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Official Community Plan (OCP) and Climate Emergency Team
Low Carbon/Low Growth Scenario proposed for Sooke
Transition Sooke’s Official Community Plan (OCP) and Climate Action Team has developed an alternative growth scenario to those proposed by Dialog, the firm hired to consult with residents and then prepare a new OCP for the District.
The Low Carbon/Low Growth Scenario looks at slowing Sooke’s growth considerably to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect land that acts as a “carbon sink,” and provide a much more sustainable and liveable community for all.
Dialog’s assumptions are that Sooke will double its population to 25,000 in the next 30 years. If accurate, it would be impossible to maintain that growth while meeting Sooke's climate emission targets and retaining the small town by the sea and forests vision that residents of Sooke value.
Download our Low Carbon/Low Growth Scenario D here.
What is Climate-First?
Transition Sooke’s OCP and Climate Action Team prepared a document that defines the concept of climate-first and submitted it to Sooke Council. If Sooke is going to meet its climate emergency goals, it needs to ensure that a climate-first approach is taken in all municipal decision making and planning processes including the Official Community Plan (OCP). Read the Climate-First Definition here.
Housing, Growth and Climate Op-ed
An op-ed in this week’s Sooke News Mirror by board member Alan Dolan tells the story of Bert, who was looking to buy a house in Sooke and wondered whether that would contribute to the climate emergency problem.
Bert realized that one of the negative spinoffs of Sooke growing so rapidly was not only the increase in carbon emissions contributing to climate change, the loss of our carbon sink, and our resilience towards climate change. There would also be the loss of natural assets that affect our quality of life i.e., farm and garden land, recreational green spaces, wildlife corridors, natural drainage and biodiversity. Residents of Sooke, like Bert, have said that they value these natural assets.
Read the whole op-ed here.
BC Climate Action Network (BC-CAN)
The Climate Solutions team that grew from the Green New Deal meetings is now helping establish the BC-Climate Action Network. When the word went out, 350 groups working on climate change in BC got together for the formative meeting.
The BC-CAN reminded us that we are not alone. The international transition website has five other Transition groups active on Vancouver Island with dozens more across BC and the rest of Canada. For more information contact us.
Zero Waste
Zero Waste had been pressing the District to install three-tier (bottle-filling, human drinking and dog dish) water fountains around town. There are now examples at Whiffin Spit and in John Phillips park.
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