In early November, ELC staff Deborah Curran and current articling student Chad Wilkinson travelled to Sechelt to present to elected officials, planning staff, and citizens in several local governments of the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD). The workshop focused on findings from a recent ELC report on implementing green bylaws in the SCRD. As author of the provincial Green Bylaws Toolkit, Deborah Curran delivered a presentation on its application to the Sunshine Coast. She focused on the tools and legal mechanisms available to bring the different municipalities and electoral areas together to support growth and manage climate risks in a manner that prioritizes conservation and biodiversity protection.
Key approaches include creating an ecological or biodiversity network and channeling new development into already services areas. Part of taking a green bylaws approach will involve OCP renewals and zoning bylaws to proactively instate environmental development permit areas. Local bylaws that include the use of green infrastructure and require development approval information areas can promote regional connectivity while guiding decisions from the Province on natural resource development in the surrounding Crown lands. We felt welcomed by a genuine sense of appreciation among those present from communities throughout the SCRD. It was a pleasure to have the ELC be so well received.
