Regional Growth Strategies

 

Regional planning is a cornerstone of protecting environmentally sensitive areas because ecology does not follow political boundaries.  Municipal coordination on environmental and other issues is particularly crucial for maintaining the health of riparian areas, a habitat that flows through many jurisdictions. 

 

Since 1995, regional districts have had the capacity to adopt regional growth strategies (RGS) under the Local Government Act.  The purpose is to encourage the municipalities in a region to agree to a coordinated approach to inter-municipal issues, such as transportation or natural areas.  Development of a Regional Growth Strategy is guided by a set of fourteen principles aimed at curbing sprawl, protecting environmentally sensitive areas, and reducing pollution. 

 

However, the RGS process is voluntary.  It does not set any enforceable goals and specific outcomes.  Even when a Strategy is agreed upon, it rarely requires participating municipalities to meaningfully change their policies and bylaws, and the enforcement mechanisms are very weak.  They are an important vision statement, but, to date, have lacked specific watershed-based action.

 

A Regional Growth Strategy must cover a period of at least 20 years.  It must contain the social, economic and environmental objectives for a region, population and employment projections, and actions to provide for the needs of the projected regional population in relation to housing, transportation, regional district services, parks and natural area, and economic development.

Developing a Growth Strategy

 

The decision to develop a Regional Growth Strategy is made by a regional district board composed of municipal councilors in a region.  The Minister of Community, Aboriginal and Women’s Services may also order a region to develop a RGS.  Each RGS process is monitored by the Intergovernmental Relations and Planning Division of the Ministry.

During the development of a Strategy the regional board must provide opportunity for consultation with citizens and organizations that will be affected by the RGS.  The regional board must adopt a consultation plan to provide ongoing consultation with citizens, local government, first nations, other boards and government agencies.  Before the RGS has been finally accepted, the board must conduct a public hearing.

Implementation of a Regional Growth Strategy

Once an RGS has been adopted, each municipality has up to two years to adopt a regional context statement in its official community plan (OCP) explaining how the OCP and plans of the municipality and RGS will be made compatible over time.  Unless specifically directing in a regional context statement, a RGS does not specifically bind a municipality to a course of action, nor can it be used to invalidate bylaws and other regulatory initiatives.  However, all bylaws and services of a regional district must be consistent with the RGS.

 

A local governments may also enter into implementation agreements to coordinate how regionally-important projects such as transportation investments, sewers, parks and hospitals will be managed.  Regional or municipal governments may obtain the commitment of provincial, federal or aboriginal governments and other agencies to act consistently with and implement an RGS.

 

For further suggestions on how a Regional Growth Strategy might be implemented, see the Guide’s page on Implementation of Local Government Plans. 

 

Related Guide Pages:

 

·          Local Government Act

·          Local Government Act – Official Community Plans

·          Regional Districts

For further information on regional growth strategies:

 

·          Relevant sections of the Local Government Act

 

·          Linda Nowlan, Chris Rolfe and Kathy Grant, The Smart Growth Guide to Local Government Law and Advocacy (Vancouver: West Coast Environmental Law, 2001).

 

·          Regional District of Nanaimo, Growth Management Plan

 

·          Greater Vancouver Regional District, Livable Regions Strategic Plan

 

·          Regional Growth Strategies on the Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women’s Services, Intergovernmental Relations and Planning Division website

 

·          Ray Tomalty, Growth Management in the Vancouver Region (Assessment and Planning Project, University of Waterloo 2002)