Nanaimo city councillors passed its new official community plan document, otherwise known as Nanaimo ReImagined. Updating the communities City Plan was launched in the fall of 2019 and included extensive public consultations. (File Photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

Nanaimo ReImagined

Nanaimo Council approves new official community plan

Jul 5, 2022 | 4:41 PM

NANAIMO — Following a nearly three year process Nanaimo City councillors endorsed a new official community plan (OCP), also referred to as Nanaimo ReImagined.

A pair of 6-2 votes in favour of the new path forward were recorded during a Monday, July 4 council meeting, which formalizes the document.

Key changes compared to the OCP created in 2008 focus on various land use designations, transportation, accessibility and climate adaptation.

Under the plan a majority of Nanaimo’s future growth is destined to into seven urban centres seen by the City as destinations with capacity to transition into more livable areas.

“This includes a focus on downtown as the primary urban centre with six secondary urban centres linked by key mobility corridors intended to support efficient transit, as well as walking, biking, and rolling,” a City staff report noted.

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Environmental highlights of the plan include incorporated projected sea level rise and focussing on low carbon energy and compact land use to address climate change.

Nanaimo’s new OCP is based on a sustainability model known as Doughnut Economics, where people’s needs are balanced by the limits of environmental capacity.

The plan also focusses on the hot-button issue of affordable housing to increase stock of various forms of market and not market housing.

Incentivizing developers for rental and owned affordable housing units and exploring ways to secure affordable housing through the rezoning process are among strategies in the plan.

The new official community plan will be measured under a monitoring strategy to track progress toward its goals.

The 300 page document which can be viewed here.

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