Exchangewinter2017

EXCHANGE EXCHANGE is is aa quarterly quarterly magazine magazine published published by by the the Local Local Government Government Management Management Association Association (LGMA) (LGMA) of of British British Columbia.

Columbia. It’s It’s about about sharing sharing information, information, exchanging exchanging ideas ideas on on best best practices, practices, enhancing enhancing professional professional development development and and building building networks. networks. Reach Reach us us at at www.lgma.ca. www.lgma.ca.

HOMELESSNESS STRATEGIES

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EXPLORING PARCELMAP BC

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NEW HOME FOR LGMA

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WINTER 2017

Tackling the Affordability Crisis

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Sharing information and expertise helps build strong, sustainable communities.

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Update In this Issue President’s Report Executive Director’s Report Case of Interest Members Page Our Town

Professional Development 2 3 4 5 25 28

Tips & Tactics: Developing Affordable Housing

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Programs & Events

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6 Tackling the Affordability Crisis Skyrocketing housing costs are an issue across the province. Learn what other B.C. communities are doing to create opportunities for more affordable housing.

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Exchange is the magazine for members of the Local Government Management Association of British Columbia.

Exchange is distributed quarterly to over 900 members of the LGMA, as well as Mayors and Regional District Chairs.

Strategies for Ending Homelessness

Exchange is printed on Sappi Flo, an FSC® Certified 10% post-consumer recycled paper at Island Business Print Group.

LGMA Office: 7th Floor 620 View Street Victoria, BC V8W 1J6 Telephone: 250.383.7032 Fax: 250.383.4879 Email: office@lgma.ca Web: www.lgma.ca Contact the Editor: Email: editor@lgma.ca

Cover Illustration: erhui1979/Getty Images

Promoting Professional Management & Leadership Excellence in Local Government

The experiences of Terrace, Maple Ridge and the Capital Regional District show that while there is no simple solution for homelessness, certain strategies are demonstrating success in many communities.

21 ParcelMap BC: Accurate, Reliable Parcel Information

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Find out how your local government can benefit from using ParcelMap BC for accurate, reliable cadastral data on active titled parcels and surveyed provincial Crown land parcels in B.C.

Picturesque Gibsons is attracting entrepreneurs and families alike with its natural beauty, environmental stewardship, community spirit and economic development.

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Our Town: Gibsons

IN THIS ISSUE

As I spoke to local and regional government staff about homelessness and affordable housing, it was difficult to avoid feeling bogged down by pessimism or overwhelmed by the sheer challenges and barriers they face.

itting in the comfort of my home office and looking out at the houses around me, it can be hard to put my mind into a place where I can imagine what it’s like for people who are living on the street or struggling to pay their rent. All it takes is a few minutes watching the news, reviewing social media or talking to colleagues in local government to sharpen the focus on these very challenging issues.

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In this edition of Exchange, we hear from communities that are taking action to end homelessness and create more affordable housing. This is particularly impressive as both issues involve a myriad of complex causes and influencing factors and cannot easily be resolved. As I spoke to the local and regional government staff who shared their experiences and insights, it was a bit difficult to avoid feeling bogged down by pessimism or overwhelmed by the sheer challenges and barriers they face.

Addiction, mental illness, job loss, disabilities, low vacancy rates, high rental rates…the list of factors affecting homelessness are widely varied, and the result is that there’s no such thing as one solution fits all. It’s also important to remember that these types of health and social issues are not typically addressed by local government. As well, when it comes to the lack of affordable housing, local government has little or no control over many of the contributing factors such as escalating real estate costs and low vacancy rates due to increased demand.

Then there is the NIMBY factor – “Not in my backyard!” No one wants people who are homeless camping in their backyard. I sincerely doubt that most people you talk to would feel any differently, and I can certainly understand the fear and, sad to say, distaste. Residents want to distance themselves from people who are homeless. But there is also resistance to having homeless shelters, even in centralized locations or business districts. Rather than NIMBY, it’s really NIMC – “Not in my community!”

The question then becomes, if not in your community – where can people go? Where can they get the help they need? I was shocked to learn how many young people are homeless and addicted to drugs. It was also interesting and somewhat reassuring to learn about the proven benefits of the “Housing First” model to help change people’s lives and get them off the street – permanently. I think perhaps we all need to remember that these are people first – and being homeless is just their current status. Furthermore, if there are viable solutions out there, we all benefit from helping people get off the street and into housing so they can get back on their feet or be helped with their mental health problems, addictions and other issues.

It’s also encouraging to hear about success stories like New Westminster, where the changes and incentives introduced at a local government level are prompting new rental housing developments for the first time in decades, and changes in policies are providing for more varieties of housing options, such as secondary suites and laneway homes. These more affordable housing choices are all a positive step forward.

As each story was shared, it became evident that implementing viable solutions is only feasible when community and social service organizations are integrated into the process. It’s also essential that all three levels of government play a role, including providing leadership to guide new initiatives and allocating funding. It may take months, or more likely years, before there is a significant shift towards more affordable housing and an end to homelessness, but that makes it even more important to get started now.

Therese Mickelson, ABC Editor

Promoting Professional Management & Leadership Excellence in Local Government

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PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Our Chapters are vibrant, continuing to grow and provide the foundation for our success.

GMA has enjoyed a busy fall, with a packed educational program and many activities underway to engage with our members. Our newest program, a Procurement Practices webinar series hosted jointly by the Government Finance Officers Association of British Columbia and the LGMA, was oversubscribed and very well-received. We are also busy working on a new education plan and preparing to move into our Douglas Street offices. Interestingly, this is a return home of sorts, as this is the same location that the Municipal Officers Association of BC and Executive Director Lillian Whittier operated out of in the mid to late nineties. Stay tuned for more on that in the new year.

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We’ve also been working very closely with our Chapters. Recently, both Nancy Taylor and I have been fortunate to attend several local Chapter meetings and saw first-hand the local leadership and great work these folks are doing. When visiting with the Thompson Okanagan LGMA Chapter members in Silverstar Resort, we heard from renowned Seattle community activist Jim Diers about the power of neighbourhoods. At the Lower Mainland LGMA Chapter meeting in Surrey, we enjoyed an evening of conversation about career success stories, tips and coaching with Craig Hemer from Boyden Executive Search and Darcy Wilson from 311 Vancouver. In Campbell River at a Vancouver Island LGMA Chapter session we heard from Stephen Hammond on creating respectful workplaces through ethical management and from Gibson’s Chief Administrative Officer and Eco-Assets evangelist Emanuel Machado about the next generation of asset management – Natural Sustainable Asset Management. Clearly, our Chapters are vibrant, continuing to grow and provide the foundation for our success.

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We also endeavour to build bridges using a collaborative and quietly progressive approach on your behalf. We find this especially effective in these complex, very public and social media centric times. Partnering in dialogue and the development of positive solutions is always the best policy and is something we aspire to every day.

As we near the end of another very successful year, I’m heartened by the many positive success stories from our members and continue to believe that we remain well-positioned to be a strong, positive influence in the face of the current trends we see in local government today.

Paul Murray President

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Communities that have adopted a supported “Housing First” model are the ones that have seen the most significant decreases in their homeless population.

reparing for this edition of Exchange took me back to a truly remarkable time in my career in local government.

In May 2007, I was working at the City of Victoria when then-Mayor Alan Lowe struck a 120-day task force to recommend a service model and action plan to address the visible increase in homelessness, particularly in the downtown core. There was already a lot of good work under way at that time, but the city was facing a crisis. Businesses, residents, social service agencies and visitors to the city were demanding that something be done about the chaos they were experiencing on the streets and the growing, visible community of homeless residents, many with severe mental health and addictions challenges. I was the staff person put in charge of helping guide, support and ultimately deliver on Mayor Lowe’s commitment to find a better way to deal with the problems of the addicted, mentally ill and other homeless residents and the impacts on the community.

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Four months was our timeline to solve homelessness in our city, a deeply complex and intractable issue which is affecting communities all over the province. It was one of the most challenging – and ultimately rewarding – experiences of my working life. I had worked for nearly two decades in developing countries in capacity-building in the public sector, but never had I been offered the chance to make such an impact in the community I called home. We delivered our report on time, and I am proud to say it provided a blueprint for a new approach to addressing homelessness rooted in the principles of the “Housing First” model and client-centred and integrated support services, which have continued to improve and expand the stock of housing and support services for homeless residents in Victoria.

