2008 City of Castlegar

Small City - Big Beginnings
The City of Castlegar has begun its path to GHG reductions when it signed the Climate Action Charter in 2007. Its first major corporate action was in the design and construction of its new City Hall. The project entailed the removal of an old energy inefficient city building and replaced with a 12,000 sq. ft. building designed to save over 275,000 Kwh per year versus a similarly sized conventional building. This represents a savings of over 50.4% compared to a conventional building. Most importantly the new building will save 28,740 kg of GHG. The building was priced at $4.2 M and came in on budget and on time.

The main energy saver was design of a geothermal well. In addition, the building design has incorporated a number of other features including:
- building control systems for switching off lights automaticallyat the end of the day, and daylight photo sensors dimming lights automatically according to the amount of sunshine,
- thermally broken window frames with no heat loss.
- energy efficient elevator that uses 25% less power to operate than normal elevators;
- sun tunnels to provide natural light to the upper floor walkway;
- energy efficient glazing
- insulation at R-40;
- heat air exchanger
- one water temperature only for all washroom fixtures.

In addition the new building has used other environmentally friendly features including low-flush toilets, environmentally friendly recycled roof material and xeriscape landscaping.

The Building has received a 2008 FortisBC PowerSense Award for an organization that promotes or demonstrates leadership in energy efficiency design or practice.

The City has also begun other corporate initiatives on its GHG reduction program. The City has begun a public composting facility this year. It has approved a curbside recycling program to start September 1, of this year. It has applied for an ICSP funding grant to review the City's landuse and development policies. It has commissioned a Water Sustainability Management Plan and has begun installing residential water meters as a fundamental step towards water conservation. In addition the City has also undertaken new corporate processes designed at reducing our GHG. Public Works is now using a mix of bio-diesel fuels with conventional fuels for fleet vehicles. The City has established a No-Idling policy and has encouraged other members of the community to follow suit. The City has begun to mix the Treatment Plant sludge with wood chips to produce Class B compost that is suitable for City landscaping requirements. The City has also begun to install Pedestrian Crossing solar powered lights for the first time in the City and the City is retrofitting all municipal buildings such as the firehall with energy efficient lighting.
All of the above has developed very quickly for our small City and we believe it is a good example for other small municipalities just starting on their own path to GHG reductions .

2008 City of Dawson Creek

THIS application is based on a number groundbreaking studies, initiated by the City of Dawson Creek and completed in 2008, to study the potential for Solar, Wind and Bio Mass energy utilization as well as Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Improvements for New Homes in Dawson Creek, a study proposing green building code options. These studies provide important information and potential actions to assist in the achievment of the greenhouse gas reduction goals set out in the City of Dawson Creek Climate Action Plan.

2008 City of Pitt Meadows

Due to its location, surrounded by agricultural lands, the City of Pitt Meadows has recognized the limitations of its urban area, and the need for sustainable developments. The City has recently adopted a Council Policy that requires the completion of a "Smart Growth Checklist for Development Applications" for all Development Permit, Land Use Bylaw Amendment, and Official Community Plan Amendment applications. The checklist is adapted from the City of New Westminster.
The checklist will be used in addition to the policies and requirements found in the Official Community Plan and as such, this checklist is not intended to be used as a tool to enforce the implementation of Smart Growth practices, but instead to provide the means to determine the sustainable potential of a proposed development. Depending on the nature of the project not all questions will be relevant at all times, however, the requirement by Council for an applicant to complete the list will emphasize the importance placed on sustainable development initiatives in the City of Pitt Meadows.
The checklist addresses the economic, environmental and social sustainability of a potential project, and requires that applicants provide information about the potential employment, the proximity to shopping and transportation, the energy efficiency of the proposed structures, the use of renewable energy alternatives, LEED Certification, storm water management, provision of green space and other amenities, accessibility and many other sustainable development practices.

2008 City of Prince George

Application in the Corporate Operations category based on work in the Energy Management field within Civic Facilities.

Over the past decade the Civic Facilities Division has partnered with BC Hydro Power Smart to undertake many individual energy improvement projects, including lighting upgrades, building energy management system installations, ice plant efficiency improvements and heat recovery, and separately building envelope/roofing insulation upgrade projects. Although these projects all resulted in substantial energy reductions, it was decided a more comprehensive energy management program which would involve getting all staff to buy in to energy management would be a substantial benefit for the city.

In late 2007 the City of Prince George formally partnered with BC Hydro under their Energy Manager Program and hired the firm Energy Advantage Inc. to act in the capacity of Energy Manager. This followed the city producing an Energy and Greenhouse Gas Management Plan, having a One-2-Five Energy Diagnostic completed, and partnering with Direct Energy for natural gas procurement flexibility. The One-2-Five Energy report identified that the city could save from $250,000 to $350,000 yearly in energy savings through improved energy management.

The energy manager project is now in its' first year 3rd quarter with executive and working groups identified, capital and operating budgets set up, energy audits completed on 12 major facilities, a new energy policy being developed, and initial work completed on identifying reasonable payback projects to tackle first. We will be capping off the first year of work by producing a Sustainable Energy Management Plan.

2008 City of Richmond

Watermania wave pool is located at 14300 Entertainment Blvd. in Richmond. the building was constructed in 1997 and is 74,043 sq.ft. in area.

The baseline: The building's HVAC system consisted of two chilled water cooling/hot water heating custom made (100 tons, 41000 CFM each) scott springfield units AHU-1 & AHU-2 located on lower roof on east and west side of the building. The air was supplied to and returned from the pool via main round ducts (suspended from the ceiling) and commercial type grilles on each side of the pool. Chilled water serving the chilled water coils was generated and circulated by two pumps CP-1 & CP-2 using an indoor 200 tons MQQUAY chiller located in main mechanical room by the pool and BAC cooling tower located
outside. Two RBI gas boilers B-1 & B-2, 4000 MBH each provided heating water to heating coils inside the AHU-1 and AHU-2. In addition to these units , there were also nine roof top electric cooling and gas heating Carrier packaged units RTU-1 through RTU-9 spread out on east and west side of the building on lower roof. There were a number of roof mounted type exhaust fans serving rest rooms, mechanical rooms and pool equipment rooms. One roof mounted exhaust fan worked in combination with make-up air unit MAU-1 serving the locker rooms.

Energy-saving project: This project included boiler upgrades, dehumidification system component replacement, and enhanced digital building controls. The existing mid-efficiency boilers were upgraded to advanced high-efficiency boilers. In addition to enhancing the heating capacity in order to satisfy periods of increased demand, the boiler upgrade also designed to reduce annual energy consumption by 2500 GJ. The existing twin screw chiller was replaced with a centrifugal chiller capable of performing heat recovery. The new chiller performs mechanical refrigeration to condense and dehumidify the pool natatorium air. In the process, waste heat is recovered by the dehumidification system and recycled for supply air and pool water heating. By minimizing reliance on outdoor makeup air and recovering waste heat, the chiller was improved overall air quality and designed to reduce energy loss by 4800 GJ. In addition, the digital automated building controls were upgraded to integrate all system components and to ensure that energy savings are achieved. The system enhancement includes software upgrade, installation of new Ethernet system, site controllers and process control units.

2008 District of Saanich

The attached report outlines Saanich's groundbreaking Municipal Carbon Neutral Reserve Fund (the Fund) which commits Saanich to carbon neutrality and sets a new level of excellence for municipal climate change initiatives. The implementation of the Fund was approved by Saanich Council in September of 2007, along with a set of principles designed to ensure the proper management of projects utilizing the Fund. It is to be used only for new GHG-reducing initiatives within Saanich. The Fund is an innovative tool which, to our knowledge, has not been developed anywhere else in Canada. Projects stemming from this fund will make a significant contribution to GHG emission reduction in Saanich. Saanich takes pride in its reputation as a climate change leader and will continue to seek innovative ways to engage and educate the community and to share its knowledge with fellow local governments.

2008 District of Squamish

Challenged with unprecedented development and growth, Squamish has resolutely been conscious of making policy and decisions that will help build a resilient community. This includes the  Squamish Community Energy Action Plan (CEAP). This CEAP includes:
· Municipal: Energy Audits of existing buildings, and policies and standards for new municipal buildings.
· New-Building Green tool-kit: Guidelines, checklists and educational information for builders and developers for new multi-family, industrial, commercial and institutional buildings.
· Homebuilders Toolkit: Information for single-detached and duplex builders doing new construction and renovations
The CEAP also includes three key catalyst projects:
· District Energy - A pre-feasibility report for development of Neighbourhood Energy Utilities on brownfield redevelopment sites.
· Sustainability Block: A comprehensive report and guidelines that integrate energy efficiency and GHG reduction into the Smart Growth on the Ground context.
· Multi-Modal Transportation Hub: A series of guidelines, uses, and innovations to help develop a central, multi-modal transportation node in downtown Squamish that is designed to support options to the car.
District of Squamish Council has consistently endorsed and supported energy efficiency and GHG reduction targets and principals, with Council initiated pledges and substantial budget dollars, as well as participation in the ‘One Change - One Year Challenge', where each Councilor has adopted at least one GHG reduction action for an entire year.
Six-month review of the ‘One-Change - One Year Challenge', as well as deliverables of the Squamish CEAP will occur in September 2008.

