Development

In case my Rossland readers were lulled into believing that their golf course proposal was the only contentious one on the planet, here’s some news from Scotland…

Donald Trump wants to create the world's finest golf course on an unspoilt stretch of northern Scotland. Merely creating a "world class" course would not be good enough; it has to be better than the Old Course at St Andrews, he claimed yesterday.

The US billionaire was giving evidence at the opening day of a public inquiry into his plan to develop a site that includes sand dunes that are home to a rich variety of wildlife, on the Menie estate near Aberdeen. Mr Trump presented himself as an ecologically concerned entrepreneur, but when he described himself as "an environmentalist", the reaction from the public gallery was so loud that the inquiry chairman, James McCulloch, demanded silence.

Mr Trump claimed his golf course was more likely to improve the local environment than damage it. He suggested the site was not very attractive in its present condition, though he agreed that it had the potential to be one of the finest sites in the world.

I care about the environment, says Trump (and not just the greens) - Home News, UK - The Independent

Sounds like some after the fact greenwashing going on - claiming that it will "improve the environment"!However, it looks like he got pipped at the post with the proposal getting voted down. The usual claims were made that by not allowing this, it would deter investment in Scotland. I’m surprised Trump would have even been to Northern Scotland, can’t imagine it’s high on the list of places to visit for billionaires, but maybe I'm wrong.

Revelstoke, in the Kootenays, BC, has signed up as an official Resort Municiaplity of BC, following Whistler, Golden, Rossland, Harrison Hot Springs, Radium Hot Springs, Kimberley, Osoyoos and Valemount have reached similar agreements with the Province; four other municipalities are currently eligible to enter into agreements: Fernie, Invermere, Ucluelet and Tofino.

This is part of the Province's ongoing commitment to meeting the goal of doubling B.C. tourism by 2015.

CivicInfo BC - New Resort Agreement Supports Revelstoke Tourism

Revelstoke is the most recent community to sign an agreement under the B.C. Resort Municipality Initiative with the Province, allowing it to share a portion of provincial hotel room tax revenues to invest in local resort-oriented projects and support a greener, healthier environment, Community Services Minister Ida Chong announced...

Under the agreement, it is estimated that Revelstoke and area will receive $2.5 million over five years. The funding is expected to result in a new conference centre, a tourism information centre and improved landscaping on the Trans-Canada Highway, enhancements to the city's museum, a marina/boat launch plan, public art projects, an outdoor performance space, multi-use trails including snowmobile trail development, and a bus to service the resort.
As a result of these investments, Revelstoke expects to see a significant increase in skier visits to Revelstoke Mountain Resort, a 20 per cent increase in annual hotel occupancy rates, a 10 per cent increase in local employment and a 20 per cent in increase retail sales over the five-year period.

This is great news for the residents that have been in support of the massive expansion to their local ski hill, which can now rightly be called a resort.

Not everything is rosy on the tourism front in many of these resort communities; with the desire for things to stay the same a pretty common theme, those feelings are usually not as popular as the idea of growing with a new tourism based economy and becoming a resort.

Having just visited Whistler, I can see what people are worried about, with everything and everyone in town working towards making the Whistler experience a positive one for tourists. Even there, I'm sure there are those who lament the "good old days".

Some interesting news out of the Australian Agriculture scene this month...

A fresh new innovation in Australia’s urban agriculture - Free-Press-Release.com

The launch of Urban Ecological Systems (UES) on Wednesday April 2nd 2008 will include a public information session on “The Future of Food" - a view to urban agriculture and feeding our cities via sustainable food production systems.

If you've never head of UES, here's a one minute primer, sounds like a name to keep your eyes on, (they won the episode round on the ABC Australia program New Inventors...

UES is responsible for the innovation of Ecocity farms in Australia which have received world-wide attention with their new prototype of a farming system developed in Australia, since winning a recent episode of ABC-TV's The New Inventors program with Technology & Innovation Award judge, George Lewin describing Ecocity Farms as "an idea whose time has come".

ecocityfarm - About Ecocity Farm

The ecoCity Farm is a water, energy and space efficient commercial aquaculture/plant production system packaged into a turn-key, IT supported farm-gate operation, suitable for use where conventional agriculture is not viable - including urban areas, and remote or environmentally sensitive locations.
It integrates both technological and marketing aspects to provide a total business solution to many of the major issues plaguing modern food production.

