives and policies that guide growth management in the District, identifies the Guiding Principles that frame the content of the Official Community Plan outlines the District’s commitment to sustainability, describes the way in which area planning activities will be undertaken and provides a description of the Land Use Designations.
Part 4 Policies & Objectives
Organized by policy area, this part identifies the objectives and policies for guiding and directing the growth and evolution of the community.
Part 5 Development Permit Area Guidelines
Outlines general guidelines and the objectives and guidelines for development in each of the Development Permit Areas.
Part 6 Appendices & Schedules
Includes the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Targets, includes the map schedules and lists the subarea plan schedules that together with this document (Schedule A), form the complete content of the OfficialCommunity Plan.

The next step is community engagement. It is a chance for the community to get involved by commenting on the plan through the engagement process. The consultation process begins early fall with the intention of presenting the documents back to Council for Second Reading before the end of 2009.

The OCP when completed will establish the 20-year vision for Squamish. The OCP endeavours to maintain a healthy balance of the community through the goals and objectives established in the document. 

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About Squamish
Squamish is a vibrant seaside community located in the Coast Mountain Range of British Columbia, at the head of Howe Sound. Home to more than 14, 949 people, Squamish is a young, energetic town with 60 percent of the population under the age of 40. Squamish offers a high quality lifestyle, entrepreneurial opportunities, two universities and a community that prides itself as the “Outdoor Recreation Capital of Canada.”

District of Squamish is online at www.squamish.ca. Subscribe to news releases and District information by emailing communications [at] squamish [dot] ca and keep up-to-date on the latest from the District of Squamish.