Squamish-Lillooet Regional District adopts updated Official Community Plan (OCP) for Electoral Area A

Pemberton, BC – The Squamish-Lillooet Regional District has adopted an updated Official Community Plan (OCP) for Electoral Area A.

The updated plan was presented to, and approved by, the SLRD Board of Directors at the December 11, 2024 Board meeting.

“I want to extend my gratitude to all residents of Electoral Area A for their engagement and commitment to this process,” said Jen Ford, SLRD Board Chair. “The OCP is a guiding document that will direct future growth and decisions regarding development in Electoral Area A.”

Electoral Area A's OCP contains objectives and policies to shape long-term land use and development direction through 2040. The policy areas include, but are not limited to, housing, heritage, and parks and trails. . The OCP is guided by eight plan principles that were developed in close consultation with the local community, as follows: reconciliation and collaboration, conservation of natural resources, authenticity and uniqueness, community well-being, sustainable local economy, affordable and accessible housing, resilient natural environment, and access to parks, trails, and outdoor recreation.

The first draft of the Electoral Area A OCP received its first reading at the July 26, 2023, SLRD Board meeting. It was amended and read a second time on October 23, 2024. A Public Hearing followed on November 21, 2024.

Community engagement opportunities included submissions of visioning workbooks, interest group interviews, pop-up events, and surveys. A Community Advisory Committee was also formed at the project outset, representing each of the neighbourhoods in Area A. The committee provided important input at key project stages to ensure community priorities were accurately reflected in the draft document.

“Our communities are evolving, and the OCP is a foundational document that sets us up well for the future,” said Electoral Area A Director Sal DeMare. “This plan gives us a clear direction for land use and development in Electoral Area A. We are grateful to everyone who participated in this process, and who, in doing so, contributed to the vision for our communities.”

Electoral Area A is the northwestern-most area in the SLRD. It encompasses the area known as the Upper Bridge River Valley located in the eastern Coast Mountains. Area A includes the small rural communities of Bralorne, Gold Bridge, Gun Lake, Gun Creek Road, Tyaughton Lake, and the Marshall Valley.

Electoral Area A is located, along with other parts of the SLRD, on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the St’át’imc. St’át’imc Nation is made up of the following member communities: N’Quatqua, Samahquam, Sekw’el’was, Skatin, T’ít’q’et / P’egp’íg’lha, Ts’kw’aylaxw, Tsal’alh, Xaxli’p, Xa’xtsa, and Xwísten. Each St’at’imc community is an independent and self governing Nation, joined together through language, culture, and history.

Electoral Area A also has overlap with the traditional territory of the Tŝilhqot’in Nation. With a recorded 2021 census population of 305, Area A saw a 63.1 per cent increase in population when compared to 2016. Despite this growth in population, Area A is still the least populated Electoral Area in the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District. With many part-time residents and visitors attracted to the outdoor recreation opportunities and wilderness the area offers, the actual population is likely higher during certain times of the year.

The Upper Bridge River Valley Official Community Plan was last reviewed in 2006 before being adopted in 2008. While minor updates were made since that time, this is the first major update to the plan since adoption.

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Located in southwestern BC, the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) is a local government federation consisting of four member municipalities (the District of Lillooet, the District of Squamish, the Village of Pemberton and the Resort Municipality of Whistler) and four unincorporated, rural electoral areas (A, B, C, and D). Headquartered in Pemberton, which is the approximate geographic centre of the region, the SLRD delivers a wide range of local, regional and sub-regional services to approximately 50,496 residents (2021 Census as certified by the Minister of Municipal Affairs).

The Squamish-Lillooet Regional District is found within the traditional territories of several First
Nations, including the Sḵwx̱ wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), St'át'imc and Líl̓wat. Small parts
of the SLRD also overlap with the traditional territories of the Stó:lō, Tsleil-Waututh, Nlaka'pamux, Tsilhqot'in, and Secwepemc Nations. While the SLRD does not provide direct services to the residents of the First Nations communities located within the region, the organization is committed to enhancing relations with the Indigenous communities and First Nations within whose territories the SLRD operates.