British Columbia Sustainability Initiatives Presentation to the Building Sustainable Communities Con

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British Columbia Sustainability
InitiativesPresentation to the Building
Sustainable Communities Conference

• Intergovernmental Relations and Planning Division
• Ministry of Community Services
• November 22, 2007

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Presentation Outline

• British Columbia A New Era of Leadership in
  Sustainability
• So What Does This Mean for Local Governments?
• Where Do We Go From Here?
• Discussion

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1. British Columbia A New Era of Leadership in
Sustainability
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1. British Columbia A New Era of Leadership in
Sustainability

• The Vision
• We want to ensure that BC communities are
  vibrant, connected, environmentally sustainable,
  and socially responsive.

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1. British Columbia A New Era of Leadership in
Sustainability

• Three Core Goals
• Foster compact, complete communities
• Foster lighter infrastructure and buildings
• Foster socially (and economically) durable
  communities.

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2. So What Does This Mean for Local Government?

• Big part of sustainability solution
• More emphasis on integration
• Constant evolution
• Senior government to reinforce

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2. So What Does This Mean for Local Government?

• Climate Action Charter
• Commitment Between Province, UBCM Local
  Governments
• Carbon neutral operations
• Measuring and reporting
• Complete, compact communities
• Capacity-building
• Joint Committee Working Groups to Develop
  Actions

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Smart Planning

• 2005 Gas Tax Agreement
• B.C.s Integrated Community Sustainability
  Planning (ICSP) Initiative
• Smart Planning for Communities Initiative

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What is Smart Planning?

• Integrated - link various plans
• Community engage public and other partners
• Sustainability sustainability principles built
  into all plans and actions
• Planning long term thinking

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Smart Planning Capacity Building Program

• Capacity Building
• A first stop website
• A provincial network of sustainability
  facilitators
• An information-sharing network

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2. So What Does This Mean for Local Government?

• Green Communities Rating System
• Building from Green Cities Base

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2. So What Does This Mean for Local Government?

• Linked Transit Funding

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2. So What Does This Mean for Local Government?

• Urban Forests Community Gardens
• Smart Development Partnerships

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3. Where Do We Go From Here?

• New Way of Doing Business at ALL Levels
• Adjustments to Existing Programs
• New Initiatives
• Emphasis on Integration and Partnerships
• Anticipating Strong Local Government Response
• Questions / Discussion