Judge just raised the bar for B.C. municipalities

Chances are pretty good that local city councillors and city staff are taking a close look at a B.C. Supreme Court decision handed down this week.

Justice Mark McEwan overturned the rezoning bylaw and development permits for a land swap and 36-storey tower in Vancouver after a group of Yaletown residents took the city to court.

The citizens had argued that Vancouver city hall had not justified the deal or properly dealt with residents' concerns. The development, according to critics, was "railroaded" through city hall.

Justice McEwan wrote, "A public hearing is not just an occasion for the public to blow off steam. The procedure the city adopted was unfairly restrictive, in presenting the public with a package of technical material that was opaque ... in limiting comment on the integrated nature of the project, and in failing to provide an intelligible financial justification for it."

Residents have taken cities to court before, and almost always the courts favour local governments - providing public hearings are held and discussion is not limited.

But this judgment appears to go a  huge step beyond those requirements, saying that there is a responsibility on the city's part to make the process not just open, but also to ensure that the information provided is understandable and clear. It's not enough to provide reams of studies or technical information, cities must help residents understand the proposal and what it entails.

Cities are under a lot of pressure to gain amenities from developers nowadays. Whether it's green space or affordable housing, the bargaining for extras in exchange for approvals and design changes has become just part of doing business in cities. Trying to balance that with residents' concerns is often tricky.

It just got a lot more tricky with this judge's ruling.