Mayor's Report - August 2009

Metro Vancouver's Regional Growth Strategy (RGS) is a long-term framework for the future development of our region. It is a shared commitment by Metro Vancouver (MV) and its member municipalities to work together to achieve regional goals. The integration of land use and transportation strategies is a central component of the strategy and key to how the region grows and changes in the future.

In February Metro Vancouver released the draft Regional Growth Strategy plan entitled Metro Vancouver 2040: Shaping our Future which has five goals:

The Metro Vancouver Board requested that municipalities provide comments on issues by May 22^nd, and all municipalities provided initial comments which are available on the Metro Vancouver RGS website. The draft RGS document contained three key items that necessitated a response by Belcarra Council:

Public consultation on the draft began on April 15^th and extended until the end of May. Metro Vancouver held 20 public events including evening meetings, public breakfasts, and regional forums. The video and PowerPoint presentation used during the public consultation are available on the Metro Vancouver RGS website. The website also includes 'backgrounders' that identify key issues in the region and outline how the draft Regional Growth Strategy proposes to address those issues.

The results of the public consultation program were presented to the Regional Planning Committee in July and are also available on the RGS website. A revised draft of the Regional Growth Strategy will go forward to the Regional Planning Committee in early fall, and all municipalities will be requested for further comments by year-end.

In order to be adopted, the final Regional Growth Strategy document must be unanimously endorsed by the MV member municipalities. Within two years of the RGS bylaw being adopted by the Metro Vancouver Board, each MV municipality must ensure its own Official Community Plan (OCP) bylaw meets Metro Vancouver's requirements as detailed in the adopted RGS bylaw. There are contentious issues for some MV municipalities and the next draft of the RGS document will provide the basis for an interesting debate.

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