2008 District of Ucluelet

Ucluelet residents and businesses are becoming some of the most energy-aware people in all of BC. Ucluelet's approach to achieving community-wide energy adaptation is dependent on the community's involvement, during both the design and implementation stages of the project. By interweaving innovative public engagement processes into policy review, the community has automatically created a level of understanding to the "why" and "how" of sustainability. These latest energy actions continue to provide long-lasting momentum that is required for achieving a sustainable energy system: Carbon Smart Workgroup; Energy Day; Green Building Guide & BuildGreen Network; LiveSmart BC Low Income Housing Program; and LEED Gold Community Hub & Daycare. When kids are asking their parents to buy an electric car, local builders are competing to build the most energy efficient home, and the Municipal Treasurer is looking at life-cycle costing, you know that change is taking place.

2008 Regional District of Nanaimo

The Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) Board of Directors has adopted an innovative green building policy that is among the first of its kind in the Province. The distinguishing feature of the ‘Green Building Policy for Regional District Facilities' is the requirement that all new construction undertaken by the RDN follow an integrated design process (IDP). This represents a departure from the conventional approach of local governments, typically requiring new construction to achieve a pre-determined green building standard.

The advantage of adopting a process-based green building policy lies in its inherent flexibility and adaptability to diverse circumstances. This enables the RDN, which builds and maintains an extremely wide range of facilities, to include all new construction in its green building policy. This flexibility also allows the RDN to prioritize energy efficiency and life-cycle costing, two key elements of the policy:

1. Based on the urgent need to mitigate climate change, all new construction will optimize energy efficiency and minimize greenhouse gas emissions. Starting in 2010, efficiency measures will achieve a 50% reduction in tonnes of CO2 equivalent relative to the Model National Energy Code. This will increase incrementally until 2030, at which point the RDN is committed to building carbon neutral facilities.
2. The RDN will use the life-cycle costing approach to reveal the long-term savings associated with up-front investments in efficiency.

With this policy the RDN will increase the number of green buildings in the region, and lead the transition toward the development of more high-performance buildings.

2008 Resort Municipality of Whistler

The RMOW has a long history of sustainability-oriented approaches for both community planning and corporate management. This focus on sustainability has enabled a high degree of sophistication in corporate energy and emissions management planning - both in terms of informing and directing the RMOW's internal management and decision-making systems (e.g. detailed energy and emissions inventories), as well as supporting our continued advocacy for compact, energy-efficient neighborhood designs (e.g. WhistlerGreen & Infill Housing guidelines).

Over the last few years, the opportunity for the RMOW itself to develop the Whistler Athletes Village neighborhood has presented a unique confluence of these two core capacities - corporate leadership and neighborhood design. Building on our record of progressive energy management as well as our broader corporate commitment to systems-based sustainability objectives, this particular opportunity has led a number of new corporate innovations: the development of a unique new resident neighbourhood (one of 27 LEED-ND pilot projects in Canada), the creation of a waste-heat powered municipal energy utility, and the installation of an progressive district energy system that will service the space heating and hot water needs of more than 375,000 ft2 of new construction while reducing our communities dependence on carbon-based energy sources.

As demonstrated by the wide variety of proactive energy and emissions planning, policies and actions outlined within this application, and as uniquely evidenced by our development of the Athlete Village District Energy System in particular, we trust that you will find our corporate operations worthy of consideration for the CEA Energy Action Award for Corporate Operations.

2008 Township of Langley

In November 2006, the Township of Langley became one of the first organizations in Canada to join the Fraser Basin Council's E3 Fleet Program, displaying its commitment to improving the overall efficiency of its corporate fleet of vehicles and equipment (Appendix A). This initiative is consistent with the Township's Sustainability Charter. It also supports the Township's goal to decrease corporate carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by 10 per cent below year 2000 levels by 2010 and its pledge to achieve carbon neutral operations by 2012. These goals have resulted from the Township's participation in the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Partners for Climate Protection Program and commitment to the Province of British Columbia's Climate Action Charter respectively. Since joining the E3 program, the Township has began using a 20 per cent blended biodiesel in its entire diesel fleet, implemented a municipal vehicle anti-idling policy limiting idling to one minute, installed GPS units in its dump trucks to facilitate route planning, purchased two Smart Cars, replaced three inefficient pool vehicles with Hybrid Honda Civics and have embarked on an aggressive right-sizing effort. Resultantly, a fleet audit in the spring of 2008 revealed that the Township has improved its median fleet fuel efficiency by 8.5 per cent since committing to the program. In June 2008, the Fraser Basin Council announced that the Township of Langley's fleet has been named British Columbia's first Green Rated Fleet at the Silver level of achievement (Appendix B).

2007 Burnaby EnergyFit

As a result of Burnaby's EnergyFit retrofit program, the City has saved $360,000 in electricity and natural gas costs during the two-year implementation period, and is expected to conserve 4,022,980 kWh of electricity and 23,836 GJ of natural gas on an annual basis.

 This reduction in natural gas alone will result in a corresponding reduction in CO2 emission in the amount of 1,296 tonnes per year. To complement the City's civic upgrades, a three year education program was also undertaken to motivate staff to turn off their lights and computer monitors when not in use, reduce vehicle idling, and minimize other unnecessary forms of energy use.

2007 Delta Climate Change Initiative

The Climate Change Initiative comprises nine individual action plans which definespecific strategies for reducing Delta's contribution to global warming and mitigating itsvulnerability to climate change:

1. Building Efficiency Plan2. Green Fleet Management Plan3. Infrastructure Improvement Plan4. Urban Forest Management Plan5. Education and Training Plan6. Flood Management Plan7. Natural Areas Management Plan8. Sustainable Development Management Plan9. Community Outreach and Education Plan

2007 Elkford Corporate Operations

The District of Elkford, population 2,400 intends to demonstrate to communities of a similar size
that given the drive and commitment of a co-ordinated team of Council and staff, that smaller
communities are capable of exhibiting leadership and innovation within the realm of energy
related projects on a par with larger communities.
The District has undertaken the following projects, all of which demonstrate the commitment and
leadership of our Council and staff to energy reduction, by employing the latest technologies
available to us.

• Converted 16 units of the District fleet to Bio-Diesel. Mixtures range from B-20 to
  B-40 Fleet
• No idling Policy implemented to control idling of District fleet.
• Implemented an Automated Waste Collection and Recycling system, leading to
  increased productivity, also reducing insurance and running costs.
• Two Solar Powered Water Circulators were installed at the sewage lagoons.
  These units have virtually eliminated the need for any form of electrical power at
  this facility.
• An Energy Study was commissioned to identify energy shortcomings and to
  recommend suitable retrofits to the system.
• Various lightning initiatives have been undertaken, leading to improved
  efficiencies and cost effectiveness within District operations.
• Intelligent Parking Lot Controllers have been installed to intelligently utilise
  preheating requirements of District vehicles.
• Water Initiative. A water leak detection study has been undertaken to identify
  failures within the District water supply system.

2007 Houston

As a small, northern community with limited financial means, the District of Houston's focus is
ON-THE-GROUND initiatives that make a difference to quality of life for residents, all the while
ensuring that our environmental impact leaves a pristine and sustainable community for our
children. Current "green" initiatives include:

1. Geothermal heating of the new pool - commissioned in 2006
2. Geothermal heating and ice refrigeration for both the arena and curling rinks - 2007/08
3. District energy system - a revenue-generating, long-term utility
4. Energy Centre of the North - a demonstration model of key "green" building technologies
5. Heat recovery from the sewer treatment plant, heating the public works building
6. Community Action on Energy Efficiency initiatives
7. Arena "Live Sites" upgrade
8. Community "Local Motion" walking / bicycling trails
9. "Green" bylaw upgrades including, a) official community plan amendments for sustainable
   living land-use, b) clean air bylaw, c) nuisance bylaw and d) revised water bylaw with water
   meter provisions
10. Municipal woodstove exchange program - to financially entice compliance with the clean air
    bylaw - for the elimination of non-certified solid fuel burning appliances by 2010
11. Industry's compliance by decommissioning their beehive burners by 2007 - replaced by a
    pellet plant and bark energy system
12. District composting program
13. Greening with street trees program - 200 mature trees planted in 2006 alone
14. Financial sustainability focus through a responsible asset management program and
    Community Forest initiative
15. New seniors housing centre and announcement for 24/7 healthcare starting in 2007
16. "Green" storm water system

2007 Metro Vancouver Water Filtration

The Seymour-Capilano Filtration Project (SCFP) is being submitted for consideration of
the 2007 Energy Aware Award in the Community-Level Planning and Development
Category. Completion of this project and other concurrent treatment system upgrades
will permit Metro Vancouver's water supply to meet all required criteria stipulated by the
Canadian Drinking Water Quality Guidelines and Provincial Regulations. Through
principles defined in its Sustainable Region Initiative, Metro Vancouver has
demonstrated its commitment to sustainable development and energy use optimization
through projects such as the SCFP. The filtration plant, which is the flagship component
of this project, will be Canada's largest and will provide valuable insight into methods
available to optimize energy utilization.

2007 RDOS Naramata Water System

The Naramata Water System was developed over a number of decades to service
both agricultural and residential water needs. Prior to 2007 the Naramata Water
System relied on a mixture of upland creek water blended with water pumped
from Okanagan Lake. As the upland creek source provides poor drinking water
a new pump station and treatment facility was commissioned in 2007 to provide
residential water solely from Okanagan Lake.

Equipment for the Naramata Treatment plant was purchased according to full
life cycle cost assessment including power consumption. The model of UV
reactor chosen was the most power efficient. A heat pump, using the latent heat
in the treated water reservoir, heats and cools the building.