The things we learned during the development of the task force report are as relevant today as they were nearly a decade ago. I believe two critical components made it possible to make the transformative shift in thinking around homelessness. One, we completed significant research, which allowed us to really understand the picture, scale and scope of homelessness issues in Victoria. The Gap Analysis Team who conducted the research and prepared the recommendations that led to the five-year action plan were an incredible group of dedicated staff from the Vancouver Island Health Authority, Victoria Police Department, University of Victoria, City of Victoria and key service providers.

The Gap Analysis team was able to inventory and prepare a cost analysis of the existing services for homelessness, mental health and addictions; identify gaps in the number and range or orientation of services; and propose a model with costs, timelines, actions and responsible organizations to bridge those gaps. They found that the needs of the homeless population in Greater Victoria were costing at least $62 million in other services, such as policing, jails, hospital services, emergency shelters, parks clean up, etc. This led to the second key component of the task force work: identifying more successful approaches to the design of support services and the “Housing First” model.

Housing people first, no matter what their needs, including allowing them to use alcohol and drugs with supports, has ultimately helped bring down the numbers of homeless residents and the visible evidence of their behaviours on the streets in Victoria. Communities that have adopted a supported “Housing First” model are the ones that have seen the most significant decreases in their homeless population.

Finally, the willingness of all the agencies that work to support homeless residents – social service providers, first responders, health authorities, governments – to partner and work collaboratively is ultimately what has also made the difference in Victoria. We still spend more in addressing the consequences of homelessness than solving it, but partnering strategies and the willingness of local governments to take a lead and drive that collaboration remain key to tackling the problem of homelessness.

That is my view - and not everyone agrees that homelessness is the responsibility of local governments – but one drawn from having had the extraordinary privilege of helping to try to address it.

As we head into the holiday season, all the very best to you and your families. May 2017 be a year of peace, positive dialogue and respect for all, both here at home and around the world.

Nancy Taylor Executive Director

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By Jeff Locke and Kaitlyn Cumming Fulton & Company LLP

CASE of INTEREST

Legal Perspectives on Encampments anaging homelessness is a complex issue that implicates social, economic, health, mental health, and moral considerations. The legal landscape is equally complex, as laws impacting the homeless population come from all three levels of government. For local governments, homelessness is a particularly thorny issue as addressing underlying causes, such as affordable housing shortages, addiction, or mental health, are generally under provincial jurisdiction and outside direct local control. Instead, local governments are tasked with dealing with the public effects of homelessness and attempting to balance the rights and needs of the homeless while ensuring that the broader goals of the local community are met.

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The tension between these competing interests has been highlighted in a number of court decisions in British Columbia, which address the issue of “encampments.” The first of these was Victoria (City) v Adams, 2008 BCSC 1363, aff ’d 2009 BCCA 563. The litigation arose after a group of 70 homeless individuals set up a tent city in a public park in Victoria, contrary to a bylaw that prohibited overhead shelters.

The question in that case was narrow: does a bylaw that prohibits homeless individuals from erecting temporary overhead shelters at night violate their constitutional rights to life, liberty and security of the person under Section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms?

The answer to that question was yes, as the testimony established that sleeping without overhead shelter had a negative impact upon health due to exposure to the elements. The issue was further narrowed by the Court of Appeal, which found that prohibiting temporary overnight shelters only violates Section 7 where the number of homeless in the city exceeds the number of shelter beds.

This reasoning was affirmed in subsequent cases. In Johnston v Victoria (City), 2011 BCCA 400, the Court rejected the idea that a local government was required to allow daytime shelters. Similarly, Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation v William, 2014 BCSC 1926, dealt with a permanent encampment in Oppenheimer Park contrary to the City’s Parks Control Bylaw.

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As the number of shelter beds roughly equaled the number of homeless, Vancouver successfully established that the encampment ought to be dismantled pending the outcome of the action.

However, the City was required to ensure an orderly transition to shelter beds for those displaced.

In Abbotsford (City) v Shantz, 2015 BCSC 1909, the Supreme Court discussed potential downsides of permanent encampments, which can create their own safety, health, and crime risks. The Court further noted that local governments have an obligation to proceed with enforcing their bylaws prohibiting permanent shelters in a manner that aids the transition of the homeless population.

Most recently, British Columbia v Adamson, 2016 BCSC 1245, involved a permanent encampment established on provincial property at the Victoria Courthouse. The Province sought an interlocutory injunction, after having applied unsuccessfully for one earlier in British Columbia v Adamson, 2016 BCSC 584. Victoria’s Parks Bylaw did not apply to the land, and the Province took the position that the encampment created a public nuisance by damaging the land, affecting the quiet enjoyment of surrounding individuals and businesses, and creating health and safety risks.

Since the first application, the Province had taken steps to provide additional housing options for those at the encampment, as previously there had been a shortage of shelter beds. Furthermore, conditions at the camp had deteriorated over time, and it was no longer viewed as safe and well-managed. Based on these changes, Chief Justice Hinkson determined that the Province ought to be granted an injunction allowing the camp to be dismantled.

From these cases, a number of principles have arisen:1. Local governments must ensure that bylaws which may affect the homeless are drafted in a manner that minimally impairs their rights, even where aimed at achieving important public goals; 2. Even when a homeless group is breaching a bylaw that has not been declared unconstitutional, the courts have imposed upon local governments the responsibility of ensuring that the homeless are not displaced without some form of orderly transition; and 3. While there is no positive obligation upon local governments to provide housing to the homeless, whether proactive steps have been taken to develop housing options is an important consideration when applying to dismantle an encampment through court action.

By Therese Mickelson, ABC

Tackling the

AFFORDABILITY CRISIS Promoting Professional Management & Leadership Excellence in Local Government

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There are many perks that come with living in British Columbia. esidents boast about the gorgeous scenery, friendly neighbourhoods and safe communities. What you don’t hear is people bragging about the great deal they got on their house or their amazingly affordable rental apartment. In fact, the cost of housing and lack of rental units has escalated well beyond being simply a challenge in many communities across the province.

The words “affordable housing crisis” are appearing in media reports with alarming frequency, and residents are often looking to local governments with demands that something be done.

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Some of the factors affecting housing costs are beyond the control of local government, such as interest rates, global economic conditions and market-driven costs for real estate. As an example, in Vancouver, a Royal Bank of Canada report notes that aggregate prices in the Vancouver area jumped by eight per cent between the fourth quarter of 2015 and first quarter of 2016, which was the strongest quarterly increase in 26 years, and first-quarter prices for single-detached homes surged nearly 25 per cent year-over-year. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reported that the benchmark price – or typical property - for a detached home in the Metro Vancouver region is now $1.4 million. In the Fraser Valley, the benchmark detached home price is $776,500. While prices in other communities across the province may not hit these extremes, a recent British Columbia Real Estate Association housing forecast update still notes that there is a strong seller’s market across most of the southern portion of the province, driving prices upward.

At the same time that housing prices are keeping prospective homeowners out of the market, there is also a serious lack of rental housing available. Vacancy rates are at an all-time low. For residents with lower incomes – including young families, seniors and young people just entering the workplace – the situation is becoming grim.

Housing of any kind is hard to find and increasingly beyond their reach.

While local governments cannot solve the problem, they can be instrumental in creating opportunities for more affordable housing through their role in community planning, affordable housing strategies and policies, zoning and development incentives. With the essential strategies and planning foundation in place, communities can also leverage new provincial grants to support the development of affordable market and subsidized rental housing to help fill a critical gap in the affordable housing mix.

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“There is a fair amount of angst among younger people – particularly families – about being able to afford suitable housing.”

Margaret Eberle

“The ownership market gets a lot of attention in the media, but the rental market has been an issue for a long time,” says Margaret Eberle, Senior Housing Planner, Metro Vancouver. “With high ownership housing costs and limited rental options, it’s not surprising that there is a fair amount of angst among younger people – particularly families – about being able to afford suitable housing.

There is a gap in terms of what the market is providing and what they need, which is why we feel access to a mixed range of housing is very important for the livability and economic prosperity of the region in the long term.”

With the affordable housing crisis sweeping across the province, and particularly in the Metro Vancouver region, the Greater Vancouver Regional District Board recently adopted a new Regional Affordable Housing Strategy, which was developed in consultation with municipal members as well as private sector and non-profit stakeholders. It responds to current conditions in a strategic way, laying out goals, strategies and actions for a range of housing stakeholders, including the provincial and federal governments.

“The previous strategy was adopted in 2007, and we are now experiencing new and different housing issues,” says Eberle.

