Implementing Rainwater Management: “Primer on Land Development Process in BC” released at 2013 UBCM Annual Convention
Note to Reader:
In September 2013, the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) offered a half-day session on “Tools, Resources & Funding for Local Governments” as part of the Annual Convention held in Vancouver. The focus was on tools and resources that twenty provincial and non-government organizations provide in order to help local governments increase capacity.
The UBCM information-sharing session provided the Partnership for Water Sustainability with a timely venue to release the fourth in the Beyond the Guidebook Primer Series. These guidance documents form the basis for knowledge-transfer via the Georgia Basin Inter-Regional Education Initiative.
To download a copy of the fourth in the Series, click on Primer on Land Development Process in BC: Industry Standards of Practice in Implementing Rainwater Management.
How to Implement Rainwater Management, Really?
Core concepts presented in the Beyond the Guidebook Primer Series provide an educational foundation for rainwater management in a watershed context.
“The focus of the Primer on the Land Development Process in BC is the disconnect between the Land Subdivision and Building Construction steps, and the challenges this creates for implementation of rainwater management. The Primer fills a gap by addressing the administrative part of the process,” states Kim Stephens, Executive Director, Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC.
Bridge the Gap between Awareness and Capability
The Partnership’s purpose in developing the Primers is to inform and educate infrastructure, land use and environmental professionals about implementing actions at the site scale that will achieve desired outcomes at the watershed scale.
“I have found this an excellent primer and, as I have reviewed it, I have learned more good things about engineers’ perspectives while focussing my review comments and suggestions from a planner’s perspective (and those of a former drafter of planning and development legislation),” comments Erik Karlsen.
Erik Karlsen has had a distinguished career of public service in British Columbia. He is a professional land use planner with over 40 years experience in advisory through management level positions in federal, provincial, regional and local levels of government. A former Director of Regional Growth Strategies in the BC Ministry of Municipal Affairs, he later served five years (2005 through 2010) as Chair of the Agricultural Land Commission.
Since leaving government Erik Karlsen has been a member of advisory committees and taught at Royal Roads University in the Masters of Environment and Management Program. He has been awarded several awards of distinction for his contribution to sustainable development planning and management in BC and Canada.
Recognize the Distinct and Separate Steps in the Land Development Process
“The Land Development Process is comprised of a series of distinct and separate steps. The people and their roles change significantly as the process moves from the first step of land use rezoning through the creation of the subdivision and finally to constructing the dwellings on individual sites for occupation and use,” explains Jim Dumont, principal author of the Primer and the Partnership’s Engineering Applications Authority.
“It is the change of the roles and responsibilities that occurs during the process of land development that needs to be understood in order to implement rainwater management systems that successfully mimic the natural Water Balance.”
“A new set of processes is required to allow successful implementation. This need is the focus of this Primer.”
To Learn More:
To download a copy, click on Primer on Land Development Process in BC: Industry Standards of Practice in Implementing Rainwater Management.
For a section-by-section synopsis of the Primer storyline, click on the following link to Table 1. Sections 1 and 2 establish the regulatory context and describe the Primer scope, respectively. To achieve the educational objectives, the balance of the Primer is organized in five sections: Sections 3 and 4 provide context; Sections 5 and 6 provide guidance; and Section 7 consolidates what is important to know.
