About Planning & Zoning

Through the Policy Planning and the Development Applications departments, the City provides policy directions that guide growth and change in Richmond with emphasis on land use, development, environment, heritage, and livability. These planning functions play a vital part in the City's life cycle.

Planning policies must meet the needs of the community, while respecting the local environment. The work involves delivering urban design, community plans and policies, and programs for neighbourhoods. Consulting the community is an important part of the process.

Planning involves the development of community plans and policies, zoning bylaws and their interpretation, as well as development reviews, subdivisions and variance applications, and amendments.

To learn more about City planning in Richmond see:

• Official Community Plan
• Zoning Bylaw
• Protecting the Environment
• Planning & Development Department

For Zoning enquiries call the Zoning Enquiry Line at 604-276-4017.

Social Planning

Equally important is the City's livability, a social direction that considers open spaces, character of neighbourhoods, housing diversity, community facilities and opportunities, and services to meet the needs of a changing population. See Social Planning for more details.

Employment Lands Strategy

Employment lands include all lands that are used for business and jobs. They include commercial, office, industrial, institutional and agricultural lands. As part of the update to the Official Community Plan, the City undertook an Employment Lands Strategy.

The Strategy helped identify how much employment land the City will need to meet its growing business and employment needs to 2041. To learn more, see the staff report and summary Employment Lands Strategy.