The city is in the throes of developing a new Official Community Plan (OCP) to take Whitehorse out to the year 2040, senior city officials explained in a briefing Wednesday afternoon.

“In this new OCP, we are looking at new opportunities for development,” Mélodie Simard, the city’s manager of planning and sustainability services, told reporters.

Simard explained several initiatives contained in the proposed plan.

They include changing the designation of the Porter Creek D area – the lands along McIntyre Creek between Porter Creek and Yukon University – from future residential to green space.

Lands along Holly Street in Porter Creek, and along Whistle Bend Way would be changed from green space to residential, she said.

Simard said under the proposed plan, restrictions on building heights in the downtown core would be increased from 25 metres to 32.5 metres, though height restrictions for Main Street would remain at 20 metres.

The plan contains numerous changes, she pointed out.

She said the OCP is essentially a land use plan.

The intent, said Simard, is to have a draft plan available for city council’s review this summer, with a goal of having a new plan adopted by the end of the year.

Simard said the draft proposes to increase the density allowed in the Old Town – Seventh and Eighth avenues – from four units per lot to six units.

The Marwell area would be transitioned from an industrial area to a mixed-use, live-work area with an allowance for two dwelling units per typical lot.

The area behind the Copper Ridge subdivision – the south growth area – has been identified for future residential development.

Simard said the south growth area could accommodate a new neighbourhood equivalent to the size of Whistle Bend, with the ability to accommodate many thousands of new homes.

“For the Yukon government to advance any construction will take years and years of planning,” she said.

The manager of planning noted the south growth area includes parcels of First Nation settlement land owned by the Kwanlin Dun First Nation and the Ta’an Kwach’an Council.

The two First Nations, she said, have been involved in the pre-feasibility work for the south growth area going back to 2015.

Use of the settlement land will be bound by the OCP, she explained.

Simard said the First Nations have been part of the process and kept in the loop.

Mike Gau, the city’s director of development services, noted the future development of Whistle Bend Way could be a precious source of gravel for when the city twins Mountain View Drive.

The intent of the future planning, said Gau, is to provide in excess of 6,000 new units in the next 18 years.

“We know that housing is important to the community, and we expect we will hear about that issue in the upcoming public engagement,” he said.

Gau said they are planning for more housing than they expect to need, but if the demand slows down, the city can adjust and slow down its development as well.

There is a lot of focus in the draft OCP on providing different opportunities for different types of housing, he said.

Gau said the city is looking forward to hearing from Whitehorse residents during this final round of public engagement.

Specifics of the plan can be found on the city’s website at engagewhitehorse.ca.

The city will also be hosting open houses on May 25 and 26 between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. at the Mount McIntyre Recreation Centre and on May 26 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at NorthLight Innovation. There will be an online presentation on May 31 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.