Shaping the future of Penticton

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this link

Consultation has concluded

The OCP has been approved and this process is now closed. You can see the final document here.


The City is developing a new Official Community Plan to guide development and change in Penticton for the next twenty years. For the past year and a half, the City has been working with the Official Community Plan Task Force and the community to understand the needs and gather input to shape the plan. Based on this work, the City has prepared draft policies for Housing, Transportation & Infrastructure, Arts, Culture & Heritage, Economy, Environment and Agriculture & Food Systems. These draft policies are now available for review and comment.

The OCP has been approved and this process is now closed. You can see the final document here.


The City is developing a new Official Community Plan to guide development and change in Penticton for the next twenty years. For the past year and a half, the City has been working with the Official Community Plan Task Force and the community to understand the needs and gather input to shape the plan. Based on this work, the City has prepared draft policies for Housing, Transportation & Infrastructure, Arts, Culture & Heritage, Economy, Environment and Agriculture & Food Systems. These draft policies are now available for review and comment.

Consultation has concluded
  • Draft OCP on display

    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this link

    The City is heading back into the community for the last round of engagement on the Official Community Plan. Staff have completed the draft with substantial involvement of citizens and the OCP Task Force and are now ready to confirm the direction publicly.

    “We are heading back into the community one last time to ask ‘did we get it right?’” says Director of Development Services, Anthony Haddad. The draft is currently available on shapeyourcitypenticton.ca. Beginning June 10, printed copies will be available at City Hall, the Library and the Community Centre for citizens to review. Executive summaries will also be available at these locations for residents to take with them.

    Three open houses are planned to give residents multiple opportunities to discuss the draft with staff.

    • June 13 at the Penticton Seniors’ Drop-in Centre from 10 am to 1 pm
    • June 14 at Cannery Brewing from 4 pm to 7 pm
    • June 15 at the Community Market near City Hall from 9 am to 12 pm

    “Being part of the task force and the process to develop the plan has been very educational and rewarding,” says Sue Moccia, Official Community Plan Task Force Chair. “We have had some very important discussions about what it will take for Penticton to realize the vision of being a vibrant, prosperous and healthy community and we hope residents will attend the events and take the time to familiarize themselves with the change in the city’s direction.”

    Anyone not able to attend the open houses can also watch a presentation and share their feedback on shapeyourcitypenticton.ca beginning June 13. The City will collect feedback until June 23.


  • Official first draft of OCP ready to review

    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this link

    The first draft of the Official Community Plan (OCP) was presented during the April 16 Committee of the Whole Council meeting. An Official Community Plan guides the future of our community through a land use plan, goals and policies in areas like housing, environment and transportation, and Development Permit Area Guidelines.

    “We are pleased to have reached this point in the process and are grateful to everyone who has been involved and provided input over the last two years,” says Manager, Special Projects, Ben Johnson. “We are now at stage where we can share this complete draft with the community and get their input on the vision and direction of the OCP.”

    Residents are encouraged to download and view the document on www.shapeyourcitypenticton.ca in preparation for upcoming engagement activities that will give the community an opportunity to provide feedback on the OCP to City staff.


  • See how Penticton’s future is shaping up. Attend an Open House.

    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this link

    Residents are invited to see how Penticton’s future is shaping up at a series of upcoming open houses. The Official Community Plan Task Force is ready to share the draft policies and land use plan that will guide future development and change in the city. “We’ve had great community involvement so far which has helped shape the direction of the new OCP,” says Ben Johnson, Special Projects Manager with the Development Services team. “In the next few weeks, residents can see the vision and aspirations that were captured in our engagement activities translated into goals and policies for the future of Penticton.”

    The open houses will feature displays describing the direction for: Housing; Transportation & Infrastructure; Economy; Environment & Resilience; Agriculture & Food Systems; Arts, Culture & Heritage; and Parks & Recreation. Attendees at the following events will also have the opportunity to have an interactive look at the draft Future Land Use plan for the OCP.

    Design Workshop

    The open houses will also kick off the next big milestone for the work, a “charrette”. This multi-day design workshop will produce form and character design guidelines which are a key component of the Official Community Plan. A team from MODUS Planning, Design & Engagement will be in town from Sept. 18-21 to run the charrette that will involve the Task Force and City staff. As part of the charrette, residents are invited to attend a presentation on Sept. 17 at the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre from 7 pm to 9 pm. At the presentation, attendees can meet the design team, and learn more about urban design best practices and the work the team will undertake for the city during the design workshop over the next few days. At the end of the design workshop, the City will host a follow up open house to share the results of the workshop with residents and invite their feedback.