The Bigger Food Picture

Many people I talk to are oblivious to the potential food crisis that could befall the Western World as much as the Third World. Others insist that Oil will be replaced with a viable alternative before there are any ripple effects on food production or supply.

Vacant urban land, foreclosed properties, reclaimed industrial sites are all potential farm land sites with a technology like this. Sustainable food is a catch phase we haven't heard the end of yet.

What happens when a development is approved based on the results of a water study, not on the true availability of the water...
“Show Me the Water” : Sustainablog

In the past, Moore explained, development projects have been approved based on “paper water”–or, water availability proved in reports–and not on actual water availability.
In a handout given at the conference, Moore writes, “The problem of paper water–in its simplest terms, of development decisions grounded in expectations of water exceeding what can actually be delivered–predictably arose from a long disconnect between water planning and land use decision-making. The relationship between water and land development is such an indelible theme in California that one of its leading water historians, William Kahrl, described “the history of California in the twentieth century” as “the story of a state inventing itself with water.”

This idea of paper water is one that is pretty new, and it exists on a number of levels. The most obvious is the actual supply of water in pipes to a development, but on a larger scale, it involves issues with watershed management, looking at longer term issues.

Unfortunately, most municipalities are reliant on information provided by consultants, who often work for a developer, rather than the municipality. Difficulties arise when requirements for longer term studies or planning are brought up as part of the development review process.

It's safe to say that most developers are working on a shorter timeframe than municipalities. These comments are particularly true in the Southern States of the US, where water is running out, development is still occurring and no one seems to be taking much notice of the scientist's concerns of water running out.

Technorati Tags: water, paper water, water supply, water security, sustainability, sustainable water, water sources, development, subdivision, real estate,

The British Columbia provincial government is working hard to be recognized as the greenest of all the provinces, with carbon taxes and sustainable transportation initiatives. The latest move is a mixed blessing for municipalities.

In looking for "solutions to climate change", local governments are being invited to seek solutions that "make their communities more environmentally sustainable".

CivicInfo BC - News

Once the legislation comes into force, local governments will be required to include greenhouse gas emission targets, policies and actions in their Official Community Plans and Regional Growth Strategies.

They will also be able to use development permits to promote energy and water conservation and the reduction of greenhouse gases, and encourage alternative transportation options for off-street parking. Developers who are building small housing units (29 square metres or less) will be exempt from paying Development Cost Charges. Local governments will have the ability to waive or reduce these charges for green development including small lot subdivisions and affordable rental housing.

Many of these initiative are already being used in progressive municipalities, with auditing of greenhouse gases and efforts towards water conservation two of the big ones.

The City of Rossland is in the process of reviewing their development cost charges, and will incorporate exemptions or discounts for smaller units. Rossland already uses building permits as a mechanism for requiring water conservation upgrades such as water meters and low flush toilets.

Last night the staff of the City of Rossland provided a two hour long meeting to residents on the topic of development within the City.

In a presentation entitled, "Does Development Pay for Itself?", this question was answered in terms of the myriad of financial implications, the development and zoning  process, and engineering and infrastructure (which was my area of responsibility).

After each speaker, a quick ten minute question time was set, to allow residents to ask questions pertaining to the presentation, and when the three speakers were done, a further twenty minutes of question time commenced.

Questions that were not answered were written down and handed to staff after the presentation. I was impressed with the general nature of the questions, the concerns of residents typically reflected those of staff. Issues raised included Development Cost Charges, affordable housing, water management, sewer capacity and required upgrades, and costs to developers.

The Mayor recorded the proceedings and will make copies available for those who were not able to attend.

Leave a comment if you were there, and let us know what your thoughts were. Click on the link below to see a pdf of the presentation...  read more »