The City of Surrey is now reviewing the Official Community Plan (OCP) that has been in place since 2014. This includes changes to the Land Use Designations that could impact both Ocean Park and the seaside hamlet of Crescent Beach. The Surrey 2050 OCP draft allows for increased density across these neighbourhoods meaning that future development projects can proceed without property amendments.
What seems like a rather minor and mundane change will forever alter the character of many neighbourhoods here in South Surrey. For Area H that encompasses Ocean Park and Crescent Beach the plan is to change the designation from Suburban to Urban. This means that the construction of multi-unit houses, townhouses, row-houses and low level apartment buildings will be allowed without public hearings of rezoning.
Image this as a big rubber stamp for increased density in areas that were originally conceived and planned as single family residential neighbourhoods. It means increased vehicle traffic, infrastructure upgrades, additional students at local schools, pressure on existing services, the loss of mature tree canopy plus an overall change to the character of Ocean Park and Crescent Beach. The OCP 2050 plan will likely lead to land speculation, increased building density plus a boom in construction sites across existing neighbourhoods.
There has already been a Surrey Council meeting dealing on this subject that was not well attended due to a lack of proper notification with many residents in South Surrey not aware of this zoning change or its future consequences. I attended a Crescent Beach Property Owners Assoc meeting last week where this topic was such a hot-button issue that a future meeting will be planned just to cover the impact of the OCP 2025 draft. Councillor Linda Annis and former Mayor Doug MacCallum were both in attendance with each giving their opinions on the proposed change to Urban designation.
It was interesting to note that Doug believes Crescent Beach might have an ace up its sleeve when it comes to future development that would destroy the character of the neighbourhood. He revealed there is a restrictive covenance on the land there going back over 100 years limiting the properties to single family residences. When you purchase a property there, you have to sign this covenance agreement. It has already been used twice to successfully block plans that did not follow the Crescent Beach Land Use Plan. This included a development site near the Wickson pier that Surrey later purchased for park land.
What Mr. McCallum did suggest was that Crescent Beach should have a separate designation as a heritage neighbourhood or a seaside resort. Our summer car has a license plate frame that came from Florida, which reads "Crescent Beach - Village By The Sea." This was before White Rock began using the slogan "City By The Sea" for their town. With all of this in mind, I'd like to suggest that the hamlet of Crescent Beach does receive a special designation protecting it from rampant development and giving it the official title of "The Seaside of Surrey."
Here are some links for additional information about this TNT topic.
City of Surrey news release about the draft OCP 2050 plan.
City releases draft Official Community Plan: Surrey 2050
Surrey’s new Official Community Plan. Surrey 2050 is a blueprint that will guide how the city grows and evolves over the next 30 years.
Surrey’s last OCP, PlanSurrey 2013, was adopted in 2014. Significant growth, new provincial housing legislation, and evolving community needs have made an update essential. Surrey 2050 modernizes the framework to better support long-term City planning by:
Reducing policies from over 600 down to approximately 200
Simplifying land-use designations to reduce the need for future bylaw amendments
Adding policies on housing affordability, climate change, and economic and infrastructure pressures
Managing growth in a sustainable, resilient, and community-focused way
Since fall 2023, staff have led one of the City’s most comprehensive and diverse engagement processes in shaping Surrey 2050. Staff engaged with residents, community partners and key stakeholders through surveys, workshops, open houses, pop-up forums and online tools, totalling over 301,800 interactions.
Surrey 2050 reflects community values and Surrey’s role at the neighbourhood, city, regional and global level. Read through the draft OCP document at surrey.ca/ocp.
Workshop: Senior Driving
Tuesday, March 31, 2026
What are you doing to reduce your risk and improve your driving? Assess your driving skills and habits. Update your knowledge of vehicle safety features and road regulations.
Tuesday, March 31
Time: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Location: White Rock Community Centre, 15154 Russell Avenue
Co-sponsored with White Rock Community Policing, the RCMP and the Semiahmoo Community Safety Society.
Surrey launches eCheck tool to speed up building plan reviews
The City of Surrey has launched an innovative digital compliance tool designed to streamline the residential plan review process. eCheck provides rapid, automated reviews of building plans to help home designers identify potential zoning compliance issues before submitting a formal building permit application. This tool is now available for all residential home designers.
“The launch of eCheck marks a major step in modernizing how we support home designers and applicants,” said Ron Gill, general manager of planning & development. “By leveraging technology, we’re improving efficiency, reducing delays, and making it easier for applicants to navigate the permitting process.”
