The Coalition of Vancouver Neighbourhoods is proud to announce an All-Party Meeting in advance of the Vancouver Municipal Election.  The meeting will take place at:

 St. James’ Hall, 3214 W. 10^th Avenue
 7:00pm to 9:00pm Wednesday 15^th October 2014

The theme of the meeting will be:

Planning, Development and Community Engagement: 

Putting the Community back into Community Planning

Each party has been asked to send two candidates standing for either the mayoralty or City Council.  We have already received confirmation of acceptance from five parties.

The final format is still being negotiated, but we will ask each party to respond in opening remarks to the Coalition’s Principles & Goals document that seeks to significantly improve planning, development, and rezoning processes in the city.  Much of the balance of the evening will be given over to an open-mic opportunity for residents to question the candidates about their planning, development, and zoning policies.

June 12, 2014: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Angered for years by Vancouver’s divisive community engagement practices, communities from across the city have united as the Coalition of Vancouver Neighbourhoods to demand more from elected officials. The Coalition today published its Principles and Goals for Collaborative Neighbourhood-Based Planning in the City of Vancouver. 

The Coalition will be calling on all candidates in the city’s upcoming November election to declare publicly their support of these shared principles. The Coalition, which maintains no party affiliation, will then actively publicize which candidates and parties support the Principles and Goals and which candidates and parties reject a collaborative relationship with neighbourhoods.

The Principles and Goals document calls for re-establishing a partnership between the City and its neighbourhoods, and recognizing neighbourhoods as the fundamental building block for future land use and development. The document asks elected officials to:

• work collaboratively with residents, neighbourhood associations and community organizations throughout development planning processes;

• consider the interests of communities and residents above developer profits;

• work with local residents and local businesses to determine how best to meet city-wide and regional goals within their individual communities.

The Coalition now represents a majority of Vancouver neighbourhoods, and continues to attract and welcome new member associations. It has grown to include 24 diverse community associations from all across the city, from the West End, Downtown East Side and Point Grey, to Mount Pleasant, Strathcona and Shaughnessy Heights, all in strong support of a collaborative relationship with their civic government.

“The Coalition has clearly articulated what we expect of our government,” says Grandview-Woodland resident, Jak King, one of the founders of the Coalition. We’re seeking a Collaborative Partnership that is transparent and accountable; Development that builds community, not just bricks and mortar; and a Livable sustainable city that acknowledges neighbourhoods as the fundamental building block for future development.”

In supporting the work of the Coalition, Dunbar Residents Association representative Jonathan Weisman said: “We’ve demonstrated that a collaborative neighbourhood-centred planning process can be very successful. In Dunbar, our community vision continues to enjoy broad and strong support, and contributes to the neighbourhood’s sense of pride and engagement.”

“The absence of neighbourhood-based planning only leads to conflict and opposition to development,” said Fern Jeffries, co-chair of the False Creek Residents Association and a founding leader of the Coalition. “Our statement of Principles and Goals is timely as our neighbourhood continues fighting for a park that has been a legal commitment since 1990. Current plans involved absolutely no meaningful consultation with the neighbourhood, and that has to change.”

The full document detailing Principles and Goals and a complete listing of participating organizations can be found at our web site: coalitionvan.org. Also available is a one-page summary of the document.

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Download this release (232kb PDF)
https://coalitionvan.org/files/CVN-Release-June12_2014.pdf

April 2, 2014: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Electoral Reform, Or Cementing The Status Quo?

The Coalition of Vancouver Neighbourhoods urges all members of the Provincial Legislature to reject Bills 20 and 21 and implement meaningful reforms in advance of the November 2014 municipal elections. “Although the Provincial Government says these bills will reform municipal elections, in fact they will just cement the status quo in which Big Business, Big Labour and Major Land Developers control what happens in our cities.” says Jak King, Chair of the Coalition.

Bill 20 will increase municipal terms of offices from three years to four years. “We need more accountability not less” maintains Mr. King. “The Coalition believes that having politicians accountable to the citizens they serve every four years instead of every three years means that elected officials will have a longer time without public scrutiny, able to make decisions that please their Party funders rather than the electorate.”

Current campaign finance rules allow parties to spend unlimited sums — far in excess of what we see in other provinces. Vancouver municipal politicians can accept money from foreign sources. This is very significant for Vancouver’s neighbourhoods as so much of the new housing stock is built for foreign investors rather than for local residents. We urge the legislature to make important amendments. for example, capping donations at an amount consistent with other jurisdictions, and ensuring that only individuals, not corporations can make donations.

