Village of Tahsis Official Community Plan Update

2019-2022 | Tahsis, BC

Located on the west coast of Vancouver Island, the full-time population of the Village of Tahsis had decreased over the past several decades. However, growth in the community’s part-time, seasonal population was creating different challenges for the prioritization of finite public money spending. In the face of that seasonal population growth, the Village of Tahsis recognized that an updated Official Community Plan (OCP) was needed.

McElhanney was engaged to prepare an OCP for the Village of Tahsis. The plan addressed topics ranging from environmental needs and housing to infrastructure and emergency management. The McElhanney planning team also developed a new land use plan map using GIS mapping tools, which considered environmentally sensitive areas including water courses, steep slopes, and areas prone to flooding, and known anthropogenic hazard areas.

To begin writing the new OCP, McElhanney completed a community profile / baseline assessment to determine existing conditions. Next, a community values survey was conducted to collect public and interested party feedback. Additional engagement efforts included regular meetings with an advisory committee, an open house, and mail-out questionnaire on the draft plan. Learn more about the scope of McElhanney’s engagement services here.

“Our OCP has proven to be a very reliable foundation document that underlies our development procedures bylaw and zoning amendment proposals. It also guides Council policy discussions on everything from economic development to environmental protection to housing. We frequently direct homeowners, local businesses, and potential property purchasers to it to answer their development questions.  

OCP’s are statutorily mandated and, as a result, can be seen as a compliance exercise. In our experience, working with McElhanney, Mayor and Council learned a great deal about the policy objectives and benefits of the OCP during the project and continue to lean on it since its completion and adoption.”

 

Mark Tatchell

Chief Administrative Officer

Village of Tahsis

The Tahsis OCP was adopted on April 7th, 2020, and was written with the fundamental recognition that there is an interdependence between environmental, social, and economic systems, and the awareness that this interdependence can ultimately make a community more resilient and sustainable. Explore the Tahsis OCP here on the village’s website.

McElhanney provided: