by Carol Volkart
That's what Vancouver city council's ABC majority was obviously counting on this month when it overturned decades of carefully protecting the views of those of us who can't afford multimillion-dollar penthouses with unobstructed panoramic views.
Councillors — with a few ineffective squeaks from the Greens and ABC'S Rebecca Bligh — approved the view-gutting plan, ignoring passionate pleas from critics who argued that changes this big shouldn't be made on the basis of a week-old report, at the height of summer, without proper public consultation.
It's all part of a frightening pattern — perfected under former mayor Kennedy Stewart — of quietly ramming through major controversial changes when public attention is elsewhere.
Under Stewart's city council, the Broadway Plan “entowering” 500 blocks of the Broadway area was approved in June 2022, and the even more sweeping Vancouver Plan in July 2022.
The ABC council followed suit in mid-September 2023 by ramming through the controversial multiplex policy at the height of back-to-school-and-work season.
At the July 10 meeting that slashed view cones, the ABC council moved ahead with the elimination of public hearings for most rezonings.
A month earlier, it gave the go-ahead for the creation of an official development plan, which will govern the city's future development, without fresh public engagement.
Both moves were forced by draconian provincial legislation, it's true, but in both cases, council embraced the NDP'S requirements, ignoring pleas to slow down and engage the public in serious consultation first.
The lesson is obvious: The summer is a great time to slip nasty things past those of us trying to enjoy the season.
In a contest between boring old view cones and ice cream cones, the ice cream kind wins every time.