Effective Implementation of Green Infrastructure – Making it Work in Surrey, British Columbia
The 2009 Surrey Forum
The City of Surrey hosted the Metro Vancouver Water Balance Model Forum on March 12, 2009. The co-sponsors for this learning event were the the Water Balance Model Inter-Governmental Partnership and the Green Infrastructure Partnership. The following challenge statement provided context for advancing a 'regional team approach':
How do we simultaneously work together as staff within a municipality and as a region AND externally with developers and other private sector players, to ensure we implement sustainable approaches to development?
The morning part of the program dealt with the nuts-and-bolts of Surrey green infrastructure projects. The program was designed to encourage a lively exchange of perspectives by designers, developers and regulators.
Effective Implementation in Grandview Heights and South Newton
Module #3 on effective implementation of green infrastructure in the City of Surrey was presented in three parts, and was conducted as a town hall sharing session.
First, James Kay told the story of Grandview Heights from the consultant's perspective in developing the Neighbourhood Concept Plan. Then Ken Anderson provided the developer's perspective on why “it makes good business sense” to do business differently. After that, Jim Dumont told the story of how innovation in South Newton had come about.
James Kay explained his involvement in three Neighbourhood Concept Plans that were developer-driven, and emphasized that the City challenged the developers to meet performance criteria. To hear what James Kay had to say, click on Part 1 – Looking Back to See Where We Came From and Part 2 – How We Met the 
Performance Criteria for Rainfall Capture and Infiltration. “We wanted to select the measures that would provide the best value,” stated James Kay. “For example, catch basins send drainage water to infiltration trenches. We kept this system offline until after the sediment and erosion control situation had stabilized.”
Ken Anderson is the development manager for Morgan Heights community in Grandview Heights. To hear what Ken had to say about enforcement and shared 
responsibility, click on Making It Happen at the Site Scale to access a 10-minute YouTube video clip. “Cash compliance is the ultimate hammer,” states Ken Anderson. “We tell the homeowners and builders upfront what we expect on the site and on the street. This requires a lot of hands-on attention and consistent enforcement to ensure consistent compliance.”
Jim Dumont followed with the South Newton story to illustrate ask a different question, get a different answer. To view Jim's presentation slides, click on either on the Update on South Newton Experience or on the image below; and to hear what he had to say, click on Eliminating Detention Ponds to link to the YouTube video clip.
The Story of the Surrey Forum
Leading up to the Forum, a set of five stories was published on the Water Bucket website to progressively connect the dots and foreshadow what participants would learn. To access links to these stories, click on Living Water Smart and Making Green Choices in the Metro Vancouver Region.
For the complete story on what transpired at the Forum, click on Convening for Action in Metro Vancouver: Moving Beyond Pilot Projects to a Broader Watersheds Objectives Approach.
Posted May 2009