Dear Editor:
Who are city planning staff accountable to for their actions? After the performance at Monday night's council meeting, it is clear they are not accountable to council. So to what authority must they submit?
It is well documented that the official community plan process (273/275 Sherbrooke St. for EFry) was fraught with misrepresentation and errors made by staff. But whenever it was brought up in council, exactly nothing happened. Council seldom asks questions, and planning staff seldom offer up explanations; and when they do, it is often still incorrect or incomplete or misleading - and nothing happens.
The same thing is starting all over with the rezoning application, and I just can't believe that our city hall is so dysfunctional that when errors and omissions are made, nothing is done to rectify the situation.
On Sept. 10, planning staff allowed Bylaw #7534 to amend the official community plan re: 273/275 Sherbrook St. to go forward for adoption without advising council that the project had been stripped of two of its so-called benefits.
Staff knew the daycare was being eliminated, as well as the jobs that went with it. They knew that these items had been presented to council and the community as reasons to proceed with the project and now they no longer existed. But they did not have the common decency to advise council of this before the bylaw was adopted. They also did not advise the public.
When this huge oversight was pointed out at Monday night's council meeting, exactly nothing happened. No discussion. No explanation. No accountability.
City staff are intent on ramming the proposed rezoning through at break-neck speed.
They created a five week time line (Sept. 17 to Oct. 22, 2012) that skips at least four important steps in the rezoning process as outlined in the city's own published Rezoning Applications Guide (Nov. 2011):
On page 2, the guide reads: "Information should be provided to the neighbours prior to submitting the application." It also says that "a letter stating that all owners/ occupants within 100 meters have been notified of the proposal must be included in the application."
When I suggested that nearby neighbours had not received any notification and that I suspected none had gone out, exactly nothing happened. No discussion. No explanation. No declaring me wrong and producing a copy of the notice that had gone out. No accountability.
The guide goes on to say "the feedback provided from the neighbours should be used to decide if you should make a formal application."
When I pointed out that this has been completely ignored as EFry, staff and council are well aware that the neighbours are against the re-zoning exactly nothing happened. No discussion. No explanation. No accountability.
The guide also says on page 3 "that all rezoning applicants are required to present their proposal to the advisory planning commission. Staff have by-passed the commission on the basis the commission received the offcial community plan application. When I pointed out that this is a different process with a completely different building and a different intended use it prompted the acting mayor (Coun. Betty McIntosh) to ask planning staff why it wasn't going before the advisory planning commission.
The development planner in a swift and practised turning of the tables, countered, "That was contained in the report to council, that was a council decision - based on our advice."
No further discussion. No one piping up that perhaps they should re-look at how due process is not being followed. Exactly nothing done to right the wrong.
If senior planning staff are not going to follow proper process, and city council is not going to direct them to make amends when errors and/or omissions have been made, they may as well not bother with process and rules and just do whatever they want.
Oh wait - they already do!
Catherine Cartwright, New Westminster