Strategy highlights include an emphasis on overall affordability through a consideration of both housing and transportation costs and the lack of rental housing available in the region. The Strategy notes the importance of working with the non-profit and cooperative sector to address some of the challenges created by the expiry of operating agreements for subsidized housing that were developed under the federal and provincial housing programs in the 1960s-1980s.

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Tackling the Affordability Crisis Continued from page 7

The updated Strategy has five goals: • Expand the supply and diversity of housing to meet a variety of needs.

• Expand the rental supply and balance preservation of existing stock with redevelopment while supporting existing tenants.

• Meet housing demand estimates for very low and low income earners.

• Increase the rental housing supply along the Frequent Transit Network.

• End homelessness in the region.

Eberle notes that without defined goals in place, it would be difficult to ensure that there are policies to create and protect affordable housing opportunities, such as rental housing near transit.

“Transit-rich locations are popular and could easily be dominated by more expensive housing, so we wanted to draw attention to the connection between transit access and housing as affordability issues that are tied together and encourage either the retention or new development of more affordable rental housing in these areas,” says Eberle.

The Regional Affordable Housing Strategy includes a mix of actions for Metro Vancouver as well as recommended actions for local, provincial and federal governments, and other stakeholders, including TransLink. For local governments, this includes considering strategies for affordable housing when developing local housing action plans.

Metro Vancouver has also developed some What Works guides that provide examples of what local governments are doing to increase or preserve rental housing and affordable rental housing, including what tools they are using effectively. Many of these strategies may also be applicable for other communities in the province.

“We learn from each other,” says Eberle. “Even though each local government in the province has unique needs and the scale may be different, there are tools and approaches that can be replicated or adapted for each situation.”

In addition to its planning and policy-making role, as a regional federation of 21 local governments, a Treaty First Nation and one Electoral Area, Metro Vancouver directly provides affordable rental housing through the operation of its wholly-owned, non-profit housing corporation. The Metro Vancouver Housing Corporation manages 49 housing complexes, with 3,500 units throughout the region.

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“We’re in a bit of crisis mode right now, and I think everyone has a role to play – private sector, local government, provincial government and federal government.”

These were largely funded under previous federal-provincial housing programs.

Even with these mixed income rental units already in place, Metro Vancouver recognizes that there is still a gap that needs to be addressed to meet estimated housing demand for all income levels, and it is working to increase its portfolio of mixed income housing.

One way of doing this is by redeveloping existing sites at higher density. Heather Place in Vancouver has been approved and will add 150 units to an existing site through a phased redevelopment.

“We’re in a bit of a crisis mode here right now, and I think everyone has a role to play – private sector, local government, provincial government and federal government,” says Eberle. “The federal government has committed to preparing a national housing strategy, which is huge, and they have made a $2.3 billion commitment

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nationally over two years to support programs that address homelessness, seniors who need subsidized housing and others in need, and this money has been transferred to the provinces to implement.”

The provincial government has also stepped up with new funding and programs to support the development of affordable rental housing in the province, including a $355 million investment in the Provincial Investment in Affordable Housing program and a $500 million construction and renovation grant program to support housing innovation.

The Provincial Investment in Affordable Housing program is designed to support the construction and renovation of more than 2,000 units of affordable rental housing.

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Tackling the Affordability Crisis Continued from page 9

The funds will be distributed over a five-year period. This year, a total of 15 projects (493 units) have been approved for funding representing a $79 million investment. A date for the next call for proposals has not been confirmed yet.

A total of 53 projects (2,404 units) have already been approved for funding through the provincial Investment in Housing Innovation program, totalling $437 million in investment.

This program is specifically designed to support a mix of housing types, including affordable rental projects, speciality housing designed for high-functioning adults with developmental disabilities, seniors housing, student housing and other targeted needs. Local governments will have several opportunities over the next few years to continue to capitalize on these investments to improve access to affordable housing in their communities.

“It’s an ideal time for local governments to position themselves for funding to support local projects,” says Trudy Rotgans, Executive Director of the Housing Policy Branch, Office of Housing and Construction Standards.

“It’s an ideal time for local governments to position themselves for funding to support local (affordable housing) projects.”

“As a province and as BC Housing, we look at whether the local government has assessed the housing needs in their community – in particular, have they have looked deeper than vacancy rates to learn about the distinct needs in the community.”

Rotgans notes that every community may have different needs. For some it may be that they have good accessibility for families but issues with homeless that need supportive housing.

Others may have challenges for seasonal workers’ housing, or perhaps there is a lack of accessible, affordable rental housing for people with disabilities or students.

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Local governments who have assessed the needs and identified projects that address their local priorities are better positioned to take advantage of the provincial programs available. At the same time, they need to demonstrate that they have pulled together a team to work on solutions.

“I want to emphasize that the model we have in place is really to do with partnerships,” says Rotgans. “It’s not about a top-down, government-driven process. Instead, the model that works best involves developing partnerships in the community, including private sector and service partners. So when you come to the province for funding, we’re also going to ask who is coming to the table with you.”

The type of support available goes beyond the recently-announced funding programs. There are proposal calls every year that provide financial assistance, such as capital funding, support through construction funding and operating dollars. Rotgans emphasizes that it’s important to connect with BC Housing regional directors for assistance during proposal development and to learn more about the opportunities available.

Both Eberle and Rotgans agree that local governments can have a significant influence on the housing supply, one of the essential ingredients for improved affordability. They can have an impact through zoning in their Official Community Plans that allows for higher density and targets needs such as housing close to transit.

Local governments can also facilitate partnerships with the nonprofit or private sectors to create affordable rental housing. They can encourage diverse forms of affordable housing by allowing apartments and condominiums with lock-off suites, secondary suites in homes or laneway housing. These types of options provide an expanded base of rental opportunities in the community.

“Some local governments have clearly stepped up to use the tools in their toolkit to facilitate either affordable or non-market housing, and, more recently, a number of local governments have put forward incentives in the private market to help build purpose-built rental housing,” adds Eberle.

The City of New Westminster stands out as one example where Council has taken a firm stand on the need to safeguard existing purpose-built rental housing stock and encourage development of additional market rental housing to provide more options for low and moderate income families in the community.

“We have a very socially-minded Council, and I think they are also very forward-thinking as they started focusing on affordable housing back in 2008 before it became such a prominent issue,” says John Stark, Senior Social Planner for the City of New Westminster.

“Council is not amenable to rezoning that would affect the loss of our existing, purpose-built market rental housing, so we are careful not to create conditions that would make it attractive for developers to redevelop that housing.”

Instead, the City has introduced a number of policies and incentives that promote new market rental housing and non-market housing.

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Starting in 2008, the City prepared two affordable housing backgrounders and an Affordable Housing Strategy with a vision and actions to support the development of affordable, non-market and rental housing.

Their action plan included the development of a Density Bonusing Program, a Housing Reserve Fund and a Secondary Suite Readiness Guide. Under the Density John Stark Bonusing Program, if developers add extra density beyond what is permitted in the zoning bylaw, the usual fees are waived if the added density is for market rental housing.

The Housing Reserve Fund receives 30 per cent of all density bonusing revenues, and the fund is used to facilitate partnerships in order to realize new affordable and non-market housing in the community. The Secondary Suites Readiness Guide helps homeowners interested in developing suites in their homes.

In 2013, the City prepared a Secured Market Rental Housing Policy, which provides incentives to encourage private sector investment in the development of secured market rental housing projects, which are complexes where 100 per cent of the units are guaranteed as rentals.

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Tackling the Affordability Crisis Continued from page 11

Incentives include concurrent processing of rezoning and development permit applications, payment of legal fees for housing agreements and related documents, reduced building permit fees and relaxations to parking requirements. The City also offers a 50 per cent reduction in building permit fees when the project is for rental housing.

“For larger developments, that’s a $30-40,000 savings for each underground parking space, which, when combined with other incentives, is a significant savings for developers,” says Stark.

“Together, the incentives seem to be making a difference, considering we went from no rental housing development for decades, to 1,265 new rental housing units now under construction since 2013, and

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“I think other local governments can do what we’ve done and make it work.” there are a lot more in the development application phase or being negotiated right now.”

Stark notes that as a mid-sized local government – New Westminster has a population of about 70,000 people – there have been some challenges due to limited capacity as they work to offer a streamlined service and dedicated staff team to expedite applications. At the same time, being smaller enables them to be more nimble and responsive to the needs in their community and Council’s priorities.

