The OCP establishes a network of connected town and village centres, and directs future growth and renewal to these centers. Our "network of centres" is comprised of two Town Centres (Lynn Valley and Lynn Creek) and six Village Centres (Lion’s Gate, Edgemont, Queensdale, Maplewood, Parkgate, and Deep Cove), along with neighbourhoods and the corridors that connect them.

The OCP provides more detailed planning for the four primary growth centres in the District: Lynn Valley and Lynn Creek Town Centres and Lion’s Gate and Maplewood Village Centres. 

2030 URBAN STRUCTURE TARGET: A mix of 55% detached and 45% attached homes

Town Centres

The Town Centres contain the broadest range of services and land uses in the District. As the highest category of centre, they are anticipated to receive significant growth over the time frame of this plan.

Key features of Town Centres include:

• Major nodes on the transit network and can be accessed by several bus routes
• Municipal-wide destinations that contain major commercial uses like grocery and department stores and institutional uses like libraries and community centres
• Office employment is encouraged
• Provide a variety of multifamily housing options within and around their commercial core and transition sensitively outwards to their surrounding neighbourhoods
• High quality urban design enhances the public realm and pedestrian environment

Reaching our Town Centres objective

Our objective is to create vibrant and complete communities that provide diverse housing, employment and recreational opportunities.

We plan to achieve it by taking these actions:

1. Designate Lynn Valley and Lower Lynn as the District’s Town Centres and prepare detailed Town Centre Implementation Plans for these areas of growth
2. Direct residential growth to the Town Centres in the form of mixed-use and multifamily development to enable greater housing diversity and affordability
3. Concentrate new retail, service and major office development in the Town Centres to maximize transit and pedestrian access for employees and customers
4. Focus community infrastructure investment to the Town Centres to ensure that quality facilities and services meet the needs of their expanded populations
5. Transition sensitively to adjacent residential neighbourhoods from the Town Centre with appropriate ground-oriented housing (such as townhouse) 
6. Promote design excellence and reflect the unique qualities of each Town Centre by establishing Development Permit Areas and Design Guidelines regulating the form and character of development to ​

Village Centres

The Village Centres provide a focus for their surrounding neighbourhoods. They have a range of shops and services to meet most daily needs, but do not generally include major “destination” retail establishments such as department stores. Mixed-use development, such as apartments situated over shops, is a typical building form within the commercial core, with lower density multifamily housing (such as duplexes or townhouses) forming a peripheral area adjacent to the core.

Reaching our Village Centres objective

Our objective is for the Village Centres to build on their own unique characteristics to create distinct urban environments. 

We plan to achieve this by taking these actions:

1. Designate Lower Capilano-Marine, Edgemont, Queensdale, Maplewood, Parkgate and Deep Cove as the District’s Village Centres
2. Prepare detailed Village Centre Implementation Plans for Maplewood and Lower Capilano-Marine as these are areas for revitalization and growth
3. Accommodate a range of multifamily, commercial and institutional uses in the Village Centres
4. Encourage the inclusion of upper floor residential units in new commercial development in core or high street areas
5. Concentrate development in the Village core and transition sensitively outwards with appropriate groundoriented housing forms (such as duplex and townhouse) to adjacent residential neighbourhoods
6. Establish Development Permit Areas and Design Guidelines regulating the form and character of development to promote design excellence and reflect the unique qualities of each Village Centre
7. Ensure Village Centre Implementation Plans and their peripheral areas are consistent with the objectives and policies of the OCP and prepare or review Plans as necessary
8. Work with Capilano University to integrate residential, institutional or economic development within the university precinct into the District’s urban structure

Neighbourhoods

The existing residential neighbourhoods in the District are largely comprised of detached houses. With a few exceptions, multifamily residences within neighbourhoods are ground-oriented (duplexes, triplexes or townhouses). Schools, corner stores and parks provide valuable amenities to surrounding residential uses. Neighbourhoods should be walkable, family-friendly places. Significant change is not anticipated in existing neighbourhoods.

Reaching our neighbourhoods ojective

Our objective for neighbourhoods is to provide safe, beautiful, and inclusive environments for residents of all ages.

We plan to achieve this by taking these actions:

1. Maintain ground-oriented detached and attached housing as the predominant residential forms
2. Accommodate the provision of schools, community facilities and other institutional uses and maintain public assembly uses where feasible
3. Integrate a network of parks and open spaces throughout neighbourhoods
4. Encourage the preservation of local commercial uses (corner stores) in neighbourhoods and encourage new local commercial uses where appropriate
5. Prepare Housing Action Plan(s) to identify criteria for low intensity infill housing, such as coach and laneway housing and small lot subdivision as appropriate
6. Enable sensitive redevelopment in appropriate areas, such as locations adjacent to existing multifamily or commercial uses, through Neighbourhood Infill Plans

Transit corridors

Our transit corridor concept connects the Town and Village Centres along key corridors. These corridors receive, or may potentially receive, frequent transit service provision (defined as every 15 minutes or better, throughout the day, 7 days a week). To support the provision of this level of service, the regional transportation authority allows portions of transit corridors to be designated Frequent Transit Development Areas in collaboration with municipalities.

<GRAPHIC: MAP OF CORRIDORS>

Reaching our transit corridors objective

Our objective is to achieve the regional designation of Lower Lynn Town Centre and Capilano - Marine Village Centre as Frequent Transit Development Areas.

We plan to achieve this by taking these actions:

1. Work with the regional transportation authority and Metro Vancouver to establish Lower Lynn Town Centre and Capilano - Marine Village Centre as Frequent Transit Development Areas (see Regional Context Statement, Schedule C)
2. Consider designating additional Frequent Transit Development Areas as appropriate over time where such designation is consistent with OCP land use and transportation objectives
3. Enable sensitive densification of appropriate scale at strategic locations along transit corridors within the Network of Centres through Centres Implementation or Neighbourhood Infill Planning processes

Land use designations for the urban structure

The OCP designates the preferred location of land uses — residential, commercial, and institutional — for housing, jobs, parks, and schools.

The designations include floor space ratios (FSR), which provide guidance regarding the general massing and approximate density of development.

View the land use map