Planned pipe twinning will supply treated lake water to residents and untreated
upland creek water for agricultural properties. This twinning will eventually
save significant energy from pumping and treatment.

The RDOS commenced a Water Ambassador program for the Naramata Water
System and a Low Flow Toilet Rebate both of which reduce the water consumed
and energy used by the system.

2007 Richmond Fire Halls

Municipalities are in a unique position to lead by example and to work with community
partners and the public to garner support and galvanize action to contribute to the
reduction in global climate change. The City of Richmond has been developing and
implementing a range of innovative initiatives in an effort to accelerate the transition
towards a more sustainable community. The design and construction of the Hamilton and
Sea Island Fire Halls demonstrates a commitment to sustainable development. The
objectives of this project were to:

• Position the replacement fire halls in strategic response locations, for the existing
  and future communities.
• Provide community access to the fire halls.
• Construct green buildings without sacrificing fire rescue operational needs.
• Build for future expansion.
• Construct the buildings to the region's stringent seismic standards.
• Gain experience with new green technology not previously used.
• Provide educational opportunities for outside agencies, developers, public and
  staff.
• Use the project to advocate sustainable construction practises, regionally and
  nationally.

The new Hamilton and Sea Island Fire Halls are complete and the objectives have been
met. This project exemplifies energy awareness through design and construction that
other municipalities and the community at large have the potential to learn from.

2007 Surrey - Surrey Center Plan

The Surrey Central Transit Village Plan is envisaged as a Transit-Oriented Community, or TOD,
developed in the heart of Surrey Central. The Plan integrates both land use and transportation
strategies to create a vibrant downtown centre, fusing both a distinctive public space strategy of
high quality streets and the development of a major civic square or plaza.

The opportunity exists, specifically in Surrey Centre, for a new urban ‘heart' which includes
finely scaled grid of streets combined with an enhanced public realm, functioning within a broad
mix of urban uses, in a compact walkable and sustainable community. The Plan's
implementation will encourage residents, students, workers, and visitors to choose green modes
of transportation wherever possible.

2007 TNRD Solid Waste Management

In 2004 the Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD) embarked on a program to
develop and establish a new Regional Solid Waste Management Plan (RSWMP). Public
consultation and involvement through the establishment of a Public Advisory Committee
(made of volunteers from the general public), a Technical Advisory Committee
(consisting of staff from member municipalities, waste management businesses and
Ministry of Environment representatives) and many public consultation meetings were
integral to the development of the plan.

Based on a 5-R strategy of waste reduction, reuse, recycling, recovery and residual
management this plan, which was developed with a holistic systems approach that
identified initiatives to be applied to the entire waste stream, was adopted by the TNRD
Board of Directors on June 14, 2007.

Implementation initiatives are now being developed. The TNRD recently received FCM
Letter of Intent funding approval for a feasibility study to explore and identify options to
handle relatively small volumes of municipal solid waste and recyclable materials from a
very large geographic area. Initiatives will be identified to reduce hauling inefficiencies
through a combination of utilizing technological solutions, such as installing compaction
equipment at transfer stations and/or on collection vehicles, reducing the number of
transfer stations and establishing recycling facilities at transfer stations. A five year goal
is a 30% reduction in the amount of landfilled solid waste. Projected is a 25 to 50%
reduction in transport distances and transportation fuel consumption.

2007 Ucluelet Sustainable Energy Policies

Although Ucluelet is a small community of only 1800 people, we believe our development
policies have made a difference in terms of creating sustainable energy consumption and
prevention of climate change through the use of policies within Ucluelet's Official Community
Plan. Although it is not uncommon to see sustainable policies in OCP's, we believe Ucluelet is
unique in terms of its ability to implement sustainable energy policies on abroad scale. Rather
than submitting one particular project, the District of Ucluelet would like to submit the following
sustainable energy initiatives which have been implemented as land use policy:

1. Mixed Use Zoning (Comprehensive Development)
2. Alternative Development Standards
3. Smart Growth initiatives
4. Density innovation
5. District Energy Audit
6. Implementation of LEED guidelines
7. GEM Car transportation
8. Wave power Initiative

2007 Vanderhoof Community Energy Plan

The District of Vanderhoof ‘Community Energy Plan' sets out a strategy in which all residents can participate and help our community reach ‘greener' goals, including, among others, energy efficiencies and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. If we all do our part, we can look forward to a ‘cleaner' energy future and a commitment to support a strong community in terms of energy conservation and efficiency now and for future generations."

2006 City of Vancouver -- GHG Action Plan

The City has launch multiple programs in support of these plans, and these programs already have begun to produce results. A few specific new actions include:

• Creation of a Neighbourhood Energy Utility for Southeast False Creek and the Sustainability Precinct, which would provide GHG-neutral heating and domestic hot water to over 10 million square feet of new development. This $16.5 million investment will provide a reasonable return on investment, and enables to City to evaluate other potential district energy options throughout the city.
• Launching of One Day, an open source community engagement program designed to help people take action to support their values of clean, green and healthy living.
• Comprehensive, multimillion-dollar retrofit program for City buildings, to reduce energy use and GHG emissions, and to produce a meaningful long-term return on investment.
• Establishment of a Climate Leaders Council, comprised of leaders from business and organisations in Vancouver, who support the City’s actions and are committing their own organisations to action, including several who have committed to becoming carbon neutral by set dates.
  

2006 City of Victoria -- 3 Applications

The City of Victoria submitted three separate applications for the 2006 Energy Aware Award.  Activities include a greenway, a biodiesel market transformation project, and the Dockside Green development.

City of Victoria received a 2006 Energy Aware Award Honourable Mention for the Dockside Green Development.

2006 District of Maple Ridge -- Fleet Vehicles

All in all, this program works towards meeting the municipality’s objective of contributing towards a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in a cost-effective way. The purchase of the 12 hybrid electric vehicles will result in the following benefits:

• Carbon dioxide emission reductions are estimated at 24,000 kilograms per year or 2 tonnes of carbon dioxide per vehicle replaced.
• Municipal fuel savings are estimated at $1,080 per vehicle for a total of nearly $13,000. Based on the foregoing, we expect to recover the cost of the additional outlay within 7 years

2006 Kamloops: LEED Sports Complexes

The 2006 Energy Aware Award from Kamloops features two LEED Silver sports complexes.

2006 Langford -- Westhills development plan

This development will help establish a new standard for sustainable neighbourhood development in Canada. The Master Plan calls for the 191 hectare (472 acre) property to be comprehensively developed in accordance with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification standards for neighbourhood development. Working with the Canada Green Buildings Council, this initiative will help establish the Canadian LEED Neighbourhood Development standard

2006 Nelson -- Wastewater Treatment Upgrade

In an ongoing commitment to protecting the environment the City of Nelson undertook to upgrade the existing Wastewater Treatment Plant to a secondary level of treatment from the existing primary level. The upgrading of the final effluent to the Kootenay River was a significant environmental benefit of the project but also of great importance was the energy saving decisions made throughout the design process.

2006 Port Alberni -- Upnit Power Corporation

The City of Port Alberni has partnered with the Hupacasath First Nation, the Ucluelet First Nation and Synex Energy to develop the Upnit Power Project. This project has all of the elements of energy awareness, Community Leadership, Cost Effectiveness and Best Practices.

2006 Surrey -- Building Retrofits

There is pressing competition for limited capital funding for existing building energy retrofit. Although funds are limited, we have already achieved repeatable annual GHG reductions of 838 Tons and energy reductions of 3,085,352 kWh (11,106 GJ) comprised of gas and electricity. Our ongoing program includes additional reductions of GHG and energy to bring the total reductions to 3,308 Tons and 12,375,156 kWh (44,457 GJ) in gas and electricity. Our simple payback is 5.2 years.

2006 Township of Langley -- LEED Civic Building

 

The Township of Langley’s new Civic Facility is a showcase of energy efficient infrastructure and practices. Completed in December 2005, the new Civic Facility is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building that retrofitted an existing and underutilized building shell to demonstrate and promote energy efficiency, water conservation, and numerous other environmental features.

The Township of Langley received an Honourable Mention for its civic facility at the 2006 Energy Aware Awards.

2005 Bownen Island -- Community Energy Plan

The Task Force approached the British Columbia Energy Aware Committee (EAC) to partner with them on the implementation of a “Community Energy Planning” (CEP) process. Although it would be rare for a small community of 3,000 people to undertake a CEP process, Bowen Island Municipal Council felt the project was important and approved a financial expenditure to support the process.

2005 Burnaby -- Municipal Buildings and Operations

 

Over the next decade, implementation of this $6.4 million program will guarantee to:

• reduce electricity use in City facilities by 15% (i.e. 3.7 million kilowatt hours),
• reduce natural gas use by 27% (i.e., 30,240 gigajoules);
• reduce annual water consumption by 20 million litres;
• save $500,000 in annual energy costs; and
• cut municipal greenhouse gas emissions by 27%.

2005 City of Vancouver -- GHG Action Plan

 

The Plan and its strategies are based in a solid understanding of how much energy is used for what purposes in the city. In identifying a municipality’s power and influence in community energy use, it provides all cities with a realistic and responsible roadmap to reduce energy usage.

2005 Energy Aware Award News Release

 

Check out the news release for background on the winner and the honourable mentions.