In addition to the progress made in promoting market rental housing, they are also initiating projects to create non-market housing. In December 2014, the new Mayor created a Task Force on Housing Affordability, which makes recommendations to Council in support of the creation of new non-market and affordable rental and ownership housing. A key deliverable was the development of a request for proposals for affordable housing on two City-owned sites.

The successful non-profit proponents were the Community Living Society, which serves people with developmental disabilities, and Women In Need Gaining Strength, which serves women and children.

These projects are scheduled to be completed in 2018. The City is also in the preliminary planning stages and site design work as part of the potential development of a market and non-market project at the Poplar Landing site, which may form the basis of an application for funding from provincial and federal government programs in 2017.

“I think our policies and incentives are very important, and have been successful because Council has been very committed to its purpose,” says Stark. “We feel empowered to develop these policies, but more importantly, to dedicate the resources needed to implement them.”

Stark adds that all of their programs have been based on consultation with key stakeholders like the Urban Development Institute and community organizations and by reviewing examples of successful programs in other communities.

“We have benefited from the lessons learned by others and we heeded them, which has helped to ensure we have been successful in our strategies,” says Stark. “I hope others can also benefit from our experiences. I think other local governments could do what we’ve done – apply incentives and policies – and make them work, even if their community is smaller.”

There is little doubt that B.C. will continue to be a spectacular place to live, which means demand for housing will continue to grow. It is reassuring to know that local, provincial and federal governments can all play a role in addressing the housing affordability and diversity to help ensure there are affordable housing options available in future. ❖ Promoting Professional Management & Leadership Excellence in Local Government

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tips & tactics Developing Affordable Housing The following resources and tips provide guidance to support the development of affordable housing.

Metro Vancouver Resources: Regional Affordable Housing Strategy and related discussion papers, including strategies and tools to support affordable housing: • www.metrovancouver.org/services/regional-planning/housingaffordability/strategy/Pages/default.aspx What Works reports highlight lessons learned: • www.metrovancouver.org/services/regionalplanning/PlanningPublications/WhatWorksAffordableHousingInitiatives.pdf • www.metrovancouver.org/services/regional-planning/ PlanningPublications/RAHS-WhatWorksReport.PDF Housing and Transportation Cost Burden Study: A New Way of Looking at Affordability: • www.metrovancouver.org/services/ regional-planning/PlanningPublications/ HousingAndTransportCostBurdenReport2015.pdf Metro Vancouver Housing Corporation and its operational components: • www.metrovancouver.org/services/housing/Pages/default.aspx

Provincial & Federal Government Resources: Housing Matters BC (www.housingmattersbc.ca): • The provincial housing strategy, Housing Matters BC, sets out the direction for housing investments in B.C. Successful affordable housing proposals should align with and contribute to the goals laid out in the provincial strategy. Through the strategy, BC Housing is encouraging innovative approaches to increase housing options and promote community integration, such as through mixed income developments.

National Housing Strategy (www.letstalkhousing.ca): • Now is a moment of opportunity for local governments with local housing issues to capitalize on new provincial capital funding programs and renewed federal engagement on housing. Aligning projects with the priorities of the National Housing Strategy would also likely improve project success.

BC Housing Development Tools and Templates (www.bchousing.org/Partners/Opportunities/Framework): • BC Housing has developed a number of tools to help proponents develop projects in partnership with BC Housing.

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The Housing Need and Demand Study Document (www.bchousing.org/resources/Partner_Resources/Developing_ Housing_Opportunities/Need_and_Demand_Template.pdf): • Developed to identify and analyze the extent of the need for affordable housing in a targeted community. Usually completed by the project sponsor, this study ensures the identification of community needs and resulting project evaluations are consistent and fair across all regions of the rovince.

Current Funding Opportunities: Provincial Investment in Affordable Housing (PIAH) Program (www.bchousing.org/Initiatives/Creating/PIAH): • The province has committed a total of $355 million dollars over five years to construct and renovate social housing units.

• The first Expression of Interest was issued in spring 2016.

• Local governments can connect with BC Housing to discuss potential initiatives through BC Housing Regional Offices (www.bchousing.org/Partners/Opportunities/Contact) When applying for funding, consider the following: • Is there alignment with one or more strategies in Housing Matters BC? • Does the proposal address a demonstrated need? Is the need clearly quantified and demonstrated?

• Are there strong local partnerships supporting the project?

• Has local government considered all options to reduce costs such as waiving DCCs, property tax exemptions, waiving municipal fees, density bonuses etc.?

Tips for Local Government: Local governments can contribute to affordable housing developments in key ways. BC Housing can work with local governments to access low cost financing and capital funds, if available. (Note: New operating funding is not available at this time.)

• Land donations • Reduce/waive municipal fees • Reduce/waive development cost charges • Expedite and streamline permits/approvals • Champion projects with stakeholders • Visit www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/localgovernments for a package of tools and best practices local governments can use to create more affordable housing in their communities Many thanks to Trudy Rotgans, Executive Director of the Housing Policy Branch, Office of Housing and Construction Standards and Margeret Eberle, Senior Housing Planner, Metro Vancouver for contributing to these Tips & Tactics.

Strategies to end

homelessness Terrace, Maple Ridge and Capital Regional District share their successful approaches

By Therese Mickelson, ABC

ood, shelter and clothing – these fundamental requirements serve as the foundation for survival. It’s hard to believe that for thousands of people living in B.C., safe shelter is beyond their reach, along with limited access to food and clothing.

Sadly, when people become homeless, they seem to also lose the respect and courtesy most people should be able to expect and experience. They often become faceless entities, seen primarily as an issue to be overcome and moved out, rather than individuals who need assistance.

F

The information being collected by local governments across the province shows an alarming trend: more and more people are homeless in their communities. The causes vary, ranging from affordability issues for families, new immigrants and refugees, to people who are experiencing other life challenges, such as addiction and mental illness. As more people find themselves homeless – living in parks, streets or temporary tent cities – local governments are stepping in to work with community organizations and other governments to seek and implement solutions that are tailored to specific needs.

A key challenge is that a solution that works for one person will not work for someone else, and each community may have a different mix of issues that add to the complexity. Local governments are now learning that they need to gain an understanding of the specific concerns in their community along with the factors driving the increase in people who are unable to find homes.

The goal to end homelessness is shared by communities across the province, and several local governments have initiated programs and strategies to achieve this goal. The following shared stories highlight experiences in Terrace, Maple Ridge and the Capital Regional District, shedding light on the challenges and lessons learned and offering valuable insights that can benefit others.

TERRACE: STRATEGIES FOUNDED IN PARTNERSHIPS The City of Terrace has not seen much housing development over the years and has a fairly limited rental housing supply. This was fine until around 2012, when their formerly steady population levels suddenly changed to rapid growth as contractors and workers needed for preliminary work on Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) and other projects in the area flooded the city. Vacancy rates rapidly decreased, until around 2014 when they hit zero vacancy for about a year. This added pressure on the housing stock meant people were suddenly willing to pay more to rent or purchase homes, so not only was housing hard to find, rent and home prices escalated.

“When I moved to Terrace in 2008, I could have rented a house for $800 a month, and a one-bedroom apartment for about $550,” says Tara Irwin, City Planner, City of Terrace. “Those rents more than doubled, which may be fine for new people coming into the community who are used to those rent levels, but residents here who are living on fixed incomes are being pushed out of the rental market.”

As affordable housing became scarce, it’s not surprising that the number of people who were homeless in the community increased over the same period. Irwin notes that anecdotal information suggests that there were about 25 people who were homeless in the community prior to 2014, but the numbers have quadrupled to more than 100 in just two years. For a community of 12,000 residents, that’s a startling increase.

“You see the increase in homeless in a small community very clearly,” says Irwin. “And with this visibility came expectations that the City would do more to address homelessness, even though it has not traditionally been a municipal function.”

In 2015, the City took its first steps to see how homelessness could be dealt with in their community. Council created a Homelessness Task Group with representatives from Council, staff and from a range of social service organizations in the community who work with people who are homeless or at-risk populations.

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Task Force representatives also included Northern Health, the Salvation Army, BC Housing, and the Ministry of Children and Family Development.

“The idea was to bring together these organizations and identify the gaps in resources and short-term actions, and then deliver recommendations to Council after a one-year period,” says Irwin. “Probably the most valuable component was just bringing together frontline workers who are all working on issues related to homelessness, but not necessarily working together. It was surprising to me to see the connections being made that hadn’t happened before we brought this group together. I think I just assumed this sharing of information was already happening.”

