Tuesday at the UBCM and still technically a 'pre conference' day, but an important one.
The day kicked off with the Large Urban Communities Forum - a gathering of local government of cities with a population of > 25,000. (Might not seem large by lower mainland standards, but in BC as a whole, there are MANY MANY cities with less than 25000 population).
Opening the session was a presentation by former Milwaukee mayor, John Norquist. Mr. Norquist is decidedly American in his confidence and his presentation. Clearly a visionary and a man with an opinion ! His presentation concentrated on the failures of urban engineering design with respect to the automobile - how engineering for streets has led to the decay of community, created abandoned and derelict cities and precincts, and demonstrated many examples of the reclamation of urban highways back into community. Particularly, John showed vivid examples of the destruction of elevated/grade seperated highway/roadway systems and how traffic and roads were being integrated into the community instead of destroying it.
Its hard to know where or how these scenarios would play out in a small town environment, aka Port Moody, where there are only two streets which serve as a commuter corridor, as opposed to Mr. Norquist's comments about how traffic 'finds another way'.. sadly, we don't have another way in the local setting, although, there are of course options in the regional context !
Next up, Hon. Ben Stewart, Minister of Community and Rural Development. This is essentially the provincial government ministry that deals with municipal/provincial issues and relations. Mr. Stewart is relatively new to this portfolio and discussed his recent travels around the province and his meetings with representatives from various communities around BC.
The minister stated that affordable housing is a top priority of his government, citing a statistic that 64% of pre-tax income, on average in BC, is going to mortgage / housing costs. He discussed the added affordability of housing on transit corridors , alleviating the expense and need for a vehicle or second vehicle. He acknowledged a number of recent achievements by cities throughout BC - Prince George being a top ten community for investment, Prince Rupert container port 'resetting' the vision of the community, Penticton's success in agriculture tourism.
When questioned from the floor regarding infrastructure deficits, affordable housing funding and other finance related issues, Mr. Stewart emphasized that the province has seen significant drops in revenue since 2008, that there is only one taxpayer, and the provincial government doesnt have a bottomless pit of money to meet all of the requests throughout the province. I think everyone appreciates this, although at the muncipal level, we have the same pressures and fewer tools at our disposal.
Next up, an update on the liquor control and licensing act changes. There has been some rumours and speculation circulating regarding the changes / proposed changes to the act, and representatives were on hand to explain the legislative changes and their impact.
Most importantly, it was repeatedly emphasized that the changes regarding muncipal involvement in liquor licensing, are enabling legislation - meaning, it ALLOWS something to happen but doesnt require it. Several changes are made, in regards to public safety, streamlining and good governance. Being considered are different processes for different types of liquor establishments, with one specific example given being a golf course wanting to add golf cart service, having to go through the same process as a 500 seat night club. Several of the examples given made good sense to revisit. The branch will continue to meet with the UBCM working group.
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