Flood Hazard Land Use Management

Engagement Summary

The Province invited feedback on proposed amendments to the 2004 Flood Hazard Area Land Use Management Guidelines. The Guidelines help local governments, land-use managers, and approving officers develop and implement land-use management plans, and make subdivision approval decisions in areas subject to flood hazards.
 
The Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations updated these guidelines to include design considerations for land use and development in areas that will be affected by sea level rise. The update will amend Sections 3.5 (The Sea) and 3.6 (Areas Protected by Standard Dikes) based on a series of technical studies, the Climate Change Adaptation Guidelines for Sea Dikes and Coastal Flood Hazard Land Use (Ausenco Sandwell, 2011), as well as discussions with local governments and stakeholders over the past three years.
 
The Ministry considered all feedback and recommendations in preparing the final guideline amendment. A technical working group was established to review written submissions and make recommendations regarding changes to the draft amendment.
 

Timeframe: 

May 2013 to October 31, 2014
 

Input received:

A technical working group of local government professional staff was formed in May 2014 to provide advice to the Province on the wording of the proposed amendment to Sections 3.5 and 3.6 of the Guidelines.
 
The technical working group included representatives from the Capital Regional District, City of Campbell River, Cowichan Valley Regional District, Corporation of Delta, Islands Trust, the Juan de Fuca Electoral Area (Capital Regional District), City of Nanaimo, District of North Saanich, Town of Qualicum Beach, City of Richmond, Town of Sidney, District of Sooke, District of Squamish, Strathcona Regional District, City of Surrey, District of Tofino, the Union of B.C. Municipalities, City of Vancouver, City of Victoria, Town of View Royal, and District of West Vancouver.
 
Seven meetings were held between May 2014 and July 2015.
 
Fourteen written submissions were received on the proposed amendments during a public comment period between May and October 2014. The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia provided a final review of the proposed amendments on October 2015.
 

Input leads to action:

The Technical Working Group provided recommendations to the Province on Version 1 of the guideline amendment on May 6, 2015, and Version 2 of the guideline amendment on July 2, 2015.
 
On July 20, 2015, the Water Policy and Legislation Committee approved the Technical Working Group’s recommendations. The status of provincial action on each of the recommendations as of October 25, 2016 is summarized below:
 

The following recommendations were made upon completion of the review of Version 1 of the proposed amendment on May 6, 2015:

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The following recommendations were made upon completion of the review of Version 2 of the proposed amendment and at the conclusion of the TWG engagement process on July 2, 2015:

[table “2” not found /]

 

Additional TWG Concerns

The Water Policy and Legislation Committee was briefed at their July 20, 2015 meeting regarding the following additional concerns expressed by Technical Working Group members:
 

• The need for further consultation with First Nations, affected landowners and professional associations;

• The need for provincial leadership in communicating the new guideline to affected parties;

• A lack of technical guidance for determining wave effects and concern that approaches could vary widely between jurisdictions;

• Outdated tsunami information resulting in unreasonable setback guidelines;

• A lack of federal/provincial funding programs for sea level rise planning studies, floodplain mapping and flood protection infrastructure;

• Limited provincial program capacity to provide technical support and engage on development of long-term flood protection strategies;

• A lack of requirements for provincial agencies and Crown corporations to adhere to the guidelines and coordinate infrastructure development (e.g., highways and rail) with local government flood protection measures; and

• The absence of provincial role in floodplain mapping and lost opportunity to realize economies of scale and ensure consistent approaches.