08/10/2026
Hi Gabriola Community! Your Trustees will continue to host a few more drop in sessions throughout August for general information and awareness about the draft Official Community Plan, to clarify and help answer your questions about process. 📅 Important dates to follow!
This week I'll be at the VI Regional Library Gabriola Island
📌Thursday Aug 13, 5-7 pm.
Trustee Yates will be at Ground Up Café & Catering
📌Tuesday Aug 11, 10-noon.
A few notes about process and where we sit today with the OCP drafting:
- Staff are well into the technical drafting stage and are working to finalize a new, updated draft OCP following the feedback heard from community, as well as decisions of the LTC on Aug 6.
📅 Aug 6: we hosted a Community Information Q&A session at the start of the meeting, and a lot of great questions were asked, so please go to https://islandstrust.bc.ca/event/gabriola-ltc-regular-meeting-4-17-2-3/ for the agenda. It has the latest draft OCP. A recording of the meeting will be up soon.
📅 A new, updated (still-draft) OCP will be presented for First Reading in the agenda for September 3 LTC meeting, the last LTC meeting of the term. The agenda will be posted online 1 week before the meeting.
- First Reading = 90 day period of formal public consultation. 1st Reading is NOT the end of public feedback, but actually the formal start of the process to get feedback on a draft bylaw. It's important to recognize that changes WILL still likely be made to the draft OCP after First Reading.
- 1st Reading signals the LTC considers a draft bylaw ready to be shared publicly for feedback. Information received after 1st reading can inform future revisions before the LTC gives additional readings, or makes any decisions on adoption. It will be sent out for referral to other agencies and within our community, for a 90 day period.
- There are no further public sessions scheduled prior to 1st Reading. However, the community group Gabriola Talks held 2 very successful community forums to discuss some of the proposed policies on Water and Housing/Density. A 3rd is planned for Reconciliation sometime in September. This is being done outside of Islands Trust, but the perspectives gathered in those meetings are very valuable and will provide additional information for the LTC to consider and incorporate.
📅 Post-First Reading engagement spans the election period (Sept 19-Oct 17). Lots of time to digest and review the document, talk to your friends and neighbours.
📅 Winter 2026/27: 2nd reading is not anticipated to happen prior to February 2027. Further changes can be made based on any feedback received.
When will we see a draft of the Land Use Bylaw?
- This regulatory document follows the policy direction based on the Community’s vision, values and goals, as set out in OCP. The LUB, through land use bylaw regulations, implements the policies by directly identifying the rules that govern land use such as use, density, and siting.
📅 The LUB is not planned to be introduced for 1st reading until February 2027. Staff will be developing a process for LUB review between now and then.
We will continue to take in your correspondence, but ideally, it would be best if further comments, perspectives, opinions, etc, are held until after First Reading, so we are all referring to the same draft.
If you have feedback or a perspective you need to share, please do email [email protected]. It will be saved in the correspondence folder to be considered at a later date.
THANK YOU!! As always, email myself or Trustee Yates if you have any questions. ☺️
