A 'Tweet' report from the Electoral Area 'A' committee meeting

The following are my ‘live’ tweets from the November 20th, 2009 Electoral Area ‘A’ committee meeting of Metro Vancouver. I have only reposted the UBC-related items. My twitter account can be found under the name charlesmenzies. Also in the audience actively tweeting was Samantha Jung, Ubyssey news editor.

I’ve posted the comments in chronological order for ease of reading.

• CRM: @ubyssey UBC isn't alone in opposing the anti-democratic actions of Metro. Check out http://utownnews.ca/ Though UBC motives are different.
• CRM: UBC tells Metro Vancouver to back off | Straight.com: http://bit.ly/hLGFA
• CRM: At the electoral area a committee meeting, planning bylaw and working group http://yfrog.com/4ih97j
• CRM: When asked who the decision makers are, cmtte chair Harris says she doesn't know!
• CRM: @ubyssey democratic deficit majour theme at electoral area a meeting
• CRM: Blake F., UBC AMS Pres, takes the stage. http://yfrog.com/1ema5j
• CRM: Blake says UBC planning flawed, ams in conflict with UBC
• CRM: Blake says UBC Board of Govs not approachable. Alledges UBC engaged in intimidation.
• CRM: Blake calls for majority student reps on working group
• CRM: UBC refusal to participate called bullying by Blake
• CRM: Blake says students worried their voice to be drowned out.
• CRM: Mike Feely, UNA Chair, speaks to committee
• CRM: Feely says local governance in UNA working well, metro shouldn't get involved.
• CRM: UNA includes a student rep on Board
• CRM: Feely, We actually have a form of governance that works
• CRM: Feely, "my community is different than other westside communities". Affordable housing area. It's a model for the region.
• CRM: UNA participation contingent on being the majority reps on community related working group
• CRM: UNA any decisions be subject to majority vote of UNA residents
• CRM: Feely says. OCP is working for local areas.
• CRM: In response to questions from Andria Remier, it seems that UNA elections look a bit poorly monitored
• CRM: Councilor Anton, asks if UNA structure really best? Is UNA open to discussion? Feely says currently system has potential to work. Hmmmm
• CRM: Electoral Area A committee moves to table working group report on UBC bylaw to next meeting and seek further consultation.
• CRM: UBC greenspace plan discussed, as metro moves forward to regulate UBC

UNA responds to Metro Vancouver

Three delegations from the UBC community spoke to the Electoral Area 'A' committee of Metro Vancouver on Friday, November 20th, 2009. In addition to myself, Blake Fredericks, president of the AMS and Mike Feeley, chair of the UNA spoke. Included below is a statement sent to the UNA membership from Mike Feeley following the meeting.
________________
Neighbours:

I would like to update you on a developing issue at Metro Vancouver that affects us.
You may have heard in news reports or elsewhere that Metro Vancouver has proposed establishing a Zoning Bylaw for the UBC Vancouver Campus, including the family housing areas in which we live and for which the UNA provides local governance. This draft bylaw and other information are available here:

• October 23, 2009 - Proposed Zoning Bylaw
• November 20, 2009 - Proposed Terms of Reference for Working Group
  

You may also have heard that UBC has asked the Metro Vancouver Board to withdraw this proposal and has said it will not participate in the Working Group that Metro is establishing to consider the bylaw. In their objection, UBC distinguishes between the academic and family housing parts of campus, focusing their concern on zoning of academic lands. President Toope outlines UBC's positions in two statements available on UBC's web page:

• UBC Responds to Metro Vancouver move to control UBC campus
• UBC Asserts Need for Autonomy over Its Academic Future

The UNA Board has been following developments closely and has several concerns. Mainly, we seek to ensure that no outside group can impose zoning restrictions on UNA areas without our consent. Unfortunately, it appears that Metro Vancouver is proposing to do precisely this, as indicated by their proposed Working Group composition:

• Metro Vancouver: 1 member from Regional Development and 1 member from Parks
• UBC: 1 member from Campus Planning and 1 member from Properties Trust
• UNA: 2 members
• City of Vancouver: 1 member
• BC Ministry of Transportation: 1 member
• University Endowment Lands (UEL): 1 member
• UBC Alma Mater Society (AMS - UBC Students): 1 member
• Musqueam Band: 1 member
• Pacific Spirit Part Society: 1 member
• Wreck Beach Preservation Society: 1 member

