Presumed NPA mayoralty candidate Kirk LaPointe apparently vetting NPA team members

Word out of the Non-Partisan Association camp (not official, of course) suggests that Vancouver’s natural governing party finds itself still two to three weeks away from announcing their slate of conscientious candidates who will seek elected office in the upcoming November 15th Vancouver civic election, on Vancouver City Council, Park Board and the Board of Education.
Although the selected few who will receive the endorsement of the party is still hush-hush, VanRamblings has learned the names of seven of the eight purple revolution members of the probable New Progressive Association slate: incumbents Elizabeth Ball and George Affleck; former Park Board chair Ian Robertson; current Park Board Commissioners Melissa DeGenova and John Coupar; longtime NPA Board member Rob McDowell (one of our town’s good guys); entrepreneur Greg Baker (founder of PC Galore, and son of former City Councillor / municipal affairs lawyer, Jonathan); as well as a yet unrevealed high profile member of Vancouver’s Chinese community.
The hold up in the Non-Partisan Association candidate reveal?
Apparently, following a thorough and exhaustive vetting process by the NPA’s Board of Directors (which did not include party President, Peter Armstrong) — the vetting process also engaging a handful of longtime party stalwarts — putative New Progressive Association mayoralty candidate Kirk LaPointe informed the party that he wished to be given the opportunity (since granted) to vet the members of the NPA candidate team he’ll be running with this fall, in order to gain an assurance that all members of the NPA slate will be rowing together in the same direction towards (a much-needed, for beleaguered Vancouver voters) victory this autumn.

Jamie Lee Hamilton Withdraws From COPE Park Board Race
Respected community activist, and longtime Park Board watchdog, Jamie Lee Hamilton has withdrawn her name for consideration as a potential COPE Park Board candidate, in the upcoming 2014 Vancouver civic election — allowing her, as an independent candidate, to speak freely on the myriad parks and recreation issues she has valiantly championed over the years.
In 2014, the principled Ms. Hamilton will run under the IDEA banner, as she did in the 2011 Vancouver civic election, when she held Vision Vancouver, NPA and COPE candidates feet to the fire on parks and recreation issues, garnering a substantial 19,496 votes — the top independent candidate vote getter, in 2011, seeking a seat at the Vancouver Park Board table.
Since making her announcement of her intention to run as an independent candidate for Park Board this autumn, Ms. Hamilton has spoken out on two issues of concern to her …

I’m very unhappy to learn that Vision Vancouver placed a bike lane right through the children’s playground at Ceperly Park in Stanley Park.

The children play there on the fire truck and their playground is across from the fire truck. Cyclists are at high speed coming down the hill to access the bike underpass. Very tragic today (June 22) that three little children were knocked to the ground by the cyclists.

What the hell is Park Board thinking? Three Park Commissioners have small children and they should be speaking out!

Just as VanRamblings predicted last week, the New Voices, One Vision slate trounced those candidates running to secure a spot on the Vision Vancouver Park Board slate — who had not been identified by the party as supplicants to party interests, over the interests of Vancouver citizens who actually give a damn about parks and recreation in our city — to be certain, that would be most of us, although Vision surely doesn’t give a damn.

Vision Vancouver Park Board winners Naveen Girn, Coree Tull, Trish Kelly, Sammie Jo Rumbaua

Trish Kelly was the big winner, securing the most votes at 1,162. Naveen Girn won 1,125, followed by Sammie Jo Rumbaua at 1,029 and Coree Tull at 894. The New Voices, One Vision slate doubled and tripled their closest competitors in the race to secure a nomination for Park Board this autumn.
On Monday, VanRamblings will provide analysis of the Vision Vancouver machine — as we’ve written previously, this nasty crew of backroom fixers and Hollyhock cult followers makes Stephen Harper’s Tories look like Sunday school teachers — and the pre-determining factors that secured a victory, and a hardly fair fight win, for a Vision Park Board candidacy.

“In my five years (working for the city, as the City of Vancouver’s senior administrator) this would certainly be unprecedented to have this volume [of lawsuits] in this short period of time.”
Vancouver City Manager, Dr. Penny Ballem

As CityHallWatch observers have written, the Heather Place rezoning …

… calls for three times the height and density, halves the parking requirements, and reduces the number of affordable housing units from the present 86 units to 52 units. The new Heather Place project would provide 178 units at full market rental rate; the rezoning would also waive approximately $2.5 million in Development Cost Levy fees.

