Published monthly by the University Neighbourhoods Association
Volume 1, Issue 5
SEPTEMBER 28, 2010
PHOTO: LAURA TENNANT
UNA Field Hockey Trio Takes off for Delhi
Krissy Wishart (left), Antoni Kindler and Stephanie Nesbitt will represent Canada in men’s and women’s field hockey at the Commonwealth Games scheduled to start in New Delhi, India in the first week of October. Krissy and Stephanie work for the UNA. Antoni lives there. Turn to page 2 for feature story on Stephanie.
UNA Election Ends with Victory for Mah/Laquian
PHOTO: KATHERINE XU
Mankee Mah is first-time board member of UNA; Prod Laquian is back for two more years.
Mankee Mah and Prod Laquian after announcements of election results
UNA Office is Moving New Location #202 - 5923 Berton Avenue (Wesbrook Place) The UNA Office has outgrown its location at the Old Barn Community Centre and the UNA staff will move to their new location on October 1st, 2010. The office at the Old Barn Community Centre will be closed from Thursday September 30th until October 5th to facilitate the move. The new UNA Office at Wesbrook Place
will open on October 5th.Telephone numbers and email addresses will remain the same. The office at the Old Barn Community Centre will be staffed by The Old Barn programming staff who will assist you with issues relating to the community centre.
The September 22nd election of two resident-directors of the University Neighbourhoods Association ended in victory for Mankee Mah, a new member of the board, and Prod Laquian, who has sat on the board for the last two years. Linda Moore and Fred Pritchard failed in their bids for board seats. A ten-year resident of the UBC campus living with her family in the Hawthorn Place neighbourhood, Ms. Mah describes herself as an “avid community volunteer”. She has featured prominently as chair of the University Hill Kinderclub Board, co-chair of the University Hill Elementary parent advisory council (PAC), parent representative to the Vancouver School Board education facilities review, and coordinator of the University Town bus program. Leading up to the election, Ms. Mah called the UNA a novel and unique governance model not without its challenges. “However, I strongly believe that what we have is well worth investing in.” Ms. Mah, who gained the second-highest number of votes in the election (204), said that through the work of members of the campus community, she has seen daycare facilities expanded, new schools brought underway, community access to UBC facilities formalized, public spaces made greener, and neighbourhood bylaws emerge. ELECTIONS cont’d page 9
Big Brawl Breaks out near Campus Neighbourhoods A large and violent disturbance took place on a Saturday night in September close to where residents live at the University of British Columbia. University RCMP officers were called to the disturbance, which took place around 11:30 PM at Fraternity Village on Wesbrook Mall—midway between the Hampton Place neighbourhood in the South and East Campus neighbourhood in the north. According to the RCMP, there were about 15 males brawling and approximately 500 revelers in the fraternity courtyard, with a significant amount of alcohol present. Two RCMP police officers were swarmed, resulting in minor injuries to the officers. Because of the size and nature of this incident, University RCMP requested backup from Vancouver Police, the RCMP Lower Mainland District Emergency Response Team and Police Dog Service. The disturbance was quickly controlled. In addition, according to an RCMP media release, during the disturbance the RCMP were approached by a male and informed someone with a gun was present. Police searched the area but no gun was located. The investigation is ongoing. University RCMP arrested two people under the Liquor Control Act. Both have since been released. There were no arrests made relating to the assaults on two police officers. Police are asking residents, students and visitors to the University to celebrate and drink responsibly during back-to-school events, and to immediately contact police at the first sign of violence. Spectators and innocent bystanders can easily be injured in these types of volatile situations. Fraternity Village is home to seven fraternities and the Panhellenic House for Sororities. According to the Ubyssey student newspaper, the disturbance arose at a back-toschool party. An RCMP spokesman said this was the third violent incident in a week in which the RCMP got involved in the Fraternity Village. Brian Sullivan, UBC Vice-President, students, issued a statement following the disturbance lambasting the fraternities for what had occurred. “The numbers were far beyond what could be managed,” Mr. Sullivan said. “The fraternities must take responsibility for all individuals they host at their parties and in their houses. Many clearly failed in this duty.” Mr. Sullivan said UBC will work with the RCMP, student and alumni fraternity leadership, international fraternity headquarters and all those involved “to address the illegal behaviour displayed and ensure it is not repeated.”
