The thesis is intended to provide an alternative model for rural land use planning and environmental management. The project addresses the issue of settlement and development of sixteen hectares on Carmelo Point, Gambier Island. . The intent of the design is to initiate the development of the site within the determined development areas and to provide specific examples of integrating passive ecological technologies. Furthermore, the proposed development is to utilize the natural renewable energy systems while mamtaining the site's natural character and balance. The design program for the thesis is centred in and around a commons and is comprised of a lodge for cohabitation. The lodge is to include seven private chambers which share facilities in common. These facilities are the dining hall, sun rooms, washrooms, and the kitchen. The lodge is to incorporate a post and beam structure supporting a roof, which is used to catch and harvest rainwater. Additionally, the roof is designed to promote a stacking effect within the interior space. Once the harvested rainwater has been filtered and used, it is then treated via a garden solar aquatic septic system. The lodge is recognized as an initial incremental step in developing the site for human settlement. This project is intended as a prototypical ecologically sensitive intervention in a rural landscape which is experiencing development pressures due to its proximity to the Vancouver metropolitan area.

The thesis is intended to provide an alternative model for rural land use planning and environmental management. The project addresses the issue of settlement and development of sixteen hectares on Carmelo Point, Gambier Island. . The intent of the design is to initiate the development of the site within the determined development areas and to provide specific examples of integrating passive ecological technologies. Furthermore, the proposed development is to utilize the natural renewable energy systems while mamtaining the site's natural character and balance. The design program for the thesis is centred in and around a commons and is comprised of a lodge for cohabitation. The lodge is to include seven private chambers which share facilities in common. These facilities are the dining hall, sun rooms, washrooms, and the kitchen. The lodge is to incorporate a post and beam structure supporting a roof, which is used to catch and harvest rainwater. Additionally, the roof is designed to promote a stacking effect within the interior space. Once the harvested rainwater has been filtered and used, it is then treated via a garden solar aquatic septic system. The lodge is recognized as an initial incremental step in developing the site for human settlement. This project is intended as a prototypical ecologically sensitive intervention in a rural landscape which is experiencing development pressures due to its proximity to the Vancouver metropolitan area. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of / Graduate

The objectives of this study are threefold: 1. to provide an understanding of the need for rural land use planning; 2. to describe and compare British Columbia's, Alberta's, Ontario's and Saskatchewan's current system for rural land use planning; and 3. if applicable, suggest improvements to B.C's rural planning process as a result of the research conducted. A historical review of the need for rural planning and land use controls has been conducted in conjunction with research into present day trends. In addition, regional district officials from around the province were contacted in order to obtain their views on rural planning in B.C. This research establishes the need for rural planning, but raises questions about the public's perception of the planning process. To obtain information on alternative planning processes, research is conducted on rural planning in Alberta, Ontario, and Saskatchewan. This information is then evaluated through a comparative analysis with the planning process used prior to Bill 62 and the new Rural Land Use Bylaw. The evaluation concludes that the Rural Land Use Bylaw is preferred over the pre-Bill 62 planning legislation. Incorporating what has been learned in previous chapters, this study concludes by presenting suggestions for amending the existing legislation in order to further simplify the planning process. Additional areas for new research are also detailed in order that planners can strive for a more flexible and responsive planning process to serve the rural public. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

The Oyster River Research project begins by exploring the meaning of agriculture, the definition, the history, the cultural context of agri-culture, as well as the role of agriculture in our present day. An overview of the Agricultural Census 1992 is given to outline the Agricultural Industry past and present within Canada, and the major issues and constraints with regards to Agriculture in British Columbia are identified. Elements of farmland conservation, BC's ALR, as well as case studies and precedents regarding farmland conservation strategies are also discussed. From this research exploration, an understanding of the role and scope of UBC, the Oyster River Farm, and the surrounding community, locally and regionally is met, and programs capable of linking these issues are developed. These programs, in conjunction with the overall farm and community site design, exhibit the most beneficial means of defining and developing the relationship of UBC, the farm, and the community, while maintaining the integrity of agricultural land and the practice of farming for local food security. Ultimately, this design thesis offers a solution that attempts to serve UBC, the Oyster River Farm and the local / regional community in a manner most sensitive socially, ecologically, and economically to issues presently facing the Research Farm and the larger community of the Comox-Strathcona Regional District.

