Coquitlam Development Permit Area Guidelines Rewrite

Streamlining Administration with Improved Guidelines.

THE CHALLENGE

In 2023, the City of Coquitlam began an OCP review process to align with provincial housing legislation (i.e. Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing Implementation, Transit-Oriented Areas Update, and Housing Needs Report Update). Prior to the update, the OCP spanned well over 1,000 pages as a collection of 13 plans. With over 1,000 “form & character” guidelines with varying structure, content and terminology nested throughout, the OCP length and inconsistency of the document made administration and implementation challenging. Council supported the OCP review, however, it was important for them that the intent of the existing design guidelines be maintained in the re-write.

THE RESPONSE

MODUS led a thorough review and rewrite of the City’s Urban Design Guidelines to improve clarity and ease of use, while ensuring that the intent of existing guidelines was retained. A critical stage in this process was identifying existing guidelines that were obsolete or better addressed through other regulatory or policy tools. With these relocated, MODUS proposed a revised structure that simplified navigation for City staff and applicants. The new structure limits applicable sections for any application to two – general and use specific guidelines. A comprehensive process of reorganization, consolidation and rewriting followed (in accordance with the City’s policy drafting manual to ensure terminology, structure and tone would be consistent across all OCP policy).

From the original 1,000+ guidelines, the final document included a total of 170 while incorporating the Provincial guideline recommendations for Transit Oriented Areas (TOA) and Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing (SSMUH). As a final step, the City undertook document layout and illustration of the guidelines internally.

Client

City of Coquitlam