Land Use & Development

Putting community assets (such as homes, businesses, industries, critical infrastructure and public and private services) in flood-prone areas increases flood risk.

Land use planning, policies and regulations can provide effective non-structural ways to reduce flood risk by choosing flood-resilient uses and designs for flood hazard areas. This is also known as floodplain management, which includes:

• Directing development and critical infrastructure outside of flood hazard areas
• Making buildings and structures that are permitted in flood hazard areas more resistant or resilient to flood damage
• Designing communities to accommodate movement of water over the landscape.

The Government of BC states that “regulating land development to keep people, property, infrastructure and other community assets out of harm’s way is the most practical and cost-effective way” to reduce injury, trauma and loss of life and to minimize property damage during floods.