2005 Kamloops -- Center for Water Quality

 

The Centre has realized energy savings 43% better than the Model National Energy Code for Buildings (MNECB) and is being certified under the Canada Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. The Centre has received numerous awards and has been featured in a number of publications, showcasing Kamloops’ leadership in sustainable planning.

2005 Multiple Organizations -- Central Valley Greenway

 

The following submission presents how TransLink/GVRD, the Cities of Burnaby, New Westminster, and Vancouver, and Better Environmentally Sound Transportation (BEST) have begun to address this short-coming by planning, designing and constructing a greenway suitable for zero emission commuters (cyclists, pedestrians and bladers) as part of Transport Canada’s Showcase Program for CO2 reduction demonstration projects at a total cost of $17 million dollars to all of the partners.

2005 Dawson Creek -- Municipal Energy Plan

 

The municipality of Dawson Creek has recently completed a baseline energy study for municipal operation as a first step in a larger process designed to identify, understand, and address energy issues throughout the community. In general, overall targets and specific solutions will be informed by rigorous analysis, and the municipality will be considering changes in operating practice, infrastructure, and policy as potential ways of addressing identified energy issues.

The City of Dawson Creek received an Honourable Mention at the 2005 Energy Aware Awards for this work.

2005 Winner: City of North Vancouver: Local Action Plan

In support of the commitment to energy efficiency and community sustainability, the City of North Vancouver has developed a Local Action Plan (LAP) for the Management of Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions. The plan will enable the City to better manage the impacts of urban development related to energy, greenhouse gases and air quality, while achieving broader community objectives related to affordable housing, transportation management, job creation and local economic development

2004 Winner: Revelstoke -- Biomass District Heat

The project has a number of benefits to Revelstoke:

• Financial rewards: 9 year simple payback, 6.7% return on investment and 14.8% return on equity - a non-taxable source of City revenue,
• It will displace ~45,000 GJ of non-renewable fossil fuel [Propane] and reduce GHG emissions by 3,700 tonnes annually,
• Plant emissions will meet/exceed provincial standards and therefore improve air quality.  There will be no fly ash from the plant,
• The Project has replication potential in other forestry dependent communities,
• The replacement of imported propane will generate local economic benefit,
• Value adding of wood residue - a renewable resource,
• table long term energy pricing for Downie and the CES customers with attendant improvement in competitiveness,
• Economic development potential with Downie able to access steam for veneering,
• Plant can be expanded incrementally and other biomass combustion techniques can be used to create other products.

2003 Winner: City of Whiterock -- Municipal Operations Center

The new operations building is a showcase of sustainable design.

2002 Winner: Delta & Vancouver for Landfill Gas

The Municipal / Private Landfill Gas Utilization Project provides an example of developing a unique approach to local governance in order to achieve community goals such as clean air and healthy cities in an environment of fiscal restraint.

This twenty–year green energy project involves a partnership between two local governments, The Corporation of Delta, and the City of Vancouver; and two private organizations, CanAgro Produce Limited and Maxim Power Corp. The project consists of beneficially utilizing landfill gas (LFG) from the City of Vancouver’s Vancouver Landfill in a co-generation application, for the purpose of generating electricity and heat. The electricity will be sold to B.C Hydro as “green” power and the heat will be utilized in the form of hot water by a South Delta greenhouse.

The project’s substantial commitment in infrastructure is financed by the private sector, while both municipalities will receive environmental, social and economic benefits from the co-generation proposal. Maxim Power Corp (“Maxim”) will provide the $8.5 million financing required for the 2.5 -kilometer pipelines and co-generation plant. In return for providing the LFG, the City of Vancouver will receive approximately $250,000 to $300,000 annually, while Delta will receive between $80,000 and $110,000 in new tax revenue. CanAgro Produce Limited will receive a secure low cost heating source from the co-generation plant located on its property. B.C. Hydro will purchase all of the electricity under its Green Energy Program, introduced in April 2001.

In addition to the generation of revenue, the project will result in replacing non-renewable fossil fuels with methane from LFG to heat CanAgro’s greenhouse. This will reduce carbon-dioxide emissions by an estimated 30,000 tonnes a year, equivalent to taking the Greater Vancouver Transit Authority’s fleet of 1,100 diesel buses off the road for two months. Energy from the project is equivalent to providing the annual energy requirements to approximately 5,000 homes.

2000 Winner - The City of Coquitlam: Northeast Coquitlam OCP

 

The driving force to incorporate sustainability features into the development of the northeast sector of Coquitlam came from Council in the early 1990s. Over a period of time, both City staff and Council became increasingly interested in "doing something different" with a large parcel of land earmarked for intensive development with challenging features, such as steep terrain, abundant water features and a near-pristine environment.

The City undertook a series of studies to investigate the feasibility of various development strategies, all of which formed the background to the development of the winning Official Community Plan (OCP). Further studies are underway to finalize other high-level requirements for the site, such as master plans for integrated watershed management, alternative road standards, transportation plans etc. Neighbourhoods have been identified, and a phasing strategy for implementation of the plan is under consideration.

These studies will lay the foundation for the development of more detailed neighbourhood plans, initiated by landowners and following the policies defined in the OCP. Their preparation will involve an extensive stakeholder consultation process.

On July 31, 2000, Coquitlam Council made a formal commitment to building more sustainable and energy efficient communities with the adoption of the Northeast Coquitlam OCP. Over the next 20 years, this long range, comprehensive plan will guide development of a livable, transit oriented community of 24,000 people providing opportunities not only for the protection of the area's significant environmental assets but also for a diverse mix of housing types, commercial, retail, and community leisure services offering viable transportation choices for future residents.

The Northeast is a unique area within Coquitlam, and indeed, Greater Vancouver. From a regional planning perspective, the area is recognized as one of the largest rural and undeveloped portions of the region lying west of the Pitt River. As part of the region's Growth Concentration Area, the City, and Northeast Coquitlam in particular, contains a significant land base outside of identified protected and environmentally sensitive areas that can be contemplated for future urban development.

By recognizing both these planning challenges and opportunities, Council realized that an OCP for the area was an important tool to address growth management issues and supported a comprehensive planning process for the area. Along with extensive public involvement, this process included background technical reviews on environmental issues, terrain and watershed management, housing demand, transportation, land use, utility services, and financial feasibility.

At the heart of the planning process and the OCP are the following principles that embody the central elements of sustainability and community energy planning.

• Protect the area's natural features and environmentally sensitive areas;
• Promote efficient use of resources including land, energy and capital;
• Create a complete community in terms of population, housing types, land uses and services;
• Increase transportation choices;
• Address regional and local housing needs by providing a diverse mix of housing types and tenures; and
• Promote community and social well-being, including health and safety and access to safety services.

Linked to each principle was a set of practical strategies that were employed in developing, evaluating and selecting a preferred land use, transportation and servicing concept for the area. The plan operationalizes these principles through a set of comprehensive plan policies and implementation strategies.

Coquitlam Council recognized that land use and transportation planning, site planning, neighbourhood and building design can have profound effects on energy efficiency and energy-related air emissions. Major components of the development concept are consistent with the goals and objectives of encouraging more energy efficient neighbourhoods and buildings. These include:

• one walkable, village centre serving as a focal point for the area's employment, shopping, educational, recreational and social uses and for future direct transit service between Northeast Coquitlam and Coquitlam's Regional Town Centre;
• a mix of transit-supportive land use types and densities within the proposed village centre;
• a concentration of residential land uses within a ten minute walk of the village centre;
• an inter-connected transportation network and grid accommodating the need of cars, transit, bicycles and pedestrians;
• protection of areas of high environmental sensitivity;
• a network of active and passive parks and leisure opportunities

The proposed, intensely urbanized village area of the overall concept seeks to ensure that Northeast Coquitlam develops in a manner that is compact, transit-supportive and ultimately more sustainable and energy efficient. This area becomes the "heart" of a complete community within which amenities are clustered. A variety of residential types and densities within the area ensure that housing opportunities exist for a broad cross section of people in the community. Institutional, commercial, and retail uses, along with their associated range of employment opportunities, are easily accessible to residents.

In many respects, the development concept for Northeast Coquitlam represents a significant departure from conventional approaches to suburban community design. The basic composition of the community, for example, includes a much broader range of closely integrated land uses and more variety in housing types and densities.

To assist the planning process, a Geographic Information System-based evaluation model, INDEX, was used to evaluate potential land use options against a set specific liveability and resource efficiency indicators. These indicators were developed during the planning process, and were useful when evaluating each issue relative to the achievement of the six overall planning principles. Energy consumption, waste generation, capital, operating and maintenance costs of infrastructure, air pollution, auto dependency, housing mix and the proximity to and availability of key community services such as transit, shopping, parks and open space was measured for each land use option. This helped identify the "village concept" as the preferred land use option for Northeast Coquitlam.

For a benchmark comparison, the same indicators or measures were calculated for an existing City community that had developed in a more conventional pattern nearly 20 years ago. For nearly all indicators, the model demonstrated a marked improvement towards sustainability in the village concept over the conventionally planned subdivision.

Some key sustainability benefits of the proposed land use plan for Northeast Coquitlam over the more conventional suburban approach include:

• 30% lower infrastructure capital and operating costs
• 24% lower CO emissions
• 20% less land covered in streets
• 5% reduction in energy consumed for all purposes
• 93% improvement in solar orientation of streets
• 70% less travel distance to shopping
• 20% increase in household proximity to parks and open space
• 250% increase in the number of key community facilities and amenities
• 400% increase in local job opportunities.

