Democracy has many faces. Some of them are careful, respectful, inclusive, responsible, etc.
Then there’s the new District of North Vancouver council, which so far, is a blunt instrument.
Faced with two development proposals, one at the site of the old Delbrook Community Centre and the other in Edgemont Village, both of which had been through numerous preliminary votes and public input sessions, new council flexed its fresh mandate and just said NO.
In the case of the Boffo development in Edgemont Village, “no” took six minutes, eradicating a careful, respectful, inclusive, responsible, etc. process that took at least two years.
For Adrian Chaster, the village resident who chaired the working group that produced the village community plan — the process began even earlier with the drafting of a new District of North Vancouver official community plan back in 2011, then the subsidiary village plan in 2014 — “no” was a slap in the face of a careful community process.
“I wonder,” he said when we talked the other day, “if any of them (the new “no” councillors) even read the village plan, or if they even know about it?” When they get around to it, they will learn, Chaster says, that the Boffo proposal complies with both the OCP and the village plan, which together emphasize increased density.
To be fair, most of the district councillors elected on Oct. 20 ran on a slow-down development platform. So even though Delbrook and Boffo were close to the finish line, they’re dead in the water, to mangle a couple of metaphors.
The other problem, Chaster acknowledges, is that whatever the plan, the formerly bucolic Edgemont has been swamped by the construction of current projects underway, and many will be relieved that the whole process will come to a full stop.
Take a deep breath, silence the jackhammers and figure out what’s next.
But still: all that careful planning and consulting gone in six minutes. And the two leaders on council, new Mayor Mike Little and veteran Coun. Lisa Muri, remained mute on their reasons for saying no. So if you’re Boffo, for example, you’re left scratching your head, wondering if any development proposal will get past this bunch, even if you follow all the rules.
Chaster, a thoughtful guy who has dedicated himself to the community consultation process on the North Shore, and Edgemont Village in particular, is left to wonder about the value of that process. And of his work.
He acknowledges that allowing two major developments at once on Edgemont Boulevard may have been a mistake, even if they both comply with community goals. “The operation was a success, but the patient died,” he said ruefully. He points out that the proposed Boffo development had been delayed until April 30, 2019, after the current construction dust settles, but that was not enough to dispel the forces of no.
So instead of 25 new townhouses on Ridgewood, the zoning remains in place for four extravagant, environmentally unsustainable monster homes, which nobody wants. Right?
Certainly Chaster doesn’t. He already lives in a community where his children are shut out by the high cost and low availability of appropriate housing, and the construction of a few single-family dwellings for the wealthy won’t solve that.
Of course, the proposed townhouses aren’t cheap. The Boffo-developed units currently diverting motorists start at $1.5 million and go up from there, which is something new Coun. Betty Forbes observed as she voted “no” against the next phase. Well, at least she said something during those fateful six minutes.
But as Chaster points out, without increased density, there will be no affordable housing.
Density allows the concentration of services such as transit. And affordable housing doesn’t happen without transit. Which is one reason why the OCP and the village plan called for increased density clustered in town centres and villages. That’s the OCP currently being ignored by the “no” DNV council.
Chaster must wonder if he’s becoming a ghost in the machine. He has just participated in a year-long review of the OCP. What’s the next declared task of the DNV council? To review the OCP!
Maybe it comes down to how you prefer your democracy. Punchy or patient? Blunt or benign? Rip-roaring or respectful?
Whatever. But there’s no doubt there’s a radical change underway at the district, which is interesting, as the governments on either side were more gently refreshed in the last election. It remains to be seen how the three peas will get along in the pod known as the North Shore.
Four more years!
Journalist and communications consultant Paul Sullivan has been a North Van resident since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the rise of Madonna. [email protected]
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