It quickly became apparent that homelessness is a complex challenge that would not be solved in the nine meetings scheduled for the Homelessness Task Group; however, they developed six initial recommendations for review by Council in May, and this fall completed their final report. Some key deliverables already underway include updating the City’s Community Survival Guide and developing a housing resource directory.

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“Probably the most valuable component was just bringing together frontline workers who are all working on issues related to homelessness, but not necessarily working together.”

They have also supported the creation of a Homelessness Intervention Program with a signed memorandum of understanding, which is based on models used in Prince George and Victoria, where agencies work together with a shared-case approach to assist individuals who are homeless.

Irwin notes that while they have taken a few steps forward, they still have a long way to go. Fortunately, the relationships now established and the shared goals in place have created a critical foundation they can build on.

Continued on page 16

Strategies to End Homelessness Continued from page 15

“Ultimately, we realized that the Task Group had hit the limit of what we could do, so our final recommendation spoke to the need for a longer-term plan to end homelessness over the next 10 years, along with a collaborative housing project to target our most at-risk individuals,” says Irwin.

“Our Task Group was made up primarily of frontline workers, but what is needed now is to have the decision-makers with the power over budgets to come together and look at the final recommendations to provide the resources needed for next steps.”

Based on the Terrace experience, Irwin advises other local governments to look to a partnership approach for developing solutions to end homelessness, but to recognize the inherent challenges such as limited time and resources and have clear terms of reference to guide the process.

MAPLE RIDGE: REMOVING BARRIERS In 2015, Maple Ridge was facing the challenges of a tent city that had been growing in a wooded area behind the Salvation Army on Cliff Avenue, just steps away from a residential area. As demands from residents grew louder, the City stepped in to look for solutions.

Staff immediately began working with the community and the individuals who were homeless to identify the barriers to housing.

They soon developed a better understanding of the unique needs in their community. The City formed the Maple Ridge Resiliency Initiative to fund four outreach workers, who were eventually funded

by BC Housing.

The Resiliency Initiative was based on collaboration, to build trusting relationships within the team, other service providers, community residents and individuals who are living on the street.

The City also created a Community Standards Enforcement Team (CSET) to focus on options and recommendations to assist the individuals at the Cliff Avenue camp and move them off the streets and into shelters.

The CSET members looked at what had been done in other communities, built relationships with local service providers and worked to get to know the people who were living on the street to help understand their challenges and needs. This level of commitment and resources was supported directly by Council, with particular attention from the Mayor.

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“On the surface, it just looks like a housing issue, but it’s more about getting individuals somewhere safe so they can get the services and supports that they need to get well.”

This minimal barrier approach is different from many existing shelters.

With the support of Council, City staff initiated a process with its community partners to create a temporary location for a minimal barrier shelter operated by RainCity Housing and Support Society.

RainCity is a grassroots organization built around compassion, purpose and a commitment to delivering progressive housing and support solutions for people living with mental illness, addictions and other challenges.

Shawn Matthewson

“We have a Mayor who is very engaged in finding solutions – including daily visits to the homeless camp to get to know people,” says Shawn Matthewson, Social Planning Analyst, City of Maple Ridge. “She also had meetings with them in her office, which helped to build trust as we worked towards a voluntary decampment.”

As outreach staff assessed the needs of the people who are homeless in their community, it became clear that they had a number of specific barriers to overcome. Unlike some of the larger cities where a large percentage of people who are homeless are older men, Maple Ridge has a lot of women, and 55 per cent of their homeless population are between the ages of 19 and 29.

There are also a large number of individuals struggling with addiction. Fraser Health Mental Health and Substance Use and Public Health Harm Reduction Service staff were on site at the camp six days a week. Fentanyl overdoses at the camp were a huge issue, and people onsite were trained in the administration of Naloxone. There was only one overdose fatality at the camp.

“When you consider that many of the people who are homeless in our community are under 30 and likely dealing with addiction, it’s important to remember that they are very young and we need to do everything we can to change their life’s trajectory,” says Matthewson.

“On the surface, it just looks like a housing issue, but it’s more about getting individuals somewhere safe so they can get the services and supports that they need to get well.”

Based on the research, assessment of issues and interviews with individuals in the camp, it was determined that the only way to achieve a voluntary decampment, rather than using force or legal means, would involve removing barriers associated with shelters.

Some of the key items were restrictions on pets, imposed curfews, lack of safety for women, and the fact that individuals were still using illegal drugs. This “minimal barrier” shelter approach aligns with the “Housing First” model that is founded on the premise that the critical first step is to provide people with housing, and that true recovery from mental illness, addictions and other challenges contributing to homelessness is only successful after housing is established.

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The services that were being offered at the camp were transferred to the shelter, which is temporarily being housed in former mattress store. It took time, but eventually, the individuals at the camp moved out voluntarily, many going to the new minimal barrier shelter as well as the existing Salvation Army shelter.

“We are the only municipality to have achieved a decampment without a court injunction,” says Mathewson. “We are also one of the first cities outside of the City of Vancouver to open a minimal barrier temporary shelter, so it’s really an experiment to some degree.

It’s also difficult as the temporary shelter space is not designed for proper shelter services – there are no office spaces or private areas for treating people.”

Continued on page 18

Strategies to End Homelessness Continued from page 17

Matthewson credits their success so far to the many people who worked to build trust with the camp members, the commitment of the Mayor and Council to support viable solutions, and the work that RainCity is doing to support shelter residents under very difficult circumstances.

While the City has experienced success with the decampment, new barriers are posing equally serious challenges for the future of their shelter program. These new barriers may actually be even more challenging to overcome. There continues to be tremendous pushback in the community with a strong NIMBY (Not in my backyard!) contingent whenever possible shelter sites are proposed.

In addition to NIMBY attitudes, there have also been some shocking abuses of people who are homeless in their community, including an attack on a pregnant woman and the placement of a camera in the bathroom of the temporary shelter followed by photos being posted online.

“Where is the compassion?” asks Matthewson. “These are real people with addiction problems and health issues.”

The provincial government has made public commitments for $15 million in funding to build both a temporary modular shelter as well as a permanent shelter. The City has committed to providing land, and Fraser Health has indicated they will provide the health and treatment services needed at the shelter.

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The challenge is finding a site that will meet BC Housing’s criteria for an effective shelter location while also addressing concerns from residents and businesses that do not want the shelter near them. The result has been delays in site selection.

The City is now striving to address these barriers with its Forward 2020 series of forums to get community members more involved in discussions on homelessness and help them learn more about why a minimal barrier shelter has been established. This community dialogue on the homelessness issue is also being used to provide more information about the BC Housing proposal for a long-term shelter in the hopes that a site can be approved.

CAPITAL REGIONAL DISTRICT: INVESTING IN TESTED SOLUTIONS The Capital Regional District (CRD) has been looking at housing issues and strategies for decades. The CRD created the Capital Regional Housing Corporation in 1982 and established a Regional Housing Trust Fund in 2005. In 2007, the Victoria Mayor’s Task Force was created and charged with breaking down the issue of homelessness and creating a new service model. A Regional Affordable Housing Strategy was developed, and the CRD created the Housing Secretariat.

Christine Culham

Even with these measures, it soon became evident that the Greater Victoria area needed a community-owned solution to end homelessness, and in 2008, the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness Society was formed. The Coalition is funded by the CRD, City of Victoria, United Way of Greater Victoria, Victoria Foundation and the Vancouver Island Health Authority and is focused on regional solutions. The Coalition’s mission is to ensure appropriate solutions are in place to serve those individuals experiencing homelessness in the Capital Region and to ensure all people facing homelessness in the Capital Region have access to safe, affordable, appropriate, long-term housing.

Like many communities, the CRD is applying a “Housing First” approach to end homelessness.

“In the past, people would need to be stabilized prior to being able to access housing, but now we have found that housing is necessary for stability so that people can get healthy and access programs that will improve their health,” says Christine Culham, Senior Manager, CRD Regional Housing. “It’s a harm-reduction strategy so we are not going to create barriers to people accessing housing. Instead, we are providing housing first so they can access support.”

Despite all of these strategies and partnerships, a key challenge remained: there was not enough money to support programs, and as a result, homeless numbers continued to grow.

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“If you’re investing money without looking at your system and addressing systemic barriers, I don’t think you’ll be successful.”

