Proposed amendments to Burnaby OCP tackle Bainbridge, Lochdale community plans

The community plans for the Bainbridge and Lochdale neighbourhoods are one step closer to being implemented in Burnaby’s Official Community Plan (OCP).

The city adopted new community plans for the neighbourhoods last year after three rounds of public consultation, each of them including “expanded plan areas, a vision for the community, as well as detailed policy directions for land use and development, public space and mobility, and housing, community amenities and services.”

Bainbridge and Lochdale are now designated as “urban villages” under the OCP, which aims to transform the neighbourhoods into mixed-use areas with more variation in housing, commercial services, and community amenities.

A report to the planning and development committee this evening asks members to forward a bylaw to city council that would propose several amendments to the OCP to bring it in line with the newly adopted community plans.One of the proposed amendments to the bylaw would identify which parts of the Bainbridge and Lochdale areas could possibly see new residential developments, and which parts are excluded.

As we’ve previously reported, this was an area of contention during the consultation phases, particularly in the Bainbridge neighbourhood. Many residents of the area told the city that all properties east of Bainbridge Ave and south of Lougheed Hwy should be excluded from any future land use considerations.

The report clarifies that the area east of Bainbridge Ave will remain under single family zoning, but it’s now been designated as a future planning area—where “additional housing choices may be considered as part of future city-wide or neighbourhood planning processes, subject to further public consultation.”

The amendment also removes the typical density maximums for multiple family housing opportunities, to allow for a greater range of multi-family housing options.

Other amendments would remove the area of the Lochdale neighbourhood north of Hastings from consideration for future petrochemical uses, and also identify locations within both urban villages that could be made into future neighbourhood parks.

The report, sent to the planning committee from planning general manager Ed Kozak, says the proposed OCP amendments will help Burnaby meet its anticipated housing needs over the next five years.

Kozak has recommended that the amendments be forwarded to city council for first reading on Feb. 6, and later to a public hearing on Feb. 28.

With files from Curtis Seufert.