ABSTRACT
Municipal planners and engineers require a framework for assessing the potential impacts of suburban development proposals on wetlands that parallel the community and drainage planning process. The more common approach is to conduct an environmental impact assessment (EIA) close to the design stage of suburban developments, well after community and drainage planning have been completed. The suburban landscape is changed frequently by decisions made early in the planning process that may affect the spatial requirements of wetland functions and values beyond the physical boundary of the wetland. The ecological or functional boundaries may straddle administrative boundaries and further complicate the environmental assessment process.
This chapter examines the status of wetland planning in Edmonton, Alberta and describes problems with the present land use planning process and offers recommendations for the integration of administrative and ecological boundaries that can be applied broadly in developing suburban landscapes within a hierarchical planning system. It is emphasized that spatial requirements of wetland functions must be addressed early in the planning process.
