CV2050: #sustainability

Showing posts with label #sustainability. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Talking about the Regional Growth Strategy in the Comox Valley...

What do you think about the Comox Valley Regional Growth Strategy that's about to be released (August 10, 2010)?

I was lucky enough (!) to be one of a number of recipients of a recent flurry of emails between various land-use practitioners on the subject. I've posted them (with the authors' permissions or with names removed). It got me thinking that, again, we are needing a "third place" to have these kinds of conversations.

I'm borrowing this "third place" idea from a comment Tom Dishlevoy made in a recent post. "Third places" are what wikipedia describes (citing Ray Oldenburg in The Great Good Place) as those places other than home and work that "are important for civil society, democracy, civic engagement, and establishing feelings of a sense of place."

CV2050 as a "third place"

I think of CV2050 as a virtual "third place." Not unlike a couple of earlier experiments in creating a venue for dialogue and learning about community and change I've been involved in, CV2050 is a place where the "conversation about sustainability in the Comox Valley" can take place in a non-partisan fashion.

Being non-partisan doesn't mean feelings aren't strong, that people don't talk as part of their work or home lives. It does mean that this is about conversation, not policy. I've been an active proponent of "community sustainability" and "community quality of life" in my community for a long time. But for me this means, primarily, creating a space where people with knowledge and passion can exchange ideas and passions. I'm not sure any of us know what "sustainability" looks like; I do know that there are many with ideas of what it could look like. I do know that most of us cherish notions of what "community quality of life" is about, and we need to be talking about how we invest in that – even as we talk about how our ideas about what that means is different from household to household, neighbourhood to neighbourhood. These are appropriate conversations in the kind of "third place" I see CV2050 being. We won't set policy. What we say, however, will inform the kinds of policies and regulations that will shape our communities as they struggle with very real changes being forced by a host of things that we can't control, from climate change to the price of energy to the greying of our population.

When three of us imagined CV2050 in the late summer of 2010 it was with the intention of stimulating and supporting this conversation. We thought, and I think this holds true today for all three of us, that real change happens in many ways, large and small, and conversation is often the starting point.

Reviving this "third place" for our current conversation about change

I'm proud of what we did with CV2050 last year in the couple of months we had to get it up and running. It was a success, if you go by the numbers. Lots of folks were happy to participate in the video interviews. We had good numbers watching the vids, and even better numbers on the various online conversations at CV2050.com, Twitter, and (primarily) Facebook. For a little while, it became the "third place" for talk about official stuff: building and site development, transportation, housing & neighbourhoods, ecoysystems/environment/parks, social/community well-being, food systems, economic health, infrastructure – the 8 pillars of sustainability we borrowed from Mark Holland and the crew at hblanarc.ca

Now, as we start to get into reviewing what the Regional Growth Strategy (RGS) looks like, it's time to kick CV2050's conversation into gear again. Here is the (slightly) edited version of the recent email exchange I was privy to. Names have been removed for folks who have declined to make their comments public.

The recent Regional Growth Strategy email exchange

From: Kelly Gesner, Landworks Consultants
To: Hans, George, Jack, Gerard, (and others)
Date: Jul 23, 2010

Hi, Hans. I read your article (and Jack Minard’s) in the July/August issue of the WORD. I do appreciate you (and George’s and Gary’s) perspective regarding the rural/urban divide. My concern with respect to this issue – from a different perspective – lies in the potential impact of the RGS on the Comox Valley. My concern was heightened when I read Jack’s complimentary comments on the document.

Either I’m completing missing something, or this draft RGS absolutely does not understand the nature of the Comox Valley and its appeal.

Let me preface my concern by saying that I am a confirmed, die-hard urbanist. (I believe you share some of my thoughts on this planning concept.) I live in downtown for many reasons, and would LOVE to see the downtown core of Courtenay (and Comox and Cumberland, although what happens in those communities doesn’t directly affect my lifestyle so much) densify extensively and thus be able to offer me more amenities and attractions and opportunities. In light of this “bias” on my part, I find it ironic that I feel compelled to raise the alarm when I see the draft RGS trying to do just that. Because that’s not why residents love the Valley, it’s not why they stay here, move here or intend to move here.

