Smart Planning for Communities Initiative (formerly Integrated Community Sustainability Planning)

What is Smart Planning?

Smart Planning is a process for envisioning and planning for the long-term well being of communities. Smart Planning builds on existing planning tools in B.C. It provides a framework that helps communities plan for their own needs while ensuring that the needs of future generations can be met. Smart Planning emphasizes:

• long-term thinking;
• broadening the scope of planning to encompass the social, economic, environmental and cultural aspects of a community;
• integration of planning and decision-making processes at various levels, e.g. air quality planning with local land use planning with regional transportation planning with energy planning etc.;
• collaboration between sectors;
• enhanced public engagement and education;
• implementation of plans; and
• setting targets, and monitoring and evaluating progress.

What is the Smart Planning for Communities Initiative?

The Smart Planning Initiative builds local governments and First Nations’ capacity to engage in innovative planning processes that incorporate sustainability principles and use integrated decision-making throughout.
 

The Initiative’s key capacity building components are currently under development and will include:

• First-stop website - to link local and First Nations governments to the resources they need to do sustainability planning;
• Sustainability Facilitators - located throughout B.C. and supported by leading-edge sustainability practitioners and experts; and
• Information-sharing and resource network - to develop and expand linkages among sustainability experts, resources, and communities.

More about Smart Planning in BC.
 

Community Action on Energy and Emissions Program

The Community Action on Energy and Emissions (CAEE) program (formerly Community Action on Energy Efficiency) falls under the umbrella of the Smart Planning Initiative. The CAEE program provides support to B.C. local governments and First Nations to advance through local government policy and planning tools: energy efficiency in buildings, renewable energy, and sustainable transportation.
 

The related Community Energy and Emissions Inventory (CEEI) will provide B.C. local governments with energy and emissions data inventory baselines and ongoing monitoring. The CEEI will be available to all communities to both, inform their Smart Planning and guide and monitor their commitments to GHG targets in their OCPs or regional growth strategies, as well as, enable them to meet the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) (226 KB) Milestone One. The aim of the PCP program is to help local governments reduce greenhouse gases and advance sustainable community development.
 

Financial Resources Available to do Smart Planning

2005 Gas Tax Agreement Funding
 

Five million dollars over five years (2005-2010) of Gas Tax Agreement (GTA) funding - administered by the Union of B.C. Municipalities – is available for local governments outside the GVRD to engage in Smart Planning. See the Capacity Building and ICSP Program Guide (549 KB) for details on how to apply for these funds.
 

Community assessments are one of the priorities of the GTA capacity building and ICSP funding. A community assessment tool helps the community identify ways in which it can move forward with Smart Planning. While no one model or method will suit all situations, a generic community assessment template (118 KB) has been developed by the Ministry of Community Services to provide local governments with a starting point.
 

Other Funding Opportunities
 

Funding opportunities for Smart Planning projects in addition to the GTA funding include:

• Smart Development Partnerships program of the Ministry of Community Services
• The Real Estate Foundation’s Communities in Transition program
• The Federation of Canadian Municipalities Green Municipal Fund
• Other Ministry of Community Services grants
• CAEE grants
• CivicInfo B.C. provides a comprehensive listing of grants for local governments

For more information, please contact:

Intergovernmental Relations and Planning Division
Ministry of Community Services
 

Mary Storzer
Planning Systems Analyst
Tel: 250 356-5515
E-mail: Mary.Storzer@gov.bc.ca