Here are some recommended documents and links for planning or building in environmentally sensitive areas.
Urban and Rural Land Development
Smart growth is a collection of land use and development principles that aim to enhance our quality of life, preserve the natural environment, and save money over time. Smart growth principles ensure that growth is fiscally, environmentally and socially responsible and recognizes the connections between development and quality of life. Smart growth enhances and completes communities by placing priority on infill, redevelopment, and green space protection.
Smart Growth BC is a non-governmental organization devoted to fiscally, socially and environmentally responsible land use and development.
Green Bylaws Toolkit for Conserving Sensitive Ecosystems and Green Infrastructure (Stewardship Series)
The Toolkit contains practical examples of bylaw provisions currently in use in B.C., including model provisions for Regional Growth Strategies, Official Community Plans, Development Permit Areas, Zoning, Tax Exemptions, Environmental Assessment, Stormwater Management and other regulatory tools. It includes several examples and case studies of successful green infrastructure projects and bylaws.
Develop with Care: Environmental Guidelines for Urban and Rural Land Development in British Columbia BC Ministry of Environment, March 2006
This document is intended to assist people who are involved in planning, implementing, reviewing and/or approving land developments in British Columbia’s urban and rural areas. Its primary purpose is to provide province-wide guidelines for the maintenance of environmental values during the development of urban and rural lands. It also provides information on ways that environmental protection and stewardship can benefit the community, the property owner and the developer, as well as the natural environment. (abstract)
Protecting Aquatic Areas
- Access Near Aquatic Areas: A Guide to Sensitive Planning, Design and Management (Stewardship Series)
This document can provide a valuable reference for local government in planning, builing, and renovating trails and other forms of public access in and around environmentally sensitive areas. Details on siting, surfacing and construction materials are particularly valuable.
Harriet Ruggeburg, Environmental Planner, City of Nanaimo
(from the document’s back cover)
- Lakeshore Guidelines, 2004 Regional District of Fraser-Fort George
- Land Development Guidelines: For the Protection of Aquatic Habitat (Stewardship Series)
- Stewardship Bylaws – A Guide for Local Government (Stewardship Series)
The above documents identified as “Stewardship Series” were produced by the Fraser River Action Plan (Fisheries and Oceans Canada) and the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks. Links to view the documents use the recommended reading list of the BC Lake Stewardship Society.
The full set of Stewardhip Series documents is available on the website of the Stewardship Centre for British Columbia.