I think the RGS, as it’s drafted, it set up to fail. It attempts to direct/force 90% of all new development into the urban cores. It does so, in part, by discouraging residential use outside the urban cores. If fact, it claims that “estate residential” living (i.e., the CVRD’s Country Residential zones) is a “concern” – and to be curtailed as much as possible. So, if in the long run, this approach were to succeed, we would end up with lovely, dense, amenity-filled urban centres and lovely farms and forestry lots dominating the rural areas. Now, as much as I would love that, I don’t believe many other people will. In fact, I’m fairly confident that the main reason people live/move here is because they like the valley the way it is … and they want space and privacy. Many of them actually want a 5- or 6-acre lot and actually do NOT want to farm it “intensively!” Which they will be mandated [to do] (somehow, which is a whole ‘nother problem, and even people who own ALR land cannot be mandated to farm it – let alone intensively). The document says nothing [about] forcing people with lots smaller than 5 acres or larger than 10 acres to use intensively for agriculture or forestry.

I believe that attempts to enforce this approach – alas for me! – are doomed to fail, because there is no market and no appetite for this urbanist vision for the valley. The only effect I can see is sky-rocketing prices for existing 5- to 10-acre lots.

Please, please, correct me if I’m wrong or missing an important point somewhere!

Kelly Gesner

___________

From: Kelly Gesner, Landworks Consultants
To: Local government staff 1
Date: July 23, 2010

...I'm now a bit perplexed about the public process for the draft RGS. I'm preparing to make a presentation. But I don't know whether it should be on the draft document that was presented to the public in June or on the revised one. The CV Echo reported this morning that "A series of changes to the draft have been backed by a forum of elected officials from across the Comox Valley." The article goes on to say that these "amendments [were supported] at Tuesday night's meeting."

If the public hearing is on the amended version, will that get presented to the public before the public hearing, so that we can determine whether or not the comments we are intending to make are still appropriate?

Thanks for any clarification you can provide!

Kelly
___________

From: Local government staff 1
To: Kelly Gesner, Landworks Consultants
Date: July 23, 2010

Public reaction is being sought on the version that is contained in a bylaw.

That bylaw is currently scheduled for readings next week with a public hearing to be set.

Due to provincially mandated time lines we are moving straight to the hearing but on the amended version to be read at next weeks meeting.

___________

From: Local government staff 2
To: Kelly Gesner, Landworks Consultants
Date: July 23, 2010 1:09 PM

Out of the office but saw this email. Staff report on RGS and bylaw proposed for first and second reading is on CVRD website under agendas.

___________

From: Kelly Gesner, Landworks Consultants
To: Local government staff 1 & 2
Date: July 23, 2010

I appreciate this...; it helps a bit. There is only one item under Agendas: the Board meeting scheduled for 27 July. When I followed that link, I found [staff] memo of 22 July, along with two 16 July memo's from Urban Strategies, under Item 5) - Regional Growth Strategy. The first of Urban Strategies was helpful, as it outlined "recommended changes" to the RGS. Further down the page, under the second Item 1) [meant to be Item 7), I think] - "Public Hearing Notice - Bylaw 120 ...", I found a one-page memo which would form the basis of a Board resolution to hold the public hearing

on 10 August at 7pm.

But I was unable to find a copy of Bylaw 120 and/or the RGS itself. And I went through the agenda three times. Did I miss it somehow?

So I went to the Regional Strategies section of the CVRD's homepage, and under Regional Growth Strategy, found the version of the RGS that was presented to the public in June - not the amended one referred to in the Comox Valley Echo.

It would appear that the RD needs to make the revised version available - somehow - to the public. Or, if I missed it, make it easier to find.

Thanks!

Kelly
___________

From: Jack Minard
To: Kelly Gesner, Hans, George, Gerard
Date: July 26, 2010

I think that [Kelly?] has a point...

The developers are adamantly telling me that people who are moving here are looking for a single family home on acreage. Literally no one moves here to live in a condo.

Still, core densification is the way to go and if all there is on the market 10 years from now are townhouses and condos perhaps they will sell like hotcakes.

I think if we build the densification with nature welcomed and honoured in design and function people will want it, we will get a livable community and sustainability will be measured by lifestyle choices within these new urbanizations.

My two cents,

Jack

___________

Your comments?

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

A little exchange about the ALR, the Farmers' Market, and Comox Bay Farm...

I recently posted the "ALR / ours to preserve!" button as my Facebook profile. Within a day, a friend posted on my "wall" about it, and a conversation took off. Here's what it looks like:

Wendy Masterton

I love your button, too bad CVEDS isn't applying this concept to the Duck's unlimited lands aka ALR land where they want to build the $5 to $6 million palace of a farmer's market. Pave paradise and put up a parking lot....booooo

Tom Dishlevoy
I tend to agree with you Wendy on this point. ALthough I am totally in support of the concept of a farmer's market facility, I cannot support the use of a known, historical flood plain as a site for a new building, sensitive estuary lands aside! We need to be much better with our VISIONING!

