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WCEL
> Issues > Urban Growth and
Development > Smart Bylaws Guide
Welcome to the Smart Bylaws Guide
Many municipalities and developers in British Columbia are emerging as North
American leaders in smart growth practices at the regional and local scale.
Residents are demanding more choices in where they live and the quality of
neighbourhoods and job opportunities. Bounded by ocean, mountains, rivers and
working lands, communities are also being forced to use land more efficiently to
stop urban sprawl, revitalize commercial centres, and maintain a working land
base.
In recognition of this leadership role, West Coast Environmental Law has
developed this Smart Bylaws Guide to assist local governments to implement smart
growth strategies through policy and bylaw changes. It describes smart growth
practices, and backs up the theory with case studies, technical standards and
bylaws that can be tailored to specific municipal circumstances. The Guide
brings together the best practices of municipalities across BC, and highlights
other innovators in the US.
The Smart Bylaws Guide is composed of nine interconnected tools:
 The
Case
for Smart Growth (PDF 325 Kb) outlines what smart growth is and why it is of benefit to local
governments. It goes beyond principles and provides economic and other data to
prove that smart growth strategies work how smart growth costs less for
municipalities and developers, increases property values, creates safer streets,
increases housing and transportation choices, and protects drinking water
supplies.
 The
Smart Bylaws Summary (PDF
500 Kb) describes the basic elements of smart growth
using case studies ranging from the regional and municipal scale to site and
building scale. It provides an overview of the entire Guide, and links from
within the chapters take readers to more detailed online tools. A glossary at
the end provides definitions for the well-known and emerging terms associated
with smart growth.
 Protecting the Working Landscape of Agriculture: A Smart Growth Direction for Municipalities in BC (PDF
725 Kb) is a guide for citizens and local government officials who want to protect
and enhance the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) while planning for efficient
urban growth. It outlines specific policies and bylaws that local
officials can adopt to protect the ALR while achieving urban growth goals.
- Web pages, accessed from an overview of smart growth principles, discuss
each smart growth tool in more depth and provide examples of case studies.
- Case studies document development projects that exhibit a number of smart
growth features, including bylaws and contact information.
- Bylaws and policies accompany each smart growth strategy. Bylaws and
policies can be accessed directly from this home page, or can be viewed as the
linked technical support for case studies and smart growth strategies.
- Checklists enable staff, council members and citizens to evaluate projects
and municipal programs.
- Resources provide links to further online information.
- The Glossary explains terms associated with smart growth, and defines
acronyms.
Don't know where to begin? Click on the Smart Bylaws Summary or
Web pages to
navigate the site by topic area or strategy. Click on the detailed Table of
Contents or Bylaws if you have a specific topic or technical requirement.
Once you have used the Guide, please provide us with your Feedback. What did
you find most useful? What would you like to see more of? How has your community
used the Guide to further its smart growth goals?
Finally, this Smart Bylaws Guide is intended as an informational resource
only. It does not provide legal advice. When exploring the use of or adopting
the tools described here, please consult the lawyer for your municipality.
West Coast Environmental Law thanks the following organizations
for their generous support:
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