How The Plan Works

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The OCP guides the overall future of New Westminster and provides a broad framework for managing future growth and change. In some cases, further detail on implementation of the various policy areas can be found in other plans, strategies, policies and bylaws. The City’s Affordable Housing Strategy, Master Transportation Plan, and Community Energy and Emissions Plan are examples of policy documents that work collaboratively with the OCP to help implement the vision.  The OCP includes land use designations and the Land Use Designation Map, which show the type and location of growth that Council is likely to support.

The Zoning Bylaw is a regulatory tool that implements the vision of the OCP and includes more specific requirements that new development must comply with (e.g. permitted density, site coverage, land use and parking). Council cannot approve a rezoning application that is not consistent with the OCP.

In 2022, Metro Vancouver adopted a new Regional Growth Strategy titled Metro 2050. The purpose of the strategy is to promote human settlement that is socially, economically and environmentally healthy and that makes efficient use of public facilities and services, land and other resources. The Strategy sets out goals, strategies and policies to guide the future growth of the region and provides the land use framework for transportation, economic, housing, utility (water, liquid waste and solid waste), environmental and climate change planning.The regional strategy is a shared commitment by all Metro Vancouver municipalities to advance the livability and sustainability of the region.

The City's Official Community Plan (OCP) includes a Regional Context Statement which is a policy tool that demonstrates how OCP aligns with Metro Vancouver’s Regional Growth Strategy. In 2026, a new Regional Context Statement was adopted by the City. The updated Regional Context Statement demonstrates the ongoing consistency between the OCP and Metro 2050. 

 View New Westminster's Regional Context Statement.

All OCPs are prepared under the authority of the Local Government Act (LGA). The LGA describes an OCP as a comprehensive guiding document, primarily in relation to land use planning. The LGA outlines required policy components (e.g. approximate location, amount and type of residential development to meet the community's expected housing needs for the next five years) and optional components (e.g. policies relating to social well-being in the community). Historically, New Westminster has chosen to include a wide range of optional policy areas in the OCP, including social, cultural, economic and environmental policies, where a local government can influence community success and livability.

The LGA states that a local government is not obligated to immediately meet the objectives of the OCP or to undertake any project included in the plan, or to retroactively amend existing bylaws. However, all of the City's subsequent policies, plans, capital projects or bylaws must conform to the adopted OCP. For example, the Zoning Bylaw and the Subdivision and Development Bylaw should be made consistent with the OCP over time.