Review it, improve it: Why Sooke shouldn’t turn back the clock on DPAs

Going back to the Good Ol’ Days? There’s been talk about returning to the three Development Permit Areas (DPAs) in Sooke’s 2010 Official Community Plan.

First, what is a DPA? Development Permit Areas identify areas that need special consideration when land is developed - things like steep slopes, riparian areas, foreshore, and environmental protection. DPAs help protect Sooke’s natural environment and residents from poorly planned development.

The 2010 OCP had three DPAs. Our new OCP has nine, providing much more specific direction about what’s expected. The old DPAs left a lot to discretion. Clearer guidelines can give property owners, builders and staff greater certainty and reduce delays.

At the March 3, 2026 Land Use and Development Committee meeting, professional planner Mark Holland presented on behalf of the Sooke Builders Association, one of the most outspoken groups on the new OCP.

He described a “remarkably short list of issues,” said the majority of the nine DPAs were “working just fine,” and suggested the remaining concerns likely had “an easy fix.”

Are the new DPAs perfect? No.

That’s why Sooke Together supports a review of the OCP and its DPAs in December 2026. By then, we’ll have the benefit of seeing how the new rules actually work. We can listen to builders, residents, environmental experts and staff, identify problems and make sensible adjustments.

That’s very different from throwing out years of work and returning to a 2010 approach with fewer environmental protections and greater reliance on discretion.

Good planning isn’t about getting everything perfect the first time. It’s about making informed decisions, seeing how they work in practice, and fixing what needs fixing.

We can protect what makes Sooke special and make development clearer and more predictable.

Review it. Improve it. Don’t turn the clock back.