3 Poli

In Creating Our Future 1993, adopted on 26 February 1993, the Board approved the
following:

PRINCIPLE: THE GVRD WILL STRENGTHEN ITS INTERMUNICIPAL FEDERATION.
PRINCIPLE: THE GVRD WILL PURSUE CLEAR, EFFECTIVE AND FAIR WORKING
RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

PRINCIPLE: THE GVRD WILL PURSUE MANDATE CHANGES TO MEET ESTABLISHED
REGIONAL GOALS.

PRINCIPLE: REGIONAL LAND USE AND TRANSPORTATION PLANNING MANDATES
SHOULD NOT IMPINGE UPON MUNICIPAL PLANNING AND ZONING AUTHORITY.

Operational Policy 33. Complete, in consultation with municipalities and the provincial
government, a review of the need for renewed GVRD regional land use, transportation and social
development mandates.

Operational Policy 34. Maintain and strengthen cooperative regional strategic planning and

decision-making processes, invoiving all levels of government, to pursue Creating Our Future
objecuves.

4, Discussion

During the evolution of the proposal, two things have become evident. First, any new
arrangements proposed by the Board should be focused on the particular needs of Greater
Vancouver. The Minister of Municipal Affairs, Recreation and Housing has initiated a process
which will address the more general issues of regional planning and government on a province-
wide basis. Second, the nature of the regional strategic planning mandate enhancement being
proposed by the Task Force and continued in the Revised Proposal is such that it can be put in

place through means other than a legislative amendment, most logically through an Extended

Service Establishment Bylaw which would have to be endorsed by resolutions of all participating
municipalities and approved by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

It is important tu recognize that the regional strategic planning mandate is being propos an
adjunct to the general mandate for regional district development services which all regional! is
have under the Municipal Act. Endorsement need only be sought only for the addition. Tt
needed to adopt and implement a regional strategic plan, not for the GVRD's strategic p... ag
program as a whole.

A review of the Council of Councils minutes reveals general acceptance of the need for
municipalities to work together to respond to the growth management challenge. The main
concems appear to arise from the lack of universal agreement that the proposed regional strategic
planning mandate is not an incursion on municipal autonomy. This in tum produces a concern
‘with issues such as the voting majority required for the passage of a regional strategic plan and the
effect such a plan would have on municipal official community plans currently in place. Such
issues would not be critical if the consensus/parmership nature of the proposed mandate is fully
accepted.

It would appear, therefore, that communication of the exact nature of the proposal continues to be a
major challenge. After two attempts to describe the proposal in general terms in writing and two
Council of Councils meetings with this iten: on the agenda, the most useful next step may be to
provide a specific description as it would appear in the proposed implementing instrument. This
‘would take the form of an Extended Service Establishment Bylaw for initial comment by
municipalities prior to proceeding to formal consideranon by the Board. Attached as Appendix A

is a draft Bylaw. It may also be helpful to circulate a sampie of the type of parmership agreement
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