It's clear that since Ted Daly's comment in the August 2, 2011 edition of the Times Colonist (TC) criticizing in part the Capital Regional District Board (CRD) and Regional Growth Strategy (RGS), other writers have responded in the TC as I did, arguing their support for the Board's role in providing oversight to regional land use planning through the RGS. Protecting rural, agricultural and green spaces from urban sprawl is fundamental to the Strategy, to regional planning and, in my view, reflects the majority opinion of elected municipal politicians who currently sit at the CRD Board table. And, now, sustainability, both locally and regionally, is on the lips of citizens, planning experts, environmental groups and many of us elected to public office who believe in a regional planning model.
The sustainability conversation for me begs some of the following questions: In the face of growth and demographics, how do we conserve and expand the resources we have such as water, energy and local food? How do we protect and enhance green spaces to address issues of climate change and accessible recreation? How do we undertake transportation planning to move workers to jobs and people to services? How do we address the tax burden and shrinking municipal revenues against needs to fund upgrades to infrastructure?
Instead of questioning the role of the CRD Board and Regional Growth Strategy, how about supporting a regional model that continues to bring everyone together to find answers to some of these questions, for the benefit of the region and the people who live here?