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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT SEPTEMBER 28, 2010
Canadian Field Hockey Star Works for UNA at Old Barn Community Centre Stephanie Nesbitt—community centre manager at the Old Barn Community Centre and a captain of the Canadian Women’s Field Hockey Team—is off to the Commonwealth Games in India to play what may be the last of her 100-plus games for Canada.
chancentre.com
Award as the most outstanding graduating UBC female athlete. While playing in her fifth year on the varsity team at UBC, she also stepped up to the Canadian team. “My parents say I majored in hockey and minored in biology,” she says with a laugh. Her father Gavin is a Queen’s Council lawyer in Vancouver while mother Janet is a retired financial planner. The vigorous sport of field hockey has taken Stephanie Nesbitt around the world, starting in Manchester where she competed in her first Commonwealth Games in 2002. She recalls marching into the main stadium in Manchester during the opening ceremonies as one of the most exciting events in her sporting career. “Waving my Canadian flag and with 80,000 people cheering, it would have been hard not to get excited,” she says. Stephanie, 30, also recalls Manchester for a painful experience. An errant hockey stick slashed the ligaments in a knee during the first half of a game, and she had to be carted off the field. Jack Taunton, the team doctor well-known and respected at UBC, patched her up and urged her back on field after half-time. “I felt like I was at war,” she says. After Manchester, came a long list of
international matches both at home and away: the Pan Am Cup in Bridgetown, Barbados in 2004; a South African tour in 2005; the 18th Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in 2006; the Pan-American games in Brazil in 2007; and a tour to Russia in 2009 to mention a few. Perhaps the proudest moment of her field hockey career came during the game against Chile in August this year at UBC. It was her 100th game for Canada. As community centre manager at the UNA Old Barn Community Centre, Stephanie recently welcomed community members to the new fall program of events at the community centre. “We are excited to be starting another fall session with a selection of new and returning programs ranging from morning fitness programs, to afternoon conversation clubs to weekend family movies,” she says. Readers will notice a new look to the 2010 Fall Programming Guide for the Old Barn which Stephanie hopes will “make it easier for you to find the classes you are interested in.” Visit www.oldbarn.ca and click on ‘2010 fall programming’ icon, make your choice and register for the program. In the meantime, cheer for Stephanie, Krissy and Antoni as these accomplished
young Canadian athletes from our community compete on the world stage! We stand proud of them.
PHOTO: DAMIAN NESBITT
Stephanie Nesbitt will take October off work as community centre manager for the University Neighbourhoods Association to represent Canada on the women’s field hockey team at the 19th Commonwealth Games in India. After flying to India via Brussels, Stephanie will descend on the Athlete’s Village in New Delhi along with 225 other members of the Canadian team, including two others with UNA connections (Krissy Wishart, who works at the front desk and who will play on the same women’s hockey team as Stephanie, and Antoni Kindler who lives in athe UNA neighbourhood of Hawthorn Place and who will play on the men’s field hockey team). Stephanie has already represented Canada on a hundred occasions, but this long and illustrious career as a Canadian athlete can’t go on forever and Stephanie has considered retiring after these games. Born in North Vancouver, Stephanie attended Collingwood High School in West Vancouver where she was introduced to the sport at age nine when a friend on her soccer team invited her to join the field hockey team. After ten years of playing in school, Stephanie played for five more years while obtaining her degree in general biology at UBC, where she was awarded the 2001-2002 Marilyn Pomfret
Stephanie Nesbitt at UBC Wright Field
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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT SEPTEMBER 28, 2010
Published monthly by the University Neighbourhoods Association
Published by:
University Neighbourhoods Association 6308 Thunderbird Blvd, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4 604.827.5158
Editor & Business John Tompkins Manager jtompkins@myuna.ca
Only One Option Offers Solution The University of British Columbia has a transportation problem that arose when TransLink, the regional transportation agency, begged off a commitment to co-finance the development of an underground bus terminal—roughly under where the old UBC Bus Loop lies at University Boulevard and East Mall. Beset by financial woes, TransLink could not afford its share of the $35 million development. When the idea of an underground depot first surfaced in 2003, plans called for both electric trolley buses and diesels running underground. When engineers pointed to the potential hazard of electrical wiring and diesel fumes co-mingling underground, the joint partners UBCTransLink revised the proposal to have trolleys on the surface and only diesels going underground. Finally, TransLink backed out of the proposed project altogether. For the past seven years then, commuters to campus—and there are a lot of them (on the order of 60,000 a day)—have used temporary arrival and departure bus facilities. These facilities consist of: •a diesel bus loop on land proposed for future housing just east of the Student Union Building (SUB) and •a trolley bus pull-in behind the War Memorial Gym just off University Boulevard. These temporary facilities do not live up to the status of UBC as the second busiest transportation hub in the Lower Mainland, however. Only downtown Vancouver exceeds it in number of buses and riders going in and out of the area. A big university like UBC needs better than temporary transit facilities. Looking for ways to straighten out this situation, UBC began consulting with all its constituents in March of this year— students (who make up the bulk of the riders every day); faculty; staff; residents and visitors. UBC Campus and Community Planning held an Ideas Fair, a ridership survey and an online consultation forum. As the ideas came in, staff created ‘options’ for the development of future facilities. Joe Stott, Director of Planning, said, “We tried to create as many options as possible out of the Ideas Fair in March.” In fact, Mr. Stott and fellow planners came up with 27 options, which they whittled down to the three most feasible
