Community Planning Team for Brookswood-Fernridge a major test for Langley Township
It is most fitting that Langley Township is putting its
public engagement strategy to its first test, with the establishment of a
community planning team (CPT) for Brookswood-Fernridge.
It was in Brookswood-Fernridge where the last Township
council ran up against the wishes of the community, when it dealt with the
deeply unpopular Griffith Neighbourhood Plan. Hearings on the plan were lengthy
and the level of interest was very high. While council eventually rejected the
plan by a 7-2 vote, its approach to public engagement was judged by many to be
severely challenged.
Three members of the last council were defeated in November,
2014 - the first councillors to lose their seats since 2002 – and this was at
least partially due to the pro-development impression they left with residents.
Only one of them, former councillor Grant Ward, had supported the plan at the
final vote.
The Brookswood-Fernridge debacle also gave rise to the very
successful Unelection campaign which played a significant role in the defeat of
the three. That campaign had recommended that five members of council,
including Mayor Jack Froese, be “unelected.”
Froese, to his credit, recognized that there was deep
dissatisfaction with the way many members of the public learned about the
development plans for their area. Shortly after the 2014 election, he appointed
a standing committee to come up with a better method of engaging and communicating
with residents. The committee recognized that traditional methods of communication
don’t always reach people. It also recognized that getting people involved
early in the process is ideal, but difficult.
This has led to the CPT. Langley Township sought 17
people to be on the team, and set specific criteria for representatives. Six must own
property and/or reside in the undeveloped area (generally known as Fernridge,
and mostly south of 36 Avenue). Two must own property and/or reside in the
developed area of Brookswood.
One must live in a manufactured home within the community
plan boundary, and two must own property and/or reside in the rural area just
outside the community plan boundary. Both of these additions are critical.
Manufactured homes are one of the very few affordable home ownership options
left for people with more modest incomes
these days, and there are several such parks in the Brookswood-Fernridge area.
The appointment of people from adjacent rural areas recognizes that development
in one area has significant effects on immediate neighbours.
The business and development community are not forgotten.
Two task force members must own businesses within the community plan area, or
be members of Brookswood Village merchants Association. One must represent
development trade organizations, such as Urban Development Institute or the
Greater Vancouver Home Builders Association.
In addition, the CPT is to include a representative of a
local environmental organization, one from the Brookswood Senior Citizens
Centre and one from a school parent advisory council.
Such a CPT will represent the broad spectrum of interests
that were all part of the last set of hearings into development plans for
Brookswood-Fernridge. Disparate issues like the effect of development on well
water and the aquifer; the number of significant trees in the area; density and
transportation options were all brought up during the hearings in 2014. It is important
that these and other issues be raised early at the CPT level, so they are
properly addressed in any community plan which eventually comes down the pike.
One of the challenges the Township heard about when looking
into improving public engagement is that many citizens do not become aware of
development plans until quite late in the process. At that time, much has
already been invested in such plans and it isn’t always easy to make major
changes.
Very rarely will a large number of citizens become involved
early in the process. They simply do not have the time or commitment to get
involved at that stage. That’s why it is so important that there be a broadly
representative committee, with as many interests as possible, which is active
right from the beginning.
The Township took applications from potential CPT members
up until May 1.
“We look
forward to working with this group, which will help ensure voices are heard and
considered from a broad variety of perspectives before council makes any
decisions,” Froese said.
It will
be an interesting process. If it works, it will set a high bar for any future
major development plans in Langley Township.
The old province wide processes governing public hearings were badly outdated. It is good to see the ToL leading the way by implementing a significantly better approach.
ReplyDeleteI applied to be on the team as a senior who lives in a manufactured home in Brookswood-Fernridge. I'm also a member of Langley Field Naturalists a non profit group. I think I'm qualified and I hope they select me as a team member.
ReplyDelete