The OCP includes specific policies outlining Council's support for planning, design and construction of energy efficient neighbourhoods and buildings along with several strategies related to land use and transportation planning, energy supply options, building design and site planning aimed at reducing energy consumption. Specific energy efficiency and conservation policies are listed below.

This plan provides an opportunity to work towards building a community that is more socially, environmentally and fiscally responsible and sustainable than typical post-war suburban communities. The planning framework contained within the OCP responds to the increasing recognition of significant economic, environmental and social costs associated with current growth management issues such as urban sprawl, traffic congestion, water and air pollution, loss of affordable housing, energy conservation, loss of open space and areas of high environmental sensitivity and the loss of social contact in communities. By taking the bold step of adopting this framework which is at the core of the new Northeast Coquitlam OCP, Coquitlam Council is committing itself to take an active role in working towards a more sustainable and energy efficient future.

City of Coquitlam Energy Efficiency and Conservation Policies

As reference guide for other BC communities, policies described in the Northeast Coquitlam OCP specifically aimed at ensuring energy efficiency and conservation are as follows:

Intent

• to encourage the planning , design and construction of energy efficient neighbourhoods and buildings;
• to encourage reductions in energy consumption and costs;
• to improve community liveability by reducing local sources of pollution by reducing the need for transportation (particularly single occupant vehicle use), reducing energy consumption and increasing the use of cleaner energy alternatives;
• to foster the development of new energy supply options

Policy: Strategies to encourage Energy Efficient Neighbourhoods

a) The City promotes the following strategies which support the planning, design and construction of energy efficient neighbourhoods and which are intended to guide implementation of this plan, particularly the development of neighbourhood plans.

i) Land Use Strategies

• Encourage a mix of land use and densities throughout neighbourhoods;
• establish dwelling unit and density targets for future neighbourhoods;
• Foster the development of mixed use, pedestrian oriented village centre;
• Promote a contiguous development pattern through staged development plans;
• Promote local employment sources;
• Direct higher density uses to arterials and future transit routes.

ii) Transportation Strategies

• Encourage a multi-modal street design which accommodates transit, bicycles, pedestrians and high occupancy vehicles. Important design features include:
  • narrower streets and traffic calming features;
  • street trees and landscaping which can provide shade and reduce heat absorption;
  • an inter connected street network;
  • bicycle lanes and signals;
  • bus lanes and transit amenities such as shelters.

• Develop a comprehensive parking plan to complement the overall development concept. The plan should address the following features which promote energy efficiency:
  • parking supply ratios which consider the availability of other travel options;
  • shared parking;
  • parking pricing to encourage transit and HOV use;
  • parking location and design which encourages transit use and pedestrian activity;
  • develop effective bicycle and pedestrian networks and supportive facilities and amenities;
  • encourage trip reduction measures such as vanpools and ridershare programs, employer trip reduction programs.

iii) Energy Supply Strategies

• Encourage ands examine the feasibility of district energy supply options in Northeast Coquitlam, particularly the village centre;
• Encourage the development of other alternative energy supply options;
• Encourage multi-use buildings to take advantage of waste heat utilization and opportunities for on site energy supply options.

iv) Building Design and Site Planning Strategies

• Encourage multi use buildings which can share energy needs;
• Encourage landscaping which can buffer buildings from wind and sun and help reduce heating and cooling needs;
• Locate streets and buildings so that solar access is preserved;
• Encourage building design and features (windows, colours) which reduce energy needs;
• Promote environmentally sound buildings;
• Encourage the use of local or recycled construction materials;
• Encourage the installation of water efficient appliances.

1999 Winner: The City of Surrey: East Clayton Neighbourhood Concept Plan (Green Infrastructure)

 

In December 1998, the City of Surrey Department of Planning and Development entered into partnership with a number of stakeholders with the aim of demonstrating more sustainable community development standards "on the ground."

The East Clayton Neighbourhood Concept Plan was the first and most important part a larger work known as the Headwaters Project. 

Developed by the City in conjunction with UBC's James Taylor Chair (Professor Patrick Condon), the Pacific Resources Centre, and a multi-constituent advisory committee, the East Clayton Neighbourhood Concept Plan is the first time sustainability principles have been used as the basis for a sizable new suburban community. The East Clayton area includes over 560 acres of land and will eventually provide homes for over 13,000 people.

A key feature of the approach is to concentrate on the process of resolving competing sustainability imperatives as much as the outcome.

Through a series of design charrettes (workshops), various stakeholders worked together to ensure that each of their priorities are fairly accounted for and represented. Since final designs incorporate the values of all those partaking in the process, they are likely to be smarter and to be seen as inherently 'fairer' than conventional designs generated by a more limited range of people.

In previous work with Surrey City Council, the James Taylor Chair helped produce a list of seven design principles for sustainable communities. At the outset of the East Clayton project, Council agreed to support the application of these principles to the development's design. "Since this meant we had to make so many changes to the conventional development standards, we thought that a four-day, multi-stakeholder design charrette was the best way to go", says Condon.

The individuals at the design table were either vested with sufficient authority to negotiate new standards "on the fly," or they were delegated to represent larger constituencies (such as local landowners). The charrette structure guaranteed that the local landowners' interests were represented, and it enabled a group of local individuals to appreciate how the underlying principles and features of the East Clayton plan came together to form a highly mixed-use and sustainable community. Carefully developed and strictly enforced guidelines helped to facilitate the charrette process.

They are:

1. Build capacity for integration through shared awareness and determination to act jointly.

2. Involve early on (preferably at the beginning) those people, agencies, and organizations that can influence plan policy and development standards (including their implementation).

3. Share information equally.

4. Share resources across mandates for mutual gain. 

5. Build confidence in the process, in plan policies, and in alternative development standards.

6. Ensure the direct involvement of municipal staff.

7. Gain access to the necessary technical expertise. 

8. Deal with issues efficiently.

More than anything else, the East Clayton Neighbourhood Concept Plan is a "green infrastructure" plan. East Clayton will be one of North America's most significant examples of an integrated system of green streets and affordable sites. Parks, playgrounds, and natural areas are essential and integral components of this system.  East Clayton has narrow streets, and roadways that throughout the site use one-third less blacktop than standard suburban sites. Storm water management will enable natural infiltration to occur, thereby minimizing runoff and avoiding detrimental downstream flooding events. Yard and street infiltration devices will eliminate nearly all downstream consequences of development. East Clayton also shows how a combination of efficiencies can dramatically decrease site infrastructure costs while also reducing dependence on the automobile.

The East Clayton Neighbourhood Concept Plan benefits both the environment and the people who will live within it. This mixed-use plan means that, if they so choose, people can live, work, and play in the same community throughout their lives. Units will cost 20 to 30 per cent less than a standard home in the same area, and secondary suites will provide a mortgage aid for homeowners while providing good housing for lower income families. Jobs will be located close to homes, and home-based work opportunities will be provided in the region's first live/work area located outside of the centre city. Finally, a "Rapid Bus" will connect all residents to major employment, shopping, and cultural centers to the east and west.

The East Clayton Neighbourhood Concept Plan offers a blueprint for sustainable development, and  is now influencing the development of "lighter, greener, cheaper, smarter, and complete communities" throughout the Northwest.

More information on the East Clayton Neighbourhood Concept Plan is available from UBC's James Taylor Chair

1998 Winner: City of North Vancouver: Lower Lonsdale District Heating System Study

The City of North Vancouver was presented with the award for their proposed redevelopment of the Versatile Pacific lands.

In 1998 the City, in co-operation with Terasen and BC Hydro, funded a feasibility study for a district heating system to serve the Lower Lonsdale / Versatile Pacific site and the Central Lonsdale area. The study included a consideration of the use of ocean-source heat pumps, hydrogen and wood residues to provide renewable energy.

In a press release issued at the time, the Energy Aware Committee said that "this project provides an excellent example of a sustainable community providing a broad range of employment opportunities within walking distance; a bus transit hub; a passenger rail station; close proximity to skiing, hiking and other outdoor sports; as well as numerous restaurants and a movie theatre".

[picture availability?] Mayor Jack Loucks and some City of North Vancouver council members received the Energy Aware Award from Don Rankin, Terasen ' Manager for Municipal Relations and EAC member, during the annual convention.

The winning study explored the technical issues of a possible district heating system in some detail, and outlined a preliminary business case.

"As a technical planning tool, the study has remained robust," said Bill Susak, a City of North Vancouver planner in October 2000. "We're still working hard, though, on the nuts and bolts of the business case and implementation plan".

Since winning the award, the City has adopted a medium to long-term implementation strategy, which focuses on creating the conditions under which a district heating system can develop over time rather than embarking on a major 'big-bang' project. In the City-owned areas of Lower Lonsdale, new developments must now be built ready for connection to a future district heating system.

One of the most common barriers to urban sustainability is the way in which a large number of minor decisions made over long periods of time can collectively create an urban form and infrastructure that makes future energy efficient innovations uneconomic. To ensure the viability of a future district heating system, the City now requires that all new buildings in the district energy zone be constructed with an internal hydronic system, and prohibits the use of electrical heaters as the primary heating source. Each building must have an internal boiler that can be replaced when the district heating system is eventually constructed. By taking these simple steps now, the City is altering urban form and infrastructure at minimal cost and creating the conditions under which sustainable development can occur in the future.

The move is not without opposition. The City of North Vancouver Council rejected a representation by a developer who considered these conditions to be an overly onerous burden. The same developer subsequently abided by the novel requirements; importantly though, Council has demonstrated the will to stand by its commitment.