The UNA Board has no a priori objection to zoning rules for the family housing areas. We believe that development controls are essential and, if fact, we believe we have them today through the MOU (an agreement between UBC and Metro Vancouver), the OCP (a Metro Vancouver Bylaw) and the various Neighbourhood Plans. And so, we are happy to participate in discussions with Metro Vancouver on this topic, but not as part of a committee where we are a minority. No municipality would permit zoning rules affecting its residents to be decided by anyone other than its electors. The Board feels strongly that this standard must also be applied to us. Exclusive of all these other groups, we are the ones who will live with the consequences of these decisions, including the social and economic costs (and benefits) that arise from them.
Therefore, the UNA Board today informed the Metro Vancouver Electoral Area A Committee, meeting at Metro offices in Burnaby, that the UNA will participate in the working group provided that two necessary preconditions are met:

1. the composition of the working group must include a majority of UNA residents selected by the elected UNA Board;
2. neither the working group nor any other committee of the GVRD will forward a report to the GVRD concerning the development of any bylaw affecting the residential areas without the support of a majority of the residents on the working committee.

Click here for the full text of our presentation to the committee.

In the coming days we will be working to develop a web page that gathers together relevant information, we will be meeting with Metro Vancouver to see how they can meet our preconditions, and we will be exploring ways that we can consult with you on this important topic and the other governance concerns attached to it.

In the meantime, please share your thoughts, questions and concerns with us by replying to this email or calling the UNA office 604-827-5158. You can also email me directly feeley@cs.ubc.ca or call me 778-889-4299.

We will keep you posted as this develops.

Sincerely,


Mike Feeley
UNA Chair
www.myuna.ca

Open letter to Electoral Area A Committee

Dear Ms. Harris

RE: Proposed Metro Zoning Bylaws for UBC and Local Area Governance

I am writing to request that your committee take action on the following matters:

1. Suspend the UBC Zoning Bylaw implementation process until the issue of local area governance for the UBC/UEL area has been resolved, and:
2. Transform your proposed working group to discuss the zoning bylaw into a working group to achieve responsible local area democracy for the UBC/UEL areas.

As you are aware the system of governance for the area west of Blanca, including the UEL and the University Town areas, leaves much to be desired for many residents of this community. While there are erstwhile 'municipal-like' structures operating in this region, neither the UEL committee nor the UNA have real municipal powers. And then thousands of student residents have no access to any form of local governance. Both the UEL and the UNA operated with delegated authority and, despite the hard work and good intentions of their officials, are not in any meaningful sense forms of autonomous responsible democracy.

Neither is the Electoral Area A Committee of the GVRD a substitute for responsible government. The committee is comprised of one person elected by residents of Electoral Area A and two committee members who's primarily affiliation and democratic responsibility lies outside of the residential community.

The proposed zoning bylaw is actually a step away from real, effective, local governance. In that it will make it harder for our community to take local control over our community. While the UNA, for example, may be a flawed governance instrument, it is a local instrument of power and authority. And, in comparison to the Electoral Area A committee, the UNA provides a responsible and flexible form of local government. Rather than expending the time creating zoning bylaws and increasing the administrative infrastructure, why not focus your attention on addressing the democratic deficit?

This brings me to my second point.

The Electoral Area A committee has shown that, if you want, you can set up working groups to discuss matters of local importance. Let’s take this in a positive direction. Transform the working group on bureaucratically imposed zoning bylaws into a citizen’s assembly on local governance for the UBC/UEl area.

If you take this approach I would suggest that the working group structure be changed to better reflect the democratic concerns of our community, as opposed to the interest group politics of Metro Vancouver.

Seats on the transformed working group should be allocated in accord with residential population and institutional connections and legal responsibilities.

Seats for Year Round Residential Areas

• UEL 2800 population 5
  
• UNA 5000 population 8
  
• Acadia Park/University Apt. 1500 population 3
  

Seats for Student Residence Associations

• UBC associations 2
• Affiliated Colleges 1
  

Institutional Seats

• UBC 1
• AMS 2
• Metro 1
• BC 1
• Musqueam 1

Each specific organization or area would select their own representatives for the transformed working group.

Metro’s Electoral Area A committee has an opportunity to make a real an effective difference in the shape of local democratic practices. Let’s put the zoning bylaw on hold. If the Electoral Area A committee really is concerned about UBC being "landowner, developer, and approver for the campus lands" then do something that really will address the issue. Lets’ create an authentic democratic option.

Yours,

Charles Menzies
Resident, Hawthorn Place in the University Town