The Regional Growth Strategy (RGS) is a shared vision for managing growth and community impacts in our diverse urban and rural neighbourhoods. It is a commitment made by the Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD), the City of Courtenay, the Town of Comox, and the Village of Cumberland to work together to promote communities that are socially, economically and environmentally sustainable for generations to come. The RGS is implemented within each community through local Official Community Plans, Infrastructure Plans, and regulatory tools such as zoning.
Managing growth is more than creating urban boundaries, preventing urban sprawl and deciding where different land uses will be located. Managing growth is about putting growth in the right places in order to manage impacts on existing communities, protect agricultural and rural lands, and nurture ecosystems and habitat. By putting growth in the right places we can provide connected and efficient services and infrastructure.
The RGS provides a framework for long-term planning and decision making by outlining eight key goals:
To ensure the needs of Comox Valley residents are met through affordable and accessible housing, transportation and community services enabled by thoughtful community design.
Key strategies/projects/initiatives:
- Housing Needs Assessment
- Poverty Reduction Plan
- Homelessness Support Service
- Transit Plan
- Bio Solids Composting Facility
- Sewer Service Liquid Waste Management Plan
- Water Treatment Project
- Watutco Water System
- Royston and Union Bay Sewer Extension
- Sewage Treatment Plant Upgrades
- Sanitary Sewage Master Plan
To support the local agricultural and aquaculture sectors and increase local food security.
Key strategies/projects/initiatives:
To develop an accessible, efficient and affordable multi-modal transportation network connecting communities of all sizes in the Comox Valley.
Key strategies/projects/initiatives:
- Transit Plan
- Multi-modal Transportation Gap Analysis (coming soon!)
To minimize regional greenhouse gas emissions and plan for adaptation.
Key strategies/projects/initiatives:
- Corporate Carbon Neutrality Reporting
- Coastal Flood Mapping
- Airshed Roundtable
- Sustainability Strategy
- Comox Valley Rural Areas Community Climate Action Plan
- Corporate Energy Plan
- Residential Retrofit Acceleration Strategy (coming soon!)
To protect, steward and enhance our natural environment and ecological systems.
Key strategies/projects/initiatives:
- Airshed Roundtable
- Wood Smoke Reduction Program
- Coastal Flood Mapping
- Rural Comox Valley Parks and Greenways Strategic Plan
- Denman Island Parks and Greenways Masters Plan
- Watershed Protection Plan
- Municipal Natural Assets Initiative – Comox Valley Watershed
- Tsolum River Watershed
- Denman Cross Island Trail
- Nymph Falls Park Accessible Trail and Access Route
- Seal Bay Nature Park Signage
To support a high quality of life through the protection and enhancement of community health, safety and well-being.
Key strategies/projects/initiatives:
- Airshed Roundtable
- Wood Smoke Reduction Program
- Merville Fire Protection Services Project
- Mt. Washington Fire Services Project
To achieve a sustainable, resilient and dynamic local economy that supports local businesses.
Key strategies/projects/initiatives:
To direct growth to exiting core settlement areas and protect rural areas in order to create the right conditions for affordable, effective and efficient public services that conserve land, water and energy.
Key strategies/projects/initiatives:
