THE District of North Vancouver concluded what is likely its final Official Community Plan debate Monday with council unanimously approving third reading of the bylaw.

Council expressed strong overall support for the planning blueprint intended to guide the municipality for the next 20 years, while expressing a few reservations about the document.

"Anybody who wanted to participate had the opportunity to participate," Coun. Mike Little said, discussing the extensive community dialogue.

Coun. Robin Hicks said he would have liked to have seen more young families involved in shaping the OCP.

"Unfortunately, it has also been sad to notice the absence of young families in the 25 to 45 age group," he said.

Little called on the next council to govern with "responsible hands" when dealing with redevelopments outside town centres. "These policies will be targets for the development community and have the potential to be exploited against communities' interests," he said.

Little asked council to focus on function over fashion when designing the cityscape.

"Many people in the community are under the impression that adding density will help to keep taxes down."

He said designing an ornate, tree-lined street with slick lighting fixtures could fail to bring in as much tax money as it costs, resulting in existing neighbourhoods subsidizing town centres.

Coun. Lisa Muri also sounded a note of concern when discussing city-centre plans. "We will need to be cautious as we move forward to our village and town-centre concepts that we do not displace those who are vulnerable," she said.

The population of the entire North Shore is expected to grow by approximately 45,000 people by 2030, but Coun. Robin Hicks said that won't necessarily be the case.

"The projected population increase is pure conjecture based on statistics," he said.

Skyrocketing real-estate prices could cause a decline in the North Shore's population, according to Hicks.

Looking to 2030, the OCP identifies a capacity for 10,000 new housing units in the district, and a population increase of approximately 20,000.

Non-market housing, or non-profit housing run by the government, was also a sticky subject for Little.

"The cupboard could become bare very quickly when it comes to that kind of non-market housing," he said, calling on the district to invest in solid infrastructure.

Little also addressed the issue of seniors living in expensive homes but surviving on modest incomes.

"There are a lot of seniors who have million-dollar houses, and the tax bills are getting to the point where they're forced to make an uneconomical decision," he said.

The concern for seniors was echoed by Coun. Alan Nixon.

"Without looking after the weakest among us, we will never be a sustainable community," he said, discussing the rising count of homeless people in the district and the approximately 10 per cent of seniors at risk of homelessness.

Nixon called for a committee to make certain the OCP's goals were being followed. "Somebody, some committee, or the public, (will) need a vehicle by which they can hold the feet of this council and future councils to the fire to ensure that this document is paid attention to," he said.

Little put the onus on the community to ensure future councils abide by the OCP.

"It doesn't respond to all our residents' concerns; I don't think an OCP can," Mayor Richard Walton said. "It can and it should be amended in the future."

Coun. Doug MacKay-Dunn sounded the call for amalgamation, saying the City of North Vancouver was the ideal location for increased density. "Eight square miles, separate and apart from the district, serviced by our roads, financially nourished by our residents and taxpayers, and is, from a geographical perspective, the natural town centre that will support significant densities."

Without amalgamation, he said the district will be forced to move density to other communities.

MacKay-Dunn asked for a blue-ribbon committee to study amalgamation, and discussed the strong negotiating power a unified North Shore would have when bargaining with Metro Vancouver.

MacKay-Dunn had expressed concerns over the district's local area plans being forgotten, but the LAPs will be used as reference documents for land-use decisions. "There is a linkage between those plans and the OCP," he said.

If Metro Vancouver approves the OCP, the district could adopt the document by June 27.