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WCEL
> Issues > Urban Growth and
Development > Smart Bylaws Guide > Part
6 > Use Site Resources Wisely > Comprehensive
Environmental Bylaws
Smart Bylaws Guide – Use Site Resources Wisely –
Comprehensive Environmental Bylaws
Municipal jurisdiction for environmental protection is found in a
variety of sections in the Community Charter, Local Government Act
and other legislation. To create a single portal for, and
simplify access to environmental regulation, municipalities may
consolidate their various environment-related bylaws into a single
bylaw.
The District of North Vancouver enacted a
comprehensive
environmental bylaw in 1993 to consolidate watercourse, soil and
tree protection into one set of regulations that deal holistically
with the natural environment. The bylaw adopts the
Land
Development Guidelines for the Protection of Aquatic Habitat
as a standard and clearly sets out prohibitions, permitting, and
enforcement of activities affecting ecological systems. The
definitions in the bylaw are broad and include a significant part of
the municipal land base. For example, "stream" is defined
as a natural watercourse, whether usually containing water or not,
ground water, a lake, river, creek, spring, ravine, swamp, gulch,
drainage works and wetland, and includes any site drainage works on
or within 30 metres of sloping terrain.
The bylaw focuses on preventing environmental harm. Typical
development requirements include standard setbacks of 30 metres for
fish-bearing streams and 15 metres for non-fish bearing streams,
retention of vegetation in riparian areas, protective barriers for
sediment control near streams, and where the angle of slope is
greater than 30 degrees, a requirement that all work carried out be
designed and supervised by a registered professional engineer.
Detailed requirements are set out for environmental permit
applications dealing with aquatic areas, trees, and soil.
To assist applicants to determine what must accompany a permit
request, applicants must complete a one page Environmental
Questionnaire that also details the security deposit required (30%
of the work to be performed to a maximum $10,000) for all
environmental permits. An environmental impact assessment is
required for permit applications involving aquatic areas and soils.
Environmental Protection Division staff, as well as by-law
enforcement officers and the building inspector, can enforce the
by-law. For example, staff carry a portable turbidity meters and pH
cards to test for fouling substances in creeks introduced during
construction. Staff enforcement includes issuing stop work
orders when permits are not complied with. Stop work orders are
preferred over fines as District staff can then retain control over
mitigation requirements.
District of North Vancouver:
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