--- title: "Delta's new council promises to open Official Community Plan review in first 90 days" description: "Mayor Melissa Granum and council have pledged to begin an immediate public review of Delta's Official Community Plan, adopted in July 2024, with sessions in all three communities. The first regular council meeting is November 16." canonical_url: "https://voche.me/bc/delta-2026/news/delta-ocp-review-new-council-november-2026" last_updated: "2026-11-12T20:47:16.512Z" --- Delta's new City Council has pledged to open a public review of the city's Official Community Plan before its first 90 days in office are done. The plan, adopted less than 18 months ago, governs what can be built across Ladner, Tsawwassen and North Delta. The first regular meeting of the new council is Monday, November 16, at 7 p.m. [Mayor Melissa Granum](/bc/delta-2026/candidates/melissa-granum) and the six councillors were sworn in on November 2. The mayoralty and council majority belong to Delta First, which made the OCP review one of the central pledges of its campaign. The six councillors are [Alexander Fischer](/bc/delta-2026/candidates/alexander-fischer), [Tammy Hansen](/bc/delta-2026/candidates/tammy-hansen) and [Jat Puri](/bc/delta-2026/candidates/jat-puri) of Delta First, and [Sylvia Bishop](/bc/delta-2026/candidates/sylvia-bishop), [Daniel Boisvert](/bc/delta-2026/candidates/daniel-boisvert) and [Alicia Guichon](/bc/delta-2026/candidates/alicia-guichon). ## What the OCP is Delta's Official Community Plan is both a policy document and a bylaw. The City of Delta's Plans and Strategies page describes it as a document containing "long-term objectives and policies that guide decision-making regarding land use, development, services, amenities and infrastructure." Council adopted the current version on July 8, 2024. The plan covers every part of the city: Ladner, Tsawwassen and North Delta. It sets out where housing can be built and at what density, how commercial and industrial land is used, what infrastructure is needed, and which areas carry heritage or environmental protections. All rezoning and subdivision applications must be consistent with it. Under section 473 of BC's Local Government Act, an OCP must include statements covering housing needs 20 years forward, land use policies, infrastructure needs, greenhouse gas reduction targets, and affordable housing policies. ## What the new council pledged Delta First's First 90 Days plan, published before the election, commits the new council to "undertake an immediate public review of the Official Community Plan." The plan says sessions will be held in Ladner, Tsawwassen and North Delta. The party has not published a scope for the review or a list of specific policies it wants to change. At the November 2 inaugural meeting, Mayor Granum told the North Delta Reporter that the council would bring "compassion and a determination to work together" and said a healthy council should "challenge ideas, ask difficult questions, and bring different perspectives to the table." The OCP review promise is tracked at [#promise-ocp-public-review](/bc/delta-2026/candidates/melissa-granum#promise-ocp-public-review). The council's citizen advisory committees promise, which would create a formal resident input process in five areas including urban planning, is tracked at [#promise-citizen-advisory-committees](/bc/delta-2026/candidates/melissa-granum#promise-citizen-advisory-committees). The two promises together describe how the council says it wants to hear from residents on growth decisions. ## What a review requires Under BC law, a council cannot amend an OCP without a public process. Section 475 of the Local Government Act requires that any government proposing to amend its OCP must provide consultation opportunities with neighbouring governments, affected parties, and the First Nation whose traditional territory the plan covers. For Delta, that is the Tsawwassen First Nation. The city must also consult with the Delta Board of Education under section 476. Any amendment then requires a public hearing, where residents can speak before council votes. The council votes on each reading of the amending bylaw. The process applies whether the change is a single-policy amendment or a full revision. The Local Government Act also requires a local government to consider its most recent housing needs report when developing or amending an OCP. Delta updated its Housing Needs Assessment in September 2024, drawing on data from more than 50 datasets and over 1,600 community inputs. That assessment would inform any review. ## Other related planning documents Delta's Plans and Strategies page lists several documents alongside the OCP. The Agricultural Plan was updated and adopted on July 24, 2023. Delta has a large amount of farmland protected under BC's Agricultural Land Reserve, and the Agricultural Plan sets out how the city supports its farming sector. The Housing Action Plan was adopted in November 2021. Mayor Granum also pledged to challenge provincial housing legislation and to use the City's existing authority over height, setbacks, parking, trees and building design. The Province introduced rules requiring municipalities to allow higher-density housing in certain areas, and the new mayor said she would press the Province to restore public input and give Delta more flexibility. This is tracked at [#promise-challenge-bill-44-use-local-powers](/bc/delta-2026/candidates/melissa-granum#promise-challenge-bill-44-use-local-powers). ## What council will do first The first regular meeting of the new council is November 16 at 7 p.m. at the North Delta Centre for the Arts, 11425 84th Avenue. The agenda is published at delta.ca/city-hall/delta-council on the Monday before each meeting. The council has not announced whether the OCP review will be on the November 16 agenda. The 90-day window for the commitments the council called its first priorities runs through early February 2027. The [promise tracker for Delta](/bc/delta-2026/tracker) will be updated each time the council acts on a commitment. ## What residents can do Residents can attend the November 16 council meeting, which is open to the public. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. If the council restores the public question period as it has pledged, residents will be able to ask questions directly. When a public review of the OCP is opened, the law requires the city to give residents a formal opportunity to speak before any change is adopted. The city's Plans and Strategies page at delta.ca/plans-strategies holds the current OCP and other planning documents. ## Sitemap See the full [sitemap](/bc/delta-2026/sitemap.md) for all pages.