The Oyster River Research project begins by exploring the meaning of agriculture, the definition, the history, the cultural context of agri-culture, as well as the role of agriculture in our present day. An overview of the Agricultural Census 1992 is given to outline the Agricultural Industry past and present within Canada, and the major issues and constraints with regards to Agriculture in British Columbia are identified. Elements of farmland conservation, BC's ALR, as well as case studies and precedents regarding farmland conservation strategies are also discussed. From this research exploration, an understanding of the role and scope of UBC, the Oyster River Farm, and the surrounding community, locally and regionally is met, and programs capable of linking these issues are developed. These programs, in conjunction with the overall farm and community site design, exhibit the most beneficial means of defining and developing the relationship of UBC, the farm, and the community, while maintaining the integrity of agricultural land and the practice of farming for local food security. Ultimately, this design thesis offers a solution that attempts to serve UBC, the Oyster River Farm and the local / regional community in a manner most sensitive socially, ecologically, and economically to issues presently facing the Research Farm and the larger community of the Comox-Strathcona Regional District. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of / Graduate

This analysis is based on a situation which has evolved in Electoral Area "G" within the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen located in the south central sector of the Province of British Columbia. The spread of urbanization into this unzoned rural area in the form of a large block subdivision created a land use conflict with existing agricultural uses. The Regional District responded by proposing to zone the entire electoral area with a standard zoning by-law. Rural residents reacted to oppose this idea saying the standard zoning by-law is too stringent. The Regional District eventually spot zoned the property in question which limited the development to that which was initially proposed. While this measure solved the immediate problem, it did little to prevent future land use conflicts. The situation just described highlights the two issues which form the purpose of this study. First, that some form of land use control is necessary in rural areas because existing residents and land users should be protected from possible conflicting or undesirable land uses; and second, an alternative land use control should be developed to replace the standard zoning by-law which residents are so strongly opposed to. To obtain more information on what the main participants in rural land use planning think about the standard zoning by-law; Regional Planners were asked why they felt the implementation of the standard zoning by-law was important; and residents were asked why it should not be implemented? The statements by both groups were analyzed for their validity. Research showed that most of the planners statements were true but that existing provincial land use controls have more of an effect on development than is realized. Analysis of residents statements showed that some are based on rumours and emotions rather than fact. However, regardless of fact the way in which the public perceive a situation is important and must be considered. An investigation of the Development Permit, Flood Plain Zones, Spot Zones, Contract Zones and Conditional Zones as alternatives to the standard zoning by-law revealed their positive and negative aspects along with their suitability for implementation in Electoral Area "G". Incorporating what had been learned in previous chapters, a Rural Maintenance By-law proposes two important differences. First, is a list of prohibited uses rather than the usual permitted uses. A list of prohibited uses is felt to better suit the two zoning district concept being proposed. It also presents a more positive image of a land use regulation to the public. Second, flexibility is built into the concept by way of a conditional zoning technique. In this way, developments will not be restricted by the stringent regulations found in a standard zoning by-law. It will also encourage resident participation in the development process of their area. And finally, it will require the planner to work at the grass roots level with developers and residents to negotiate the best possible development for future generations. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

Residential-agricultural land use conflict in the rural-urban fringe of metropolitan areas is commonly mentioned as a planning problem. The initial intent of this research was to correlate types of conflict and local planning responses in order to identify effective approaches to the management of such problems. The anticipated method would have combined theory which addresses the cause and characteristics of residential-agricultural conflict along with data from Vancouver suburbs having substantial agricultural activity and planning departments respected for their professional qualities. However, the investigation showed that the academic literature and the accessible data would not support such research. On the other hand, consultations with local planners and a review of available documentation in the municipalities of Richmond, Delta and Surrey, British Columbia, showed that residential-agricultural land use conflict is treated as a planning problem and is a source of complaints to municipal officials. Three kinds of conclusions resulted from this research. The first and second are appropriate to the underdeveloped state of the academic literature, while the first and third relate to professional practice in the absence of applicable scientific knowledge. The first is a description of the characteristics which are perceived as constituting a planning problem and a governmental response. Secondly, there are recommendations for development of data to support future research. Municipal governments in the three communities have no comprehensive monitoring system or set of cross-referenced records of complaints associated with land use conflicts. Instead, conflicts are received, identified and acted on by a variety of departments in the local government. From the descriptive material a tentative typology is offered to guide data collection and classification. Thirdly, there are suggestions which may be useful to planners who must rely on non-systematic methods to identify conflict situations appropriate for a planning response and to develop that response. The summaries of problems and responses reported are used to develop a tentative critique of present conceptualizations of appropriate planning measures. It is observed that planners have used only a few of the possible responses to rural-urban conflict. In particular, it is clear that for a wide range of conflict types there has been a reliance on land buffers to separate potentially conflicting activities. Alternative and supplementary approaches which may improve the management of typical conflict situations are suggested. These approaches focus on preventing the development of conflict through increasing the mutual understanding of the conflicting parties' points-of-view. Examples include public involvement in problem identification and resolution, as well as programs to facilitate communication between the government, farmers and non-farm residents. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

