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Comox Valley local governments are aligning efforts, building leadership capacity and striving for consistency. “The four Comox Valley local governments and the Comox Valley Land Trust are ‘convening for action’ around a water-centric approach to land development,” stated 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.”

“BC local governments are faced with three interconnected issues. The first is to manage more effectively infrastructure and assets that underpin quality of life and economic productivity in an era of scarce resources. The second is to contain costs, taxes and risks. The third is to maintain community resilience in the face of challenges, including climatic variability and extremes,” states Kim Stephens.

The event was an opportunity for organizations to highlight tools, resources or other supports they can provide to help local governments to increase capacity and undertake local planning, projects and development. “The UBCM event allowed us to introduce local government elected representatives, especially those elected in the November 2014 election, to the Partnership and to the Water Sustainability Action Plan,” states Mike Tanner.

“Many BC watersheds are either already fully allocated or will be in the next 15 to 20 years. Originally developed for the Okanagan Basin, the Agricultural Water Demand Model is currently operational throughout the southern half of BC. The model is web-based and enables scenario comparisons to assess the implications and impacts of a changing climate, in particular warmer winters and longer summers,” states Ted van der Gulik.

“The Forum program was designed for local government, and was built around the ‘infrastructure liability’ theme. Fiscal constraints provide a driver for a change in the way local governments plan, finance, implement, and over time replace infrastructure,” reports John Finnie.

“We describe this as MISSION POSSIBLE because those operating in the local government setting can now access tools and experience that will enable them to make a difference. Our approach is TOP-DOWN / BOTTOM-UP. It is keyed to three words: ALIGNMENT, COLLABORATION, INTEGRATION,” stated Kim Stephens.