Only Green Party of Vancouver Councillor Adriane Carr voted against the rezoning, noting the loss of affordability (only 22% of units will be subsidized, as opposed to the current 30%), and the much higher market rents that will be charged (e.g. a projected $1968 for a 2-bedroom vs $900 currently being charged for the same Heather Place unit, more than double the current rental rate, tantamount to constructive eviction for tenants).
In addition, Ms. Carr took issue with the proposed 94-foot (28.7meter) height of the building on the northern lot, noting that it fails to conform to the adjacent neighbourhood; questions she asked on the impacts on existing services (given the greater number of residents to be housed in the massive 278-unit rezoned complex) were not answered by city officials — neither were questions pertaining to the costs of the chosen construction form (which is to say, concrete vs. the current wood frame).
Meanwhile, there are 11 other community-based legal actions and injunctions launched against the City of Vancouver and Vision Vancouver members of City Council that have either been resolved, or await adjudication in the Supreme Court of British Columbia.

1. On May 21, 2014, the False Creek Resident’s Association filed for judicial review by the Supreme Court of the city’s decisions to grant back-to-back temporary development permits to Concord Pacific for the operation of their sales centre on land zoned for park and recreation. The court petition challenges the city’s ability to allow a property designated for parks to be used for commercial purposes.

2. The Community Association of New Yaletown filed a legal petition at BC Supreme Court to prevent the development, on the downtown city block containing Emery Barnes Park, at Davie and Seymour, of what could become the densest residential building in Vancouver.

3. The Casa Mia rezoning court action. As the Southlands Community website states, “The Casa Mia Heritage Estate, located at 1920 SW Marine Drive, is threatened with precedent-setting rezoning.”

The Southlands community is not opposed to the use of the Casa Mia heritage site for the purposes of a small scale care facility for seniors. Rather the concern arises respecting the proposed large-scale, multi-level development that would encompass a hospital-like, 62 bed seniors care facility that residents believe would detrimentally impact, and significantly change the character of, the surrounding neighbourhood. Residents believe, as well, that the net effect of the proposed construction would serve to “warehouse” seniors, an approach to seniors care that is not only inhumane, but in direct contravention to the policy adopted by Vancouver City Hall’s very own Seniors Advisory Committee. More information may be found here.

4. Manipulation of protected view cones. A notice of civil claim was filed by the Residents Association Mount Pleasant in B.C. Supreme Court on March 4 alleging that the city — without Council debate, public notice, or motion of Council to amend the applicable zoning and development bylaw — significantly narrowed “view cones” that are legally protected. Details may be found in this Straight story.

5. An alleged conflict of interest in the building lease to social media company HootSuite, this suit launched against the City of Vancouver, including Mayor Gregor Robertson. Background to the suit may be found in this Valentine’s Day Vancouver Courier Bob Mackin story.

6. Short Term Incentives for Rental (STIR) and Rental 100, a petition filed by West End Neighbours, that has now been resolved (not in favour of the plaintiff). The legal action sought to quash bylaws that override existing zoning guidelines, violate the Vancouver Charter, and which it was alleged provided excessive incentives to developers.

7. The Hadden Park, 12-foot wide asphalt bike path, since resolved in favour of the plaintiff — there will be no bike path constructed through Hadden Park, nor through the adjacent Kitsilano Beach park. Extensive VanRamblings coverage of the issue may be found here.

8. Community Centre Associations suit against the Park Board and the City of Vancouver, some insight into which may be found here. In the coming days, VanRamblings will provide more extensive coverage of this issue, and an update as to where the parties are, at present, in the long-running, and not soon to be resolved, dispute.

9. Vancouver Not Vegas court challenge to PavCo and Paragon BC Place Casino Plan. Just click on the link above for details.

10. Alleged violation of Canadian Charter of Rights. City worker Milan Kljajic has taken the City of Vancouver to the Human Rights Tribunal, alleging that City of Vancouver managers violated the Charter of Rights by using the city’s code of conduct to muzzle a worker who stepped into a fight for control of the city’s community centres. Mr. Kljajic’s action hopes to reveal that some provisions of the City’s Code of Conduct are unconstitutional. More details on this legal action may be found in the September 29, 2013 Province newspaper story.

11. Alleged conflict of interest pertaining to the Oakridge Centre development. Cedar Party founder Glen Chernen, and nine others, filed a March 7th petition in B.C. Supreme Court asking that a judge disqualify Mayor Gregor Robertson, and his caucus, for failing to disclose a direct or indirect pecuniary conflict of interest. Details of the suit may be found in this Bob Mackin Vancouver Courier story.

As this editorial in The Province states, “Hey, Vision, city hall lawsuit
s are not a sign of happy citizens.” And so it has been written, and recorded.