Regional Growth Strategy Informal Referral

Planning & Development Report

REGIONAL GROWTH STRATEGY INFORMAL REFERRAL

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT Committee receive this report for information.

CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER COMMENTS:

I concur with the recommendation

PURPOSE OF REPORT:

To introduce a draft version of the Capital Regional District Regional Growth Strategy to provide Council with an early opportunity to provide feedback to the CRD on the content and direction of the document.

BACKGROUND:

A review of the 2003 Regional Growth Strategy began in 2008 and the draft document attached represents the culmination of 8 years of work on this project. An attached report from CRD staff dated February 24, 2016 outlines the most recent changes to the draft document in response to direction from the CRD Board and the Planning and Protective Services Committee (Attachment 1).

A Regional Growth Strategy is intended to be a high level agreement between all member municipalities about growth management. It is implemented through approval by each individual member municipality Council, and then through the adoption of a Regional Context Statement in the Official Community Plan, which requires approval of the CRD Board.

At this time, CRD staff are requesting that the draft RGS be informally reviewed by Council and that any comments are provided before a final draft and the formal referral process is initiated later this year.

DISCUSSION:

The length of time that the RGS review has been underway has resulted in a few significant changes in policy direction over the past 8 years. Direction from the previous CRD Board resulted in a top down Regional Sustainability Strategy that used climate change as the dominant lens to view regional planning through, and resulted in a plan that a number of municipalities expressed significant reservations about. Other topics in the Regional Sustainability strategy included food security, emergency management, energy systems and community health and wellbeing. New direction from the CRD Board in 2015 resulted in a significant paring down of the climate change focus and a plan that focused more on the content required in the growth strategy legislation.

The most significant change in the attached draft document from the 2003 RGS is the removal of water servicing as a growth management tool. This has the potential to open up exurban and rural lands in rural and resource areas like Jordan River and Shirley to new growth pressures. The draft plan also includes new required content around GHG emission reductions. The elimination of policy areas that the Sustainability Strategy addressed also creates questions about how/if these policy topics might be addressed at the regional level.

At this time, staff are requesting that Council review the draft Regional Growth Strategy and provide preliminary feedback to the CRD by May 18, 2016. This informal feedback may also include comments back to the CRD about policy areas not addressed by the RGS. Staff propose to bring this item back to a future Council meeting in April to collect any comments or questions in order to respond to the CRD in a timely manner. After informal comments are received, staff understand that the draft will undergo another round of review at the CRD and that once the draft is approved, the formal (and statutory) referral process will be initiated.

SUBMITTED BY: L. Chase, MCIP, RPP Director of Development Services

REVIEWED BY: K. Anema Chief Administrative Officer

Attachment 1—CRD Staff Report and draft Regional Growth Strategy