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Comox

COMOX IS A BEACON OF INSPIRATION FOR ITS WATER BALANCE APPROACH TO LAND DEVELOPMENT: “Opening minds to accept changes in practice is challenging, especially when there is no direct regulatory or prescriptive requirement at the provincial level,” stated Shelley Ashfield, Director of Operations with the Town of Comox

March 7, 2023


The Town pf Comox had to re-invent land development practices. “I am proud of what the Town has accomplished over the past decade. It took hard work though. Now that the Northeast Comox rainwater management plan is in place, water balance modeling is a requirement, and supporting bylaws help us regulate what developers must do on the ground. All in all, it has been such a huge step for the Town to get to where we have arrived at. The situation called for an educational process to bridge a gap in understanding in the engineering community,” stated Shelley Ashfield.

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COMOX IS A CHAMPION SUPPORTER OF THE PARTNERSHIP FOR WATER SUSTAINABILITY: “It is a really rare thing to have municipal staff say that we are working with a group that actually brings value and helps out, rather than the other way around,” stated Jordan Wall, Chief Administrative Officer, Town of Comox (December 2021)

December 3, 2021


By pulling threads of understanding from the past through to the present and future, it would help communities achieve the vision for reconnecting people, fish, land, and water in altered landscapes. “Thus, I echo the comments by Shelley Ashfield, the Town’s Director of Engineering when she said: they say it takes a village to raise children. Similarly, it takes a village to deal with stormwater! The Town of Comox appreciates everything that the Partnership has done to support us and guide us since 2009. We have come a long way with your help,” stated Jordan Wall.

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URBAN DESIGN, NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING & PACKAGE OF ECOLOGICAL SERVICES: Town of Comox precedents are working examples of what “reconnecting hydrology and ecology” looks like in practice

September 23, 2019


Town of Comox experience demonstrates that ‘Ecological Services are Core Municipal Services, not an Add-On’. Mayor Russ Arnott elaborates: “The ecological services within Brooklyn Creek are integral components of the Town’s core services of rainwater management, parks and fish habitat protection. Once the Town switched to viewing ecological services as core municipal services, we then asked ourselves: how can we do things better? The Draft Anderton Corridor Neighbourhood Concept Plan is the result.”

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RECONNECTING HYDROLOGY AND ECOLOGY: “The Partnership for Water Sustainability in B.C. has identified the Town of Comox as a ‘beacon of hope’ because of the precedents it has established when implementing the twin pillars of the whole-system, water balance approach to land development,” stated Kim Stephens, Executive Director, when he met with Town Council (September 2019)

September 17, 2019


“For more than a decade, the Town has been on an amazing journey. The Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia tells the Town’s story in the latest in our Watershed Case Profile Series,” stated Kim Stephens. “In this document, we recognize the passion, commitment and perseverance over many years on the part of Town of Comox local government staff and volunteers in the Brooklyn Creek Watershed Society to improve where they live. Working together, they are making a difference.”

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DEMONSTRATION APPLICATION OF ECOLOGICAL ACCOUNTING PROCESS: “The Town of Comox and its collaborators have provided a working example of understanding the worth of Brooklyn Creek, its hydrology, and ecological systems,” stated Tim Pringle, EAP Chair

July 2, 2019


EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process, provides metrics that enable communities to appreciate the worth of natural assets. “The EAP analyses have described what the Town’s residents and key intervenors think the Brooklyn creekshed is worth. The understanding gained will be shared with other local governments,” stated Tim Pringle. “Through use of the commons asset analysis, which applies BC Assessment data for land values, EAP has estimated the financial value of the stream corridor and adjacent set-back areas at about $2700 per lineal metre. This calculation is important for an asset management strategy.”

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