"Without a doubt, the capital cost for a building installed with a hydronic system is higher than one without," Susak frankly admits. "And with the current spike in natural gas prices, it's difficult to say how the total life cycle costs will compare to electrical heating. But the cost of natural gas relative to electricity should fall in the future, and then the case for district heating will become compelling again".

Susak and his colleagues spend much of their time trying to convince skeptical developers that conforming to the City's requirements for a district heating system is worthwhile. "Part of the problem is that all the costs fall to the developer whereas the future cost savings will fall to the buyer", says Susak.

To ease some of the difficulties involved with offering developers incentives to invest in the area, the City soon hopes to cement a strategic alliance with Terasen Services Inc., which has committed to provide, at no cost to the builder, a boiler for buildings that are designated to be part of the future district heating system.

This means that a convenient mechanism will exist for a builder to help create the 'captured' heating market without having to buy a significant component of a building's hydronic system. In addition, it means that both the central plant and the distribution system costs can be deferred to a future time when it makes optimal economic sense to invest in the components that tie the system together.

Origins and Development

With hot summers and cold winters requiring considerable energy for cooling and heating, water and wastewater pumping power needs aggravated by steep topography, and heavy reliance on the personal automobile resulting from dispersed development patterns, Kamloops has always had much to gain from proactive energy planning.

Throughout most of the 1990s, the City enjoyed significant economic and population growth, and liveability issues became a concern. As the time came to develop a new Official Community Plan (OCP), these factors were projected to continue well into the future.

In 1996, the City of Kamloops won a bid for considerable funding from the Community Energy Association to develop a community energy plan (CEP). The City's bid was successful for several reasons including:

• the City's energy consumption patterns pointed to a substantial potential for energy savings;
• the City's recent record for implementing innovative environmental programs;
• the City's OCP was due to be renewed and could be co-developed and integrated with the CEP.

The CEP development process included:

• developing energy-related objectives for the City that would help to meet the community objectives of the existing and developing OCPs;
• identifying strategies for achieving these energy objectives and supporting broader community goals;
• establishing the City's approximate baseline energy use;
• using a computer model, evaluating the energy implications of alternative development scenarios for the OCP process; and
• developing an action plan to meet the energy objectives, and establishing monitoring and management protocols to evaluate the actions and to ensure the continued relevance of the plan.

The OCP, "Kamplan 1997", was developed alongside the CEP and published shortly after. The energy policies identified by the CEP are reproduced as a separate chapter in the OCP. In addition, the OCP includes the following key planning goals, all of which are consistent with sound energy management:

• encouraging infill and intensification;
• discouraging urban sprawl;
• guiding new development to cost-effective and pre-serviced growth areas;
• bringing shopping, work and home closer together;
• encouraging a mix of housing types and density in old and new neighbourhoods; and
• encouraging alternate transportation systems, including walkways, transit, bike paths and ride sharing

(Source: City of Kamloops)

From the start of the CEP project, a community energy planning stakeholder group helped to guide its development. Stakeholders included a broad cross-section of energy utilities, provincial ministries, City staff and school board, business and industrial representatives.

The starting point for the energy plan was a review of the community's objectives as stated in the existing and developing OCPs. The stakeholder group established energy-related objectives to support these broader community goals.

GIS (geographic information system) modeling established the baseline energy use of both the City as a whole and of a typical subdivision zoned for future development. The City modeled various development scenarios to judge the effects of major planning decisions on the area in terms of cost and environmental and social impacts. It also compared various "neighbourhood" subdivision development scenarios.

After detailed modeling and evaluation by the project consultants and City staff, stakeholders participated in a workshop to select a preferred development scenario from an energy perspective, and to screen and prioritize CEP action items.

The next page details the major features of the CEP.

Major Features

At the time of its development, one of the most exciting features of the plan was a framework for establishing development standards for new subdivisions. The Upper Sahali neighbourhood redesign study resulted in the creation of the "Sub-hub" concept. The sub-hub concentrated activity in a moderate density, mixed-use nodal area. It was a compromise strategy intended to gain some of the energy-efficiency and liveability advantages of an "urban village," while preserving the integrity of the surrounding residential neighbourhoods (including auto access). From an energy standpoint, the sub-hub focused on three top energy issues for Kamloops:

• increasing travel mode choices;
• creating anchor loads for small district energy systems, and
• creating opportunities for on-site electricity generation.

Design criteria included increased density and diversity, street connectivity, parking supply, transit orientation, district heating, solar orientation, and others.

Comparison of the As-built and the CEP Re-design scenarios suggested that:

• total costs could be reduced by 5-10%;
• air emissions could be reduced by over 10%;
• total per capita energy use could be reduced by 5-10%;

These results were thought to be significant given that the sub-hub incorporated very conservative changes to the original design and targeted a suburban neighbourhood. Much more significant savings were estimated for more urban-oriented sub-hubs.

The City also used a GIS-based modeling tool (INDEX) to evaluate the energy implications of three alternative development scenarios that were under consideration in the OCP process.

Twenty-four initiatives in six focus areas were adopted as "high priority, short term" action items. Ten others are listed as lower priority, longer term items. Because they contain many interesting ideas, they are described in full in linked pages at the foot of this page. Some of the key initiatives include:

• a performance points system (to provide incentives to encourage energy-efficient development);
• density guidelines (to encourage sufficient residential densities to make commercial services and transit viable in designated areas);
• alternative fuel in fleet vehicles (applicable to City and other public/private vehicle fleets);
• joint water/energy retrofits (installing water and energy conserving devices in homes and businesses);
• street orientation design guides (considering solar angle as a criterion for design in new development);
• district energy zoning (establishing a special zone in the downtown area to support the development of a district energy system, and identifying other candidate neighbourhoods for similar systems); and
• energy audits (for existing and planned City facilities).

However, as worthy as these initiatives invariably are, only a fraction of them have been implemented in a way foreseen by the CEP. A review process four years after the development of the plan gave a valuable insight into the successes and failures of the plan's implementation.

Implementation experience

Initially at least, the Kamloops CEP gained a reputation among some as a "failure" for reasons that were based on a misunderstanding of the plan's intentions and focus, an overemphasis on a few key initiatives that failed to get off the ground and a failure to advertise its successes. For example, comprehensive feasibility studies and analyses that ultimately led to the scrapping of three high profile initiatives (e.g., the "sub-hub" concept for Upper Sahali, a proposed district heating system for a municipal building complex, and the piping of waste heat to the downtown core from a nearby pulp mill) led to general disappointment and disillusionment with the CEP.

When the plan was initiated, it was understood that each of these initiatives was innovative, would require significant investigation, and might not be implemented as is. However, when all three of them failed to reach implementation stage, there is little doubt that the plan's image was dented.

The CEP review process in 2000 revealed, however, that many of the actions in the plan had indeed been fully implemented or comprehensively investigated, primarily by City staff. For example many of the transportation actions have been fully examined and/or implemented.

Still, several of the CEP's key proposals, particularly those relating to the development of performance points systems, development standards and the coordination of energy activities have not been implemented or investigated several years after its publication. Many other less onerous action items had similarly been apparently ignored.

Discussions revealed many reasons for stagnant action items. These included:

• A lack of ownership in the Plan.
  Because the CEP had been developed with the input of many different stakeholders, no party, including City staff, felt a sense of ownership over it. This was exacerbated by the many personnel changes in all organizations represented; few people remained of the original design team just four years after the CEP's creation. Also, because the CEP was a "City document", current City staff inherited responsibility for leadership commitments made by unknown internal and external participants who had since moved on. The plan was seen to be too comprehensive, to the point of being overbearing.

• No clear responsibility for individual action items
  All action items required the collaboration of many people, and the lead responsibility was not clearly assigned to an individual. Although responsibilities were understood at the time, they were lost through personnel changeovers and lack of communication in the meantime. Also, some of the action items were proposed by people with no stake or role in their implementation, and were sometimes not seen as relevant by those who were.

• Insufficient regard for existing successful programs
  A large number of energy saving programs and initiatives that were being developed and implemented by the City of Kamloops were being done independently of the specific Actions detailed in the CEP. Although these new initiatives contributed to many of the specific CEP goals, this was more often by coincidence than design.

• Change in drivers
  The local context of energy saving had also changed over the four years since the CEP's creation, external "drivers" to make energy planning a key focus of City activities having eased somewhat. For example, population growth and economic development had slowed, public concerns about quality of life issues had eased and support for certain development restrictions had waned in an "anti-red tape" political climate. Increased development competition from the neighbouring City of Kelowna also contributed to this shift in community priorities.

Other points of contention that acted as barriers to the implementation of the CEP include:

• the role of elected officials in backing established City policy or in acting as energy champions.
  Councillors made clear their interest, for example, in reducing the cost of municipal operations. The conflict between this position and political opposition to activities perceivable as bureaucratic was recognized by all. To date, the sub-hub concept, for example, has not been implemented primarily because of a lack of strong political support in face of some opposition to the CEP's goals

• the way in which various monitoring objectives (eg for energy, transport and sustainability indicators) could be integrated.

• the question of whether or not the City needs some form of formal, coordinated umbrella view of energy use.
  Some felt that the adoption of a specific energy management committee was unnecessary given the relatively small size of the City and the degree of informal communication already ongoing. Others pointed out the lack of internal awareness of some schemes and cooperative opportunities.

