Planning staff received a nation-wide pat on the back on Wednesday (Aug. 20) when municipal leaders from across the country drooled over the green concessions nabbed from developers in recent years. About 35 people, including councillors and municipal staff from a number of provinces and territories toured Squamish as part of a Sustainable Communities Mission organized by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM)."You guys are doing amazing things," said Sandor Derrick of Ottawa who organized the tour. "All the things we hear, we'd love to have back home."The tour took the group by bus to Solterra's Eaglewind development, the Mamquam Blind Channel and the Oceanfront Lands.Planning director Cameron Chalmers and planner Sabina FooFat led the tour, describing how staff members work with developers to get environmentally friendly amenities, such as an 11-acre public park at Eaglewind.Chalmers said the key to securing some pieces of green space is making the most of areas vulnerable to natural disasters. "There's not a piece of dirt in this town that doesn't have one hazard or another," he said, describing the area's susceptibility to flood and landslides.After reaching the Mamquam Blind Channel area downtown, FooFat spoke about the possibility of a district energy utility providing heat to future high-density housing. She said Victoria Street would need to be torn up anyways to bring municipal services to the site. This work would provide an opportunity to install a sewer heat recovery system to cut down on energy use and reduce the neighbourhood's dependency on hydroelectricity. Because of Squamish's small size, FooFat said the community would likely miss out on the chance to wholly own the utility, but said other companies have shown an interest in partnering with the district to make the technology happen."You have the luxury of moving from a less ideal energy source to a better one. That's a luxury some of us wish we had," said one of member of the tour.FooFat acknowledged the town's transit system needs work, noting that the community is composed of five separate neighbourhoods that are challenging to connect.The community is still in the process of reviving its downtown, Chalmers noted."I think in 2002, the heartbeat stopped,' he said, adding that planners are making an effort to bring more business downtown.But the area did not seem wanton to visitors. "It's nice. It's clean. There are flowers," said Gatineau councillor Denis Tassé.Squamish wasn't the only community to share its strengths. Before boarding the bus, Lethbridge alderman Jeff Carlson flung open the top of a bear proof bin to show off that it was constructed in Lethbridge.For more than 12 years, FCM has organized missions to progressive European countries that have incorporated sustainability into their economic and community development strategies. Their visits have included Finland, Denmark and Germany.In recent years, they have turned their sights to domestic examples of sustainability. After touring Alberta last year, they opted to visit B.C. this summer. The tour began Aug. 16 in Vancouver. After learning about the city's approach to transportation, waste and Olympics planning, the crew headed north for a morning in Squamish, followed by an afternoon in Whistler.The tour will wrap up Thursday (Aug. 22) with a visit to Victoria.So far, B.C. communities have established themselves as leaders in sustainability at the municipal level."Every community in B.C. is so far ahead of Ontario," said Derrick. He said he took the tour to Squamish to get a smaller town experience, noting he was impressed with the headway made with developers.
