In-person events and webinars hosted by UBCM or partners that are of interest to members.
New seismic hazard maps for Metro Vancouver have been developed, and local government planners from southwest BC are invited to attend a virtual engagement session on April 17. The session will be hosted by the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness in partnership with the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction and Western University
The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy is developing a new regulatory framework for decommissioning and closure of industrial projects in British Columbia. The framework aims to ensure that industrial projects, not British Columbians, plan and pay for decommissioning and closure of their sites, even if abandoned. Proposed policy options include requiring industrial projects to engage with local governments to inform decommissioning and closure plans.
SFU Renewable Cities, in collaboration with BC Housing and VanCity Community Foundation, is hosting an in-person workshop on Tuesday, May 7 in Vancouver to share practical information about redeveloping government- and non-profit-owned land to include housing.
The event will assist landowners as they consider how they might make use of their land, learn about opportunities for government funding and connect with other landowners looking to build housing on under-used land.
UBCM will be holding a webinar on April 3, 2024, 1–3 pm, to share up-to-date hazard projections for this spring and summer, review the hazard assessment and mitigation resources currently available to communities, and provide an update on Provincial emergency preparedness initiatives.
The Province has initiated work to modernize the Mineral Tenure Act (MTA). UBCM members have endorsed several resolutions seeking amendments to the MTA to address the potential and real conflicts between surface and sub-surface rights holders.
Among the housing-related legislation passed by the Province in fall 2023 was Bill 47 which will legislate minimum density requirements around designated transit hubs. In a session at the 2024 UBCM Housing Summit, Transit-oriented development under Bill 47, representatives from three BC cities with significant transit hubs will examine the implications of the bill.
On April 20 – 24, more than 600 firefighting professionals, FireSmart experts and Indigenous, municipal, and community leaders will gather for the 2024 Wildfire Resiliency and Training Summit. Presentations will focus on how to recover from an unprecedented wildfire season, rebuild and prepare for future wildfires, and lead discussions in research, technologies, and best practices.
Bill 46: Housing Statutes (Development Financing) Amendment Act provides a new regime for development finance in British Columbia. To better understand the legislation and its implications for financing community development, UBCM is convening a panel of local government leaders at our 2024 Housing Summit.
BC’s Housing Minister, Ravi Kahlon, will take questions from local government leaders during a session on February 13 at UBCM’s 2024 Housing Summit. UBCM is convening the summit to discuss the significant challenges and changes facing the housing system in BC. The two-day event, February 13-14, will help local governments take stock of recent changes to the way housing is planned and developed.
The Housing Summit will give UBCM members the opportunity to unpack the myriad of implications from the housing legislation introduced in the fall sitting, in particular at the Recent Housing Legislation and the Law session on Wednesday.
“The more one explores the legislation, the more one finds additional financial, infrastructure, density, environmental and procedural impacts and obligations that are interconnected,” said panelist and lawyer Don Lidstone.