Monday November 10, 2025 | VIEW ROYAL, BC
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
“The View Royal Official Community Plan (OCP) is the most important document the Town has,” says View Royal Mayor Sid Tobias.
Engagement on the OCP has been going on for over a year, and at this point Tobias says that “the process of creating the document is my primary concern”.
“We have set up an engagement strategy with over a year to hear from the public,” says Tobias. That includes a dedicated OCP Engagement website and an an OCP Committee, engaging neighbouring municipalities, and several pop-up sessions for the public to contribute.
“For me the process is as important as the product,” the mayor says.
Generally speaking, when a substantive amount of material is gathered through committees and public engagement the process of sorting the data in ways that produce meaningful conclusions is often a challenge for any municipality.
Open house and survey:
The next phase of engagement for “View Royal 2050: Our Future View” is taking place with a drop-in open house at the municipal hall on Thursday November 13 (5 to 7 pm). There is also an online survey that opened November 8 and runs through November 30, 2025.
Guiding the new OCP:
View Royal hopes to create a more complete and sustainable community by encouraging new compact housing near amenities, services, and areas well serviced by transit, that considers the scale and existing character of established residential neighbourhoods.
The town hopes to support local businesses and meet residents’ needs by focussing higher levels of housing densities and jobs to the Hospital Transit-Oriented Area, Western Gateway Employment District Corridor, Neighbourhood Villages, and along major transit corridors.
Election cycle:
Sid Tobias was first elected in October 2022, establishing new directions for View Royal as a community that seems to grow thoughtfully and with a desire to maintain its quality of life for residents.
The next municipal election for all BC municipalities will be on October 17, 2026.
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NEWS SECTIONS: VIEW ROYAL | MUNICIPALITIES