The Coalition developed a report called Creating Homes, Enhancing Communities, noting that there are about 367 chronic homeless individuals who would need support involving serious intervention to be housed. Other estimates noted that there were more than 1300 homeless people in the Capital Region requiring housing options.

It’s considered a “scattered model,” where people will be supported in their homes, and the complex would allow a non-profit housing provider to leverage the property to provide for a mix of housing types: some supported units for chronic homeless, some affordable housing units and the rest market housing.

“Research shows that people who integrate into the community are more likely to be successful, and there is less stigma attached,” says Culham.

Continued on page 20

In 2015, the City of Victoria brought forward a Notice of Motion to the Capital Regional Hospital District requesting that the CRD contribute $50 million to help solve homelessness through the development of a mix of housing solutions. The City also requested funding from the provincial government.

“The Province was willing to partner with the region,” says Culham.

“If we were able to provide $30 million, the provincial government would match this amount as long as there were also health supports in place.”

Culham continues: “The CRD signed a partnering agreement with Island Health and BC Housing, so we had provincial involvement through programs and services as well as money.”

Before approving any funding to specific projects, the CRD initiated a review of existing resources, current challenges in the system and options to improve coordination of services.

“We brought together all our service providers that work to address homelessness and housing and conducted a lot of interviews and focus groups in a very short time frame – but it was an interesting process, and we were able to establish where the bottlenecks were taking place,” says Culham. “We determined that we had a really fragmented system, even with best intentions and good processes, and we learned that we have a long way to go to develop a system that will be coordinated, client-centred and easy to access.”

“We did note that we are really good at housing people who have middle-of-the-road needs,” adds Culham. “But that we needed better solutions for people with complex needs and those with minimal needs. These gaps impact our ability to support people who are homeless.”

After the discovery process to better understand its needs and areas for improvement, the CRD, BC Housing and Island Health are now moving forward to issue calls for expressions of interest for a mixed market housing complex with a goal to build 300 units for people who are chronically homeless.

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Strategies to End Homelessness Continued from page 19

The goal is also to provide more housing solutions beyond the boundaries of the City of Victoria, including supported housing (where individuals live independently in an apartment, and health and social supports are provided either in the home or by seeing a caseworker) and supportive housing facilities (where 24-hour social supports are provided with a housing worker on site at all time).

Increasing the number of supported housing units will also help to provide a better option for transitioning out of supportive housing. “In supportive housing, every unit would house people who have been experiencing homelessness and have high needs for care, which means its more institutional and also more expensive,� says Culham. “We found that we have a lot of supportive housing already, but there are not a lot of options for people who no longer need that level of support. So they can’t afford to move somewhere else to be more independent, and at the same time we have highly-staffed, expensive services for people who don’t really need them.�

With commitments for funding in place and a better understanding of where to get the best value and outcomes from the investment, the CRD is taking important steps towards its goal to end homelessness in the region.

But each step is being evaluated carefully before any investment is confirmed. “We have to follow a strong practice to look at our services and be critical about how we’re responding or we won’t be able to solve the homelessness issue,� says Culham. “If you’re investing money without looking at your system and addressing systemic barriers, I don’t think you’ll be successful.�

At the same time, Culham credits both the partnerships they have developed through the Coalition and having dedicated staff resources as being integral to the progress made to date. “It’s essential to bring together partners and provide a framework to work together because this is a huge issue that requires a lot of different folks to make it work – service providers, police, non-profit housing, health providers and others,� says Culham. “We’ve created strong relationships with those organizations, and we’re working together towards a common goal: making sure we are meeting the needs of the person living on our streets.� �

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ParcelMap BC: Accurate, Reliable Parcel Information

By Liza Aboud, Vice President, Customer Experience and Communications, Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia, and Therese Mickelson, ABC

ParcelMap BC is a single, complete, trusted and sustainable electronic map of active titled parcels and surveyed provincial Crown land parcels in British Columbia. For local governments, this new province-wide data asset offers multiple benefits, including continued updates to improve the accuracy of the geometric representation for each parcel of land (what it looks like in terms of size and shape) and authoritative positioning of each parcel (accurately located boundaries).

Together, this cadastral – or parcel fabric – information will create a map of the province that local governments and other stakeholders such as developers, BC Assessment and utility companies can leverage with confidence knowing the data is accurate and reliably updated.

The key piece of spatial infrastructure improves the speed and efficiency of land-related research, planning and business decisions through the current spatial representation of a given parcel and its relationship to adjacent parcels.

The development of this province-wide data has involved an extensive, multi-year project. The ParcelMap BC rollout is incremental and scheduled to have full, province-wide coverage by spring 2017, accounting for over two million active titled and surveyed provincial Crown land parcels.

ParcelMap BC currently covers most regions in B.C. The remaining regions include the Fraser Valley, Powell River, Squamish-Lillooet, Sunshine Coast (each expected to be published in March 2017) and Greater Vancouver (expected to be published in spring 2017).

WORKING WITH EXPERIENCED PARTNERS ParcelMap BC is owned and maintained by the Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia (LTSA); however, the development of this new resource has involved experienced stakeholders who have a comprehensive understanding of cadastral data management and its applications. LTSA has worked in partnership with the Province, the Integrated Cadastral Information Society (ICI Society), the Association of BC Land Surveyors and BC Assessment to ensure ParcelMap BC encompasses the information needed to meet a broad range of applications.

The ICI Society has been a key resource in the development and roll-out of ParcelMap BC, thanks to its mandate for collecting and integrating cadastral information from multiple sources and through its existing relationships with local governments, as well as utilities and other stakeholders who use this type of data.

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“ICI Society has built up an incredible relationship with local governments across the province.”

Barry Logan

“ICI Society has been pulling together cadastral data from local governments and other sources for years to create our geospatial data sets,” says Barry Logan, Executive Director, ICI Society.

“This ongoing work resulted in an opportunity for us to play an instrumental role in supporting ParcelMap BC. We were able to provide the seed cadastral data for the initial development of LTSA’s parcel fabric development. The Society has built up an incredible relationship with local governments across the province so we can now work with them as the supplier of ParcelMap BC and as a liaison to share local government needs with LTSA for continuous improvement of the data.”

Working with four communities as case studies for a pilot project, ICI Society is supplying ParcelMap BC data to the test communities, assisting with the analysis of the data use and creating work books to track what steps each organization is taking to assess the data, identify discrepancies or challenges in the adoption and alignment of the data and determining costs of this integration. These work books and the experiences of the test groups will provide resources and guidance for other local and regional governments as they consider ParcelMap BC.

SHARING EXPERIENCES TO IMPROVE DATA The District of Sooke is one of the case studies involved in the pilot work with the ICI Society and is completing some of its initial quality assurance testing and integration assessment for ParcelMap BC. “As we go through the data, we’re being given an opportunity to provide feedback into the operations group and it’s working well to fix problems,” says Brian Goble, Head of Geographic Services, District of Sooke. “We just picked up another iteration today, and I can see the improvements in the latest cut.”

Goble notes that some of the key benefits to having data from LTSA as the authoritative source area is that they can improve both the geometry and positioning of the existing data in their systems, and the Province is publishing the ParcelMap BC data under open government licence.

Continued on page 22

ParcelMap BC: Accurate, Reliable Parcel Information Continued from page 21

There are also benefits to the plans for new data to be uploaded within 48 hours of it being received by LTSA, as this means the District will have that information available to developers quickly. At the same time, the District recognizes it must review the data with the understanding that it is strictly survey information – it doesn’t include some of the connecting data currently in the District’s systems, such as zoning information.

APPLYING DIGITAL SURVEY DATA SUBMISSION STANDARD Data consistency starts from the point it is collected and submitted.

As ParcelMap BC covers more regions, local government adoption of common submission standards supports more consistent approaches for applicants such as land surveyors and developers.

Brian Goble

“We are getting a feel for how good our data is and where we need to make changes in our internal data to get everything lined up better, but we also need to pull all the data pieces together to figure out how to make them work cohesively,” says Goble. “One of the biggest benefits when everything is up and running effectively is there should be less work for us in-house on managing this data so we can focus on other priorities from Council.”

The goal is to have the proof-of-concept assessment complete and work books available for review by the end of the first quarter 2017.

Local governments and other LTSA stakeholders can search for parcels in the regions currently available in ParcelMap BC through the myLTSA portal (https://apps.ltsa.ca/iam/signup) using the ParcelMap BC Search service.