• the question of what constitutes a community energy plan.
  During the review process in 2000, Kamloops CEP stakeholders proposed that a CEP has several essential features:
• • a commitment to a coordinated view of energy in municipal and wider activities;
  • the establishment of baseline energy use and the adoption of a Plan of Action;
  • a commitment to a monitoring scheme that feeds back quantitative results of those activities and the willingness to continuously review and improve the Plan of Action.

These features, the group agreed, were fair descriptions of both a CEP and the activities of the City of Kamloops, albeit primarily through other initiatives.

Integrating CEP with other City Programs

The City of Kamloops undertook a number of initiatives in parallel with its CEP.

For example, it now uses an ISO 14,000-style environmental management system approach to its solid waste management activities. This includes a commitment to pollution prevention approaches and material and energy quantification, monitoring and tracking.

Also, the City's activities under the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' Partners for Climate Protection program are approached from a similar perspective.

The Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) commitments include the need to profile and forecast energy use and emissions for municipal operations and for the wider community, establish reduction targets and to develop local action plans to meet those targets - activities that lie at the heart of community energy planning.

The establishment of a detailed emissions baseline, required by Milestone 1 of the PCP program, is now almost complete. This baseline is more detailed than the energy baseline that was estimated for the CEP.

The City is therefore ready to implement Milestone 2, which requires the setting of emissions targets and the development of an Action Plan to help meet these targets. Clearly, there is opportunity here to integrate the working elements of the CEP, and the EMS successes with the PCP program. Indeed, this is the approach under consideration by the City.

By integrating these mechanisms, this approach provides an elegant and practical way of overcoming the barriers to the implementation of the outstanding and worthwhile aspects of the CEP, since it:

• levers the benefits of an existing, successful organizational structure (responsible for implementing the PCP program);
• ensures an umbrella view of energy activities;
• increases efficiency and productivity. Since greenhouse gas emissions correlate directly with energy consumption, modeling and monitoring requirements are readily combined;
• will have direct exposure to Council, increasing the potential to justify proactive measures to reduce energy use;
• will act as both an internal communications conduit and a feedback mechanism to the various City departments;
• is supported by all participants.

Among the issues that the City may wish to consider as they integrate these programs are:

• is there a need to institutionalize these changes by making formal, job description amendments?
• will there be adequate and timely communication of energy and greenhouse gas activities between City departments and external partners?
• of the identified CEP action items, which ones most effectively meet combined energy and PCP objectives?
• Will there be a real commitment to pursue them?
• can the modeling work required by the PCP program be used to shed more light on the efficacy of the priority CEP action items?
• should unwanted and unworkable CEP goals and actions be formally deleted?
• does there need there be more explicit recognition of CEP and PCP objectives in the next revision of the OCP (i.e. more than as a separate section)?
• which energy indicators should be monitored and where and how frequently should they be reported (e.g. monitoring annual energy consumption and report every five years in Kamloops State of the Environment report)?

Current status and lessons learned

As a municipality embarks on a range of programs that have many overlapping goals, activities and procedures, the lines between each will necessarily become blurred. This is to be celebrated rather than avoided as long as the existence of these overlaps does not lead to the duplication of effort and resources.

With this in mind, it is fair to ask to what degree the Kamloops CEP was a success.

In the sense that many action items are still providing inspiration, that there is an umbrella view of energy use, and that City energy use will be monitored against an established baseline, Kamloops can clearly be said to be undertaking "community energy planning".

However, it cannot be claimed that the actions that contribute to the goals of the CEP are necessarily undertaken in the name of the plan, or necessarily mindful of it.

For CEP designers and advocates, this raises the question of how to define a living, working CEP that exists as part of a proactive municipality's portfolio of programs aimed at energy, environmental and sustainable objectives.

The culture of the City of Kamloops is clearly one in which energy-efficiency and sound energy management assume a central position. Indeed, it was this very culture that in 1996 drove the development of one of Canada's first comprehensive community energy plans.

However, the changing needs of the city, both in terms of shifting community priorities and commitments to a range of social and environmental programs, underlines the fact that to be in any way relevant, CEPs must be flexible, realistic and held dear by those who are responsible for them. As Kamloops shows, a commitment to the environment does not necessarily lead to a commitment to a CEP.

As Special Projects Communicator Marni Gillis put it, "everyone you work with has a different methodological approach, be they MELP or First Nations or whoever. But when it comes down to it, we're all interested in the same objectives. It's all about health -- health of the environment, well-being of people, health of the economy. We just try to find ways to work with these objectives in mind".

Perhaps the key lessons learned by the Kamloops CEP Implementation are:

• Keep it Personal
  A community energy plan needs a sense of ownership from those who will implement it. Too much external involvement (including excessively influential developmental input from parties unwilling or unable to subsequently contribute to implementation) may be counterproductive.

• Avoid Duplication
  Where possible, integrate the plan with parallel programs (e.g. environmental management systems, sustainability indicator tracking programs etc) to improve efficiency, data consistency and relevance.

• Nurture Organizational Links
  A CEP thrives on partnerships between municipal, utility companies and other organizations, and depends on active engagement from all sides. All parties have much to gain from recognizing each others' needs, skills and resources and continuously working together towards common goals.

• Build on Established Ways of Doing Successful Things
  A CEP may need to be carefully integrated with existing successful organizational structures in ways that take advantage of ongoing successful activities and working relationships. Creative and workable mechanisms need to be found that effectively incorporate the basic needs of the CEP.

That being said, there are certain aspects of a CEP that may require real institutional adaptations. A CEP particularly needs some form of functional commitment to an overarching or "umbrella" view of local energy use to pick up the synergies and opportunities that arise from different departments' activities.

• Don't Reinvent the Wheel
  It may not be necessary to develop monitoring programs specifically for energy activities. Using existing or off-the-shelf tools, such as those offered by the FCM, saves time and resources.

• Don't Totally Rely on Individual Champions
  Although champions can be invaluable in making change happen, CEP designers should ensure that the knowledge and policies contained within CEPs are effectively institutionalized to ensure they will withstand changes to staff and local government officials.

How could this be achieved?

• Keep it Dynamic
  Kamloops' experience illustrates the importance of regularly reviewing the achievements, barriers and opportunities of the plan, and noting changing wider social and economic changes that influence its implementation.

One way of achieving this, as well as promoting turnover protection, could be to integrate the measures identified for tracking in the CEP into the City's regularly reported key performance measures.

General Infrastructure Planning

General Infrastructure Planning

For smaller, slow growing communities, more energy aware infrastructure planning policies may take many years, sometimes decades, to deliver results. However, perhaps the single most important CEP principle is to develop a long term planning vision to ensure that things will, eventually, get better.

In this first section, therefore, we look at a number of policies adopted by Quesnel's OCP for ensuring long term success.

The OCP contains a number of policies aimed at gradually increasing density and reshaping the urban mix of commercial and residential users. This is done with the expectation that these changes will eventually result in more livable spaces, reduced emissions as a result of shifting away from automobile toward pedestrian, cycling, and transit modes of travel, reduced cost of transit, and improved business viability of the downtown core.

The policies can be regarded as one of two types: direction policies and implementation policies. The former outline what Council wants to achieve; the latter spell out some of the ways it intends to bring these changes about.

Direction policies

Encouraging a mix of land uses downtown and in other commercial centres

First storey commercial mixed-use developments are a great way of providing more opportunities for people to be within walkable distances of the places they need to go, while at the same time creating a dynamic street environment, making the area safer and more attractive to potential residents and visitors.

The OCP also identifies a economic argument for this:

"Strong planning policies for Downtown Quesnel can promote business retention and new development. As the focal point of the community, a healthy and vibrant downtown can boost morale and stimulate investment".

Accordingly, Quesnel Council will:

"encourage mixed-use residential and commercial development, with residential above first storey commercial uses within the downtown and other specific commercial areas."

As a corollary to this, Council will will also:

"discourage office uses from locating anywhere other than the Downtown area [including government offices]"

Another option along these lines is to:

"in certain areas, allow live-work uses, where people can live in the same building in which they work."

Increase density downtown and in other commercial centres

Increasing the intensity and density of residential land use near commercial and employment centres has a direct impact on local transportation options. People who live near their places of work have more realistic opportunities to walk or take a bicycle to work, or to similarly access other services such as restaurants or dry cleaners. Not only does this reduce the number of vehicle trips, but it also helps to stimulate a vibrant urban centre that is more 'liveable' than conventionally-planned neighbourhoods.

Quesnel Council will:

"encourage the intensification of residential land use and density near commercial and employment centres, along major arterials and in areas where existing services can accommodate higher densities".

Densifying along major arterials helps cut down on traffic created by people moving through several suburban streets to access main streets.

Implementation policies

Some of the things Council will do to bring these things about include:

Favouring infill

Council will:

"encourage infill and redevelopment of existing areas designated as medium density residential before designating new areas as medium density residential."

Densifying existing areas increases the efficiency of many infrastructure services, such as water and wastewater provision, as well as reducing the "embodied energy" of the infrastructure -- since the amount of materials per individual is reduced, energy (and money) is saved on everything from the manufacture of asphalt to traffic signals. Also, of course, the greater the residential density of a location, the more viable public transportation provision becomes.

Offering developers density bonuses

The Quesnel OCP also spells out specific conditions under which it will offer so-called "density bonuses". Developers are attracted by increased density authorizations because the more units they can construct per unit area, the lower their costs per unit. Municipalities, however, often need to limit the density of certain areas to maintain the character of an area. Local Councils can therefore offer somewhat elevated density "bonuses" as an incentive for developers to incorporate other features the municipality wishes to promote and which may offset any negative effects of increased density.