The Coalition wants to see real reform, similar to what we have at the Federal level where there are requirements for full disclosure and for limits to individual contributions, where the non-elector influences are severely limited and it is the citizens who have the real influence over party platform and policy direction. One of the most egregious gaps in what is proposed is that Big Business and Big Labour can still make significant contributions in non-election years with no transparency or public scrutiny. Page 2 of 2

The Coalition believes that significant electoral reform is critical to improving the relationship between Vancouver’s municipal government and our communities. Last year was named “The Year of Dissent” by the media. “We saw unprecedented numbers of community rise up in protest against forced redevelopment, demolition of affordable housing, extinction of view corridors, and this Council’s ongoing dancing to the tune of major developers and party funders.” maintains Fern Jeffries, Co-Chair of the False Creek Residents Association and the Coalition, “We need the Provincial Government to stand up for accountability and good government”.

The Coalition is committed to developing a better relationship between the City of Vancouver and the city’s neighbourhoods. Meaningful community engagement and local resident influence over land use and development is critical. Bills 20 and 21 undermine this, making it easier for elected officials to avoid public accountability and continue to respond to the influences of major corporations.

We want real reform, reform that will redress the undue influence and power of money in our local political system.

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Download this release (232kb PDF)
https://coalitionvan.org/files/CVN-Release-Electoral_Reform_or_Cementing_Status_Quo-Apr2_2014.pdf

January 23, 2014  – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

West End Zoning Amendments – Public Hearing January 23, 2014 

The Coalition of Vancouver Neighbourhoods today wrote to the Mayor and City Council stating that the Coalition “is opposed to the zoning amendments for the West End as currently proposed. We have major concerns that the zoning amendments have been brought forward for approval without acceptable community input based on the West End Community Plan which has been flawed in the same ways that City Council has recognized in three other current planning processes.”

West End Neighbours, one of our member residents associations, has provided many examples of problems with the current zoning amendments, including the following:

• The West End Community Plan was not the product of a meaningful public engagement exercise.
• Residents have not had a fair chance to digest the many and complex proposals – and the City has not done an adequate job of educating residents, or even of answering questions following the release of the Plan.
• Insufficient rationale was provided for the West End needing to absorb 10,000 more residents.
• The City failed to adequately explore or evaluate with our community the variety of options for housing these theoretical future residents.
• The Plan is imposing what the vast majority of residents did NOT want. Most residents surveyed by the City indicated they did not want new buildings exceeding 11 storeys in height. But the Plan, and the proposed zoning changes, propose that almost all new dwelling units be provided in buildings exceeding 11 storeys.

The objective of the Coalition of Vancouver Communities is to create a new development and planning paradigm that will stress community involvement and local influence in land-use and zoning decisions. We have major concerns about the current planning processes and is observing with interest how the City addresses the concerns of the West End.

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Download this release (123kb PDF)
https://coalitionvan.org/files/CVN-Release-5-Jan23_2014.pdf

January 20th 2014 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Pearson Dogwood Lands Report Rushed To Judgment 

Vancouver, B.C. – The Coalition of Vancouver Neighbourhoods expresses its serious concern that once again the City of Vancouver is short-changing the public by publishing a detailed 118-page policy document a mere six days before an important Council decision.

The future of the 25-acre Pearson Dogwood Lands, bounded by Cambie, 57th, Heather and 59th, will be debated by City Council on Wednesday January 22nd. This is a major development, with plans calling for more than three million square feet of gross floor space, including towers ranging in height up to 28-storeys (265 ft/ 81m). The cost of the development is likely to exceed $450 million.

An important development, yes; but the public have been given just six days to study the report by Assistant Planning Director Matt Shillito called the “Pearson Dogwood Policy Statement” which will “guide the future rezoning and development.”

The release of this report with so little time for the public to study it and its implications is in line with a series of such delayed publications. A few examples of many:

• the zoning changes to the West End Community Plan have been issued just ten days before the relevant hearing;
• the Mount Pleasant Community Plan Implementation Report was published with just 6 days notice;
• the public was given only a week to study the Jackson Report on four Community Plans last September;
• the massive Transportation 2040 policy was approved just three working days after being published.

In none of these cases was timing of such importance that the hearings could not have waited until after a reasonable period of study was allowed. The short notice given to the public to respond to such important reports makes a mockery of genuine consultation and citizen engagement.

The Coalition of Vancouver Neighbourhoods proposes to work with the City to co-create a framework for a meaningful consultation process, including minimum publication times, engagement, and reasonable discussion of options as part of a new approach to planning.

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Download this release (123kb PDF)
https://coalitionvan.org/files/CVN-Release-4-Jan20_2014.pdf

November 4, 2013 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

What’s The Rush? Vancouver Communities Question Rapid Rate of Development

Vancouver, B.C. – The City of Vancouver is accepting proposals and approving residential construction five times faster than their own projections demand.

According to the Regional Context Statement approved by Vancouver City Council in June this year, the planners anticipate that Vancouver will see an increase of 153,800 people in the thirty-five years from 2006 to 2041 – a rate of an additional 4,350 people per year.

It is this expected increase of 153,800 people that the City says demands the densification plans they have been pushing.

However, since 2011, the city has already proposed or approved sufficient new housing to accommodate 43,000 people. In just two years, this planned housing satisfies 28% of the growth the city projects being required over the next 35 years.

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