As a large City recognized for its leadership in cadastral data management, the City of Surrey has taken the lead by adopting the ParcelMap BC submission standard so that land surveyors working in Surrey can satisfy the needs of both ParcelMap BC and Surrey with a single format for both submissions.

“We had our own digital submission process, but with ParcelMap BC applying a province-wide application and a single-source for the data set, we recognized the value and efficiencies, and adopted the new standard now so that we can tweak our processes to make it easier for us going forward,” says Monty Brisson, BCLS, Survey Manager, City of Surrey. “We’ve always taken a proactive approach of ‘hey, this is coming, how can we get ahead and shape how we do things in advance’ rather than waiting and scrambling with how we deal with the change.”

Brisson and his team also see potential for ParcelMap BC to be used to realize efficiencies and allocate resources elsewhere, but they also know they will need to do quality assurance testing before adopting and integrating any new data.

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“For some local governments, getting something out of the box like ParceMap BC is like hitting the jackpot. They are getting a brand new data set that they didn’t have before.”

“We’ve got close to 35 years in terms of developing our GIS technology, and our GIS is quite robust with a high accuracy rate. I’m not sure ParcelMap BC is going to achieve this in their first iteration so it might take some time to refine the data so it’s comparable with what we have now – or ideally even better,” says Brisson. “We have a lot of expectations around timing, when the data will be updated and how it will be provided to us, and how we can integrate it with our existing systems and captured data such as planning and zoning information. We also need to see how the data will be maintained by the LTSA to be assured that it meets our expectations.”

While Brisson notes that there are a number of assessments they will be doing, he also sees tremendous potential for ParcelMap BC,

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particularly for local governments that are not currently managing their data or have limited resources to do so.

“For some local governments, getting something out of the box like ParcelMap BC is like hitting the jackpot,” says Brisson.

“They are getting a brand new data set that they didn’t have before, and they will be able to work with it as a new asset that benefits their community.”

Monty Brisson

Continued on page 24

ParcelMap BC: Accurate, Reliable Parcel Information Continued from page 23

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ADOPTION OF PARCELMAP BC Local governments will be able to adopt and leverage the ParcelMap BC parcel fabric with assistance from the work books and lessons learned from the four case study communities. The ParcelMap BC fabric is accessible to local governments through the ICI Society automated GeoShare service under an agreement being finalized between the LTSA and the ICI Society. The agreement supports local government open data policies and provides the parcel fabric free of charge.

The ParcelMap BC fabric is continually updated by the ParcelMap BC Operations Team. New plans enter the operation maintenance queue once they are registered in the land title office or confirmed by the Surveyor General. Service targets for currency of the fabric are being refined, but the ultimate goal — once fully operational — is to have updates processed within two business days with fabric updates published daily.

Adoption of the ParcelMap BC parcel fabric by each local government will be important to ensure closest-to-source cadastral information, with consistent standards for parcel attribution, topology, currency, auditability and known spatial accuracy across all jurisdictions.

To help offset the costs associated with adopting and transitioning to ParcelMap BC, BC Assessment has provided $1.25 million to fund the BC Assessment ParcelMap BC Grant Program. The ICI Society is administering the grant program to assist local governments committed to adopting ParcelMap BC as the definitive parcel fabric or for their efforts in adapting local GIS information to ParcelMap BC. For information, visit the ICI Society website (www.icisociety.ca/ parcelmap-bc/bc-assessment/). ❖

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MEMBERS PAGE

Where is Ron Born Now? Most of us don’t aspire to a career in local government but find our way to it through happenstance, and that was the case for Ron Born. He planned to be an accountant, but a job tip from a friend led him to the first of only two local governments where he would spend his 35-year career.

Ron was fresh out of the University of Lethbridge when his buddy saw a job for a Deputy Clerk in Maple Ridge and alerted Ron to the opportunity. Ron aspired to a management role and saw the Maple Ridge job as an opportunity that might open the door to management. He applied, got the Deputy Clerk job in 1971, and embarked on his career in local government. He found the work invigorating and became the Municipal Administrator in 1974 at the age of just 28.

Realizing that he would benefit from working in a larger community where he could hone his leadership and management skills, Ron moved on to Kelowna, where he spent the remainder of his career, first as the City Clerk, then Deputy Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), and finally becoming the CAO in 1988.

Kelowna was a rapidly growing city when Ron and his wife Leona arrived in 1976, and that gave him a lot of different experiences that might not have happened had he stayed in a smaller community with less activity and change.

Ron is well-known by his fellow local government managers as a leader and mentor with integrity, and he claims that is the result of the mentoring he received in Kelowna. He was given many different opportunities to expand his skills, including roles in human resources and as the land agent for the City.

These experiences, though maybe not obvious at the time, would prove vital to his success as a CAO. Ron says the stability of 30 years at the City of Kelowna afforded him the luxury of developing and supporting the long-term vision and planning for Kelowna’s popular waterfront. As the land agent, he was instrumental in helping the City to take a former industrial site and transform it into today’s waterfront park and amenities. As Ron describes the process, initially it was like the game Monopoly, just buying land, but then the city started to dream. With a 20-year plan, strong Council support, and the guidance of two visionary mayors, Ron and his team led the development of a convention centre and hotel, a worldclass park, and multi-family housing, all built with private sector investment.

Alongside his work as a CAO, Ron took on several volunteer roles to support the LGMA and his colleagues. He was a long-time member on the Board of the LGMA, serving as President from 1989-1990, a MATI faculty member, and a proud founding member of the “Group of 7”, made up of CAOs from similarsized cities to Kelowna. The Group of 7 eventually expanded to more than seven communities, meeting once a year in person but informally supporting one another throughout their careers. Ron still organizes a Christmas lunch to bring together retired CAOs from the Okanagan to keep up the connections and the comradery, so vital even in retirement.

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Ron Born retired in 2006 after three decades with the City of Kelowna and now enjoys travel, camping and fishing, and spending time with family.

Ron retired in 2006, and while he enjoyed several years of part-time consulting after leaving the City of Kelowna, he claims to be well and truly retired. Today he loves to camp, hunt and fly fish, especially with his three children, their spouses and eight grandkids. He and Leona travel to visit their extended family and look forward every year to spending a summer camping trip at Mara Lake with them.

When asked about the changes in local government since his retirement, Ron points to the rise in ethical challenges and the imperative for local government managers to raise the bar and demonstrate respect for each other and to keep doing so no matter how those around us behave. Ron was interviewed on the day after Donald Trump won the election to be President of the United States, and his words of wisdom resonated even more. “It is devastating when there is a breach of ethics and integrity in a community – pushing that bar higher when everyone else is pushing it down is the responsibility of every local government manager.”

MEMBERS PAGE SPECIAL RECOGNITION Board of Examiners Two local government employees have been recognized for their education and work experience while working in the local government field in B.C., and are being awarded a Certificate by the Board of Examiners:

Certificate in Local Government Service Delivery: • Scott Beeching, Director of Planning and Development Services, District of Elkford • Michael Dillabaugh, Director of Finance, Town of View Royal

Congratulations to the 2016 Scholarship Recipients Ken Dobell Public Service Education Fund

Distinguished Members Legacy Fund

• Colin Brouwer – Yorkville University, Masters Counselling Psychology • Sara Young – University of British Columbia, Masters Health Administration • Kristy White – Northwest Community College, Certificate Business Administration • Haylee Gould – Capilano University, Local Government Administration • Dooseon Jung – University of Northern BC, Masters Certificate in Project Management • Monica Fedyczkowska – University of Victoria, Masters in Public Administration Grant Anderson Scholarship • Graham May – University of Victoria, Law

• Richard Buchan – University of Waterloo, Masters in City Planning • Rachel Dumas – Camosun College, BBA Diploma Public Administration • Haylee Gould – Capilano University, Certificate in Local Government Administration • Melissa Heidema – Capilano University, Certificate in Local Government Administration • Brianne Hillson – Okanagan College, Business Administration • Dominque Melanson – University of Victoria, Diploma Public Administration Management • Geoff Parker – Camosun College, Business Administration • Amit Sharma – Dalhousie University, Certificate in Local Government Administration • Nicole Thurman – Camosun College, Diploma Public Administration

A NEW HOME FOR LGMA We look forward to serving you from our new location as of January 1, 2017!