How eCheck is expected to make home building faster:
Reduces costly and time-consuming resubmissions
Improves accuracy and completeness of applications
Accelerates residential permit timelines
Supports collaboration between applicants and staff
“We’re thrilled to partner with the City of Surrey to support their development objectives using Archistar,” said Joe Philbrook, vice president of customer at Archistar. “By automating newly defined houseplex design compliance reviews, we’re helping the City accelerate housing delivery for Surrey residents.”
The City is rolling out eCheck in phases beginning with single family homes, coach houses, garden suites, duplexes and houseplexes for R3 zones, with expansion to additional zones in the coming months. This approach ensures designers and homeowners can quickly benefit from faster, more accurate permit reviews.
In addition to the above and recently winning the "News-maker of the Year" Sunday BAINS will be one of the featured speakers at TEDX.
The sold out event presents a variety of individual members from our community.
Police Investigating Early Morning Shooting in Cloverdale
Surrey Police Service (SPS) and RCMP Surrey Provincial Operations Support Unit (SPOSU) are investigating an early morning shooting in a Cloverdale neighbourhood.
At approximately 4:35 am on Thursday morning (March 12) RCMP SPOSU members responded to reports of a shooting in the 19500 block of 65 Avenue, Surrey. Upon arrival, police located multiple shell casings. A residence was damaged as a result of the shooting however fortunately, nobody was injured.
RCMP SPOSU General Investigation Unit (GIU) has taken conduct of the investigation. The investigation is in its early stages and investigators are continuing to gather evidence. While the motive for the shooting is still under investigation, it doesn’t appear this incident is related to the ongoing series of extortions in Surrey.
Anyone with information about this incident, including CCTV or dashcam footage, or who may know the identities of the suspects is asked to contact SPS’ non-emergency line at 604-599-0502, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or www.solvecrime.ca and quote file number 26-9666 (SU).
March 11, 2026
FIFA For The People
Who says you can't afford to have fun when FIFA comes to town - IT'S FREE!!!!
Watch the world's largest sporting event on big viewing screens at three locations across Surrey!
Cheer, celebrate and connect with fellow fans, friends and family at this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Activations and programming schedules will differ by location. Each location will operate on select dates and times.
June 11 to July 19
Surrey Civic Plaza / Cloverdale Agriplex / South Surrey Athletic Park
Free admission - All ages welcome
Experience:
Big screens
Games & activities
Food trucks
Beer garden
- Q&A Question & Answer Period. Resident and transportation watcher ARDEN ENGLISH urged council to not approve a multi use sidewalk along Buena Vista Avenue but rather a split bicycle lane for scooters, bicycles and other mobile means of travel. Council later in the meeting concurred the split lane is the best choice.
- Council received a presentation from ASHTON KERR of Green Teams the organization that conducts community impact exercises in White Rock. This Saturday the group of volounteers will gather to once again remove invasive plants in Ruth Johnson/Centennial Park. The public is invited to join the work party. Meet Saturday morning 8:45 @ the Butterfly Garden near the top of the entrance to the parks off of North Bluff / 16th avenue
- New Westminster mayor JONATHON COTE was on hand to present to council an overview of potential amendments to Metro Vancouver's 2050 regional growth strategy. Council at the end of the meeting approved sending a letter to Metro Vancouver on our future growth concerns.
- Public Comments of the Draft 2026-2030 Financial Plan. One resident was on hand to speak and one resident submitted their thoughts and concerns.
- Council approved a $2700.00 expenditure for an accessibility ramp to be used in conjunction with the city's large city stage used for public events. Plans were also put in place to seek full funding for the purchase of our own ramp for the city.
- Final approval of the current OCP Official Community Plan adoption was delayed when councillor ANTHONY MANNING expressed concerns on some areas of density. MANNING will bring back a rough outline of where and ow he believes the density in the future build out of White Rock can effectively meet the wishes of the residents who submitted their views and who attended the recent Public Hearing (see below) council meeting. Due to the Spring Break council will not meet again until March 30.
Watch yesterday's council meeting archived on the city's website
*Live Streaming/Telecast: Please note that all Committees, Task Forces, Council Meetings, and Public Hearings held in the Council Chamber are being recorded and broadcasted as well
Leaders from the Semiahmoo First Nation say the purchase will help create jobs and new economic opportunities for their community. The deal still needs final approvals from regulators and the City of Surrey before it is complete.
The casino is a major entertainment venue and employer in Cloverdale. New ownership could bring future changes or investments to the site.
L-R Joanne Charles Semiahmoo councillor/Matt Anfinson CEO of Great Canadian Casinos/Semiahmoo Chief Harley Chappell/Semiahmoo councillor Jennine Cook
