Vancouver Island Water

Turning the tide in the City of Nanaimo: Inland Kenworth truck and equipment facility showcases what 'green value' development can look like

Courtenay seminar #2 - inland kenworth

The Inland Kenworth truck and heavy equipment facility in the City of Nanaimo illustrates what can be accomplished through collaboration when a municipality challenges a development proponent to be innovative. Also, the project illustrates how a ‘design with nature’ approach to rainwater management will influence the greening of the built environment, protect stream health and yield ‘green value’.

The Story of Inland Kenworth

The City of Nanaimo’s Dean Mousseau and Gary Noble first told the Inland Kenworth story at the 2007 Showcasing Green Infrastructure Innovation on Vancouver Island Series. Their story resonated – so much so that it was then incorporated into the curriculum for three subsequent Convening for Action on Vancouver Island events and/or programs:

Green Infrastructure Leadership Forum, December 2007
Cowichan Valley Learning Lunch Seminar Series, June 2008
Comox Valley Learning Lunch Seminar Series, October 2008

The Inland Kenworth story illustrates how a local government can establish expectations when staff say “this is what we want to achieve”.

Turning the Tide in Nanaimo

The Inland Kenworth story has resonated because it is a defining example of what Green Value means on the ground. According to Dean Mousseau, “We view this project as the one that has changed the thinking of the consulting community in Nanaimo, particularly on redevelopment projects.”

In commenting on the changes that have taken place in Nanaimo as an outcome of establishing the Inland Kenworth precedent, Dean Mousseau provided this perspective in September 2007: “We are turning the tide because development and redevelopment projects are now incorporating features for rainwater runoff capture.”

Development of Green Design Guidelines:

Two years later, Gary Noble emphasizes the relevance of the ‘turning of the tide’ analogy. “Inland Kenworth set in motion a chain of events. We are now working with a development community stakeholder group to establish Green Design Guidelines in conjunction with updating of the Official Community Plan.”

“We invited developers and their consultants to a consultation session. Our objectives were to determine what green features they are comfortable with; and where they would like to go. This led to the formation of a working group.”

“The Green Design Guidelines will establish a baseline. The intent is that the guidelines will evolve as the development community becomes increasingly familiar with what works and what does not.”

Links to YouTube Videos:

First click here to view Gary Noble comment on how he and Dean Mousseau represent different perspectives – planning and engineering – and therefore had different expectations that needed to be assimilated and integrated.

Then click here to view Dean Mousseau describe the plan for on-site rainfall capture now that a large portion of the site is covered by pavement and building. There is no piped drainage system on the site.

The slides that provided the backdrop for their interaction with the audience at the Comox Valley Learning Lunch Seminar can be viewed by clicking on Inland Kenworth in Nanaimo: Where Design with Nature meets Green Value.

Green Value Explained

The Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia uses the term Green Value as a generic reference to use and conservation of land and real estate that achieves social and economic goals while minimizing harmful effects on ecological assets.

More specifically, ‘Green Value’ refers to the intentions of land owners and developers to implement a range of strategies that recognize and protect ecological values at a watershed, sub-region and/or site scale.

To learn more about the context for Green Value, click on How does a community weigh the benefits and liabilities of change driven by demand for land use? — Tim Pringle explains what “Settlement in Balance with Ecology” means.

Vancouver Island Project Profiles:

Inland Kenworth, along with the Mazda and Toyota dealerships in Courtenay, have been profiled in the Real Estate Foundation’s Green Value Series. The common link is Greg Constable; he was the owner’s agent for all three developments.

“Greg Constable walks the talk,” states the City of Nanaimo’s Gary Noble. “His own office building is a LEED Gold building, and is nearing completion. This will enable him to demonstrate to his clients what building green means.”

Click here to access the comprehensive story prepared by Hans Peter Meyer, editor of the Communities in Transition e-newsletter. His interviews with the key players provide a behind-the-scenes look at each of the three projects. Meyer also summarizes what he calls the “learnings”.

Settlement in balance with ecology - branding graphic