 B.C. government takes a risk interceding in local issues | | |  | | | It’s not often the provincial government introduces legislation that impacts a single piece of land.
But such was the case this week, courtesy of the Municipalities Enabling and Validating Amendment Act, which effectively nullified legal action a group of Vancouver residents were taking to try and stop a supportive housing tower, that had been approved by city council, from being built.
Kitsilano Coalition, the group taking the action, raised the spectre of the province overriding cities in the future. “This is very vital to all communities we're seeing across B.C.,” said Cheryl Grant, a spokesperson, arguing that people in Kitsilano were concerned about the crime that could come with the tower without adequate support services.
“People are creating rallies saying ‘enough is enough,' and this was the decision of the B.C. government ... I think that speaks volumes.”
The truth is, this probably won’t cause an outcry across Vancouver — while there are people in Kitsilano opposed to the tower, the move was endorsed by all three political parties on city council.
The B.C. government has been threatening to take action to fast-track housing for literally years. If they weren’t going to do it for a property next to an incoming SkyTrain station, in a city where they had local political support, one wonders whether they would ever pull the trigger.
Still, expect the question of local desires vs. provincial decisions to become a growing issue.
In Surrey, the province will be making a decision on the future of its police force next week, and may well override city council’s preference (albeit with a 5-4 vote) to keep the RCMP instead of the nascent Surrey Police Force.
In Kamloops, there’s a burgeoning controversy between a city council that wants to enact a bylaw restricting drug use in parks, and Interior Health calling for a three-month delay.
In Nanaimo last week, an event by the government went sideways due to members of the public shouting at ministers, as frustration over crime and safety issues in the community continue to be the dominant point of discussion.
And the province seems more open than in the past about wading into local questions, with Kahlon saying “we’ll have to see in the future” when asked if they would take similar housing action in other communities.
When it comes to the court of law in such disputes, the winner 98 per cent of the time (give or take) is the provincial government, whether mayors or councils like it or not.
But when it comes to the court of public opinion?
It seems the NDP are willing to let that play out. | | |  | | | 1. Surrey | | | One way or the other, a decision will be made by the province next week on who will police B.C.’s second-largest city going forward. We had one final controversy leading up to it, with Mayor Brenda Locke misleading (deliberately or not) the level of regional support she has for her push to keep the RCMP, and an opposition councillor from Doug McCallum’s party calling for her resignation … not that McCallum has done anything that could be construed as misleading, mind you. One imagines that after nearly five years, some Surrey residents will just be happy for a conclusion, one way or the other.
Read more | | |  | | | 2. Parking metres | When it comes to effective city building, is providing cheaper parking good or bad policy? Obviously the context matters, but Vancouver and Victoria are providing two different answers this week, with Victoria council voting to extend the times people need to pay for at metres, while Vancouver is set to vote next week at reducing Chinatown parking to $2 per hour.
Read more in Vancouver is Awesome | | | |  | | | 3. Bowen Island | Will the $40-million campground on Bowen Island go ahead? Metro Vancouver and Bowen were in the midst of what amounts to a game of chicken, with Metro wanting assurances that Bowen will approve necessary rezonings and Bowen wanting assurances that traffic issues will be dealt with. But following a closed Metro Vancouver meeting, Bowen Island indicated late Friday afternoon that some sort of agreement had been reached. Read more in Richmond News | | | | | |  | | | 4. Small town homelessness | These days it seems no B.C. community is too small for a debate around a tent encampment, as Williams Lake (population 11,000) staff removed one on Monday, and Smithers (population 5,000) council couldn’t come up with an agreement around overnight sheltering. Meanwhile the mayor of Princeton (population 3,000) said the province needs to put a greater focus on providing supports — including towards the homeless count itself, in rural areas.
Read more in Castanet | | | |  | | | 5. Colwood | Last year, council voted to give themselves a fairly big raise, putting them more in line with other politicians in communities of their size. But the backlash was big enough that it partly caused the election of a new mayor and council, which scrapped the raise in favour of a new review … which recommended a very similar-sized raise, which they then approved. If only they had a guide to every local salary in the province that could have avoided all these studies. Read more in the Times Colonist | | | | | | Share this newsletter | | or subscribe if this was
forwarded to you. | | | | That's it for this this week! In the meantime, 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. | | | |
