“Green Surrey Program” adopted by Surrey City Council in May 2014
Environmental Pillar in Surrey’s Sustainability Charter
The Green Surrey program, a key initiative in the Environmental Pillar of the City’s Sustainability Charter, has been adopted by Mayor and Council. A strong environmental vision is central to the development of the City of Surrey, and the Green Surrey program is an evolution of the City’s commitment to conservation, investment and engagement in the environment.
“The Green Surrey initiative underscores our commitment to the environment,” said City of Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts. “Surrey already leads the way in sustainable design, ‘green’ buildings and ‘green’ infrastructure and the Green Surrey program will further strengthen the City’s greening pledge. The plan will foster healthy ecosystems and preserve our natural, living heritage with its long-term vision for stewardship of Surrey’s natural environment.”
“Strengthening and expanding our green infrastructure is crucial to maintaining Surrey’s status as one of Canada’s most liveable cities,” said Bruce Hayne, Chair of the City’s Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee.
“We wanted to bring it all together under one umbrella,” Councillor Hayne said of the Green Surrey program. “Over the past eight years, we’ve had the Build Surrey program and that has gone into every community in the city with various projects – pools and rec centres and of course the new city hall. We want very much to be able to balance that with our sustainability and green initiatives. We want to have a focus on it.”
And coming down the pipeline is the city’s Biodiversity Conservation Strategy (BCS) and a Riparian Area Bylaw. “It lays out a plan of the most sensitive and most high value lands in the city that we want to identify and preserve in perpetuity,” Councillor Hayne.
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