options. Until October 8, Campus and Community Planning are consulting with UBC stakeholders on these three options. In brief, Option 1 calls mainly for the status quo in which an (above ground) diesel bus depot north of War Memorial Gym is coupled with a nearby trolley bus facility on redeveloped University Boulevard between Wesbrook Mall and East Mall. Option 2 calls for a new diesel bus depot located at an equally new ‘student housing hub’ at University Boulevard and West Mall. The trolley bus part of this option is roughly the same as Option 1. Option 3 calls for a sort of ‘street depot’ for diesel buses in which these buses come in and go out on the west side of Wesbrook Mall between University Boulevard and UBC Hospital. The trolley bus part of this option is again roughly the same as Option 1. UBC has to consider more than the location of facilities in these transportation options, however; they have to also consider the routes which buses take to get to these locations, and this is where the issue become sensitive because people live along the bus routes under consideration. For example, Options 2 and 3 call for buses—41 bus and 49 bus in particular— to run up and down West Mall, including that part of it where campus residents live in a neighbourhood called Hawthorn Place. As you may imagine, Hawthorn Place residents for the most part have expressed disappointment (even alarm) that traffic calming devices would be removed and that—as it was five years ago before the arrival of shuttle buses on campus—diesel buses would run from 6 AM to midnight—within feet of their homes. Options 2 and 3 also call for buses to run through the Chancellor Place neighbourhood where no bus routes run now. Option 3 also has repercussions—or potential repercussions—for the East Campus and Hampton Place neighbourhoods because buses would line up on the west side of Wesbrook Mall between Thunderbird Boulevard and 16th Avenue when not in service (i.e when drivers are resting or eating meals). From the residential perspective, only one option meets the joint criteria of serving UBC needs and not disrupting the UNA neighbourhoods, and by that, we mean Option 1.
Proposed Bus Options Letters to the Editor As a resident living in Hampton Place, my concerns and that of a number of my neighbours are the following: We do not want an increase of diesel buses on Wesbrook Mall. In the peak periods it is already a bottle neck and at times it is almost impossible to turn left onto Wesbrook Mall from Hampton Place. If anything we would like to see a decrease. The UBC comments about a drop off / loading bays along Wesbrook Mall between Thunderbird Blvd. and 16th. Ave. are unacceptable. Where are they going to put them! On the playing fields that UBC has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on them just to turn them into bus parking lots? Tony Wild, President, Thames Court Strata Council We at West Hampstead in Hampton Place would obviously prefer Option 2. However, we could go along with Option 1 provided there was no increase in diesel busses for Hampton Place. Charles Heinrich, President West Hampstead Some of the bus options have major impacts for Hawthorn Place residents. John Dickinson, Hawthorn Place I live in Chancellor Place and walk to most of the campus when I need to. All I need is fast, efficient bus service for the few times when I go off-campus without a car, or downtown. The present minimal bus service suits me just fine. However, the bus loops for both trolley and diesel are not quite central for all who live on campus and in the endowment lands, especially for some of the existing dorms and those proposed. Is there some reason the newly widened University Boulevard between the Administration building and, say, the Main Mall, cannot be one big surface bus loop, something like what was intended to be underground? With lots of lighting, and with a new SUB right there, it would be safe if well-lit, dry with cover, near to help if needed, and central on the map. Having invested in my home on the UBC campus, attractive for a number of
reasons and not least for its rural atmosphere, I would be very upset to find a noisy bus line, especially a diesel line, going by my front door. The campus has been designated a pedestrian campus, meaning that people are encouraged to walk as much as they can, and many roads have been blocked off to cars. But big city-type buses are worse than cars! The smaller campus link buses are not offensive and there may be some point in making sure that the four corners of the campus are linked by some means of transportation. However, I would urge the authorities to refrain from introducing larger buses to sensitive, residential neighbourhoods. Walking and cycling should be encouraged for those who are able, and smaller link buses can carry those who are not. Joan Hebb, Stirling House Regarding the proposed changes to the bus routes at UBC, we at Legacy are in favor of Option 1 and completely reject Option 2. Possibly Option 3 would be a reasonable compromise but we feel that it too is vastly inferior to Option 1. The major reason for this opinion is that Option 2 in particular, and even Option 3 to some extent, would unfavorably affect the livability of the South Campus, and indeed both residences and university buildings on West Mall, and offer only minimal improvement to the transportation options. The current bus loops are only a 5-10 minute walk from most campus areas for commuting students, and the existing small shuttle buses adequately provide for other service. It is quite possible that adopting Option 2 would unfavorably affect the value of all or most of the housing in Hawthorn Place, currently one of the most desirable places to live on campus. Moreover, walking is healthy and we should be promoting healthy and environmentally-friendly options, not options that drop commuters at the very doors of their destinations. Thus, we wholeheartedly support Option 1, a modification of the current situation, rather than the drastic changes offered by Option 2 or even the less drastic ones of Option 3. Brigitte Ward, Vice President, Legacy strata council (Hawthorn Place)
Proposed Bus Route Options Comments of Past Chair Mike Feeley, immediate past-chair of the University Neighbourhoods Association, has expressed bitter disappointment with two of the three options UBC has proposed as to where to locate permanent transit facilities on campus given the proposed underground bus depot is no longer feasible. “I am very disappointed in two of these options—Option 2 and Option 3,” Mr. Feeley said at a meeting of the UNA
board in September. “They will have an adverse affect on residents living in the UNA part of campus.” Both Option 2 and Option 3 call for the return of diesel bus routes running up and down West Mall on the west side of campus. “There is a history of problems with #41 buses running up and down West Mall,” Mr. Feeley said. “These options are bad for UBC and they are bad for the UNA.”
