Whereas local governments are provided with statutory responsibility for land use planning within their jurisdictions and provincial government crown land planning processes, including resource and watershed management, generally involve local governments as referral agencies only at late stages of those planning processes; And whereas early and on-going local government involvement in provincial land use processes would provide an opportunity for improved intergovernmental collaboration and better informed decision-making: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request that the Government of BC initiate a process intended to establish improved government-to-government collaboration with local governments regarding land use planning initiatives on crown land.
Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development Modernized Land Use Planning MLUP processes are co-led, in partnership with the Province and Indigenous governments, with significant collaboration and input from local governments and engagement with communities, stakeholders and the public. The Provincial Land Use Planning Engagement Platform https:landuseplanning.gov.bc.ca for MLUP includes information for local governments and community members on five land use planning projects. In March 2021, the Province released Modernized Land Use Planning: A Guide to Effective Stakeholder Engagement https:www2.gov.bc.cagovcontentindustrycrown-land-waterland-use-planning…, which also includes information on best practices for engaging local governments in modernized land use planning processes. Regional MLUP project teams are required to use this guidance in the development and implementation of their stakeholder engagement plans, and include local governments in their request for input on new land use planning projects through the engagement platform. The Province met with UBCM representatives on October 19, 2021 to provide an update on the MLUP program, including work underway on policy, land use planning projects, and tools. During engagement, UBCM provided feedback on updated LUP program principles. As an outcome of the meeting, the Province has committed to sharing updated materials with UBCM and to meeting again in early 2022 to provide ongoing updates and connection opportunities. The Province has also asked UBCM to consider providing input to key draft program policy pieces.