North Vancouver asks for public input on draft climate and wellbeing plans

The City of North Vancouver is asking for the public’s input on two draft plans targeting climate and well-being.

The two 10-year plans were drafted following public engagement in late 2021 and are set to be finalized by winter 2023 at the earliest.

The Community Wellbeing Strategy focuses on topics such as housing, inclusivity, poverty reduction, and 15-minute neighborhoods.

“This recognizes that the social aspects of our city are incredibly important – from the day-to-day interactions with neighbours to the programs, services, and supports that offer opportunity and bring people together. The City is becoming increasingly diverse and must serve a complex variety of needs,” the City states, in reference to the plan.

Some of the objectives outlined in the draft wellbeing plan include providing park space within five minutes of every home, improving the supply of non-market housing, adding public washrooms, and adding 1,063 licensed childcare spaces by 2031.

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The Climate and Environment Strategy focuses on implementing more green infrastructure, climate-resilient buildings, and mixed-use communities that support zero-emission modes of transport.

“Our climate is changing at a rapid and unprecedented rate. We see the impacts in our City more and more each year with hotter, drier summers, poorer air quality from wildfires, wetter winters, and more extreme weather events,” the City states, in reference to the plan. “We need to take action to reduce our carbon pollution to limit warming and potentially irreversible effects of climate change.”

Some of the objectives outlined in the draft environment plan include adapting the city’s foreshore to rising sea levels, retrofitting City buildings to be low-carbon, supporting the transition to zero-emission vehicles, and expanding opportunities to grow more food locally.

The next public engagement process will begin on Sept. 6 and will include a variety of engagement techniques, such as surveys and in-person pop-ups.