    Staff will take the work from the charrette and the feedback gathered at the open houses to begin development of the Official Community Plan document. For more information about these events, please visit shapeyourcitypenticton.ca.

  • 800 voices heard from through ExpOCP

    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this link

    The number of in-person conversations and contacts about the Official Community Plan rose to over 2,200 following the recent ExpOCP event. ExpOCP was the City’s second phase of engagement in the development of the Official Community Plan which will set the direction for the community for the next 25 years. This phase drilled deeper into some of the key topics that surfaced in earlier engagements including the economy, housing, transportation, arts, culture, heritage and the environment. Over 120 pages of comments were gathered during the multi-day expo held at the project’s temporary storefront at 249 Westminster Avenue.

    “We are very pleased with the outcome of the expo and the quality of the input we have gathered,” says Ben Johnson, special projects manager leading the development of the OCP. “We were especially pleased to see the wide range of participation. From youth to young professionals to boomers and retirees, a great selection of voices was heard from.”

    Staff gathered feedback at the expo through conversations with attendees, hands-on activities, online contributions as well as through the ExpOCP Passport feedback forms. The job for staff now is to compile the feedback and extract the themes in order to draft the key policy areas that will shape the plan. Anyone interested in reviewing what was provided in the feedback forms can find the unedited comments on the City’s shapeyourcitypenticton.ca site.

    “We are getting much more specific at this stage of the process,” says Johnson. “Residents will start to see how their feedback is reflected in the direction of the plan.”

    Staff plan to take the draft policies out to the community this spring. The City will vacate the 249 Westminster location at the end of February after hosting close to 20 activities during the two-month lease. Residents are encouraged to watch for more information on shapeyourcitypenticton.ca for the next phase of involvement.


  • Share your ideas on Penticton's future at ExpOCP

    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this link

    Residents will have another chance to get involved in the Official Community Plan in January and this time, they will do all of the talking. Following the success of the PenTALKton presentation this past November, the City is pleased to introduce ExpOCP, a multi-day exposition where residents can share their views on the future of the City.

    “At PenTALKton we had several dynamic speakers talking about some of the challenges and opportunities facing the community to get people thinking about Penticton’s future,” says Ben Johnson, Manager of Special Projects with the City of Penticton. “At ExpOCP, we will turn the conversation over to residents.”

    ExpOCP will run from Jan. 18-20. It will feature displays, hands-on activities and workshops exploring a variety of topics including the economy, transportation and infrastructure, heritage and history, healthy communities, arts and culture, environment and sustainability, and housing.

    “These topics surfaced through earlier engagement events as the areas of greatest opportunity for the city,” says Ben Johnson. “At the expo, residents will have the chance to discuss these topics in more detail and share concrete suggestions which is something people asked for at PenTALKton and other events.”

    In appreciation for participating, residents who take time to get involved will be entered for draw prizes including things like tickets to Cirque du Soleil, as well as Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Information gathered at ExpOCP will be used to develop draft policies for each of the important topics. The draft policies will be tested with the community in future engagements.

    Temporary location for ExpOCP

    Staff secured a temporary location to host ExpOCP. The showroom of the former Penticton Auto Sales building at 249 Westminster Avenue has been leased for up to three months to be home to the expo and other Official Community Plan engagement activities. “Many communities will establish a storefront to make it easier for the public to get involved in the creation of major plans on an ongoing basis like we did for the downtown plan,” says Ben Johnson. “The showroom in this building is perfect for workshops and meetings with the community around the Official Community Plan and can be used for other engagement activities the City is planning.” Watch shapeyourcitypenticton.ca for more information about future events as dates and activities are confirmed.


  • 10 Big Ideas. 10 Engaging Stories. Attend PenTALKton on November 22

    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this link

    The City is taking advantage of an entertaining new presentation format to get people excited and talking about the Official Community Plan. On November 22nd, the public is invited to attend PenTALKton – 10 Big Ideas, 10 Engaging Stories, a night designed to get people thinking about some of the biggest challenges and opportunities facing Penticton in the next 25 years. Skyler Punnett Creative, illustrator, designer and local organizer of the highly successful Pecha Kucha Penticton events at Cannery Brewing, is bringing his expertise to host the event for the City.

