OCP & ZBL Comprehensive Review

Over the past several months the City has worked closely with planning partners such as the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in Government and Government of Yukon, City Council, and representatives from local agencies and organizations. During these meetings, members of the Project Team heard about community members' vision for the community, their organizations or those they represent, what emerging opportunities they would like to see explored, and anything that is causing barriers to their success.

The City of Dawson now invites residents and community members to review the Draft OCP and ZBL, and to join us for an engagement session on:

• Wednesday, June 4 at 6:00 p.m.
• City of Dawson Council Chambers

This will be an opportunity to learn about key proposed changes, ask questions, and share your feedback.

We value your feedback:
If you are unable to attend the meeting or would like to share your comments in advance, please complete this survey.

The consultant team will present the draft documents to City Council on Tuesday, June 3, at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall.

The What We Heard report is intended to provide the City of Dawson with insights from the first round of engagement undertaken for the City’s Official Community Plan (OCP) and Zoning Bylaw (ZBL) review project, which took place in Fall/ Winter 2024. It includes key themes from the engagement, an overview of the process, and next steps, supplemented by appendices with complete survey results, comments gathered during the public meetings, and materials used during the engagement.

Legislated by the Municipal Act, the OCP is the City of Dawson’s most important bylaw, a local guiding document which establishes objectives and guidelines to inform decision-making about the future development and land use within the CoD’s municipal boundaries. The OCP also acts to guide the provisions of municipal services and facilities, environmental matters, utilities, and transportation systems over the next decade. It is intended to illustrate the vision and priorities of a community; as such, its development provides an important opportunity to involve residents in visioning, to collectively generate a forward-thinking and adaptable plan for the future. 

The ZBL is an implementation tool for the City of Dawson OCP, adopted as bylaw, that sets out regulations for lands and development within the municipal boundaries. 

It is good practice and the City’s preference to comprehensively review all long-term planning documents every few years to make sure they reflect the current conditions of the community. Since the last update in 2018, many things have changed in Dawson; an updated OCP and ZBL will help the community face these challenges and embrace a preferred future together.