Paul Hansen
What is the environmental impact of planting a farmers market in that space? Where can we provide a space to honor our agricultural based providers & entreprenuers. Any links for me to see more of this convo?

Tom Dishlevoy
For me we might want to think about taking the produce to the people rather than bringingthem all by car to the center of the farmland. How about the Comox Mall, or the Driftwood Mall where we already have a sea of parking?

Wendy Masterton

I'm not against a farmer's market, but I am against paving ALR and estuary floodplain for it. They're talking about using a huge area (several hectares of land) for the buildings and parking. Also why use taxpayers' dollars and go through CVEDS why not form a society and let it pay for itself through membership and the market itself. Let's find a more sustainable location for the infrastructure portion which is the market itself (buildings and parking lot) and grow crops on this prime ALR land instead. Remember it's not that long ago that the land the Superstore sits on including the parking lot was part of this ALR land and was estuary as well. That was also a very bad deal. I don't want to see history repeat itself, would rather learn from it.

Tom Dishlevoy

We could design a building on this land that would have little impact, but why. Flooding will happen, needs to happen to keep land fertile and this will be very inconvenient. We could build on stilts, or a floatable building. We could build for easy relocation to higher ground when sea level rises as we suggested to other river side owners. But inviting thousands of people in their cars to this spot and elsewhere in the estuary is not wise or visionary.

Wendy Masterton

this is the quote from Phillip Round that concerns me regarding the vastness of the plan and the amount of ALR land that will be lost to paving/concrete/buildings:

In addition to offering space for existing vendors at the proposed building, CVEDS suggests the complex might include agriculture-related educational facilities for North Island College; a permanent shellfish sales centre; a butcher's shop preparing locally-grown meats; a produce distribution centre; a conservation interpretive centre; and offices, meeting rooms and exhibition space.

Sustainability. Regional Growth strategies, hello?

Wendy Masterton

Tom I LOVE your idea of creating the farmer's markets in the existing malls, they need to fill the empty spaces there, it brings it to the people and the parking exists, this is so simple and yet sustainable, great idea. One market on Wednesday, one on Saturday, perfect. Think of what it would mean to all the Comox residents who could walk or bike to the mall or a change (me included) instead of driving our cars to the market. Ditto for Courtenay. If they want to expand they can take another day in Cumberland in the Recreation Centre...growth and sustainability.

Wendy Masterton

how can we start to influence/encourage the decision makers to have more vision Tom?

Tom Dishlevoy

Philip Round, just the reporter, quoting John Watson I would presume. John has some big ideas, as do many others in the Valley. How do we get the process more collaborative so that the ultimate decisions are made with all the cards on the table, yours, mine and all of ours?

Remember that the various strategy documents were not by/for the politicians and staff, just the public that created them

Tom Dishlevoy

That last comment does not read as sarcastic as I wrote it!

Paul Hansen

I think the mall parking lot idea is indeed quite brilliantly simple. Double dipping on the use of that concrete and space. I also really like the farmers market idea (in the right location) if it can be a blessing to everyone. Thanks wendy for the info you forwarded me :)

.... and may this continue, here, on the CV2050 page on Facebook
but somewhere in our community where we can extend the conversation on what sustainability looks like in the Comox Valley, and how we get there.

hans

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Wedlidi Speck talks about social well-being and sustainability #3x2x8

Wedlidi Speck talks to hanspetermeyer about sustainability and social well-being as part of the #3x2x8 project. Wedlidi is the Executive Director of the Wachiay Friendship Centre in Courtenay, and a long-time resident of the Comox Valley with a reputation for successfully bringing together diverse cultures and points of view. He talks to hanspetermeyer as part of a series of "conversations about sustainability in the Comox Valley" project. For more on the project, please visit www.CV2050.com or our Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/CV2050.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

...local eyes looking at CV2050 from a distance...

It's starting to happen. The online chatter about CV2050 – what sustainability looks like from different points of view inside and outside the Comox Valley.

You'll see comments on some of the video posts on Facebook (go to www.facebook.com/CV2050). We've also had a few folks send tweets about the #3x2x8 work. Sometimes I'm able to corral someone into an interview. Which is what this is meant to do: spread the #3x2x8 beyond the 16 folks that David, Meaghan, and I wanted to start the convo with.

One of those found via Twitter is Jackie Connelly. You can hear my interview with her here as an audio blog post. (We did this over the telephone and I used gabcast.com to turn it into a podcast – super simple tech folks; I encourage you to try it.)