Suite 710-880 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC V8W 2B7 Telephone: 250-383-7032 Website: www.lgma.ca

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MEMBERS PAGE MEMBER MOVEMENT Jeannie Beauchamp, Director of Financial Services, District of Lantzville (formerly Director of Finance, Town of View Royal) Phyllis Carlyle, Chief Administrative Officer, Regional District of Nanaimo (formerly General Manager Law & Community Safety, City of Richmond) Melany de Weerdt, Chief Administrative Officer, Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako (formerly Chief Administrative Officer, Village of Cache Creek) Laurie Darcus, Manager of Legislative Services and Emergency Management/Corporate Officer, City of Maple Ridge (formerly Procurement Category Manager, Metro Vancouver) Tanya Garost, Chief Financial Officer, District of Lake Country (formerly Chief Financial Officer, City of West Kelowna)

Diane Smith, Director of Corporate Services, District of Mackenzie (formerly Community Development/ Human Resources Manager, District of Mackenzie) Eric Sorenson, Strategic Projects, City of Penticton (formerly Chief Administrative Officer, City of Penticton)

RETIREMENTS Gale Chapman, Chief Administrative Officer, Regional District of BulkleyNechako Graham Inglis, Director of Finance, City of Revelstoke Ceri Marlo, Manager of Legislative Services, City of Maple Ridge

May 28-June 2 MATI Managing People in Local Government Organizations (CAPU/ LGMA) Bowen Island June 18-23 MATI Leadership in Local Government Organizations (CAPU/ LGMA) Bowen Island

2017 LGMA PROGRAMS & EVENTS

February 22-24 CAO Forum Marriott Victoria Inner Harbour, Victoria

Darren Kiedyk, Chief Administrative Officer, District of Lantzville (formerly Chief Administrative Officer, Village of Sayward)

March 29-31 Rocky Mountain & West Kootenay Boundary Chapters Annual Joint Conference Creston

Promoting Professional Management & Leadership Excellence in Local Government

March 30 Municipal Finance Authority of BC (MFA) Financial Forum and AGM Hotel Grand Pacific, Victoria

September 6-8 Thompson Okanagan Chapter Annual Conference Kamloops

Elyse Goatcher-Bergmann, Manager of Corporate Services, District of Tofino (formerly Office Assistant Corporate Services, District of Tofino)

Lisa Pleadwell, Chief Financial Officer, City of West Kelowna (formerly Chief Financial Officer/Director of Finance, City of Abbotsford)

May 16-18 LGMA Annual Conference and Tradeshow Penticton Trade & Convention Centre, Penticton

August 13-18 MATI Foundations UBC-Okanagan, Kelowna

February 17-22 MATI The Successful CAO Four Points Sheraton Victoria Gateway, Victoria

Peter Weeber, Chief Administrative Officer, City of Penticton (formerly Chief Administrative Officer, District of Mackenzie)

2017 RELATED ORGANIZATIONS PROGRAMS & EVENTS

Judi Vander Maaten, Corporate Officer, District of Mackenzie

Keir Gervais, Chief Administratie Officer, Village of Cache Creek (formerly Chief Administrative Officer, Village of Lytton)

Brad McRae, Chief Operations Manager, City of Nanaimo (formerly Chief Administrative Officer, District of Lantzville)

April 23-28 MATI Advanced Communication Skills (CAPU/LGMA) Bowen Island

April 5-7 North Central Chapter Annual General Meeting and Conference Prince George April 7-9 Working Together: Effective Fire Service Administation for Fire Chiefs and Local Chief Administrative Officers Vancouver Island

September 9-11 Working Together: Effective Fire Service Administation for Fire Chiefs and Local Chief Administrative Officers Smithers September 20-22 Local Government Administrative Professionals Conference River Rock, Richmond September 28 CAO Breakfast Pinnacle Hotel Harbourfront, Vancouver October 1-6 MATI - Community Planning in Local Government Organizations (CAPU/ LGMA) The Cove Lakeside Resort, West Kelowna October 11-13 Clerks and Corporate Officers Forum Victoria October 22-27 MATI School for Statutory Approving Officers South Thompson Inn, Kamloops

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April 5-7 Local Government Administration Association Annual Conference & Tradeshow Red Deer, AB May 21-24 Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Annual Conference Denver, CO May 21-24 International Institute of Municipal Clerks (IIMC) Annual Conference Montreal, QC May 29-31 Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators (CAMA) Annual Conference & Tradeshow Gatineau, QC June 1-4 Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Annual Conference Ottawa, ON June 14-16 Government Finance Officers Association of BC (GFOABC) Annual Conference Victoria June 11-14 Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario (AMCTO) Annual Conference Huntsville, ON August 20-23 Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC) Annual Conference Charlottetown, PEI September 25-29 Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) Annual Convention Vancouver, BC October 22-25 International City/County Management Association (ICMA) Annual Conference San Antonio, TX

MEMBERS PAGE OUR TOWN: TOWN OF GIBSONS The Beachcombers may not be the longest-running TV show in Canadian history anymore, but it had the most character—fuelled by the spirit of entrepreneurial rogues vying for errant logs gone astray from corporate log booms. Moreover, those logs, the boats, the restaurant, the town – Gibsons – and especially the ocean were like memorable characters themselves. We all love Nick, Jesse and Relic, but the real star of The Beachcombers was the setting.

Today in the Town of Gibsons, we’re building on this premise that nature is our most valuable asset. A recent Community Foundation survey found that “natural beauty/scenery” was once again the number one reason for living on the Sunshine Coast. Our community, economy and municipal service delivery are so intertwined with our environment that we’ve become the first local government in North America to adopt an Eco-Assets Strategy, emphasizing our natural ecosystems first and foremost when it comes to asset management and strategic planning.

In many ways, our Eco-Assets Strategy has grown out of work initiated a decade ago to map, sustain and protect our natural aquifer, which supplies unchlorinated, internationally award-winning drinking water to over two-thirds of our town. We are increasingly recognizing and enhancing the natural role of our creeks, ditches and wetlands for rain-water management. And especially in the context of climate change, we are studying and rehabilitating our natural foreshore as a “natural seawall.”

In the midst of this transition, we are literally doing a lot of beachcombing – particularly through an interactive, educational program that features our many inspiring and emerging local artists, who are leading our community through a multimedia, multi-faceted exploration of our natural surroundings and their interaction with our human incursion.

There is also endless figurative beachcombing in Gibsons. The Eco-Assets Strategy itself is an alternative and somewhat subversive approach to the “corporate log boom” of public sector accounting, asset management and engineered infrastructure. In addition, Nick, Jesse and Relic’s ardent “zero waste” ethic of pursuing economic growth via the re-use of discarded resources lives on strongly in Gibsons at our world-class, privately run Resource and Recovery/Recycling Centre.

Just outside of town, Persephone Brewing has emerged as a truly groundbreaking business connecting wildly popular craft brewing with social enterprise and local agriculture/food (hop-growing and local farm promotion/ retail). Two more breweries/taphouses are also in the works, indicating our rapidly growing appeal as a hub for young entrepreneurs and families seeking a high quality of life and sense of community.

A block away from Molly’s Reach, a shared workspace started up last year primarily for independent tech and communications specialists and was quickly fully subscribed and thriving. And soon, entrepreneurs, professionals and non-profit leaders from around the world will be able to converge at a convention centre with health and wellness centre to be constructed on the waterfront.

Picturesque Gibsons is attracting entrepreneurs and families alike with its natural beauty, environmental stewardship, community spirit and economic development.

In historical Gibsons Harbour, we host an emergent passenger ferry service to Horseshoe Bay and downtown Vancouver. At the same time, with ongoing federal support, we are a working harbour for commercial fishing and other marine industries. Regionally, we’ve collaborated with neighbouring communities to begin and fund B.C.’s newest economic development organization which will serve the Sunshine Coast, while separately and complementarily, Sunshine Coast Community Futures has spearheaded a firstof-its-kind local investment vehicle, Rhiza Capital, to foster an unprecedented, inviting community environment for local business, especially to drive startups and innovation.

Finally, the crown jewel of 21st Century Gibsons: the Gibsons Public Market project is in the final stages of a major rebuild that will accommodate a public market with local produce as well as vendors including a coffee shop, fishmonger, florist and bakery; a non-profit hub and meeting place; a café and performance venue; a community kitchen and commercial kitchen; and a marine education centre/aquarium celebrating our unique Howe Sound habitat.

So while the ghosts Nick and Relic can still be spotted around our community, a new Gibsons is quickly emerging. Visitors and new residents continue to be attracted to the mind-blowing natural beauty and community spirit of Gibsons, adding their own wild ideas and stories. And we are all brought together by our mutual enthusiasm for the true driver of our high quality of life: this brilliant natural setting.

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