Have a say in the future of our UNA Parks. Come and view design concepts for Hawthorn Park and express your preferences for park options and landscaping practices intended to improve social, environmental and economic sustainability in our parks and public areas. The design concepts result from earlier consultation with landscaping professionals and community members and have been developed in partnership with the UBC School of Landscape Architecture.
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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT SEPTEMBER 28, 2010
Stadium Sports Both New Heritage Room, And All-Weather Field Turf field, one of the largest in world, was completed over summer;Heritage Room was completed in September
Demand for Student Housing Continues To Grow – UBC Taking Action By Andrew Parr, Managing Director, UBC Student Housing and Hospitality Service
Andrew Parr
UBC Thunderbird football fans check out features of renovated Heritage Room at Thunderbird Stadium
and UBC community when compared to a traditional grass field. The ‘Polytan’ surface was installed by Centaur Products, a Burnaby based Canadian sport contracting company, over the summer and was first used by the Thunderbirds for their football training camp in late August. The field is also approved to host both international soccer and rugby events. The increased sustainability of the field due to the vast reduction in use of water and fertilizer is a noted benefit as its ability to host four to six recreational fields when setup in an east-to-west configuration.
PHOTO UBC Athletics
Following installation of an all-weather turf field over the summer, the overhaul of Thunderbird Stadium at the University of British Columbia culminated in September with the refurbishing of its football Heritage Room. This is the first renovation of the Heritage Room since the stadium opened in 1967. Recent upgrades speak to the rich history and success of the UBC football program, celebrating championships, individual accomplishments and the characters that have shaped the almost 90 years of football on the Point Grey campus.” The heritage project celebrates sportsmanship, camaraderie and excellence in the pursuit of both academic and athletic achievement and will serve as a great reminder for current Thunderbirds of those who paved the way. The $50,000 renovation of the Heritage Room, including recognition pieces, upgraded audio-visual and new floor were made possible through the generosity of David Sidoo, a former Thunderbird who in addition to being an All-Canadian also helped lead the team to its first Vanier Cup in 1982. “One of the things we are trying to do here is build a program, not just a good football team,” said Shawn Olson, coach of the UBC Thunderbird football team. “A big part of this is reengaging our alumni base which we’ve had a lot of success with since January. The new Heritage Room is great as it exposes our current players and potential recruits to the amazing history of UBC football.” In addition to the renovated Heritage Room, Thunderbird Stadium now sports one of the largest turf fields in the world. The 120,000 square foot surface was the major anchor of the facility’s $1.8 million dollar refurbishment. Suitable in all weather conditions, this field projects to offer an additional 62 hours of use per week to the UBC football team
UBC Thunderbirds football team jubilates after winning Vanier Cup in 1985.
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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT SEPTEMBER 28, 2010
The results of a comprehensive Student Housing Demand Study, concluded last fall, coupled with a 2,500-student-long waitlist for student housing at UBC Vancouver campus has provided ample motivation for UBC to continue to invest in student housing developments. Student Housing and Hospitality Services (SHHS) was created in summer 2009 with the merger of UBC Housing and Conferences and UBC Food Services. This ancillary entity now has operational responsibility for Student Housing, Food Services, Conference and Accommodation and Child Care. As a business entity of UBC, its mandate is to provide quality services that support the vision and values of UBC in a fiscally sustainable manner. It is fully self supporting and manages its operational and capital development costs from one source – revenues from users. In the case of Student Housing, this is simply revenues generated from students living in residence. Over the past seven years the housing stock at UBC’s Point Grey Campus has grown by over 2,000 beds with two in-fill buildings at Place Vanier Residence and the creation of Marine Drive Residence, both located on Lower Mall. Despite this ample growth and investment, there are many more students who recognize the academic and social benefits of living on campus and, hence, would live on campus if the supply existed. Further exacerbating this supply vs. demand gap is the ever increasing rental cost and decreasing number of units on the west side of Vancouver rental market. The Student Housing Demand Study results indicated that many students commute over one hour each way to and from UBC while paying rents in excess of the cost of housing offered at UBC. For this reason UBC, via SHHS, has created a plan to construct 2,500 new bed spaces within the next six years. Phase 1 of this plan is under construction now at Totem Residence. Many University Town residents will have seen the construction site at the northwest corner of Thunderbird Blvd and West Mall. This is the beginning of two new student residence buildings that will bring 566 more students into this