You can also read Jackie's recent blog about it on her site, where she talks about "Comox Valley residents are talking about sustainability."

Jackie's a Valley girl gone to Vancouver, keeping busy as foodie photographer. Her connection to this place is pretty strong – she does work for at least one local restaurant and visits here often. She also did the photo work for the North Island Chefs' recent cookbook, Island Inspirations. I mention that because both of my #3x2x8 interviews on the "food security/sustainability" topic emphasized the need to buy and eat local food. Yup. Some message from an ag economist and a gourmet chef.

Gary Rolston is pretty close to the ground on the producer side of this issue. He said that buying local food, even if it was more expensive in the short term, is probably the single most important thing to do for long term sustainable food production. Chef Ronald St. Pierre made the same point – and then held up Island Inspirations as part of the solution: learning about what's available locally, buying local, and learning how to cook local product so it tastes delish.

So, I was happy to have Jackie play along with #3x2x8. She's got "local food" creds, and she's got a bit of distance on the local scene. Like so many of us, getting away really helps to make this place even more magical.

Thanks for playing along with the #3x2x8 project Jackie. Thanks for making our local food look so delicious with your photos!

hpm

ps. If you're looking for a copy of Island Inspirations, Beyond the Kitchen Door in downtown Courtenay just received a fresh box load at $25 each.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Sam Sommers talks about housing and #sustainability in the #ComoxValley 3x2x8

Sam Sommers is a long-time resident in Courtenay, with a history of working in addiction and social services in the Comox Valley. She talks to hanspetermeyer about housing as part of the #3x2x8 "conversations about sustainability in the Comox Valley" project.

For more on the project, please visit www.CV2050.com or search Facebook for the CV2050 page.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Andrew Gower talks about "infrastructure" - and makes a challenge! #3x2x8

Andrew Gower is a civil engineer with Wedler Engineering in the Comox Valley. He talks to hanspetermeyer about "infrastructure" and the need for more aggressive targets as part of the #3x2x8 "conversations about sustainability in the Comox Valley" project.

For more on the project, please visit www.CV2050.com or search Facebook for the CV2050 page.

(cc) hanspetermeyer.ca / 2009

Gary Rolston talks to hanspetermeyer #3x2x8

Gary Rolston is an agricultural economist based in the Comox Valley - "the best place to grow food in BC." He talks to hanspetermeyer as part of the #3x2x8 "conversations about sustainability in the Comox Valley" project.

For more on the project, please visit www.CV2050.com or search Facebook for the CV2050 page.

Vivian Dean and hanspetermeyer talk about... Get Socialer!

Vivian Dean is a business and development consultant in the Comox Valley. In this 2nd conversation about sustainability in the Comox Valley, Vivian talks about "getting socialer" - using social media to create fun, real-time/real-space interactions that celebrate life and living in this beautiful place, the Comox Valley.
She challenges Todd Butler to a 30 words from 30 people format. It's a light-hearted, but heartfelt, approach to an often difficult topic. Watch it and laugh along with Vivian and hanspetermeyer!
(apologies for the too-bright background)

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Patti Fletcher talks to hanspetermeyer 3x2x8

Patti Fletcher is a business owner and a 3rd term Councilor in the Town of Comox in the Comox Valley. She talks to hanspetermeyer as part of the #3x2x8 "conversations about sustainability in the Comox Valley" project. For more on the project, please visit www.CV2050.com or search Facebook for the CV2050 page.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Mark Holland responds to #3x2x8

In this, the 2nd of hanspetemeyer's conversations with sustainability practioner Mark Holland, Mark responds to the 3 questions that are at the heart of the #3x2x8 project.

Mark Holland is a principal with the HBLanarc sustainability planning firm (Vancouver/Nanaimo). Mark and his company are currently working with local governments, community organizations, and residents on the Comox Valley Sustainability Strategy. He talks to hanspetermeyer about sustainability planning and community strategies for meeting the future. In this interview Mark answers the #3x2x8 series of questions that are part of the CV2050 "all about sustainability and the Comox Valley" project initiated by hanspetermeyer, David Stapley, and Meaghan Cursons.

(cc) hanspetermeyer.ca / 2009

Betty-Anne Juba talks about housing and sustainability #3x2x8

Betty-Anne Juba is a housing and food activist in the Comox Valley, and one of the founders of the Comox Valley Affordable Housing Society. She talks to hanspetermeyer about housing and sustainability as part of the #3x2x8 "conversations about sustainability in the Comox Valley" project.

For more on the project, please visit www.CV2050.com or search Facebook for the CV2050 page.

