VICTORIES FOR LOCAL DEMOCRACY SHOW PEOPLE POWER WORKS

VANCOUVER, JUNE 2 -- Two recent victories for local democracy prove that people power works, says TEAM for a Livable Vancouver.

In both cases – a controversial proposed housing facility near an elementary school, and plans to eliminate the elected Park Board – the City backed off after pushback from concerned residents.

“These are signs of hope,” says former TEAM City Councillor Colleen Hardwick. “If residents fight hard enough and smart enough, they have a chance of influencing what happens in their city.”

The City announced last week it had paused work on ABC Mayor Ken Sim’s plan to abolish the Park Board after the province did not proceed with the required amendments to the Vancouver Charter in the spring legislative session. TEAM has been one of the most vocal opponents of Sim’s plan, seeing it as a step toward turning the city’s many unofficial parks into development sites.

Last week also saw the City rescind rezoning of a controversial “low-barrier” housing site at 8th and Arbutus. This came after a hard-fought struggle by the Kitsilano Coalition citizens’ group, which said the project was a community safety concern because of its proximity to schools, daycares and a park. The coalition said the site would be better used for social housing for families, single parents and children at risk.

The City threw in the towel after the B.C. Appeal Court ruled that provincial legislation requested by the City favouring the project and bypassing the courts was unconstitutional. By then, even Mayor Sim admitted the plan was a mistake, saying the location “wasn’t the right fit for the scale and type of housing that was proposed.”

TEAM has strongly supported the Kitsilano Coalition throughout its fight, in line with the party’s policy that residents should have a say in what happens in their neighbourhoods.

“It’s time for top-down governments to start listening to the people they supposedly represent,” says Hardwick. “TEAM hopes the provincial government will back off its anti-democratic power grab with the recently passed Bill 15 and other attempts to remove land-use change powers from municipalities.”