Dear Editor
What can we learn from the Urban Academy process and decision to deny their expansion plans at the Robson Manor site in New Westminster?
There are a number of things:
Democracy is alive and well in New Westminster. Oh it’s not perfect. Churchill’s well known quote applies: “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.” But the fact remains: opinions can be voiced and be heard and acted upon without fear. We need to be very grateful for living in the democracy we do in New Westminster and Canada. In particular, while it’s fashionable to hate and despise politics and politicians, we should be very grateful to those who put themselves out there to do the work of politics.
There’s something wrong in the development process in New Westminster. As part of a concerned group of residents who opposed the expansion plans you’d expect me to be basking in a well-fought and decisive victory: a unanimous vote against from the advisory planning commission; a 6-1 vote against by New Westminster city council on May 4, 2015.
Yes. And no no no. Something about the decision left me with an unsettled feeling about the process. So much capital was spent: thousands of hours of volunteer and professional time; many dollars – millions in the case of Urban Academy who purchased the adjacent apartment building; the intangible goodwill amongst neighbours and the community; the disruption and loss of ‘home’ for the eight apartment unit occupants during this drawn out process, etc. Just think about this: if early in the process, the applicant was made aware of the likelihood of an unsuccessful bid and instead was helped to find a site so they could build the right building in the right place? Maybe that happened. Maybe the applicant plowed ahead regardless, with a certain naiveté and hubris that they could beat the odds. Who knows?
One thing I do know: We would be so much further ahead as a community if all that capital had been invested in the right building on the right-sized site in the right place. I trust that as the city debriefs this result they will get insight that will avoid most of this collateral fallout in the future.
Urban Academy has much to teach us: about choice in education; about learning styles; about 21st-century educational facilities; the future of urban density. It would be a shame for that to be learned elsewhere. Maybe our city can credit them with some ‘development credits’? Maybe the city can proactively work with them to find a site where they can realize their vision? I certainly hope so.
In the end this decision was not about the kind of education offered. It was not about private vs. public education. It was not even about the architecture. It was about land use. “It’s not personal. It’s land use” to adapt that Godfather line.
As we know from our personal lives: we often learn the most from things that are not easy. So too here. I trust our community can learn from this process and bring good out of a difficult and hard time for us all.
Mark Fox, New Westminster
