Park Board transition to City Council is "relatively straightforward": city manager

Vancouver Park Board Transition Work Group press conference on January 25, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Nearly two months after Mayor Ken Sim first announced his proposal to abolish the elected body that governs the Vancouver Park Board, he provided a major update today on a key step towards meeting the process.

Five individuals have been named to the Park Board Transition Working Group, with each member connected to parks and recreation in some way.

This includes Catherine Evans, who was a former Park Board commissioner under the Vision Vancouver party from 2014 to 2018, as well as Shauna Wilton, who was the former deputy Park Board general manager and interim Park Board general manager, and currently the vice president of event operations for the PNE.

Other members include Jordan Nijjar (soccer coach and lead and South Asian community leader), Jennifer Wood (director of BC Driving), and Gregor Young (executive director of Vancouver United Football Club).

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This group, appointed by Vancouver City Council, is to include up to six members of the public, one Park Board commissioner, the mayor’s chief of staff, two city councillors, and the mayor.

According to the group’s terms of reference, they will provide recommendations and feedback to City Council on transitioning the governance of Vancouver’s parks and recreation system to the purview of the mayor and City Council. Their work over the next six months specifically entails continued First Nations consultation, gathering and reviewing stakeholder feedback, reviewing current Park Board governance and relations with the community, reviewing the parks and recreation governance model of other municipalities with community engagement, and developing a new parks and recreation public input process for the future governance system.

“This step is long overdue. The current system is broken, and no amount of tweaking will fix it. Bringing parks and recreation under the direct oversight of City Council aligns us with how it’s done in every other city in the country,” said Sim.

“The working group members announced today bring a wealth of experience and knowledge, ensuring a smooth transition. This change is about managing these spaces more effectively, not compromising them. It’s about prioritizing the needs of all Vancouverites and ensuring our parks and recreation facilities can serve our community to their fullest potential.”

A “relatively straightforward” transition process, says city manager

Sim first announced his big move on December 6, which sparked immense controversy. Soon afterwards, his ABC Vancouver party lost its majority in the Park Board, with dissenting commissioners Scott Jensen, Laura Christensen, and Brennan Bastyovanszky leaving the party in opposition to the approach.

Sim claims the abolition of the Park Board’s elected body and the transition of its authority to the mayor and City Council will lead to improved accountability, improved service and operational outcomes of the parks and recreation system, and lower costs.

On December 12, during the Park Board’s first meeting after Sim’s initial announcement, the new majority makeup of the Park Board, comprised of the three former ABC commissioners and the lone Green party commissioner, condemned the mayor’s proposal, and directed Park Board staff to not participate in any transition work as requested by the mayor.

Then, on December 13, ABC’s majority in City Council approved Sim’s member motion to formally ask the provincial government to change provincial legislation overseeing the Vancouver Charter to abolish the Park Board’s elected body and transition governance to City Council.

On December 14, BC Minister of Municipal Affairs Anne Kang issued a statement that the provincial government will respect City Council’s decision and work with the municipal government to change the legislation. This comes with conditions that must be met by the City, including consulting with the three First Nations and addressing parkland ownership and the future of existing Park Board workers.

During today’s press conference, City Manager Paul Mochrie said the municipal government is in contact with provincial officials on the process, and he believes that “the actual governance transition itself is relatively straightforward.” He says the Vancouver Charter could potentially be amended in the spring session of the legislature.

However, during a press conference this afternoon, Premier David Eby suggested the provincial government is in no rush with considering the City’s request to change the Vancouver Charter relating to the Park Board, but is working closely with the municipal government on the file.

“The Park Board is front of mind I know for a handful of people in Vancouver. This is not necessarily the number one priority of the provincial government of British Columbia,” said Eby.

“That said, we’re working closely with the City of Vancouver because we do understand that this is something that they want to bring forward. We’ve been clear with them about what needs to be in place for it to be on the legislative agenda. I understand they’re working hard to achieve those deliverables and I look forward to hearing from them when they’re ready to go.”

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Vancouver Park Board Transition Work Group press conference on January 25, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Mochrie says the requirement for First Nations consultation is already underway, with the Musqueam First Nation already indicating their formal support.

When it comes to the condition of addressing parkland ownership, Mochrie said all assets currently under the Park Board are actually legally under the City of Vancouver.

As for the future of existing Park Board employees, he said, “The Park Board does not actually employ their staff. All employees who deliver our parks and recreation services here in the City of Vancouver are actually employed by the City. They’re subject to collective agreements or employment contracts that are negotiated by the City.” Mochrie also emphasized the Park Board workforce currently has many vacancies.

Both the mayor and the city manager noted that they are in discussions with the unions representing Park Board workers, with Mochrie stating that “there’s a shared understanding that our existing collective agreements would not be impacted by a change of governance.”

Mochrie asserts there will be no significant disruptions for Park Board and City staff from the integration of both organizations, but there could be a delay in detailed operational planning as the new majority makeup of Park Board commissioners has directed Park Board staff to not be involved in the transition process.

Could parklands be sold off?

One of the key concerns amongst opponents of the mayor’s plan is that the parklands could more easily see non-parkland uses or be sold for development and that the existing governance system under the separately elected Park Board provides greater protections for the parks and recreation system.

But Mochrie asserts that the proposed parkland protections for the new governance system would be “more rigorous” than what currently exists today, with the new system requiring a unanimous vote of City Council and a public referendum rather than the current requirements of a two-thirds majority approval vote in the Park Board’s elected body and a two-thirds majority approval vote in City Council for a change in use.

“It is not accurate that the changes requested by Council would represent a weakening of those protections,” said Mochrie.

With the concerns that many public parks — including longstanding and prominent parks — are technically not “permanent” parks and actually carry a “temporary” designation, Mochrie says City staff have been directed by City Council’s recently approved motion to identify the “temporary” parks and accelerating the process of reclassifying these properties as “permanent” parks under the new governance.

Currently, “temporary” park designation can only change by a two-thirds majority vote in City Council, with the Park Board carrying no authority and jurisdiction. This is also the case for a number of properties that are used by the public as parks but carry no park designation, he says.

“The dissolution of the Park Board would not change the status quo [for temporary parks],” said Mochrie.

“The dissolution of the Park Board would have no impact on the conditions governing the use of properties are currently under the care custody and management of the Park Board.”

Following the press conference, Christensen said the new majority in the Park Board is looking to discuss with the provincial government to dissuade them from changing legislation, emphasized the importance of First Nations consultation, and suggested the possibility of a legal challenge against the mayor’s move.

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