community, starting next September. These residences are defined as modified traditional units where each student has a private bedroom and living area and shares a bathroom with one other student. No cooking facilities will be present as students will be on a meal plan, communally dining with peers at Totem Dining Room, located in the adjacent Commons Block. Phase 2 is at the planning stages now and will introduce the recently approved UBC Campus Plan housing hub concept. These hub concepts contemplate the creation of multi-use facilities at 5 unique locations within the academic core of UBC. These locations are: 1. Ponderosa Hub at University Blvd and West Mall 2. Brock Hub on East Mall, between Brock Hall and the new Law Bldg. 3. Armoury Hub at the north end of West Mall 4. Old Orchard Hub at West Mall and Agronomy Road 5. Health Sciences Hub at Wesbrook Mall and Agronomy Road Programming and planning is underway on the Ponderosa Hub which is planned to incorporate 1,000 upperyear / graduate student bed spaces along with public amenities such as a café, fitness facility, child care centre, commuter student collegium, informal learning spaces, academic offices and classrooms. This will likely occur in two phases, with approximately 450 bed spaces coming in Phase 1 and another 550 in Phase 2. Two 15 story towers and three or four low-rise buildings will create the built form. The desired completion date and occupancy of Ponderosa Hub Phase 1 is planned for August 2013. Prior to commencing work on Phase 2 at the Ponderosa Hub, work will be done on Phase 1 of the Brock Hub. The Brock Hub contemplates a similar range of public amenities along with up to 650 additional bed spaces and will also likely occur in two phases. It is anticipated that the full build out of both Brock and Ponderosa hubs will be complete and occupied by August 2016. An interesting and strategic objective of these hub developments is the integration of living and academic environments. Academic units and operations will work together on the creation of theme housing or living / learning environments, further enhancing the experiential learning opportunities for students at UBC. Total new student residence spaces, upon completion of these projects, will be just over 2,200, bringing the inventory to 35% of the full time student population. The investment required to accomplish this - approximately $200 million. To reach the 2,500 new student bed space objective, near term transitioning
Rendering of what addition to Totem student residences will look like
of SHHS operated faculty and staff rental housing to student family housing will provide the additional 300 spaces. UBC Properties Trust is creating new faculty / staff rental units to ensure that UBC’s capacity to house faculty and staff on campus in rental units does not decline. The UBC Campus Plan provides a student housing capacity at the Point Grey campus of up to 50% of the full time student population. This capacity, if required, will be provided by various means, including SHHS, the Fraternities, the Theological Neighbourhood and secondary suites in family housing neighbourhoods. In terms of SHHS development, as demand requires and financial resources permit, the other three hub developments will occur over the next seven to 20 years to support this capacity target. In addition to these projects, SHHS is working closely with Campus and Community Planning on the land use density transfer from the UBC Farm lands to Acadia Park. Early discussions are un-
derway to rebuild parts of Acadia Park’s student family housing, creating a higher density living community for student families and other residents. This development, taking place over the next 20 years, will not only increase the inventory of student family housing units but will also create a new and vibrant living environment in this area of campus. Needless to say, much focus is being put on rapid growth of UBC’s Point Grey campus student housing stock. Open and transparent consultation and communication with University Town residents and the University Neighbourhoods Association Board is crucial to the success of these projects. Many campus stakeholders are working closely to ensure this occurs and to ensure sustainable, effective, vibrant, safe and livable communities are created at UBC. For more information on the UBC Campus Plan please visit www.planning.ubc.ca and on the services provided by Student Housing and Hospitality Services visit www.housing.ubc.ca.
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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT SEPTEMBER 28, 2010
Updates to Land Use Plan to Create Sustainable, Livable, Vibrant UBC Community More shops and amenities possible through Plan amendments
Updates to UBC’s Land Use Plan will help the university shed its “commuter campus” label and become a complete live, work, learn community, planners say. UBC recently launched its second phase of public consultation around proposed amendments to its Land Use Plan. The amendments would update the Plan to guide more sustainable community de-
velopment and better meet the needs of UBC’s current residents. “We have a campus community that was planned many years ago with very low density,” says UBC’s Campus and Community Planning Associate Vice President, Nancy Knight. “Our goal is to create a model university community that is vibrant, livable and sustainable, but that
floor space limits also prevent a better range of shops and services. In order to come in line with current best practices around community development, UBC’s proposed Land Use Plan amendments include: Changing the permitted residen1. tial floor space ratio across residential lands from 1.2 to 2.5 FSR. This will create neighbourhoods with moderate density, similar to Arbutus Walk. 2. Change the four-storey, or less
vision is challenged by a number of the Land Use Plan’s current parameters.” UBC’s Land Use Plan (formerly known as the Official Community Plan or OCP), is the “bylaw” establishing general land uses and policies for the entire 1,000-acre campus, with a special focus on non-institutional development. The Land Use Plan, which was created in 1997 with a
UBC plans on increasing services, amenities and shops, including childcare, community centres, and open park spaces.