Resources for Responsible, Sustainable Citizenship (excerpts from Mark Holland's 8 Pillars of Community Sustainability)

CV2050 is about stimulating, inspiring, and catching the conversation about sustainability in the Comox Valley. The timing of our little project coincides with work being done in the Comox Valley on a sustainability strategy (CVSS) for our collection of local governments.

Amazing but true: Comox, Courtenay, Cumberland, and the Regional District are doing some planning together.

That's probably the single biggest thing that excites the folks I've interviewed: they're seeing their elected officials coming together to do some planning for the future of this place. After years of not doing what it will take to set some policy and procedures in place to sustain and enhance this place, we're starting to move together (more or less) to do some very, very important work. The next steps will be up to us (the citizens and taxpayers in this paradise).

What kinds of resources do we have? Well, there is the CVSS. Goals, objectives, measurable targets. Good stuff. We've also got the smarts of one of the bright lights in community sustainability planning working with us. And here's another thing to be excited about vis-a-vis our local elected leaders: they hired one of the leading practitioners and thinkers in the field to do the CVSS – Mark Holland. Several years ago Mark put together some influential thoughts on what a sustainability community is about. With his permission I've excerpted them here.

As I said, whatever local government does with CVSS, it's up to us – as residents, taxpayers, citizens, business owners, employees – as people who care about this place to make sustainability a reality in the Comox Valley. Mark's words are a resource. They may help you make "sustainability choices" in your businesses, families, neighbourhoods, and in our elected leaders. Dig in!

hpm

Excerpts from Mark Holland's 8 Pillars of a Sustainable Community [the full document can be downloaded here as a PDF]

by Mark Holland

Introduction
Much has been written and said on “sustainable communities” in the past 15 years. Many projects around the world have taken up the challenge of becoming more sustainable – some driven by the public sector and others by private developers. When these examples are examined closely, they typically show some similarities but more differences. These differences are largely due to the unique conditions of the project – physically, financially, politically and otherwise.

The concept of “sustainable development” emerged from the United Nations Brundtland Report in the late 1980s, in recognition that we need to create prosperous economies and communities, but we cannot damage the planet while we do this, because our children need the same opportunities we have had.

The core sustainability issues that emerged from this report include climate change, energy security, water and wastewater management, solid waste management, environmental protection, food security, health, safety, economic opportunity and responsible business practices.

Applying sustainability to a community
There are many aspects to any community and in order for a community to make real progress on sustainability objectives, the issues of sustainability must be considered for every aspect of a community.   As is immediately evident, this approach yields a matrix where one axis has sustainability issues on it, and the other has community aspects.

Our firm calls this the Sustainability Matrix © ... [you can download the full version of this excerpt, with Sustainability Matrix©, here]

[....]

Any community pursuing sustainability can identify what sustainability “really means to them” by filling in each cell on this matrix as best as they can, with issues and Best Management Practices (BMPs). Where certain suggestions repeat themselves often, these should be considered the highest priority, as by pursing them, many sustainability objectives will be met simultaneously.

Our firm has worked with this Matrix tool for many years and we are seeing a range of patterns emerging. We have clustered these and now call them, “The 8 Pillars of a Sustainable Community.” They are described below.

Pillar #1) – A Complete Community - Land Use, Density & Site Layout
A sustainable community needs to be a complete, vibrant, mixed use community that offers its residents the opportunity to work, live, play, shop, learn and pray within a convenient walking or transit distance. The community should be structured to protect key riparian areas and other important natural features sible while respecting the challenges of developing on any particular site. The community should offer a diversity of housing for a range of incomes, family sizes and ages. Commercial areas should offer office, retail, commercial space, in addition to residential and community amenities. For new communities, the issue of providing land use structures that can offer “real jobs” (not just retail) is critical for the long term prosperity of the community. The landscape in the community also needs to offer a wide range of recreational opportunities to provide a great quality of life to residents and visitors.

Pillar #2) – An Environmentally-Friendly and Community-Oriented Transportation System
A sustainable community should priorize pedestrian and cyclist modes of mobility and provide as many alternatives to the automobile as possible, including planning in advance for convenient transit service, and providing shared cars / auto co-ops to reduce the need for single person auto use. Parking strategies should minimize negative landscape disruption wherever possible (underground or ecologically sensitive design). A fine-grained pedestrian / cyclist path network should link all areas to each other to permit pedestrians to move in as straight a line as possible to their destinations.

