Burnaby Community Assembly presents recommendations for Official Community Plan

The Burnaby Community Assembly (BCA) was created in 2024 to help guide the development of Burnaby’s Official Community Plan. Forty residents representing the diversity of Burnaby's community were selected through a civic lottery and took part in seven full-day sessions from February to June. 

“I want to thank all the members of the Burnaby Community Assembly who graciously provided their time and input to help improve our community,” said Mayor Mike Hurley. “Burnaby’s new Official Community Plan should reflect the goals and aspirations of all our residents – and this innovative process provided a key opportunity for residents to share their priorities for the future of our city.” 

The Assembly’s 24 recommendations include calls for Burnaby to: 

• Set a target to achieve 20 percent non-market housing by 2050
• Add new urban villages and transition zones surrounding town centres, as well as to encourage more townhouses, rowhouses and low-rise apartments
• Ensure all neighbourhoods have access to amenities and small businesses within walking distance
• Improve transportation by creating a new multimodal path between Brentwood and Metrotown, prioritizing dedicated bus lanes for rapid transit, and taking steps to increase pedestrian safety and accessibility
• Prioritize the use of development revenues for affordable housing, childcare centres and community centres
• Improving public spaces to include more benches, lighting, waste receptacles, washrooms and trees
• Adopting an intergenerational lens for future decision-making so that staff report on potential impacts to future generations for all major decisions

Burnaby City Council will receive and respond to the Assembly’s recommendations, ensuring the process is transparent and accountable. City Council remains responsible for final approval of the Official Community Plan.

“Burnaby is the first known city in Canada to commission a Community Assembly for its Official Community Plan,” said Robin Prest, Chair of the Burnaby Community Assembly and program director at Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue. “This ground-breaking process sets a new precedent for how cities in BC should engage their residents on important issues.”

The Assembly process was designed and overseen by the Centre for Dialogue in a collaborative but arm’s-length partnership with the City of Burnaby. The Assembly’s work complements other public engagement processes led by the City of Burnaby as part of the multi-year development of Burnaby 2050, its Official Community Plan update.

Additional funding and support for the Burnaby Community Assembly was provided by Vancity, Renovate the Public Hearing and the Civic Innovation Lab, a non-profit society founded in 2022 by the City of Burnaby and Simon Fraser University to find fresh solutions to challenges and issues affecting cities.