Planning for an Environmentally Friendly Community

Previous | TOC | Next

In the development of a master plan for an environmentally friendly community, the following principles should apply:

1. To be environmentally friendly, planning must be comprehensive and address the full range of environmental issues. This exercise is aimed at broadening the scope of what we perceive as environmental issues, in order that we may better consider the entire set of issues before deciding on priorities. Comprehensive planning ensures planning is not directed only by the "hot button" issues of the day.
   
   
2. Community participation in planning and decision-making should be open, transparent and interactive. The environment is generally a "common good", and thus is best served when community decisions are made that explicitly consider the common good.
   
   
3. There should be a public record of goals, and progress towards achieving these goals. To achieve this, Chelsea needs to develop and monitor a meaningful set of indicators of environmental sustainability.
   
   
4. Chelsea should apply a meaningful test of sustainability against which all community decisions are measured (Chelsea currently does not have such a test, and therefore there is not a commonly understood context for community decisions). This would provide criteria that would inform the recommendations of various committees as well as all decisions made within the municipality.
   
   
5. Because of the nature of our community, we will be successful in achieving our goals if we engage the talents, skills and knowledge of community members. In the past, the volunteer sector in Chelsea has proven to be an incredible resource that has boosted the capacity of a small municipality to achieve great things, including on environmental issues. This proven record of volunteerism should be encouraged and engaged as we continue to move forward towards a goal of being an environment-friendly community. (The municipality could foster volunteerism through the provision of common space and office facilities for organizations.)
   
   
6. Chelsea's ability to chart its own course as an environmentally sustainable community is dependent on maintaining our municipal status independent of Gatineau.