 | Friday, June 11, 2021
Reading this online? Sign up to get this delivered to your inbox every Friday. | | Whether you technically live in a city, town or village in B.C. doesn’t change municipal powers | | |  | | | Last week in this newsletter we looked at the question “when is a tree not a tree?” and today, we explore another paradox: when is a city not a city?
On Monday, the community of Mission, just off the edge of Metro Vancouver, voted to move ahead with calling itself a city. The provincial government gave it the go-ahead earlier this spring, two years after the municipality began the process of changing from a district to a city. Mission has more than 38,000 residents, but technically it could have become a city decades ago: when a new population centre in B.C. becomes a municipality, it is classified based on population.
If you start out with less than 2,500, you’re a village (there are 42 of them in this province). A town is between 2,500 and 5,000 (there are 14), while a city is a municipality with more than 5,000, and a district municipality is larger than 800 hectares but with less than five people per hectare.
But if you grow past your classification, or B.C.’s requirements for what defines a village/town/city change, nothing happens. And if you change your name, your municipal powers don’t change. It’s why Greenwood can be a city despite having 665 people (it was one before the province made the current rules), and Saanich can be a district municipality despite having more than 110,000 people.
Ultimately, most municipalities opt against applying to become a city — there were just three last decade that did: Delta, Maple Ridge and West Kelowna. When these conversations happen, they typically centre on whether a community wants to keep a “small town” feel or try to recruit the type of businesses that might subliminally write off a community without a “city” label.
It’s symbolism about what a place represents and what it wants to be, like many municipal debates.
So what happens now in Mission?
Pretty much nothing, actually. Council voted to begin a rebranding process, which will mean new visuals across the city, likely including a different logo, flag and municipal pin.
These changes will excite some communications professionals (and the odd municipal affairs reporter), but it’s unlikely to resonate deeply for people who mostly think of Mission as the community north of Abbotsford at the end of the West Coast Express.
But now, we can conclusively state that Mission is B.C.’s 52nd city. For as much, or as little, as that’s worth. | | |  | | | 1. Vancouver | Our digression into municipal branding isn’t just because most councils in Metro Vancouver had the week off. Suffice to say, it was a slightly slower week. But Vancouver did meet, eventually agreeing to reduce regulations around the removal of trees on private property, in the name of reducing permit wait-times — but deciding to keep in place zero emission requirements for new homes that go into effect next year.
Read more in Business in Vancouver | | | | |  | | | 2. Reconciliation | After Kennedy Stewart announced he wanted to change the name of a street honouring a lieutenant governor whose policies towards Indigenous people are now widely condemned, the mayors of Victoria and Richmond announced they would follow suit. Later in the week, Victoria also voted to cancel its Canada Day celebrations.
Read more in the Times Colonist | | | | | |  | | | 4. Election 2022 | Like it or not, mayoral speculation is sloooowly growing across the province: in Kamloops, the local newspaper looked at the people considering a run next year. While in Langford, Stew Young — who has been mayor for 28 of the 29 years the municipality has existed — says he’s not sure whether he will go for a 10th term.
Read more in Saanich News | | | |  | | | 5. Doggos | If one municipality does something it’s a curiosity, but if two are doing it at the same time, it’s a trend. At least, that’s what we’re telling ourselves, as the City of North Vancouver and Saanich are moving forward on a local dog strategy — both looking at better ways four-legged friends can be integrated into future planning processes.
Read more in Vancouver is Awesome | | | | | | Share this newsletter | | or subscribe if this was
forwarded to you. | | | | Check out the latest headlines at cbc.ca/bc and follow our municipal affairs reporter Justin McElroy on Twitter. And if you have any questions, you might want answered in a future mailbag, drop Justin a line at metromatters@cbc.ca. | | | |
