Smart Growth BC Announces New Executive Director

On December 1, the Board of Directors of Smart Growth BC announced the appointment of the organization's new Executive Director, Cam Brewer, a well-known and respected leader in the green building and sustainability field.

Cam is currently the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Program Manager for the Canada Green Building Council, where he manages the development of the new LEED-ND (Neighbourhood Development) rating system for green neighbourhoods in Canada. He will take up his new position at Smart Growth BC on February 2, 2009. Read the media release.

Sea-to-Sky Greenbelt Project 

This fall, Smart Growth BC unveiled the findings of months of research along the Sea-to-Sky corridor. These include determining the state of protected areas in the corridor, and identifying areas for future conservation potential. Copies of the maps and the public presentations can be found on the Sea-to-Sky Greenbelt website.

Smart Growth BC will soon release the Final Report on Phase 1 of the Sea-to-Sky Greenbelt initiative. 

Thank you for your continued involvement and support! A big thanks also to the Wilderness Committee for providing first-class mapping expertise.

Smart Growth Advisory Services

We are now entering the final stages of the South Cowichan Official Community Plan project. The land use  plan is being refined further, and a first draft of the Official Community Plan is almost complete. Stay tuned for more workshops and news on this project in January and February!

What's more, we have embarked upon a number of new and exciting projects, including:

• The Peace River Regional District's Official Community Plan (OCP) for the South Peace Fringe Area. Smart Growth Advisory Services' staff and project partners kicked off the OCP process with a series of Open Houses.

Smart Growth on the Ground

On November 26 and 27, Smart Growth on the Ground hosted two events in Prince George: a Learning Event on the topics of climate change and housing, and a Priority-Setting Workshop focused on a vibrant and sustainable future for downtown. The events brought together leading researchers from the University of BC and University of Northern BC (UNBC), additional expert speakers, planning student volunteers from UNBC, and 175 community participants. 

Smart Growth on the Ground is a partnership between Smart Growth BC, the Design Centre for Sustainability at UBC, and the Real Estate Institute of BC. The Smart Growth on the Ground project in Prince George would like to give a special thanks to our funders and supporters, including:

• Northern Development Initiative Trust
• Prince George Community Foundation
• The Real Estate Foundation of BC
• Tree Canada
• Vancity
• BC Hydro
• Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
• Ramada Hotel Prince George
• BC Ministry of Environment
• BC Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Arts--Heritage Branch

Voter Education Campaign

For our third Voter Education Campaign, Smart Growth BC produced a new edition of the Guide to Election Issues. We joined forces with 22 groups to distribute 99,400 copies of the Guide through neighbourhood networks, local newspapers and all-candidates events throughout BC. 

Smart Growth BC also co-hosted all-candidates events:

• We partnered with the Coquitlam Civic League, the Canadian Cancer Society and Simon Fraser University’s Semester in Dialogue to host an all-candidates “World Café” event in Coquitlam. Close to 90 people participated in this dialogue.

• We worked with South Fraser on Trax and Kwantlen Polytechnic University to organize two all-candidates events in Langley and Surrey, respectively. Altogether, 141 people participated in these events.

A huge thanks to the many volunteers and campaign partners, who helped ensure smart growth was part of the election debate, as well as Whistler's Nita Lake Lodge for their generous donation of a vacation prize for the Guide's evaluation survey.

Smart Bits

--The Community Assistance Program (CAP) is facilitating the Smart Growth on the Ground Learning Exchange program for rural and Northern communities to learn about the Smart Growth on the Ground methodology. For more information, contact Jason Emmert at: jason@smartgrowth.bc.ca or (604)915-5234 x302. 

--Congratulations to the Committee for a Strong and Sustainable Salmon Arm for mobilizing over 1,400 residents in successfully voicing their concerns for a council motion to amend Salmon Arm's Official Community Plan and rezone a floodplain for large scale commercial development.

--On November 4, the Urban Development Institute and Smart Growth BC presented their first joint seminar focusing on practical ideas to advance smart development. The presentations are available on our website.
 

Staff Changes at Smart Growth BC

We welcome Claire Williams and Mary-Anne Thomas who joined our team as Smart Growth Advisory Services Planner and Office Manager, respectively. We will miss Cheeying Ho, who took on a new position at the Whistler Centre for Sustainability, and Ione Smith who will be on maternity leave, effective January 2009.

Friends of Smart Growth BC

Thank you to all of our donors and funders who contributed to Smart Growth BC from July 1 through December 15, 2008:

Individuals

• Frank Mitchell
Linda Nowlan

Municipal Friends

Business/Organizational Friends

Funding Organizations

  Happy Holidays!

 The Smart Growth BC's office will be closed from December 24 through January 1, 2009.

  Photo Credits

Top banner (left to right): District of Squamish Downtown Neighbourhood Plan; Amanda Mitchell; Smart Growth BC; Cheeying Ho.

Sea-to-Sky Greenbelt Project: Ione Smith

Smart Growth Advisory Services: Erin Welk

Smart Growth on the Ground: Sheryl Webster

Voter Education Campaign: Aftab Erfan