In Quesnel's case, this is phrased as follows:

"Council may consider applications to rezone new areas to allow densities up to 120 dwelling units per hectare [the regular maximum being 90] if development [within designated areas] meets the following criteria:

• Must be within a five minute walk (about 250 metres) of the Downtown core or West Quesnel commercial area;
• Must provide amenities that may include public gardens, public plazas, playground equipment, public art, pedestrian and bicycle facilities, and other amenities;
• Primary vehicular access to the development is from a major road that does not require travel through adjacent Low Density Residential Areas;
• Provision of at-grade parking, under-building parking or underground parking;
• Provides a maximum of three stories of residential use;"

The public amenities described are all aimed at improving liveability and providing incentives for people to walk or bicycle around an area rather than exclusively travel by car. In BC's colder climates, this practical design criterion is particularly critical for encouraging pedestrian travel.

Making residential developments conditional on the provision of commercial space

One way of ensuring that the downtown area develops a healthy mix of residential and commercial uses is to tie the construction of one to the other. The OCP, for example, says that Council will:

"allow multi-family residential development within the downtown designation only when the ground floor contains commercial uses."

Being flexible in zoning

Quesnel will be relatively flexible in the way it interprets the zoning of "medium density residential" areas to ensure a lively mix of appropriate commercial, public and institutional uses. The OCP says that Council will:

"consider other uses in the medium density residential designation, including:

• home businesses;
• small parks;
• small places of worship;
• small local commercial uses, especially where located on the ground floor as an integral part of the medium density residential development;
• institutional uses directly related to residential needs, such as medical care, meal provision, exercise facilities, daycare facilities."

Transport-Specific Policies

In its section on transportation, the City of Quesnel's OCP states that the City will:

"consider alternative design standards and neo-traditional planning principles (which include the use of a grid street network, lanes, boulevards and narrower streets)".

This statement refers to a more general change in urban planning priorities and so is explored with reference to the City's other policies below.

The term neo-traditional planning, otherwise called 'New Urbanism', is a reform movement that recently emerged in North America to respond to the problems created by urban and suburban sprawl. All the above-mentioned policies of the Quesnel OCP are consistent with this 'new' approach that, as its name suggests, looks backs to less vehicle-dominated times for inspiration.

According to the US Department of Energy's Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development, the primary design characteristics of New Urbanism include the following:

• Mixed land uses within neighborhoods;
• Pedestrian-centered neighborhoods with primary social and economic facilities within a five-minute walk;
• Community orientation around public transit systems;

On the previous page, we discussed how mixed land uses can help prevent sprawl and the problems associated with it. On this page, we discuss how roads and trails can be made more pedestrian and bicycle friendly. Transit options are covered on the following page.

Roads and streets

Other than considering the general application of neo-traditional design principles, the Quesnel OCP does not cover in detail specific implications of this approach and their potential effect on roads and streets.

However, many people have suggested a list of features associated with neo-traditional road and street design. For example, in his study of sustainable design and planning strategies in North America, Robert Hsin lists the following considerations:

• "Human-scaled" streets
  Reducing road widths and curb radii have many beneficial effects. Traffic speeds are reduced, and streets feel smaller and less daunting to pedestrians. Embodied energy is reduced since less material is required for construction.

• Street patterns to dilute rather than concentrate traffic.
  Conventional street patterns use various techniques to force traffic into a small number of primary arterials, leading to traffic congestion and a generally unpleasant environment for pedestrians around these areas. A grid-type design, by contrast, offers travellers more options and so spreads the load more evenly.

• Street patterns that conform to a site's natural topography.
  Where traffic is not a critical issue, however, designing a street to conform to a site's topography is desirable, to reduce environmental impact of the development, to reduce the need to alter the site's natural drainage patterns, and to save costs by eliminating unnecessary over-engineering of road systems.

• Provide greenery within the streetscape.
  Urban greenery helps improve local air quality and enhances liveability.

• Specify alternative paving surfaces.
  Where appropriate, alternatives to asphalt and concrete may be used to reduce the environmental impact of using these materials. For sidewalks and areas where traffic load is not high, unpaved or permeable paving surfaces could be used. Alternatively, recycled materials, such as crushed glass, recycled tired or aggregate could be specified.

• Reduce the area of impervious surfaces.
  Other effective ways of reducing the amount of paved surface required include multi-storey developments, shared driveways, and decreasing side and rear yard setbacks.

• Provide alternatives to parking lots.
  Street parking can often help create a more pedestrian-focused street environment and prevents the loss of 'dead space' that parking lots represent.

Bicycle routes

More common in OCPs throughout the province are policies on improving the availability and quality of pedestrian and bicycle trails. For Quesnel, however, the development of certain bicycle routes is specifically part of an overall transport system.

Quesnel Council's policies on pedestrian and bicycle routes include the following:

• "Provide for and encourage bicycle and pedestrian movement by developing an integrated system of safe and convenient sidewalks, pathways and trails;
• Continue to implement a program of priority sidewalk construction within Quesnel;
• Work towards improving the width and approaches on sidewalks in order to allow more efficient wheelchair access within Quesnel;
• Consider extending sidewalks to service areas with particularly high volumes of pedestrian traffic including schools, recreational facilities and commercial areas;
• Continue the policy of requiring sidewalk in new development, except for along cul-de-sacs;
• Work towards establishing a bicycle and pedestrian trail network;
• Consider widening sidewalks downtown and in other areas where there are high volumes of foot traffic;
• Investigate a pathway connection between residential areas and industrial employment centres toward the north end of the City;
• Investigate options for pedestrian access across [the local] Highway;
• Encourage stronger connections between the Downtown, and the Riverfront park and Trail;
• Continue to improve the pedestrian environment of downtown".

Because of Quesnel's severe winters and steep terrain, it is unlikely that bicycle trails will offer an entirely realistic commuting alternative for most people in the City. However, in addition the benefit offered to those are willing to brave this geography, bicycle trails also enhance the liveability of the City for wider numbers of people who enjoy them for recreational use.

Pedestrian routes

'Walkability', says Richard McLaughlin in one of a series of articles on New Urbanism for Planning Minnesota, is a central feature of the neo-traditional urban design approach. McLaughlin introduces two features crucial to creating walkability: walking distance and pedestrian continuity.

Walking distance, he proposes, is

"a distance comfortable for most people to walk, as an attractive alternative to driving. This distance is best represented as one quarter mile (400 metres), or a five-minute walk. Walking distance is a historic axiom of urban pattern, delimiting the French Quartier and the Neighborhood Unit described in the 1929 New York City Regional Plan. Current adaptations such as Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) and Transit Oriented Development (TOD) also use a five-minute walking distance as a primary design determinant."

Neo-traditional planners also try to achieve "pedestrian continuity" which McLaughlin describes as,

"an experiential quality created by a safe, comfortable and attractive network of pathways connecting frequently-visited destinations. The essential characteristics of pedestrian continuity are: ·

• Each pathway's trajectory has a desirable or useful destination;
• Frequent destinations are located in places that create a succession of five-minute walks;
• The pathway network offers choices of route, and is logical, uninterrupted, and inclusive of shortcuts wherever possible;
• The pathway's trajectory is spatially defined by interesting building architecture and landscape, and tempered by the local climate, providing shade when the air is hot and sun when the air is cool;
• Pathways are protected from automobile traffic wherever possible;
• Pathways are visually monitored by people in surrounding buildings, and therefore offer pedestrians a sense of safety;"

Tackling Transit

Tackling transport

As the sidebar on the benefits of public transportation describes, improving public transportation opportunities in a community can significantly increase energy efficiency and liveability. However, this can also be one of the most difficult things for a community to tackle in a proactive way, since most municipalities in BC share responsibility for it with BC Transit.

The BC Transit Municipal Systems Program administers transit planning and funding for all systems outside Victoria and the Lower Mainland. Through this program, BC Transit partners with local communities to provide a level of service that balances the needs of various stakeholders.

Quesnel's experience shows that a community can be very much an active partner in this relationship.

The City of Quesnel is currently served only by a 'para-transport' system that is primarily aimed at people with specific (mostly ambulatory) needs.

However, largely through the enthusiasm and commitment of one member (see sidebar on Political Leadership), Quesnel Council recognized the key role improved transit could play in enhancing air quality and meeting other objectives. The City advised BC Transit of recent changes to its transportation needs, and invited it to assess potential public transportation options. Following a feasibility study by BC Transit, Council and BC Transit agreed to initiate a new, expanded transportation system.

Communities elsewhere in BC can similarly assume responsibility for alerting BC Transit to their changing needs. In this section, we summarize the kind of information BC Transit looks for in assessing the viability of a public transport system in a smaller community, with the intention of empowering local people to monitor these local indicators themselves.

Helping BC Transit monitor local needs

BC Transit works with communities to develop an appropriate level of service. In performing a transit feasibility study, BC transit follows a relatively predetermined procedure of the following logical steps:

• Identifying perceived local transport objectives;
• Examining the past experience of public transport in the City;
• Researching and analyzing the effectiveness of current transport arrangements;
• Examining potential transit markets;
• Evaluating various potential transit options;
• Proposing a specific portfolio of transit services;
• Outlining a proposed implementation strategy;

Local communities can assume a proactive role in their relationship with BC Transit by