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25-year planning horizon, also sets housing and transportation targets for the UBC campus. Each year, the university assesses its progress against these targets and has since met or exceeded them. The Land Use Plan’s first public consultation events were held on July 15 had 165 people in attendance. An online consultation ran from July 19 to 30 and received 110 unique visits. The events and web content provided an overview of the Land Use Plan, why amendments are necessary and the public consultation process under way. Overall, participants showed support for housing density transfers and community sustainability measures. Participants also expressed a need for more clarity for the “green academic” land use category that was being proposed for the UBC Farm. UBC has since met with the UNA board to provide a briefing on the amendments process and the long-standing issues identified by the community that prompt the need for changes. The UNA board generally expressed support for proposed amendments, but also asked UBC to ensure there were proper amenities to serve the community and that changes in density not compromise the livability of the UTown@UBC neighbourhoods. UBC has addressed these issues along with those raised in the first phase of consultation in the technical work leading to Phase 2. Smart Growth Community “UBC has been at the cutting edge with its UTown@UBC community, but today’s municipal planning trends see sustainable, or Smart Growth, communities that are more densely populated, but which don’t necessarily require building tall
Map of current and proposed amenities.Note that this is schematic and would be confirmed in Neighbourhood plans. towers,” explains Knight. “We’re looking at examples like the Capers Block development on 4th and Vine, or the Arbutus Walk, both in Vancouver, where the buildings are low- to mid-rise and there’s mixed use commercial and residential spaces.” UBC follows Smart Growth community development principles. A Smart Growth community contains a mix of businesses, residences, and services, where people can live, work, shop, play and learn all in one place. Parks and green spaces are also preserved and well integrated into the public landscape of Smart Growth communities. The current Land Use Plan presents barriers to achieving the housing form, choice, and range of shops and services needed for a Smart Growth community. Current Plan policies result in unit sizes that are too large, building forms that are too small, year-round populations that are too low to support shops, services and transit. New units will be smaller to help address the housing needs of the 60% of faculty and staff living in one- or twoperson households. Current commercial
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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT SEPTEMBER 28, 2010
height, emphasis to six-storey woodframe construction, and allow for some taller buildings. Building heights would be determined in neighbourhood plans. 3. Eliminate the cap on the number of units, thereby allowing UBC to generate more, smaller, and thus more affordable, housing units targeted to faculty and staff. Change the permitted commer4. cial floor space in neighbourhoods to allow for more shops and services. This would create an amount of commercial space similar to what is allowed in Dunbar. Locations will be determined in the neighbourhood plans. UBC Farm and Density Transfer In November 2008, the University’s Board of Governors committed that no family housing would be built on the UBC Farm, provided the allotted residential density could be transferred elsewhere. The Board also required that an academic plan be prepared for the UBC Farm that was rigorous and globally significant.
Cultivating Place: An Academic Plan for Applied Sustainability on South Campus and Beyond, prepared by a committee of UBC faculty, staff and students in consultation with the UBC community, envisions the Farm area as a centre for sustainability research and innovation. “As a sustainability leader, UBC has everything already in place – the intellectual capacity, the experience, and most importantly, this amazing microcosm to do [integrated sustainability] work,” says Dr. Andrew Riseman, associate professor, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, and academic lead for the UBC Centre for Sustainable Food Systems – UBC Farm.
“We’re very excited about the possibility of bringing a robust, integrated system of childcare facilities, schools, open spaces, community centres, and parks to UBC residents,” says Knight. “This vibrant community and these types of amenities are only possible by bringing more people onto campus to live year-round.” Mike Feeley, outgoing Chair of the UNA Board agrees, “It’s important to ensure there are proper amenities and that the density is livable; overall we support the proposed changes.” As part of the Land Use Plan Amendments, UBC proposed regularizing academic land use designations to better align with UBC’s academic mission and
vision. This approach will allow UBC to be more consistent with evolving academic practice, enshrined in the Vancouver Campus Plan, which has a vision of a more academically integrated, sustainable, mixed-use, livable campus; one that encourages cross pollination of academic disciplines, and physical integration of collaborative teaching, learning, and living laboratory opportunities. “We invite all member of the campus community to tell us what they think during the public consultation from September 27 to October 15,” says Knight. Visit planning.ubc.ca for up-to-date information about the Land use Plan amendments consultation process.
