Convening for Action in British Columbia

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Erik Karlsen

    CHRONICLE OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE INNOVATION: “Erik Karlsen was the secret sauce who convened the fantastic streamside regulation discussions that created collegiality between municipalities,” recalls Susan Haid, adjunct assistant professor at the University of BC


    Susan Haid has played a leadership role in trailblazing an ecosystem-based approach to community planning in British Columbia, first with the City of Burnaby and then with Metro Vancouver. This approach also took root in her subsequent experience in the District of North Vancouver and the City of Vancouver. “In many ways, what I am teaching comes back to the same kind of framework around ecosystem-based planning which Erik Karlsen and others were advancing in the 1990s, and which is synonymous with watershed-based planning,” stated Susan Haid.

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    CHRONICLE OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE INNOVATION: “A Helijet flight to Victoria is the story behind the story of how BC’s Growth Strategies Act came to be. Municipal Affairs Minister Darlene Marzari sat next to me in the only vacant seat. She said, Ken, we have to talk,” stated Ken Cameron, co-architect of Metro Vancouver’s Livable Region Strategic Plan in the 1990s (4th installment in a preview series)


    “Darlene Marzari said I have a staff and you have a board. We have to find a way of working around that. So, I met with her on a Saturday morning and made a presentation about the draft Livable Region Strategic Plan to an audience of one. No advisors. At the end of the presentation, she said “I want to do that. I want to make that possible”. The provincial government was beginning to talk about growth strategies It was fortunate that Metro Vancouver had a plan that was ready to go just at the time Darlene Marzari was inventing the mandate for it,” stated Ken Cameron.

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    DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Understand why the Livable Region Strategic Plan matters” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in October 2024


    “In 1990, the Metro Vancouver region initiated a growth strategy embodying many Smart Growth principles. The Plan had four pillars: a Green Zone, complete communities, a compact region, and increased transportation choice. A year ago, a group of us met with regional planning staff to pass on our knowledge and experience. Our message was, use the strengths of the unique regional planning system you have. We did this in the interest of providing current staff with some personal background on the Livable Region Strategic Plan,” stated Ken Cameron.

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    DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Regional Growth Strategies for Healthy Communities” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in May 2024


    “In the 2000s, we understood that we were going to have to do cities quite differently if we wanted to achieve the sustainability goals that we had set for ourselves. The Province passed the Regional Growth Strategies Act in 1994. This brought back a regional planning structure after BC had been without one for 10 years or so. The intent of the legislation was regional planning across a whole range of values. It was my job to implement regional growth management. We had not done something like that before. It was much more than pure land use planning,” stated Dale Wall.

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    DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: ‘Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Georgia Basin Initiative legacy ripples thru time” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in April 2024


    “The 1990s was a very heady time in government in terms of land use planning and natural resource management. Some initiatives were not implemented all that well, but the Georgia Basin Initiative was the exception. “Launched in 1994, it did exactly what it was intended to do, Moreover, even though it only existed as an entity for a couple of years, it spawned a whole number of other initiatives and programs, some of which blossomed and still exist today,” stated Joan Sawicki, Parliamentary Secretary for the Georgia Basin Initiative during the period 1994-1996.

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    GEORGIA BASIN INITIATIVE LEGACY RIPPLES THROUGH TIME: “If we have lost anything in the last 30 years, it is a strong provincial commitment to supporting community and regional planning,” stated Joan Sawicki, land and resource management champion, and former provincial cabinet minister


    “When you think of the issues we face today….weather extremes, drying rivers, degraded streams, frequent wildfires, population growth, housing affordability…they are no different than they were 30 years ago. They are just more complex and more urgent. We need a renewed provincial provincial emphasis – and yes, that means budget – on supporting community and regional planning and we need another Darlene Marzari. She was the single most important reason for the success of the Georgia Basin Initiative. Darlene Marzari had the knowledge, experience and quiet resolve to make things happen,” stated Joan Sawicki.

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    GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE JOURNEY IN THE CITY OF DELTA: “Before, emphasis was on THE WHY. Now we are getting better at THE HOW,” stated Harvy Singh Takhar, Utilities Engineer with the City of Delta in Metro Vancouver


    “We have done a lot of back and forth on road designs. The streetscape enhancement ideology is being implemented at the forefront rather than through a review of utilities to see whether there any drainage concerns. The road designers are taking the initiative to incorporate curb cuts and even linear rain gardens. Their understanding of the need has evolved through internal collaboration. By working with the roads people on curb cuts, we have actually come up with variations. Our original detail was quite generic. Now we are able to implement it in various types of curb designs,” stated Harvy Takhar.

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    DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Delta’s rain garden program for streetscape revitalization” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in April 2024


    “Historically, drainage has been an afterthought in urban planning decisions. Neighbourhoods were developed without thinking about drainage in a broader watershed context. Circa 2000, however, the emphasis became let’s look at this on a watershed basis. For municipalities like Delta with well-developed infrastructure, this meant figuring out HOW to retrofit and redesign drainage systems. Road rights-of-way account for one-third of the land area of a typical urban watershed, Commitment to a rain garden program would make a material difference over time,” stated Hugh Fraser.

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    CONVENING FOR ACTION IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “The ecosystem-based approach is needed more than ever to adapt to weather extremes,” stated Susan Haid, career environmental and urban planner in BC local government, and adjunct assistant professor at the University of BC


    “In many ways, what I am teaching comes back to the same kind of framework around ecosystem-based planning which Erik Karlsen and others were advancing in the 1990s, and which is synonymous with watershed-based planning,” stated Susan Haid. “Titled Policy for a Sustainable Region, it is big picture and is about policy frameworks to influence urban design. A lot of it is case studies and reflection. But I also bring in resiliency and ecological frameworks, with lectures on what are the best practices going forward. I call these sessions SHARPENING THE EDGE.”

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    DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Policy frameworks to shape urban design” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in April 2024


    “In late 1996, in came Erik Karlsen from the Province as the spokesperson for the first Fish Protection Act. He convened discussions with environmental, engineering and planning staff. Those were such fantastic discussions. There was a really good alignment and call to action on making streamside regulation work. It was a major advancement but a lot of stress as well. Streamside regulation was being portrayed as a huge land grab. There was a lot of back and forth to move from something that was site-specific to more of a hardline edict with the province,” stated Susan Haid.

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