DNV council lukewarm on Metro planning
Published: Sunday, February 17, 2008
The majority on the District of North Vancouver council remain skeptical of efforts to craft a new Metro growth strategy in the shadow of a provincial government that pushes through major regional projects without local government support or input.
The region is expected to take on an average of 30,000 migrants each year for the next 25 years. Most of the growth is expected in the east, while the North Shore is expected to be one of the lowest growing regions.
The growth strategy like the former plan, the Livable Region Strategic Plan, aims to foster denser developments along transportation corridors and in town centres, while providing affordable housing, boosting the regional economy and protecting natural assets.
At a Feb. 11 district workshop council meeting, Hugh Kellas, manager of policy and planning at Metro Vancouver, presented the policy options for the regional growth strategy.
During an exchange with Mayor Richard Walton, it became obvious that the province and region are not working on the same page at the political level. The mayor asked if simultaneous regional reviews are being conducted in concert with each other.
"There are three contiguous plans, one being done by TransLink, one being done by the Ministry of Transportation, and this Metro Vancouver one," said the mayor. "What is the linkage right now between those three as they move along. Is it daily, monthly or not at all. . . ? Is it happening in silos?"
Kellas paused and blushed at the question, while the entire crowd erupted in laughter.
"It's an excellent question," said Kellas after the laughter died down. "Certainly at the staff level there is excellent communication."
He said, however, more work needs to be done at the political level to make stronger connections between the regional players.
The lack of political cohesion on regional projects was the focus of the bulk of conversation surrounding the growth strategy at the workshop meeting. Though the majority expressed frustration with the province, the intensity varied between councillors.
While Walton was tempered in his response, calling for increased lobbying of the North Shore Liberal MLAs, Couns. Lisa Muri, Alan Nixon and Janice Harris were closer to advocating open revolt.
Couns. Doug MacKay-Dunn and Robin Hicks comments focused more on the specifics of Metro's plan and less on provincial machinations (Coun. Mike Little was absent).
Provincial projects cited at the meeting that were or are being pushed through without the support of municipalities or the region were all transportation related. There was the province's $3-billion road-building Gateway project; the rapid transit Cambie Street RAV line (now called the Canada line); the Eagleridge Bluffs route of the Sea-to-Sky expansion; and the replacement of the regional mayors' TransLink board with a provincially created unelected body.
Said Nixon: Metro Vancouver should tell the minister of community affairs it can't complete the regional growth strategy because so many important regional decisions are decreed by provincial fiat, while there is not enough money to tackle the major urban issues like affordable housing
"If my boss came to me and said 'Give me a plan on where we are going as a company in the next five years' and he gave me absolutely no authority and no resources by which to accomplish that plan, I would either quit or tell him 'You have given me an impossible task," said Nixon.
The economic motivations behind the provincial government's plans for the region, the road building and port expansion, is unsustainable and doesn't reflect changing global realities, said Harris.
"Those roads are for container trucks, so we can rape the resources of this province, send them over to China and Asia, then bring them back and then we have to deal with the waste. I think the whole paradigm is wrong," said Harris.
She was also especially concerned about the environmental impact of the Gateway project, including the ecological ramifications for Burns Bog caused by the proposed route of the South Fraser Perimeter Road.
Muri said the previous growth strategy lacked teeth and was ignored by entire municipalities, while the province of Alberta's oil development is dwarfing any efforts made by the Vancouver region to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.
Walton, meanwhile, disagreed that collective mobilization against the province was the answer or that Metro should rebel. He said the best approach was through the established political channels.
"The conduit to have an impact on public policy lies with four Liberal North Shore MLAs," said Walton. "The pressure should be directed at our local MLAs who represent us and our views."
Under the Local Government Act, a regional growth strategy is a voluntary initiative. Once completed an intergovernmental advisory committee is formed with representatives from senior levels of government to advise the board. Within two years of adoption, municipal official community plans must be updated to reflect the regional goals. Also, every two years, monitoring reports must be produced for the public and at least every five years the strategy must be assessed to determine if it needs to be updated. There are no penalties for non-compliance.
The regional draft plan is available online at www.gvrd.bc.ca/growth/strategy-review.htm. The district's feedback to the plan is available at www.dnv.org/upload/documents/Council_Reports/00801.pdf.
