While construction has not yet begun,
some Lower Mainland communities are planning neighbourhoods with a
more sustainable future in mind.
The city of surrey, along with the help of the University of B.C.'s
James Taylor Chair, in Landscapes and Liveable Environments (www.agsci.ubc.ca/jamestaylorchair),
is planning the sustainable urban community of East Clayton, also
known as the headwaters project. In December 1998, Surrey city planners
began investigating sustainable development based on principles of
sustainable development. City council, which will vote on servicing
and financing concepts in June, wants a compact design with increased
density to allow for residents to walk to services including schools,
parks and shops. Amenities would be within a five-minute walk to eliminate
the need for cars. The city also wants to develop a mixture of housing
types, from single homes to apartment buildings, on the eastern edge
of the municipality. East Clayton's garages would be located in lanes
at the rear of dwellings, and an interconnected street network would
be designed in a grid to cut down on traffic congestion. The neighborhood's
narrow streets would be shaded be rows of trees to provide a greener,
more friendly environment. One of the unique aspects of this development
is a natural drainage system that holds water on the surface and slowly
allows it to seep into the ground and into narrow ditches along roadsides.
The proposed development has the support of an advisory committee
made up of representatives from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans,
the Ministry of Environment Lands and arks, Environment Canada, the
Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp., BC Hydro and other. The main
focus of planning for sustainable development is to protect the environment
and water quality for fish, according to Patrick Condon, a UBC associate
professor and the head of the James Taylor Chair in Landscapes and
Livable Environments. Condon said the East Clayton design would cut
down vehicle use and air pollution by about 40 per cent in that neighbourhood.
Condon said the proposed water infiltration system, as opposed to
commonly used storm drainage systems, would allow streams to fill
normally and would protect fish habitat. He said infiltration can
cost less then conventional drainage and no extra land is required
for water retention ponds.
Infiltration of surface water would nearly eliminate water pollution
and stream |
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disturbances. "We can't completely mimic
nature," said Condon. "It's the only way to urbanize and have no impact
on streams." Condon said that as the Lower Mainland's population continues
to grow, now is the time to adopt sustainable development practices.
"We only have five to 10 years to change our patterns to avoid what
our children are going to truly regret," he said. While some communities
such as Surrey are considering alternative developments, most are
slow to catch on. Federal and provincial governments should share
the responsibility and political risks for these new projects, according
to Condon. "No one wants to take risk, and when politicians do, there
are very little rewards to trying alternative," he explained. Eric
Emery, municipal drainage planning manager for Surrey, said the city
is still reviewing potential developers for the project. "The proof
will be when a developer comes in and builds it," said Emery, who
predicts construction will start in 2001. In Port Moody, plans are
in works to develop the Suter Brook community, also based on sustainable
principles. The development would include about 1,000 residential
units in a mixture of low-rise and high-rise buildings. About 55 per
cent of the 22-acre site in the Town Center would be preserved as
green space. The Suter Brook habitat area would be dedicated as a
greenway including salmon spawning channels and rearing ponds. The
development includes a stormwater management plan that separates the
clean and dirty water, and an environmental construction-monitoring
plan. The proposal includes a stream stewardship plan to educate residents
about protecting Suter Brook, a salmon stream which runs through the
middle of the development. A fund that the builders pay into would
be set up for long-term maintenance of Suter Brook. Development is
proposed for on the former site of a steel foundry where soil contains
small amounts of zinc. The ministry of Environmental, Lands and Parks
has approved a clean-up plan, which would include removing the contaminated
soil. While Suter Brook development has received all government agency
approvals, including council's nod, the development was put on hold
last spring due to poor marketing conditions. Bob Heaslip, planning
director for Vancouver-based Pottinger Gaherty Environmental Consultants
Ltd., was the development manager for the Suter Brook project for
developer Concert Properties, formerly called Greystone Properties
Ltd. Concert is in a joint partnership with the Inuvialuit Development
Corp. to develop the property. "This approach starts with the environment
first and looks at how we con enhance it. |