Learning Centre

• Slide presentation of Regional Growth Strategy as at February 2, 2011 (if slides change too fast, you can stop and advance by clicking buttons yourself):

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• Urban Development Institute (UDI) held a breakfast meeting on Feb. 1 about the RGS, attended by about 250 councillors, planners, and developers. It is our sense that the development industry has major concerns about the RGS and that it’s too early for municipalities to ratify in its present form. Read summary and download excellent PowerPoint presentation by Peter Kenward.
• Background reading on BC provincial legislation and regional growth strategies in general: http://www.cscd.gov.bc.ca/lgd/planning/growth_strategies.htm
• Official web page of Metro Vancouver on the Regional Growth Strategy. Download the RGS document and try to figure it out. Two tips: (1) Don’t be fooled by the nice pictures. This is a serious legal document with teeth — major binding powers and binding arbitration in Victoria in the event a municipality has a dispute with this Metro Van bureaucracy in which directors have no direct public accountability for their decisions and votes there. The pictures are irrelevant. (2) Take the statements with a grain of salt (e.g., claims about extensive “public consultation”).
• Learn procedures for dealing with Metro Vancouver. Here is the page of bylaws. Note especially the Procedure Bylaw with respect to delegations. Here is a page about delegations to speak to committees or the Board. Here is a page about the various committees and their members, including terms of reference for each committee.
• Here is a good legal summary of the RGS by Lexology, starting with the basics of what is Metro Vancouver and then going into detail on the RGS. It covers the following points: What is Metro Vancouver? What is the 2040 Regional Growth Strategy Bylaw? What is the proposed 2040 Regional Growth Strategy? What is its status? What are its stated goals? How does the bylaw fit in with the existing land use planning framework? How will the RGS impact developers and landowners?
• MetroVanWatch request: We see some laudable efforts to explain the RGS to the development industry, AFTER the bylaw was approved by the Metro Vancouver Board on January 14, 2011. But where do we see such an effort to explain the RGS to the public of the entire region, or in each municipality? If you are aware of any, even one such example, please notify us by e-mail to citizenYVR@gmail.com.

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