Citizen group claims public consultation skewed towards developer
Cheryl Rossi
Van. Courier
Georgina Spilos, chair of the Arbutus Ridge Concerned Citizens Association, says developers may have tainted a public consultation involving Arbutus Centre. Photograph by : Photo-Dan Toulgoet
An Arbutus Ridge group of citizens is so upset by the consultations about their local mall, it filed a complaint with the provincial ombudsman.
Georgina Spilos, chair of the Arbutus Ridge Concerned Citizens Association, says the group learned July 15 that its complaint against the city had been accepted, a file opened and an investigator assigned.
City council unanimously approved Tuesday a policy that will guide rezoning and redevelopment of Arbutus Centre, on Arbutus near King Edward. COPE Coun. David Cadman was absent for the vote.
Against the wishes of some community members, the policy suggests up to 650 condo units could be added to the seven-acre site, and the tallest buildings could be up to eight storeys in height, with most varying from three to six storeys. A new entrance is proposed at Nanton and Yew.
Spilos and the association worries the public consultation was biased in favour of landowner Larco Investments Ltd., which paid the city the $397,000 cost of policy planning. “We want them to look at the impact of this cost-recovery process on the entire planning program. If the developer pays the bill, does it affect the final results?” Spilos said.
“We went down [to city hall] last Thursday and they made all these seniors wait for four hours and then at the very end of the day, they decide they’re going to rush some people through,” she added. “While we were waiting, they’re in a boardroom, all the Larco developer team with all the city planners. And of course, all the people there are going, ‘Well it’s obvious they’re not working on our side.'”
Dwayne Drobot, a city planner with the major projects group, said the practice of developers paying for a policy plan for its site has been standard since the early 1990s. That way developers, not taxpayers, fund the work, he said.
Spilos said the 240 area residents who’ve joined the citizens’ group don’t feel they were listened to. “They already had what they were going to do and what they were trying to do is sell it to us,” she said. “The whole thing was a staged sales presentation.”
But Drobot noted changes to the proposed concept were made as a result of public consultation, including reduced building heights and increased setbacks. The city held open houses in June last year and January and May this year. He hasn’t received any information from the ombudsman’s office.
Spilos said the association sent so much evidence to the ombudsman’s office that it has asked them to identify the two or three most pressing issues.
The association’s steering committee meets Aug. 5 to identify key concerns. “We want to focus on the ones that will help the most people, rather than our particular gripe with a particular person,” Spilos said.
Karen Sawatzky, outreach, information and education officer for the office of the B.C. Ombudsman, couldn’t confirm whether a complaint is being investigated because the office, which is independent of government, keeps investigations confidential.
Investigations can last a few days to a few months, she said, and the office’s decisions are not legally binding. But when recommendations are produced, they’re typically followed, she said.
We are impartial and thorough, so usually we come up with pretty good recommendations,” Sawatzky said.
She added many cases brought to the ombudsman’s office are resolved before the recommendation stage because the complaints are often the result of miscommunication or a lack of information.
The policy approval paves the way for rezoning. Before Larco can bring an application to the city, it needs to complete an array of studies, including work on traffic.
© Vancouver Courier 2008