The streets in a sustainable community should be designed with multiple objectives in mind, unlike conventional streets which are designed solely for moving and storing cars. More sustainable streets support vehicle movement and parking, but offer many other thingsas well as to contribute to environmental and social values, such as stormwater management, trees, bird habitat, play ground areas and other community uses. The Dutch woonerf (“play street”) is a good example of this approach.

Pillar #3) – Green Buildings
A sustainable community should be populated by green buildings. Buildings stand for 50-100 years or more and their design greatly determines the impact their occupants have on the planet as they live their daily lives. A green building strategy needs to be created for each community that establishes a logical approach to promoting green buildings including addressing issues such as:
          o Energy efficiency;
          o Renewable, clean and highly efficiency energy supply (such as geoexchange);
          o Passive solar oriented design;
          o Indoor air quality;
          o Green roofs;
          o Water efficient fixtures; and
          o Many others.

Green buildings can be promoted either through green design guidelines which set a standard everyone must meet. These are easy to introduce into regulation but few will exceed their minimum standards. In alternative, green buildings can be promoted through green building rating systems which promote flexibility in choice of many things one can do to make a building greener. This approach has been popularized widely in the USGBC/CaGBC’s LEED system. A rating system stimulates competition to do better, but is very difficult to regulate.

Pillar #4) – Multi-tasked Open Space
A sustainable community should offer a wide range of opportunities in its open space design, to accommodate both community and ecological needs. Key environmental areas such as riparian corridors, important natural features, groves and forested areas should be protected where possible, although impact will occur and the possibly more important question, is how the disturbed ecosystem will be rehabilitated through ecological design after development. This is because forests force many tradeoffs with human habitat. Beyond protection of critically sensitive areas, the landscape should be designed with ecological enhancement in mind, including enhancing the habitat for songbirds and butterflies through using native plants and native-compatible plants. Landscape design should also minimize or eliminate the need for irrigation and the use of pesticides.

Food should be celebrated in the landscape, particularly through the provision of community garden space where appropriate in multi-family areas to provide an opportunity for residents to grow food and meet each other.

Health, social networks and fun in the community should be enhanced through the provision of active and passive recreation opportunities throughout the neighbourhood. Great efforts should be undertaken to provide as many facilities and opportunites for all imaginable outdoor activities in the centre of the community. These animate the public realm, greatly increase health and quality of life, and can significantly reduce transportation impacts from people leaving the community to play. It is also important to recognize that in an increasingly diverse population, good landscape programming involves adding new facilities and activities over time, as the desires and activities driven by the market continue to change.

Pillar #5) – Green Infrastructure
A sustainable community should pursue innovative and green infrastructure wherever it can. “Green” infrastructure strategies should be created for every sustainable community to address sustainability objectives in the supply and management of energy, water, waste water, materials, solid waste, and others.
    * A Community Energy and Emissions Strategy – A sustainable community should develop an energy and emissions strategy to look at ways to increase energy efficiency, reduce emissions and support local, clean and renewable energy sources.
    * A Water and Waste Water Management Strategy – A sustainable community should develop an innovative water and waste water management strategy to consider the water supply and treatment management systems with an eye to reducing demand for potable water, finding benign treatment systems, recycling and reusing treated water where possible to reduce potable water demand, and others.
    * A Stormwater Management Strategy – A sustainable community should develop a coordinated stormwater management strategy that addresses issues such as street design to minimize runoff, emergency flood management, stormwater retention and re-use, stormwater quality management through swales and natural treatment systems, the integration of stormwater runoff into artistic characteristics or public art in the neighbourhood, and other issues.
    * A Solid Waste Management Strategy – A sustainable community should develop an innovative solid waste management strategy to ensure it diverts as much waste from the landfill as possible, and turns wastes into resources where possible. Waste is really a “verb” rather than an noun. Issues to consider in such a strategy may include construction waste management, design to accommodate recycling and organic compost diversion (3 stream separation) both at the scale of the unit (eg kitchen design) and at the building (eg: garbage room design) in multi-family buildings, the provision of “share shelves” in the garbage rooms of each multi-family building to encourage the sharing amongst residents of items that have a lot of useful life left in them, site clearing waste management, such as composting wood waste, making bark mulch, re-use of clearing wood by local artists , or others, plant salvage from construction areas for reuse as landscaping vegetation, and others.
    * An integrated system strategy: Eco-Industrial Networking – A sustainable community explores opportunities to integrate their infrastructure systems to increase their efficiencies, but also to increase environmental performance. For instance, often significant heat can be drawn from a sewage pumping station flows – enough to heat hundreds of nearby homes.   Parking and transportation facilities can often be shared amongst land uses or businesses to reduce impact and cost. The practice of designing these integrated systems is known as Industrial Ecology and its practice is known as Eco-Industrial Networking. The term “industrial” is merely a reference to where the practice emerged – in industrial and chemical plants where models of the “ecosystem” are now being used as templates from plants and industrial parks.

