City council has adopted the new Official Community Plan (OCP) that will guide development and policy for Whitehorse out to 2040.

The OCP provides direction for council on everything from the economy, growth, investigating a possible site for a second bridge across the Yukon River, housing, environmental stewardship and much more. It was last updated in 2010.

But both Mayor Laura Cabott and Coun. Dan Boyd expressed concern with how the OCP now designates the Stevens area at the northwest corner of city boundaries as future planning, and not for natural resource extraction. The Stevens area is the largest known and untapped gravel resource in the city.

The designation was changed in February when Coun. Ted Laking brought forward an amendment calling for redesignating the Stevens quarry area to future planning.

In explaining the rationale for the amendment at the time, Laking noted a petition signed by 9,400 people calling for the Stevens area to be left as is, and not be designated as a future quarry site.

He said residents of the nearby MacPherson and Hidden Valley subdivisions have been very clear in their opposition to a future quarry at the site.

The amendment passed last month in a narrow 4-3 vote, with Cabott, Boyd and Coun. Jocelyn Curteanu registering opposing votes.

While the mayor told Monday’s council meeting she would support adoption of the new OCP, she reiterated her opposition to the redesignation of the Stevens area.

Boyd told his council colleagues he could not support adoption of the new OCP at third reading because of how the Stevens area was redesignated from natural resource extraction to future planning.

“There is a lot of good in the OCP, but it’s deficient in addressing the natural resource extraction of gravel to build the city ... to keep our city affordable,” he said.

The city already has a scarcity of gravel resources, he noted, and with the removal of the Stevens area, gravel will have to be imported from outside city limits.

The city should not have an OCP that fails to identify such an important gravel resource, he said.

Cabott said removing the resource extraction designation will impact the affordability of housing because gravel will have to be trucked a further distance with the removal of Stevens. Longer hauls will also increase emissions of greenhouse gas, she said.

Cabott did note the Yukon government has committed to do a study on future gravel resources, and it’s likely a study that the next city council will be able to take advantage of.

Laking noted council has spent a lot of time on updating the OCP.

There is a lot of things that were agreed to and a lot that were not agreed to by members of council, he suggested.

“There is a lot of things in here to be excited about,” Laking said.

He said there is a focus on housing, and the identification of the McLean Lake area as a location for a new development area.

The plan speaks to the densification of housing opportunities and increasing building heights in the downtown area, Laking said.

He noted the OCP speaks to finding a suitable location for a second bridge across the river, which is something the city should be excited about.

“Frankly, the one I am most excited about is coming up with a way to address traffic coming out of Whistle Bend,” he said. “There is a huge bottle neck.”

He noted the OCP speaks to improvements to the Alaska Highway, Mountainview Drive and Copper Road.

“I am excited to start digging into the zoning bylaws because that is where we are going to put the meat on the bones.”

Coun. Kirk Cameron said he understands where Boyd is coming from with concern over gravel, but he said he’s confident the government will work with the city to explore options.

Cameron said the rewrite of the plan is a big deal, and council spent a year and a half on it.

It’s significant that council is now moving forward with the updated OCP, he said.

Cameron said it addresses inclusivity, future growth, environmental protection and economic balance, to name a few. It also looks at population growth and active living, he added.

The 93-page OCP provides specific policy direction in many different areas:

• vision and plan principles;

• heritage, arts and culture;

• climate action;

• environmental stewardship;

• development and growth;

• housing:

• economy;

• transportation and mobility;

• municipal services and assets;

• land management;

• First Nations settlement land; and

• land use designations.

Before council was able to adopt the new OCP, it had to first provide it to the government for review and approval by Community Services Minister Richard Mostyn.

The introduction to the document says: “The Official Community Plan is the highest-level policy and planning document for a municipality. It sets an overall vision and direction and is adopted by bylaw....

“Whitehorse has the authority to prepare an OCP to provide a framework of goals and policies that will guide the city’s decision-making.”

The plan says the population of Whitehorse was estimated in 2021 at 30,081 residents, or 70 per cent of the territory’s total population, according to the Yukon Bureau of Statistics.

It’s estimated the city’s population could reach 40,600 by 2040, representing 73.1 per cent of the territory’s population.

Among the different areas the OCP speaks to is accommodating growth. The following are excerpts from a handful of the specific areas discussed:

• Growth – Even though the housing stock is growing steadily, Whitehorse is facing significant challenges when it comes to providing adequate, attainable housing.

There remains a lack of available housing options to provide suitable homes for all households, which vary in size, income level, mobility and preference.

To that end, the city must continue to support the development of dwelling units across the housing continuum to ensure that current and future housing demands are met;

• Equality and Inclusion – As an inclusive community, all residents have an important role to play in local decision-making by providing their ideas and feedback.

It is important to the city that municipal decision-making processes are open, transparent and fair.

All community members should have the information they need to understand and provide input on the decisions that will impact them....

The city is committed to working with partners to address systemic issues that impact equity and inclusion in Whitehorse, including homelessness;

• Climate action – Climate change impacts will be examined during relevant decision-making processes including land planning, community design projects, building permitting, asset management, infrastructure development and policy and bylaw reviews ...

The city will develop and maintain a strategy that addresses climate change and sustainability.

• Environmental stewardship – Stewardship means to take care of something even if it does not belong to you; environmental stewardship are the actions by individual groups, or networks to care for the environment with the understanding that collective efforts are required.

• Human health, and the health of local ecosystems, rely on keeping the soil, air, and water clean.

• Municipal services – As residents’ needs change, so too must the services the city provides.

Remaining flexible and adapting to new processes or technologies is critical to maintaining the city’s ability to provide high-quality services that enhance equity inclusion and quality of life for all residents.