In the proposed Land Use Plan amendments, the “Future Housing Reserve” designation will be removed from this area and three other areas on campus and the housing density transferred. UBC Farm will be redesignated as “Green Academic”. This designation will retain the UBC Farm for the innovative sustainability uses described in Cultivating Place. The changing needs of the campus have meant that the Farm, along with three other areas originally designated for future housing in the Land Use Plan are now required for academic purposes. As recommended during the Vancouver Campus Plan Review process, UBC is proposing to reallocate the Arbutus Walk demonstrates the type of sustainable housing density planned for UBC housing density originally planned for the UBC Farm, University Square, Thunderbird Future Housing Area and Totem Field to Acadia, East Mall South, and Wesbrook South/ Wesbrook Place. Amenities According to Knight, as the UTown@ UBC community grows, the university is fully committed to providing high quality and ample amenities to its university residential community, comparable to contemporary best practices for new development in the City of Vancouver. Highlights of plans for future amenities include: •Parks (termed University Neighbourhood Open Space – UNOS – in Land Use Plan): Many new parks and community gardens will be integrated into the design of the new UNOS networks. •Community Centre: There are plans for a new community centre in Acadia – to be confirmed through the neighbourhood planning process – that will be shared with student family housing. •K-12 schools: Current plans are to renovate UBC’s old NRC building into a high school. The vacated high school will be renovated for elementary and middle school use, and there exists the potential to build another school on a three-hectare site in Wesbrook Place. •Daycare: To ensure there is adequate child care on campus, changes in the Land Use Plan would create a requirement for adding daycare as population grows beyond that foreseen in the UBC Child Care Strategy. The strategy anticipates creating 500 new daycare spots over next 20 years for faculty, students and staff. These new spaces would be developed using a formula adapted from the City of Vancouver.
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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT SEPTEMBER 28, 2010
Barn Raising Records Bumper Attendance Turn-out is estimated at 2,000-2,200; sponsors are again generous
THE CAMPUS RESIDENT SEPTEMBER 28, 2010
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Planners Push Deadline Back To Give Neighbours More Time To Consult on Three Bus Options Original online consultation deadline was Sept 30; now it’s October 8 UBC Campus and Community Planning has extended on-line Phase 2 consultations about where to locate permanent transit facilities on campus and how to improve pedestrian and cycling experiences to October 8. Phase 2 consultations have consisted of two open houses in September so far, and an online review was to have concluded Sept 30. However, UBC has extended the on-line review period to October 8 so that all campus residents would be thoroughly alerted to it and have the chance to comment. A UBC spokesman said, “During Phase 1 consultations in March, we heard your ideas about where to locate permanent transit facilities on campus and how to
improve pedestrian and cycling experiences. Now (in Phase Two), we’re back to report on how we used your ideas and present three options for your feedback .” All three options are feasible and under consideration, the spokesman said. “No final decisions have been made—we need to know how each option impacts your commute to and from campus and the community. Tell us what you think in person or online.” The three options appear in graphic form on this page. For more information, visit www.planning.ubc.ca. Go to Transportation Consultation, 2010.
ELECTIONS from pg 1
MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY Canada’s contemporary museum of world arts and cultures
A place of extraordinary architectural beauty, provocative programming, and vibrant, contemporary exhibitions
6393 NW Marine Drive (UBC) Vancouver BC 604.822.5087 www.moa.ubc.ca 'Imprint' - dancer Michelle Cheung, musician David Brown; 'Intervisible Lines' (detail) by Hayati Mokhtar and Dain Iskandar Said
such a successful Barn Raising. He said, “The event has always been great, and this year, it was even better attended and had even better vibes than in the past”. Mr. Feeley especially thanked Old Barn Community Centre Manager Stephanie Nesbitt for her organizational efforts. (See our feature story about Stephanie on page 2). Staff recruited a host of volunteers to assist in staging the event which offered a stunt show, several bands, a magician, dunk tank, carnival games, food and drinks, face painting, an artisan market and exhibition stalls. The beef and veggie burgers grilled by hard-working volunteer ‘chefs’ were worth waiting in a line for! Adding more pleasure to the event, the weather was fine for the fourth year in row. Not long after the event ended, it began to rain. The annual Barn Raising event on campus takes place on the second Saturday of September every year.
sentative on the UBC Vancouver Campus Plan steering committee, the UBC Campus Transit and Cycling Plan advisory committee, and the RCMP community advisory committee. He also serves on the UNA Standing Committee on Operations and Sustainability where “I am concerned with the development of the UBC Farm, community gardens, recycling, composting, parks, landscaping, elementary and high schools, and childcare services for UNA residents.” Ms. Mah and Mr. Laquian ran a joint campaign endorsed by Jim Taylor, founding chair of the UNA. Asked for comment after their victories, both Ms Mah and Mr. Laquian agreed they had “campaigned actively” in the community; they also established a joint website.Ms. Moore received 107 votes in the election. Mr. Pritchard received 101. About 2,800 members of the campus community of 8,000 belong to the UNA. Fifty people attended the UNA Annual General Meeting at the Old Barn Community Centre at which the election results were announced.