Pillar #6) – A Healthy Food System
A sustainable community should recognize both the importance of a healthy food supply for the community, but also the great opportunities for culture and community spirit that food can offer. Food is like any other flow in a community such as energy, water or materials. Moreover, it is a major element of every household’s expenditures and the food supply has a significant impact on the planet. The community should encourage the development of a food store and restaurants within convenient distances of all residents to reduce driving, increase local economic activity and increase the quality of life. Village areas should be designed to support a farmer’s market, including the provision of necessary infrastructure such as power, water and washrooms. Community garden space should be provided where possible in multi-family areas to permit the growing of some food. Celebration of food throughout the season will be encouraged, such as through the establishment of an apple festival or other events, in a partnership with the local homeowners or business owners associations. Organic food supplies should be encouraged as they not only taste better and are healthier, but they also significantly reduce the impact on the planet of producing food.

Pillar #7) – Community Facilities and Programs
A sustainable community should provide key community facilities to support a healthy lifestyle and the creation of a vibrant social community including a high quality public realm design that promotes safety and encourages residents to meet each other and build relationships. These facilities and programs vary for each community and a strategy to provide amenities and facilities for all age groups needs to be developed to support a good quality of life for people of all ages and to support “Aging in Place” opportunities.

Pillar #8) – Economic Development
A sustainable community should offer many economic opportunities for investment, businesses and employment that can support an economically diverse and prosperous community. Commercial and village areas should offer a range of commercial (retail and local office) facilities to maximize working and shopping opportunities. The commercial areas should not only focus on retail jobs, but also on encouraging the development of real job opportunities appropriate to the income level of the neighbourhood, including live/work opportunities. The pursuit of greener buildings in a commercial area may also reduce energy and other costs for its businesses making the village a desirable and competitive place to locate. Greener buildings also have marked increases in employee satisfaction which also supports prosperous businesses. Opportunities to leverage a community’s natural locations adjacent natural or recreational areas, or as part of a rich history of past activity needs to be identified and leveraged.   Finally, A sustainable community works to encourage the adoption of green business practices and other systems that enhance both the environmental and economic performance of businesses in the community.

Conclusion
The 8 Pillars of a Sustainable Community is offered as a summary of the many opportunities a community can pursue to become more sustainable. By pursuing these, a community will not only increase its livability and prosperity, it will reduce the ecological footprint of its residents and increase human and ecological health, both locally and globally.

Each community is unique and not all the BMPs noted above will be appropriate. Through using the Sustainability Matrix, a community can build a personalized “hand-in-glove” sustainability strategy, tailored to their specific needs, challenges and opportunities.

[Thanks to Mark and HBLanarc for allowing CV2050.com to post this excert here. For the full document, you can download it here as a PDF]

Friday, November 6, 2009

Responding to Anya Mac: $ CV2050 CVSS

I'm a pretty loose-lips kind of guy around some things – things that I make assumptions about, or think should be common knowledge. This give me lots of opportunity to pull my foot out of my mouth. Or, as I prefer to think about it, to create conversations that get a little deeper (and sometimes more uncomfortable) than I'd intended. Good stuff in my books.

So, thanks for your email Anya Mac: you made the point that there are some questions about $, CV2050, the Comox Valley Sustainability Strategy, and the #3x2x8 "convos about sustainability in the Comox Valley" project. Questions raised by my loose references to "cash" related to the CVSS.

Here's how it looks to me: I saw an opportunity to do what I do (stimulate convos about sustainability in my town) because there was a sustainability project happening; with some collaborators a small proposal was put to the CVSS consultant, HBLanarc – and they liked it.

In the end, it turns out they liked it so much they were willing to go into their own pockets (not the CVSS budget) and give us some seed $. Most of the energy for CV2050 and the #3x2x8 convos comes from the commitment of the folks – like me – who've been working on this "conversation about sustainability in the Comox Valley" for lotsa years, and others – like you – who are relative newcomers but already appreciate what a special place this is.

This kind of bits-and-pieces approach, with official processes providing a context for interesting and experimental convos, isn't new. I've been here before: cobbling together volunteer passion and diverse bits of $ to make convos happen. It's very much like what I did in the 90s, when I and a different crew of collabs initiated the Communities Institute (it died a premature death several years before things like today's SmartGrowthBC and the Communities in Transition program institutionalized and stabilized some of the kinds of things we were doing on a shoestring).

