Policy directions

1. Prioritize new infrastructure in areas of high growth to keep pace with demand.

2. Work with Metro Vancouver Liquid Waste Services and Metro Vancouver Water Services to provide information about how development could impact the regional water or sewer system.

Why we are proposing these policies

• Building new infrastructure in areas that are growing the fastest will ensure community members have the services they need.
• Metro Vancouver needs to know where there will be high demand for regional water and sewer services so they can plan for infrastructure upgrades before the system reaches capacity.

Policy directions

3. Implement and update asset management plans to ensure budgets include plans to accommodate growth and maintain existing infrastructure.

4. Use new financing tools that require developers to cover the cost of infrastructure needed to service new developments, including roads, water, sewer and storm water infrastructure.

Why we are proposing these policies

• Asset management plans are a tool that help ensure there is enough funding, staff and resources to maintain infrastructure over the long-term.
• Well-maintained infrastructure prevents expensive and disruptive breakdowns.
• The City doesn’t need to spend taxpayer dollars on infrastructure if developers fund the cost of new or upgraded infrastructure for new developments.

Policy directions

5. Design and develop infrastructure to manage the amount of stormwater runoff quantity and improve water quality.

6. Raise public awareness about how run-off and pollution impacts stormwater and the environment.

7. Require private properties to have stormwater management infrastructure, such as rain gardens, surfaces that allow water to infiltrate into the ground, landscaping that captures and filters rainwater and more.

Why we are proposing these policies

• Stormwater runoff can include pollutants that impact water quality and the environment. Improving infrastructure to manage and filter stormwater will help protect our water sources.
• Community members have a role to play in protecting our water quality, and need to know how to dispose of pollutants and chemicals so they don’t impact our waterways.
• Stormwater management infrastructure helps slow down the flow of run-off, which helps prevent erosion in rivers, creeks and streams.
• Stormwater affects public and private land, and managing runoff needs to be a joint effort to prevent erosion and water pollution.

Policy directions

8. Support the development of infrastructure, buildings and neighbourhoods that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

9. Design and build infrastructure that can withstand, accommodate and adapt to the effects of climate change, such as extreme heat and more storms.

a) Work with host Nations to incorporate Indigenous perspectives on traditional land management and environmental protection into the City’s climate change work.

Why we are proposing these policies

• Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from buildings and infrastructure will help address climate change.
• If we use materials, designs and construction methods that consider the impacts of climate change, our infrastructure, buildings and neighbourhoods will be more adaptable to higher temperatures and more extreme weather.
• Host Nations have valuable knowledge on how to care for the land that should be considered in how the City adapts to climate change.
• Working with host Nations can build stronger relationships and advance reconciliation.

Policy directions

10. Reduce water consumption.

a) Require high-efficiency plumbing fixtures in all new buildings.

b) Require water-metering in all new developments.

c) Develop a strategy to convert existing services to water meters.

d) Promote low-water, drought resistant landscaping.

e) Capture and re-use water for agricultural and landscape irrigation.

Why we are proposing these policies

• Summers in Burnaby are getting hotter and drier, and we will need to conserve water to make sure there’s enough for everyone as the city grows.
• Water metering helps ensure people pay fairly for the water they use, understand the cost of water and reduce their water use.
• Landscaping that doesn’t use as much water and irrigation with wastewater will help save drinking water.

Policy directions

11. Educate community members about how to reduce waste through programs and partnerships with schools and other organizations.

12. Explore technology and processes to generate energy from food and yard waste.

Why we are proposing these policies

• Working with schools and community organizations would help teach people how to separate and throw away different types of waste correctly.
• If everyone makes small changes in how they throw away waste, it will make a big difference over time.
• Because Burnaby’s population is growing, our community is creating more waste and needs more energy.
• New technology makes it possible to generate energy from food waste, which could heat homes, produce compost for gardens and farms, and reduce thousands of tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions every year.

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