    “Over the past few months, we have been gathering feedback from the community to create a vision for the city and identify the key areas that are important to address in the Official Community Plan,” says Ben Johnson, Special Projects Manager. “Our goal for this event is to provide an engaging presentation to get people thinking about a range of relevant and important topics that we’ll focus on starting in January.”

    The speakers for PenTALKton will share local and regional knowledge in the areas of health, arts and culture, affordable housing, natural environment, history and heritage, transportation, sustainable architecture and of course, the role of an Official Community Plan.

    “The presentations are short slide shows that last just under seven minutes to ensure the ideas flow and the evening is stimulating,” says Johnson. “We have asked each speaker to identify some of the biggest and most interesting ideas to get people thinking about what is best for Penticton in the future. It is sure to get people talking.”

    The event is on November 22, 2017 from 6 pm to 10 pm in the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre, with the presentations starting at 7 pm. The event is free. A cash bar and snacks will be available. All presentations will be turned into video clips for all to view online after the event. Look for our diverse line-up of speakers online soon at shapeyourcitypenticton.ca/official-community-plan.
  • Task Force takes a bus tour of Penticton

    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this link

    Task Force takes a bus tour of Penticton

    Yesterday evening, the Official Community Plan Task Force chartered a BC Transit bus and went on a tour all around Penticton, looking at neighbourhood character, new development and employment areas. The group considered the big ideas, successes and shortcomings of the 2002 OCP, and how the new OCP could guide Penticton’s future.




  • Chair and Vice Chair named at first meeting of OCP Task Force

    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this link

    The first meeting of the Official Community Plan Task Force was held April 20. Task Force members were introduced to the process and their role to assist Mayor and Council in the creation of an updated Official Community Plan for Penticton as well as to advise City staff on technical, process and engagement issues relating to the creation of the Official Community Plan.

    The Task Force also appointed the Chair and Vice Chair at their first meeting. Suzanne Moccia has taken on the role of Chair and Lynn Kelsey has taken on the role of Vice Chair. The next meeting is planned for May 15 at 5:30 pm at City Hall.

  • OCP Task Force named

    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this link

    The City of Penticton has named the 12 members of the Official Community Plan Task Force who will represent the community-at-large. “We had an outstanding response to the call for volunteers,” says Mayor Andrew Jakubeit. “We received 50 applications from an exceptionally qualified and diverse group of people.”

    Candidates were selected based on their experience in the following areas:

    • Agriculture and food systems

    • Architecture/green architecture/urban design/landscape architecture

    • Land use planning

    • Environmental issues

    • Heritage, arts and culture

    • Housing with an emphasis on affordable working family housing

    • Parks and recreation, sports, leisure activities

    • Youth/student

    • Seniors

    • Transportation

    • Infrastructure


    Although the community positions of the Task Force are filled, there will be many opportunities for interested citizens to be involved. “We were very impressed with the depth of knowledge and will invite all applicants to be involved in the process, especially where their expertise will be valuable,” says Mayor Jakubeit. “All residents will also have the opportunity to be involved through activities such as workshops and open houses.”

    The Task Force also includes representation from key community and government organizations. Appointments for these positions have also been named. Any open positions and the two Council representatives will be confirmed at the April 4 Council meeting. Citizens can stay informed and learn about the opportunities to get involved at shapeyourcitypenticton.ca.

    Task Force members

    • Regional District of the Okanagan Similkameen: Evelyn Riechert

    • School District No. 67: Wendy Hyer

    • Penticton Indian Band: TBD

    • Penticton & Wine Country Chamber of Commerce: TBD

    • Downtown Penticton Association: Lynn Allin

    • Interior Health: Kristi Estergaard

    • Penticton Industrial Development Association: Jill Bateman


      Community representatives:

    • Garrett Cruikshank

    • Sharon Fletcher

    • Lynn Kelsey

    • Randy Kowalchuk

    • Randy Manuel

    • Suzanne Moccia

    • Dennis O’Gorman

    • Warren Sanders

    • Bruce Schoenne

    • Rhys Spencer

    • Brian Symonds

    • Jillian Tamblyn


    Council representatives: (TBD)


  • 50 applications received for Official Community Plan Task Force

    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this link

    The deadline to apply for the OCP task force has now passed and the City received 50 quality applications. The applications will now be reviewed by staff and Council with the goal of announcing the selection of the Task force in early March.