I was reminded of the cool things we did through CI just this morning when I replied to a CV2050 post by Alison Mewett. I met her in '94 at my first taste of what a "design charette" might look like. Very fun. (I wish I had the drawings from that day. Eight different, exciting visions of what Courtenay could look like if it embraced density, mixed-uses, walkability. Way ahead of its time.) AM was part of that. Within a couple of years, she and Judy Walker had become the brains behind something we called the "Land Use Café." Today's #3x2x8 convos, and the whole CV2050 experiment owes its genesis to what JW & AM helped cook up in the mid-90s, and to Judy's comment this past summer that, "We need another Land Use Café, but this time online."

Thanks Judy. Here it is. Only we're calling it CV2050. Just like that earlier effort at stimulating and informing the "convo about sustainability in the Comox Valley," this takes advantage of opportunities and challenges (ie. CVSS), engages a bunch of diverse folks (see the list of folks who've participated in the #3x2x8 convos so far), and draws on bits of $ and volunteer energy wherever they are to be found.

So, thanks to all who are playing along. And thanks to HBLanarc for seeding the convo outside of or alongside of the CVSS process. I laud their contribution (and not just because it'll keep my cats in kibbles and kitty litter for a few months), because the "convo about sustainability in the Comox Valley" doesn't end with the adoption of the CVSS. The CVSS sets targets. It tells us where we think we need to be in 2015 and 2050. Ultimately, it's up to us – the citizens and taxpayers in this place I love – to make choices for sustainability. This includes who we elect, the way we travel, where we buy, how we deal with garbage, what we eat, etc etc etc. Big choices. Little choices. All of them adding up ways to ensure that in 10, 20, and 40 years the Comox Valley still is a beautiful (in all senses of the word) place to call home. We're hoping that the #3x2x8 convos sustain thinking action to meet this goal.

Thanks Anya for sparking this. Yes, I do have other things to do than tend to CV2050, the #3x2x8 convos, and pulling my foot out of my mouth. But you've given me yet another opportunity to perhaps clarify something that wasn't clear, and to write about something I'm passionate about: a thriving, sustainability Comox Valley.

hpm

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Tom Dishlevoy talks to hanspetermeyer #3x2x8

Tom Dishlevoy is an architect with offices in the Town of Comox in the Comox Valley. He talks to hanspetermeyer as part of the #3x2x8 "conversations about sustainability in the Comox Valley" project. For more on the project, please visit www.CV2050.com or search Facebook for the CV2050 page.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Judy Walker talks about sustainability in the Comox Valley

Judy Walker is the Planner with the Village of Cumberland in the Comox Valley and a long-time Valley resident who also operates a vineyard on the Comox Peninsula. Judy talks to hanspetermeyer as part of the #3x2x8 "conversations about sustainability in the Comox Valley" project. For more on the project, please visit www.CV2050.com or search Facebook for the CV2050 page.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Jackie Connelly and #3x2x8 - sustainability in the Comox Valley

Jackie Connelly is a photographer based in Vancouver, but with roots in the Comox Valley. Her practice is focused on food - from producer to table. You can see her work here, at www.jackieconnelly.com.

Jackie talks to hanspetermeyer as part of the #3x2x8 "conversations about sustainability in the Comox Valley" project.

For more on the project, please visit www.CV2050.com or search Facebook for the CV2050 page.

Monday, November 2, 2009

RonaldSt-Pierre talks to hanspetermeyer #3x2x8

Chef Ronald St. Pierre is the Chef and owner of Locals Restaurant in Courtenay in the Comox Valley. He talks to hanspetermeyer as part of the #3x2x8 "conversations about sustainability in the Comox Valley" project. For more on the project, please visit www.CV2050.com or search Facebook for the CV2050 page.

Roberta Stevenson talks to hanspetermeyer about sustainability in the Comox Valley

This is one in a series of conversations about sustainability in the Comox Valley posted as part of the #3x2x8 project. For more on that project, go to CV2050/#3x2x8

We hope this inpsires you to do your own #3x2x8 video, audio, or text interviews. We welcome your posts. Check out our Facebook page, post your interviews, make comments. Please tag everything #3x2x8 or #CV2050 so others can follow the many voices on what a sustainable Comox Valley will look like!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

I love your button, too bad CVEDS isn't applying this concept to the Duck's unlimited lands aka ALR land where they want to build the $5 to $6 million palace of a farmer's market. Pave paradise and put up a parking lot....booooo

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