FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Prince George, B.C. – The City of Prince George has a new Official Community Plan (OCP) after more than two years of public consultation and engagement with residents and community groups.
The updated OCP bylaw was granted the final reading and adoption by Council at the October 20, 2025, meeting. Municipalities in B.C. are required under the Local Government Act to adopt an OCP. The plan is a statement of objectives and policies to guide decisions on planning and land-use management in the city.
“The previous Official Community Plan for Prince George was adopted in 2012,” said planning and development director, Deanna Wasnik, “an incredible amount of time and effort went into updating the plan, engaging with residents, and ensuring that the long-term vision for our community is sustainable and aligns with Council priorities. We thank everyone who participated in the engagement – from open house attendees, online survey responses, emails, and public hearing input – your feedback helped shape this important document that we will use to guide decision making for years to come.”
After the adoption of an OCP, bylaws enacted or works undertaken by Council must be consistent with the plan. Council, staff, and residents use the OCP as a critical planning tool to make decisions related to housing locations, transportation priorities, lands protected from development, protecting development from hazards, and providing services for more sustainable development.
OCP review project engagement
The OCP review project launched publicly in September 2023 and consisted of four phases. In total, the City hosted two online surveys (549 responses), four roundtable discussions with community interest groups (54 participants), three public open houses (353 participants), 13 pop-up events (more than 568 participants), and two public hearings. The project team also received more than 145 emailed submissions and engaged 95 students at Prince George Secondary School in conversations about housing, transportation, parks, open spaces, and recreation. Summaries of each phase of engagement are available on the OCP review project webpage.
Notable changes to the 2025 plan
After the April 2025 public hearing meetings, Council passed 33 resolutions based on feedback from residents regarding the proposed OCP.
Throughout all phases of public engagement, the City heard how important it is to maintain Ginter’s Meadow and removed the future road connection between 18th and 22nd Avenues. There are no plans to develop Ginter’s Meadow and the City continues to maintain trail and washroom access for residents to enjoy.
Another key theme that emerged throughout engagement was the importance of carefully managing the City’s growth. In response, the 2025 OCP includes a smaller Urban Containment Boundary, with a focus on supporting the City’s existing neighborhoods and infrastructure. The reduction is intended to help the City better support its existing infrastructure in fully serviced, urban neighbourhoods, rather than extending infrastructure further into unserviced rural or agricultural areas.
Wildfire resiliency was also top of mind for residents. Amendments ensure climate change adaptation and mitigation minimize negative climate-related impacts on human safety and health and well-being, including policies that encourage new development to maintain adequate access to interface areas for fuel treatments and fire suppression.
Finally, the City heard that food security should be a greater priority. Amendments were made in response which included the carry over of nine policies from the 2011 OCP to support agricultural and food systems planning to improve the current state of food systems and encourage local food self-reliance.
Next steps
Legislation issued from the provincial government in 2023 requires municipalities to review and update their OCPs at least once every five years. This five-year cycle ensures that land use plans remain current and responsive to evolving housing needs. These updates must align with the findings of the most recent Housing Needs Report and plan for at least 20 years of housing supply.
The City will continue to inform residents of future OCP updates and opportunities for public input.
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Media contact:
Kendall Robertson, senior communications advisor
Mobile: 778-349-5393
Email: media@princegeorge.ca