This thesis examines how stakeholder values should be clarified in consensus-based processes in order to provide the framework for the generation of options, the collection of technical information and the assessment of options. The specific context is forest land use planning in British Columbia, particularly with respect to creating protected areas. A case study approach was used. The case study used was the Clayoquot Sound Sustainable Development Strategy Committee planning process (begun in January 1991). This particular case study was chosen because it was the first effort to use negotiations to provide advice to the provincial government on a regional sustainable development issue. It was also highly contentious and very public, therefore it is reasonably well-documented. One of the major flaws in how options were generated and assessed in this process was that insufficient time was spent clarifying stakeholders' values and underlying interests. This had repercussions throughout the negotiations. The problem was not well-defined and this meant it was difficult to generate options that met stakeholders' objectives. Option generation was hasty and was rooted in the status quo. In addition, technical information was collected at the beginning of the process, before objectives were clarified or options generated. This meant there was not a clear idea of how the information would be used to support the decision-making, and resulted in reports heavily loaded with descriptive information. Assessing the options generated was also subject to flaws: the first was that the analysis was based on values that were largely implicit and came primarily from technical experts. The second was that the status quo (the current state of conditions) was used to assess the impacts of proposed options. This led to the consistent overestimate of jobs losses caused by the reduction in harvest level associated with withdrawal of forest land from the commercial land base. Despite these difficulties, this process greatly increased stakeholders' understanding of both the technical issues involved and the difficulties of governing. The social learning aspect of the process is an important legacy and may make future decision-making processes in the area easier. However, improvements in the generation and assessment of options are needed to improve negotiations. Importantly, the problem needs to be well-defined and well-structured. To achieve this, the objectives hierarchy approach is promoted here. It is relatively simple to use in practice, and forces stakeholders' to examine their values and underlying interests. This means that they are more able to generate options that. meet these. interests (rather than their well-entrenched positions). To help move beyond the status quo to create imaginative options, it also useful to ask stakeholders to think about how to achieve their objectives. Once objectives have been clarified and imaginative options have been generated, then the technical information required to assess options can be identified and collected. This leads to the collection of more functional, and less descriptive, information which will be more useful to inform the decision-making. When assessing options, uncertainty in the data, and implicit judgments by technical experts should be made explicit and bounded with probabilities. This improves confidence in the data. Lastly, the base case, which incorporates current trends and is a more reliable predictor of future conditions than the status quo, should be used as a basis for comparing options. It is especially important to consider the effects of declining rates of employment due to mechanization and the fall-down effect in the base case scenario, in order to get a more realistic estimate of the true jobs losses due to reduced harvests, with and without land withdrawals.

This thesis examines how stakeholder values should be clarified in consensus-based processes in order to provide the framework for the generation of options, the collection of technical information and the assessment of options. The specific context is forest land use planning in British Columbia, particularly with respect to creating protected areas. A case study approach was used. The case study used was the Clayoquot Sound Sustainable Development Strategy Committee planning process (begun in January 1991). This particular case study was chosen because it was the first effort to use negotiations to provide advice to the provincial government on a regional sustainable development issue. It was also highly contentious and very public, therefore it is reasonably well-documented. One of the major flaws in how options were generated and assessed in this process was that insufficient time was spent clarifying stakeholders' values and underlying interests. This had repercussions throughout the negotiations. The problem was not well-defined and this meant it was difficult to generate options that met stakeholders' objectives. Option generation was hasty and was rooted in the status quo. In addition, technical information was collected at the beginning of the process, before objectives were clarified or options generated. This meant there was not a clear idea of how the information would be used to support the decision-making, and resulted in reports heavily loaded with descriptive information. Assessing the options generated was also subject to flaws: the first was that the analysis was based on values that were largely implicit and came primarily from technical experts. The second was that the status quo (the current state of conditions) was used to assess the impacts of proposed options. This led to the consistent overestimate of jobs losses caused by the reduction in harvest level associated with withdrawal of forest land from the commercial land base. Despite these difficulties, this process greatly increased stakeholders' understanding of both the technical issues involved and the difficulties of governing. The social learning aspect of the process is an important legacy and may make future decision-making processes in the area easier. However, improvements in the generation and assessment of options are needed to improve negotiations. Importantly, the problem needs to be well-defined and well-structured. To achieve this, the objectives hierarchy approach is promoted here. It is relatively simple to use in practice, and forces stakeholders' to examine their values and underlying interests. This means that they are more able to generate options that. meet these. interests (rather than their well-entrenched positions). To help move beyond the status quo to create imaginative options, it also useful to ask stakeholders to think about how to achieve their objectives. Once objectives have been clarified and imaginative options have been generated, then the technical information required to assess options can be identified and collected. This leads to the collection of more functional, and less descriptive, information which will be more useful to inform the decision-making. When assessing options, uncertainty in the data, and implicit judgments by technical experts should be made explicit and bounded with probabilities. This improves confidence in the data. Lastly, the base case, which incorporates current trends and is a more reliable predictor of future conditions than the status quo, should be used as a basis for comparing options. It is especially important to consider the effects of declining rates of employment due to mechanization and the fall-down effect in the base case scenario, in order to get a more realistic estimate of the true jobs losses due to reduced harvests, with and without land withdrawals. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate