District of North Vancouver Community Wildfire Protection Plan Update
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
District of North Vancouver Community Wildfire Protection Plan Update Submitted to: Submitted by: Guy Exley Stefana Aurora Dranga, RPF, RPBio Community Forester, Bruce Blackwell, RPF, RPBio Environmental Services B.A. Blackwell & Associates Ltd. District of North Vancouver 270 – 18 Gostick Place 355 West Queens Road North Vancouver, BC, V7M 3G3 North Vancouver, BC V7N 4N5 Ph: 604-986-8346 Ph: 604 990 2350 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] B.A. Blackwell & Associates Ltd. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors would like to thank the following District of North Vancouver staff: Guy Exley (Community Forester); Julie Pavey (Section Manager, Environmental Sustainability); Susan Rogers (Parks Manager); Communications staff Catherine Haboly (District Spokesperson) and Stephanie Smiley (Coordinator); Carolyn Drugge (Section Manager, Infrastructure Planning, Natural Hazards); Shaun Carroll (Manager, Utilities); Joanne Slazyk (Senior Project Engineer); Wayne Maskall (Section Manager Natural Parkland); Richard Boase (Environmental Protection Officer); and Brian Hutchinson (Fire Chief) and Haida Fortier (Assistant Chief) of District of North Vancouver Fire Rescue Services. The authors would also like to thank the following members of North Shore Emergency Management: Fiona Dercole (Director) and John Chapman (Emergency Planning Officer). These individuals invested substantial time in meetings, answering questions, and reviewing, and commenting on the contents of this document. In addition, the authors would like to thank staff from the BC Wildfire Service, including: Tony Botica (Wildfire Prevention Officer), Jessica Duncan (Prevention Specialist) and Orin Caddy (Forest Protection Technician); staff from Metro Vancouver Watershed Environmental Management, Mike Neale (Watershed Protection Officer), as well as BC Parks (Sea to Sky).The input provided by Greg Riley of BC Hydro (Distribution) is also appreciated. The authors extend their appreciation to the Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh, and Musqueam First Nations. This report would not be possible without the Strategic Wildfire Prevention Initiative (SWPI) Program and funding from the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM). October 16, 2019 District of North Vancouver Community Wildfire Protection Plan Update i B.A. Blackwell & Associates Ltd. REGISTERED PROFESSIONAL SIGN AND SEAL RPF PRINTED NAME Stefana Aurora Dranga RPF 5093 DATE SIGNED October 16, 2019 I certify that the work described herein fulfills the standards expected of a member of the Association of British Columbia Forest Professionals and that I did personally supervise the work. Registered Professional Forester Signature and Seal October 16, 2019 District of North Vancouver Community Wildfire Protection Plan Update ii B.A. Blackwell & Associates Ltd. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY/ SUMMARY OF CWPP RECOMMENDATIONS The Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) process was created in British Columbia (BC) as a response to the devastating 2003 wildfire in Kelowna. As an integral part of the Strategic Wildfire Prevention Initiative (SWPI), managed and funded through the Strategic Wildfire Prevention Working Group, CWPPs aim to develop strategic recommendations to assist in improving safety and to reduce the risk of damage to property from wildfires. This CWPP Update will provide the District of North Vancouver (DNV) with a framework that can be used to review and assess areas of identified moderate and high fire risk within the DNV. Additionally, the information contained in this report should help to guide the development of emergency plans, emergency response, evacuation plans, communication and education programs (including FireSmart), bylaw development in areas of fire risk, and the management of potentially hazardous forest lands adjacent to the community. Since the development of the last CWPP in 2007, the District of North Vancouver has implemented all the recommendations from the CWPP, with the exception of one (Recommendation 25). The most notable actions include implementation of the following1: • Establishment of a Wildfire Development Permit Area, that requires new buildings to comply with FireSmart, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and District-developed standards for non- flammable building envelope materials (Recommendations 10 and 11); • Prescription development for approximately 72.4 ha and fuel treatment on approximately 57 ha of land surrounding the community (Recommendations 27-29); • Provision of specialized training to local fire department and DNV staff for Interface Fire Response (Recommendation 26); and • Development of a forest health strategy to address issues associated with dwarf mistletoe infected western hemlock (Recommendation 32). Wildfire management requires a multi-faceted approach for greatest efficacy and risk reduction outcomes. A total of 52 strategic recommendations are summarized in Table 1 below. In addition, these recommendations are included and more thoroughly discussed in their appropriate sections within the document. Ultimately, the recommendations within this plan should be considered a toolbox of options to help reduce the wildfire threat to the community. There is not one course of action or combination of actions that provides the answer to the challenge of wildfire risk in communities; the DNV must further prioritize based on resources, strengths, constraints, and availability of funding, regularly updating priorities and its course of action, as variables and circumstances change through time. 1 A full enumeration of recommendations from the 2007 CWPP can be found in Appendix L – Summary of 2007 Community Wildfire Protection Plan Recommendations. October 16, 2019 District of North Vancouver Community Wildfire Protection Plan Update iii B.A. Blackwell & Associates Ltd. Table 1. Summary of CWPP Recommendations by Document Section. Document Section 2: Local Area Description (2.5.3: Local Government/First Nations Policies and Recommendations) Page Item Priority Recommendation/Next Steps Funding Source No. Objective: Review and amend the current District of North Vancouver regulatory framework to incorporate wildfire mitigation and preparedness considerations. Review the Official Community Plan (OCP), Section 4.2 – Parkland Standards and Acquisition and associated documents (e.g., Parks and Open Eligible for UBCM Space Strategic Plan, 2012) and consider strategic Community Resiliency 1 10 Moderate parkland acquisition and parks maintenance Investment (CRI) Program through a wildfire risk lens, including Funding2 consideration for long-term maintenance costs and access. Review the OCP Schedule B Bylaw 7900 and Wildfire Hazard DPA Guidelines section to include language regarding management of non- Local government 2 12 High compliant hedging and other vegetation in funding/UBCM CRI Program proximity to homes after the post-development Funding inspection has been signed-off by a Qualified Professional (QP). 3 Review the OCP Schedule B Bylaw 7900 and Wildfire Hazard DPA Guidelines section and set a procedure for establishing and updating fire Local government 3 12 High testing standards to ensure alternative and novel funding/UBCM CRI Program non-flammable exterior building materials are Funding pre-approved in a timely manner for use in the WUI. 3 Review and update the fire testing standards and materials section of the Wildfire Hazard DPA Guidelines to identify and define a list of approved building materials and review and update the approved materials list on a bi-annual basis or as 4 13 High new proposals come forward from builders. These Local government funding materials should be reviewed by a recognized expert in the building material field, with consideration for recent and applicable research findings prior to granting approval for use in the WUI. 3 2 UBCM Community Resiliency Investment (CRI) Program. Refer to Section 5.1 and the Union of BC Municipality’s website (https://www.ubcm.ca/EN/main/funding/lgps/community-resiliency-investment.html) for further information. 3 Additional recommendations (15-17) related to the Wildfire Hazard DPA are provided in Section 5.2.2). October 16, 2019 District of North Vancouver Community Wildfire Protection Plan Update iv B.A. Blackwell & Associates Ltd. Document Section 2: Local Area Description (2.5.3: Local Government/First Nations Policies and Recommendations) Page Item Priority Recommendation/Next Steps Funding Source No. Review the Solid Waste Removal Bylaw 7631 to include language specific to green waste, not just garbage, under the prohibitions section to ensure 5 14 Moderate that there is a legally enforceable bylaw to Local government funding prevent flammable materials to accumulate, collect or to remain on the property unless securely contained. Create incentives and/or targeted education and outreach to promote FireSmart renovations of exterior elements of existing buildings within the Wildfire Hazard DPA, recognizing that the Wildfire 6 15 Moderate Hazard DPA and the Construction Bylaw pertain Local government funding only to new construction and do not address the vulnerability of existing older homes. See recommendation 19 for strategy suggestion and funding opportunities. Update the DNV Invasive Plant Management Strategy, 2015 to target monitoring and resources to areas with known invasive species occurrences in the wildland urban interface, where new forests are being established or where stand conversion 7 17 Low Local government funding has occurred. Continue addressing invasive species management