Strategic Plan: 2009-2011
Strengthening Our Foundation
The Capital Regional District's Strategic Plan sets out goals and strategies to improve the services and operations of the organization.
With sustainability as its guiding principle, and the triple bottom line as the lens through which it will make decisions at a time when there are real fiscal limitations and the need for regional leadership, the CRD has identified five priorities for the 2009-2011 period. These priorities are listed in alphabetical order and are not ranked.
Climate Action
In November 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that the earth’s climate is changing, that the change is being caused by human activities, and that effects will worsen if no action is taken. This panel engaged 2,500 scientists from 130 countries. The CRD joins the BC Government and local governments across the province in a collective determination to do what we can locally to address this global challenge. During the last term of the Board, a CRD Climate Action Plan was adopted and a Climate Action Service was created to address mitigation and adaptation strategies.
Environmental Protection
The CRD has committed to environmental stewardship consistently through the ‘Values, Goals and Priorities Project’, the Regional Growth Strategy, the Regional Green and Blue Space Strategy, and the 2006-2008 Strategic Plan. Our Parks and Community Services Department provides leadership from land management and outdoor recreation perspectives; Environmental Services addresses challenges associated with waste management; and the Round Table on the Environment monitors and advises on the broader spectrum of environmental issues.
Housing
In March 2007, the CRD in collaboration with municipalities adopted the Regional Housing Affordability Strategy – to address the critical and ongoing lack of affordable housing for families, seniors and persons experiencing homelessness. The BC Capital Region is one of the least affordable and lowest vacancy rate areas in Canada. In recent major regional public surveys, affordable housing and homelessness is ranked as a priority for community action. In early 2008 the CRD created an Affordable Housing Secretariat to action the Regional Housing Affordability Strategy and to partner with the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness. This Housing Delivery Framework, with the benefit of Regional Housing Trust Funds is focusing on partnering with senior governments and the private housing industry to develop affordable housing for those at median income and below. Affordable housing is essential to individual and family health and for attracting and retaining the required workforce to the region.
Regional Transportation
The CRD has demonstrated a commitment to sustainable transportation since the adoption of the TravelChoices Strategy in 2005. That strategy recognized the need to encourage an increasing proportion of people to use travel alternatives such as transit, cycling and walking in order to accommodate the projected population increase without having to build new roads; and the importance of integrating land use and transportation planning. The regional district mandate for transportation is limited to the Regional Growth Strategy, transportation planning and modeling, and related information services. As such, the CRD works in partnership with other agencies to implement transportation projects.
Waste Management
The CRD sits at a “waste management crossroads”. The region is working to develop and implement a viable plan to treat its sewage generated in the core area and to look for ways to maximize beneficial reuse of resources and generation of offsetting revenue. These requirements are consistent with the ongoing CRD commitment to sustainability using a triple bottom line approach in all waste management decisions. We will be updating both our LWMP and SWMP and improving related operations from five perspectives: public environmental health, maximizing resources and value based on the principles of resource recovery, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the ultimate goal of zero waste and cost efficiency.
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