Environmentally Sensitive Areas Database Tool

This database enables regional scale mapping, information sharing, and cross-boudary collaborative stewardship of Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA's) by member municipalities within the CMRB; however, only the CMRB and its member municipalities currently have access to the ESA information and only in a GIS format.

The proposed project would develop an online dashboard tool to visualize the data and to make the information in the database accessible to those without access to GIS software, including representatives of municipal administrations, academic institutions, developers and planners, real estate specialists, and members of the public. This information would promote the inclusion of regional ESA considerations within planning and land use decisions, acting as a “triage tool” to support a greater understanding of the value of ESAs and to allow for mitigation strategies or design considerations to be incorporated.

It will also inform landowners, real estate agents, and others as to the value land plays in environmental systems. The goal of this project is to integrate consideration for regional ESAs and ESA systems into planning decisions, not to stop or hinder development projects, but to provide high-quality, agreed-upon and readily available information about ESAs in our region to improve decision-making and provide an ESA lens to planning and development, research work, and real estate information.