Category:

Comox Valley local governments are aligning efforts, building leadership capacity and striving for consistency. “We have moved beyond continuing education solely for the purpose of professional development. We are exploring what implementation of regional policy means on the ground,” states Glenn Westendorp. “All those involved in land development have a role to play in achieving Sustainable Service Delivery. The players include land use and infrastructure professionals.”

“CAVI participation at the 2010 VIEA Summit was both timely and rewarding in that a promising partnership was formed with VIEA. This partnership provides an opportunity to develop an integrated approach to sustainability on Vancouver Island based upon a balanced understanding of the relationship between the economy and the environment. We must look outside our boundaries and work with our neighbouring communities for the betterment of all. Vancouver Island could be a test case to show the world how we can collaborate,” states Eric Bonham.

“The arts are an effective way to engage the broader community. Community celebration events draw people out and bring them together. Our experience is that the community events are the forums for engagement. People eagerly embrace the opportunities for engagement and education. They really want to share their thoughts and experiences. Residents have a stake in restoring watershed health. There is so much experience that we can mine. We who live in the watershed are the experts,” stated Soren Henrich.

“The financial burden and environmental impacts associated with ‘pipe-and-convey’ drainage infrastructure contrast with the benefits of ‘green’ infrastructure at a watershed scale: natural landscape-based assets reduce runoff volumes, have lower life-cycle costs, decrease stresses applied to creeks, and enhance urban liveability,” write Ray Fung and co-authors. “Local governments can protect watershed health by means of a ‘design with nature’ approach. This uses more natural features and functions, rather than hard man-made systems, to ‘green’ infrastructure practices.”

‘Level-of-Service’ is the integrator for everything that local governments do. What level of service does a community wish to provide, and what level can it afford? Everyone will have to make level-of-service choices. “People ‘hear’ the word ‘deficit’ and assume the accountants will fix it all. But people ‘listen’ to the word ‘liability’ and often ask questions or realize some action is necessary,” states Wally Wells.

“Change is slow in the urban environment. It usually happens with re-development of individual lots as buildings wear out or as population density increases. With re-development comes opportunity for creek restoration or creek day-lighting,” writes Tanis Gower. “The Bowker Creek Initiative has produced a plan – the Bowker Creek Blueprint – that includes policy recommendations. Creek restoration opportunities typically arise with little warning, and the detailed plan and long-term vision will help all its partners be ready.”

“A ‘regional team approach’ is founded on partnerships and collaboration, and seeks to align local actions with provincial and regional goals. Vancouver Island is demonstrating the regional team approach. It is revealing that inserting the word team could have such a profound impact on how practitioners view their world. Inclusion of the team word implies there is personal commitment – that is why the regional team approach is fundamentally different than a regional approach,” states Tim Pringle.

“What we want Vancouver Island to look like in 50 years will be a result of collaboration of local communities and regional districts reaching beyond their own jurisdictional boundaries and responsibilities to embrace the ‘bigger picture’ of designing human settlement in harmony with nature throughout Vancouver Island,” writes Eric Bonham.

“The Province’s Living Water Smart and Green Communities initiatives provide a framework and direction for convening for action in the Okanagan, on Vancouver Island and in Metro Vancouver. Each regional initiative is developing a vision and road map for achieving settlement in balance with ecology,” stated Glen Brown.

“The more things change, the more it seems that they stay the same. When British Columbia experienced province-wide drought conditions in 2009, this provided an opportunity to reflect on insights gained and/or lessons learned from previous droughts,” reports Ted van der Gulik.