Bowen Bulletin

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draft official community plan

last updated 13 October 2026

what it is

Bowen Island Municipality is writing a new official community plan to replace the one it adopted in 2011, Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 282, 2010. The new plan is being prepared by the Municipality’s planning staff and its consultant, McElhanney, with an OCP Steering Committee of volunteers appointed by Council.

A draft was presented to Council in May 2026 and put out for public comment in Round Two of engagement, from 22 May to 22 June 2026. That draft sets out:

  • a vision statement and guiding principles
  • policies on topics including environment, housing and the economy
  • a proposed land use designations map
  • a map of environmentally sensitive areas

It is the only version of the full text published so far.

Changes proposed since then have been presented as a table of recommended policy changes and a set of map changes, attached to a staff report dated 14 September 2026, not as a revised draft. The plan is not yet a bylaw. Until a new plan is adopted, Bylaw No. 282 remains the plan in force, and the land use bylaw must be consistent with it.

chronology

  • 6 September 2011. Council adopts Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 282, 2010, the plan now in force.
  • 24 January 2014. Minutes of BIM’s Economic Development Committee record discussion with staff that the best next step is to revise the OCP first and then amend the land use bylaw, as a long-term process.
  • 2024. Council sets up the OCP Steering Committee as a select committee of Council, advisory only, under Terms of Reference that scope the project at 18 to 24 months.
  • Spring 2025. Round One of public engagement: a survey and events asking what residents liked and disliked about the 2011 plan. McElhanney prepares a What We Heard Report.
  • 11 May 2026. The draft plan is presented to Council at an open meeting.
  • 22 May to 22 June 2026. Round Two of public engagement on the draft: a survey, a public event at the Community Centre on 11 June, and pop-up events.
  • 14 July 2026. The Steering Committee holds its first meeting after Round Two closes. Round Two correspondence, event comments and survey summaries are in its agenda package.
  • 29 July 2026. McElhanney issues a technical memo on the Round Two feedback, later attached to the September staff report.
  • 10 September 2026. The Steering Committee resolves unanimously to recommend that Council receive the Round Two engagement results, “accept the amendments agreed upon at the September 10, 2026 OCPSC meeting for inclusion in the Official Community Plan Update”, and “direct staff to draft an Official Community Plan Update bylaw for First Reading”.
  • 14 September 2026. Staff report for a Committee of the Whole meeting recommends that Council direct staff to prepare a bylaw to adopt the draft plan “as presented and amended at the September 21, 2026 Committee of the Whole”, for first reading on 13 October.
  • 21 September 2026. The Committee of the Whole instead passes a resolution referring the draft back to staff and the Steering Committee, with no first reading until Council has considered a report back.
  • 28 September 2026. The resolution is item 4.11 on the consent agenda of Regular Council’s revised agenda. It is pulled from the consent agenda and debated, and is not ratified. Council instead refers the recommendation back to staff, for a report to the Committee of the Whole on 16 November. The draft minutes of the Steering Committee’s 10 September meeting are item 4.10.
  • 17 October 2026. General local election.
  • 16 November 2026. Committee of the Whole meeting set for the staff report.

who decides

Council decides. An official community plan “must be adopted by bylaw”, and each reading needs “an affirmative vote of a majority of all council members” (Local Government Act, s. 477 (1), (2)). The steps around that are:

  • While a plan is being developed, the Municipality “must provide one or more opportunities it considers appropriate for consultation” with those it considers will be affected. It must specifically consider bodies including the regional district, neighbouring governments and First Nations (s. 475).
  • After first reading, Council must consider the plan alongside its financial plan and any applicable waste management plan (s. 477 (3)).
  • Council must hold a public hearing (s. 464 (1)).

Because Bowen is in the Islands Trust Area, a bylaw adopting an official community plan must go to the Islands Trust Executive Committee, and it has no effect until approved (Islands Trust Act, s. 38). The Executive Committee must not approve a bylaw “if it is contrary to or at variance with” the Trust Policy Statement (s. 15 (4)). Council must “have regard to the object of the trust”, which is to preserve and protect the islands (ss. 3, 39.1).

The Steering Committee advises, and final decisions rest with Council. Its Terms of Reference direct it to ensure the revised plan will:

  • “Meet the central object of the Islands Trust”
  • follow the principles of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
  • “Follow principles found in the UN Goals for Sustainable Development” (s. 2.2)

The plan must also meet the housing requirements added by Bill 44, including housing for at least 20 years of anticipated need (Local Government Act, s. 473 (1) (a)).

the documents

Submissions by the writer of this site:

where it stands

There is no bylaw and no first reading is scheduled.

On 21 September 2026 the Committee of the Whole resolved to refer the draft back to staff and the OCP Steering Committee, with a list of revisions to be made and a report back by 30 November 2026.

On 28 September 2026 Council did not ratify that resolution. The item was pulled from the consent agenda and debated. Council then passed a different motion, unanimously:

“That Council refer the Committee of the Whole recommendation of September 21st 2026 on the Official Community Plan back to staff and request that staff report to the November 16th 2026 Committee of the Whole meeting with their understanding of the actions required, the resourcing implications and a proposed timeline, and that the Mayor’s reference paper and comments be provided to staff and Council for consideration in preparing that report.”

An amendment asking for a legal opinion on how the draft meets sections 485 and 488 (3) of the Local Government Act was defeated, also unanimously.

Because the 21 September resolution was not ratified, its directions to staff do not apply. The motion that passed asks staff for their understanding of what is required, what it would cost and how long it would take. It does not direct any revision of the plan.

The general local election falls on 17 October 2026, so the report will go to the new Council. The published text of the plan is still the May 2026 Round Two draft. Bylaw No. 282, 2010 remains in force.