Municipal Parties Endorse Coalition’s Approach to Collaborative Planning

6th October, 2014:  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Coalition of Vancouver Neighbourhoods is proud to announce that the NPA, COPE, Vancouver Greens, OneCity, Cedar Party, and independent Bob Kasting, have now endorsed the Coalition’s proposal for improving the planning and development process in the City.

One of the major news stories in Vancouver last year was the unprecedented level of discontent with planning and development in neighbourhoods across our city. In response to these concerns 24 diverse communities from all across the city came together to form the Coalition, with a common goal to fix these divisive processes. All member neighbourhood associations gave input to establish principles for a collaborative planning process.

Following those discussions, in April this year the Coalition issued a document called “Principles & Goals” outlining a new and more respectful relationship between the City and our neighbourhoods. The “Principles” define a collaborative, accountable, and transparent partnership that views Vancouver as a community rather than a commodity, and which will produce a livable, inclusive, and sustainable city.

Last month, the Coalition announced a pre-election meeting to which all municipal parties have been invited.  The two-hour Town Hall will take place from 7:00pm on Wednesday, 15th October at St. James’ Hall, 3214 W. 10th Avenue.

Entitled “Planning, Development, and Community Engagement: Putting The Community Back Into Community Planning”, this town hall meeting will investigate how parties plan to bring peace to a divided city. Georgia Straight editor, Charlie Smith, will moderate the discussion with a focus on the Coalition’s “Principles and Goals”.

We call on all parties and candidates in Vancouver to endorse this new collaborative approach before the election in November, and we invite the public to attend and submit their written questions to candidates.

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Download this release: CVN Release Endorsement final.pdf