Qualicum Beach Sustainability Plan

To meet the challenges of climatic, economic, and social change, the Town of Qualicum Beach will develop a Sustainability Plan (SP) that will be incorporated into, and guide, the town’s Official Community Plan (OCP). The Plan will help the Town to meet the B.C. Climate Action Charter target of carbon neutrality in operations by 2012. Staff from various town departments will work jointly to establish an ambitious, yet realistic, SP that deals with problems including those arising from higher sea levels, inconsistent snow packs, and higher temperatures; from declining industry, lower tourism, and job loss; and from an aging population. Major considerations will include the protection of watersheds so that land use never threatens water availability; the development of affordable housing, encouraged by appropriate financial incentives; and a shift away from the private automobile as the primary mode of transportation. Some of the most pressing issues that will likely emerge include affordable housing, economic development, local food and agriculture, and health care. The sustainability principles to be developed through the proposed process will include a systems approach to decision-making that includes the upstream and downstream impacts on the community's economic, social, environmental, and cultural values. It is expected that the planning process will result in a routine decision-making framework such as a sustainability checklist. A quality of life survey and extensive public consultation are planned to draw feedback from residents, who are already very engaged in town management. The community will establish a vision of what a sustainable Qualicum Beach will look like in 2050, and use backcasting to establish realistic goals and targets to help achieve that vision, at one, five and 20-year increments. The SP will feed directly into a planned 2010 review of the current OCP. Based on the SP’s 50-year high-level vision, “sustainability context statements” will be added at various points in the OCP to reinforce the goals of sustainability and to avoid policies that are not sustainable. The SP process and product in Qualicum Beach will blend experiences gleaned from many other B.C. towns, but will also add new knowledge based on a unique demographic perspective: notably, that Qualicum Beach currently reflects the aging demographic profile of a 2030 Canada. A detailed monitoring strategy will be developed along with the sustainability plan.

(Project description from original funding application)