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The focus was on a performance target approach to land development that makes sense, meets multiple objectives, is affordable, and results in net environmental benefits at a watershed and/or regional scale. In setting the context for the day, the City of Courtenay’s Manager of Engineering explained the difference between boundaries and what he called commonalities. “To be successful, we need to work outside our normal boundaries, And we need to proactively communicate and work with others,” stated Derek Richmond.

The City of Courtenay was the host municipality for the 2008 Comox Valley Learning Lunch Seminar Series. At the third and final seminar in the Series, held in November 2008, Kim Stephens re-capped the first two seminars, reinforced the provincial context for the series, and reviewed the learning outcomes. referenced the “Commentary on Effective Municipal Rainwater/Stormwater Management and Green Infrastructure to Achieve Watershed Health” and emphasized its importance/relevance as part of a bottom-up approach to doing business differently. ”

In 2008, the Ministry of Community Development developed A Guide to Green Choices to help local governments continue the extensive work they were already doing in fostering green communities. “We have a series of initiatives within the Ministry that are integrated with other broader provincial initiatives. These are seeking to help us build green communities in our province. We all benefit from having attractive, liveable communities…with a healthy natural environment,” stated Dr. Laura Tate.

“Living Water Smart creates the opportunity/potential for real dramatic change at a local level. Good policy is knowing where the horizon is, so that you know where you want to get to. Success depends on cooperation across jurisdictional boundaries. We must hold the provincial government accountable too. They have given us the long-term vision; and we are looking to them to be accountable for the support that we now need,” stated Ron Neufeld.

Mayors and Chief Administrative Officers representing the four Comox Valley local governments dropped in to show their support for the 2008 Learning Lunch Seminar Series. Sandy Gray, City of Courtenay CAO, lauded the objectives of the Learning Lunch Seminar Series. “We are thrilled by the work of CAVI. It is a tremendous initiative. The cooperation that is taking place around a consistent approach to development is very critical to all of Vancouver Island,” stated Sandy Gray.

“I created the graphic several years ago for a meeting with the Board of the Okanagan-Similkameen Regional District about the water sustainability component of their Regional Growth Strategy. I knew that if I did not have their attention on the first slide, I would not have their attention on the second,” stated Kim Stephens.

“Flooding was caused by undersized culverts and poor grading. Traditional engineering solutions would have resulted in a linear total loss of habitat, would have significantly impacted on private property, and the costs were well beyond the the financial capacity of the Town. Instead, a course of action involving a suite of solutions was chosen. First and most important was a commitment by all jurisdictions to hold the line,” stated Glenn Westendorp.

The main purpose of the Comox Valley Conservation Strategy is to prioritize sensitive ecosystems, linkages via expanded riparian strips and designated upland wildlife corridors and to create a new and exciting watershed-based land use planning framework. “The current process has the Conservation Strategy Community Partnership collaborating with Regional and Municipal planners, engineers and elected representatives to develop a new way of doing business in the Comox Valley,” stated Jack Minard.

“Our initial objective was simply to see if we could deliver continuing education in a different way. The Series has exceeded our own expectations, Our initial objective was to facilitate a consistent understanding of core technical concepts. Because local governments enthusiastically embraced the opportunity to align local actions with over-arching provincial goals, the resulting success of the Series has enabled us to move beyond that limited objective. The energy to think like a region has been unleashed,” stated Kim Stephens.