Title
Regional Sustainability Strategy Update
Recommendation
That the Committee of the Whole recommends to the CRD Board:
1. That staff be directed to prepare a Regional Sustainability Strategy (RSS) bylaw to advance for first and second reading as follows:
a. Revise the draft RSS as necessary to reflect input received from the legal opinion
b. Revise the draft RSS vision statement to read as follows: “We advance health and prosperity in the Capital Region and grow more resilient, affordable and responsive to climate change by fostering inclusive, compact, transit-oriented communities that support cycling and walking, and by expanding local food production, and protecting natural areas.”
c. Revise the draft RSS targets as follows:
i. Strengthen targets for dwelling units, active transportation and growth containment
ii. Add targets for water conservation, local food production and supply side renewable energy
iii. Review targets with consideration of grouping them into categories (e.g., short-term, primary influence - local or provincial/federal government, etc.)
d. Address concerns regarding municipal flexibility and level of detail as follows:
i. Replace the preamble wording for municipal actions in response to legal advice
ii. Provide flexibility for municipalities to remove lands from the Growth Containment Area (unless they are identified as Industrial or General Employment Lands) without requiring an amendment to the RSS
iii. Show Growth Centres symbolically on the Land Use Policy Area maps (Attachment 10)
iv. Change the major/minor amendment process to delete reference to Growth Centres
v. Move actions that municipalities will address in their RCS as per 1d(i), that do not directly relate to the minimum requirements of the Local Government Act regional land use policy areas (e.g., climate change, community health and wellbeing, emergency management), to the ‘municipalities are requested to support’ category
e. Amend mapping to:
i. Identify Sooke’s ‘Rural Centre’ as an ‘Urban Centre’
ii. Identify Malahat, Shirley/Jordan River and Willis Point in Juan de Fuca Electoral Area (JdF EA) as ‘Rural’
iii. Identify portions of East Sooke and Otter Point as Rural Settlement Area (RSA) and Port Renfrew as a Rural Centre within a Growth Containment Area as shown in Attachment 10
f. Revise the draft RSS text to:
i. Clarify the provincial mandate for regulating the Agricultural Land Reserve
ii. Strengthen the discussion regarding economic development (diversity of economy, regional nature of economy, identification of growth sectors, etc.)
iii. Address municipal and stakeholder comments consistent with RSS objectives and policies
g. Revise the RSS draft to correct errors and update population projections with the most recent population scenario projections (Attachment 11)
h. Revise the RSS draft to include a water servicing policy (Action 3.1.3.) that provides for approval of a new water service establishment bylaw for areas outside the Growth Containment Area only where:
• the bylaw applies to lands within municipal boundaries; or
• the bylaw pertains to the East Sooke or Otter Point Rural Settlement Areas in JdF and will service existing and potential new development that does not exceed subdivision and development limits set out in the Official Community Plan (OCP) at the time of adoption of the RSS; or
• the bylaw is required to address a pressing: public health, public safety, or environmental issue relating to existing development; or
• the bylaw is required to service agricultural activities.
This policy will be accompanied by an implementation agreement or other appropriate approach that requires Board approval of OCP and zoning amendments consistent with the existing procedures bylaw for the JdF EA.
2. That staff be directed to support finalization of the RSS by taking action to:
a. Refer the draft RSS to the Juan de Fuca Land Use Committee for comment.
b. Attend public meetings organized and hosted by a municipality as support to municipal discussions regarding the RSS.
c. Pursue an extension to the Federal Gas Tax timeline to June 2016.
d. Organize a Council of Councils workshop to obtain further municipal Council input on the draft RSS.
(NWA except SSI & SGI)