Except for a few "minor tweaks” that could be made, Mayor Bev Buckway believes the city finally has the document that will become the city's next Official Community Plan (OCP).

Buckway made the comment in speaking to reporters following Monday's city council meeting.

She and other members were presented with a 20-page report detailing 31 issues which came up over the course of a public hearing on the document earlier this summer.

The OCP acts as an overall guide to city planning, with work on the most recent revision beginning last year. The city approved first reading of the proposed document, triggering the public hearing.

With the OCP now up for second reading, city staff have proposed several changes in response to the issues broached by the public at the hearing.

Going through the major issues one by one, planner Mike Ellis recalled one of the biggest concerns was around the suggested residential development near McIntyre Creek, known as Porter Creek D, and other infill locations suggested throughout the city.

Land between Boswell Crescent and Firth Road in Riverdale received perhaps the strongest reaction of the infill sites. Many people pointed to issues around the benefits of the heavily used greenspace and the need to protect city wellheads in the area.

Many argued the city should put some sort of moratorium on development in certain areas, designating them in the OCP as "priority planning” areas rather then giving them designations for development.

Planners didn't go so far as giving the sites the "priority planning” designation.

However, a new policy is proposed which calls for detailed designs to be done so that areas where there's a strong public interest would be dealt with sooner.

"Limited staff time and city resources will likely dictate that only two or three areas can be examined in detail immediately,” Ellis noted in his report to council.

"The largest areas, with both most pressing interest and best potential for lot yield, appear to be the Porter Creek D area, the infill site between Boswell Crescent and Firth Road and the site on 14th Avenue East adjacent to the Guild Hall.”

Also dealing with the concerns that came up over the impact of the suggested Riverdale infill on the city's water supply is a proposal for a wellhead protection management plan, and that the city follow "best practices” in protecting the well supply.

"A YESAB (Yukon Environmental Socio-economic Assessment Board) decision for the licence of occupation for a well in the Riverdale area, given in October 2008, called for the city (to) do a ‘wellhead protection plan',” Ellis noted.

"The OCP policy could be modified to commit the city to doing this plan. Additionally, if the wording was expanded to describe it as a ‘management plan', this would enlarge the scope of the study to ensure a comprehensive examination of water quality in relation to drinking water wells.”

The many studies proposed in the document – from priority planning to wellhead management – could end up being expensive for the city, Coun. Dave Stockdale commented after Ellis proposed the planning for wells.

"It could get pretty complicated,” Stockdale said.

As it was noted by planners though, many of the studies suggested would be subject to budget considerations.

Along with sites proposed for residential development, a number of those at the public hearing also took issue with the proposed quarrying at Sleeping Giant Hill.

City planners now suggest the natural resource designation.

That would allow for the quarrying be reduced to approximately 14 hectares and be a minimum of 200 metres from McLean Lake. It also suggests a phased approach to quarrying there.

Other changes would see the city focus on greenbelts, parks and areas that allow for more active transportation such as bicycles and walking.

Maps, for example, would be revised to show the area on the south side of the Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport fence as greenspace.

"The airport perimeter trail is a well-used community resource,” Ellis stated.

"Although lands to the south of the airport have potential for development, it is not anticipated that this development would need to extend right up to the boundary of the airport fence.

"An area along the airport fence could be shown as greenspace in the OCP, in order to ensure that a trail connection here is retained for active transportation.”

A new policy would also allow land designated for public service to provide for access into greenbelts for those travelling by non-motorized use.

A map detailing where active transportation can be used would also be created under the proposed OCP with trail improvements implemented if funding allows.

As the city focuses on non-motorized routes people can use to get around town, it was the proposal on ATVs and similar recreational vehicles that elicited a lengthy discussion by councillors.

With two comments from the public asking for greater ATV restrictions, the proposed OCP now also includes a policy for the city to work with the Yukon government in co-ordinating regulations to control the use of such motorized vehicles in addition to the previous plans.

"The draft OCP does support the creation of ‘out and away' trails to divert motorized recreational vehicle usage away from local green spaces and streets,” reads the report to council.

"Work is currently ongoing to examine issues surrounding ATVs, including allowable areas and regulations (e.g. the Motor Vehicles Act).

"A new OCP policy could be added that calls for the city to work with the Yukon government on this issue.”

Coun. Doug Graham said he would like to see the wording of that policy changed to note the city "strongly discourages” the use of ATVs and dirt bikes on city trails.

Coun. Betty Irwin retorted that stating the city's discouragement doesn't really mean anything. Graham argued it shows where the city is heading on the matter.

Questioned by Buckway on why he hadn't mentioned snowmobiles, Graham argued those machines cause less damage to trails and even play a role for the non-motorized use of trails by setting trails for skiers.

While he acknowledged Buckway's caution that there may be an issue with noise, Graham noted that's an entirely different problem that could be dealt with separately.

Other major changes suggested for the proposed OCP:

• a 25-metre height limit (from the current 20 m) for downtown be subject to zoning, with certain locations restricted to lower heights and mitigation taken to lessen impacts on next-door properties;

• working with other parties to expand the amount of land available in an effort to deal with housing prices; and

• adopting policies that help protect environmentally sensitive areas and numerous other measures.

Buckway stressed that council has to consider the overall city when it looks at the OCP.

She pointed out the city's growth in recent years – three per cent in the last year – means there needs to be attainable housing.

That housing, city officials explained, means housing residents can afford to purchase. Affordable housing, on the other hand, is subsidized by the government to renters.

Housing, Buckway argued, is a major issue, and those infill sites are areas identified where new homes could go.

Whether they will or not, though, is subject to further planning. As she and other council members pointed out, the more detailed planning stages for infill could show any of those sites as not being suitable for housing.

She did note, however, that as the city plans for its continuing growth, it's indeed likely that some trees will be knocked down during the process in some areas, but also means that city residents will have homes to live in.