Bioules Free Style Productions during their BMX performance
PHOTO: DAMIAN NESBITT
An unprecedented number of UBC residents attended the fourth annual Barn Raising event at the Old Barn Community Centre on September 11th. Calling the four-hour event “fabulous”, Jan Fialkowski, Executive Director of the University Neighbourhoods Association, told UNA directors at their September 14th board meeting that attendance was reliably estimated to be between 2,000 and 2,200 residents. About 7,800 UNA residents live on campus. The UNA set a $15,000 budget for the event and received financial help from a variety of parties in staging it. Sponsors have always provided generous financial support for this event, no less this year than before. Ms. Fialkowski listed major sponsors as UBC Properties Trust, Mahony & Sons Restaurant and Public House, Save-onFoods, and a company filming in the residential part of campus. On behalf of the board, Mike Feeley, UNA chair, thanked staff for organizing
PHOTO: DAMIAN NESBITT
Jan Fialkowski, UNA Executive Director, members of the 4-H UBC Community Club and ‘feathered friends’
As to the future, she foresees—among other things—the “need to review road access to the new schools, expand community access to UBC facilities, and set up the new community centre in South Campus.” A resident of Hampton Place since 1993 and an active member of the UNA since 2002, Mr. Laquian has served as chair of the UNA Standing Committee on Governance since his election to the board in 2008. In the lead-up to the election, he said, “I am committed to the vision of a democratic self-governing community that delivers key municipal-like services to the residents in an equitable, cost-effective and sustainable manner.” Mr. Laquian, who gained the highest number of votes in the election (302), has served as chair of the UNA animal control bylaws development committee and as a member of both the noise bylaw development committee and the parking bylaw development committee. The UNA has designated Mr. Laquian, a professor emeritus of community and regional planning at UBC, as its repre-
Volunteers make cotton candy
Outgoing chair Mike Feeley with family as he votes at the UNA election
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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT SEPTEMBER 28, 2010
MOA Installs Reflecting Pool
Citizens Seek to Stall ‘Vision’ Meeting
After 35 years, Arthur Erickson’s dream for the Museum becomes reality; pool is named in honour of donor
Staff report was due to go before council September 23; however, residents were not happy with wording City council in Vancouver was expected to consider the West Point Grey ‘Vision’ Report at a meeting September 23rd, but at press time, the group of citizens who helped write it was attempting to have the meeting put off. The West Point Grey Community Liaison Group (CLG) claims that planners at city hall are now aggressively pushing through in weeks a report they previously held in mothballs for three years. This stop-go approach does not do justice to the West Point Grey ‘visioning’ process which was completed in 2007 to accolades from City Hall, CLG members say. Part of the process was a Choices Survey (completed by a record-high number of West Point Grey residents), and this led to the Vision Statement which has been sitting in limbo due first to a strike of civic workers in 2007, then the budgetary cuts during the financial crisis of 2008 and finally civic preoccupation with the 2010 Winter Olympics. Vancouver planners seek to have council approve this statement so that it may become a road-map for social and physical developments in West Point Grey. However, members of the CLG claim the planning department is pressing city council to unfairly approve the statement on the basis of both new policies adopted by council since 2007 and ones which existed when the Choices Survey was taken. The CLG lists the Eco-Density policy, Greenest City initiative and recent transportation studies among the new policies which did not exist when visioning took place. Council should therefore ignore these policies when assessing the Vision Statement—and stick to the policies which were in effect when the visioning
PHOTO: NICOLE NADEAU
The Yosef Wosk Reflecting Pool has now been created at the Museum of Anthropology. MOA’s architect, the late Arthur C. Erickson, and landscape architect, Cornelia Hahn Oberlander, originally intended the pool to be opened as part of the new Museum of Anthropology in 1976. Now, nearly thirty-five years later, their original vision for MOA has been fulfilled. Thanks to the generosity of Yosef Wosk, OBC, and the efforts of many other individuals and organizations, the pool was successfully filled September 9th, and is now an integral part of the Museum grounds – as it was always intended to be. According to Ms. Oberlander, even the shape and depth of the pool are the same as she specified on her original 1975 drawings for the site, although slightly curtailed at the northeast and southwest ends to honour commitments made during approval of the 2004 North Campus Plan by the Greater Vancouver Regional District. Both Arthur Erickson and Cornelia Oberlander have received honours for their work on the Museum of Anthropology, and were awarded Orders of Canada for their iconic contributions to national and international architecture and landscape design. Their vision for the MOA was inspired by traditional 19th century northern Northwest Coast First Nations big houses and their settings up and down the coast of British Columbia. The pool is intended to be seen from the Museum’s Great Hall as the representation of a coastal inlet beyond which lie the mountains and sea. The shell beach, numerous free-standing totem poles, and two Haida Houses on the site enhance and extend the visitor’s view through the MOA’s 15-metre north-facing glass walls, dissolving the barriers between outside and inside, and creating a powerful, unique connection between the building, the collections, the visitor, and the landscape. According to Yosef Wosk, “Arthur and Cornelia’s creativity resulted in an icon of transformation, a venue for respectful learning, and a place of inspired contemplation. I am thrilled to have been able to play a part in the completion of their original vision for the Museum, and encourage everyone to come and share in its beauty.” Museum Director, Dr. Anthony A. Shelton says, “The instatement of the reflecting pool would not have been possible without the generous financial support of Dr. Yosef Wosk, OBC. We are very grateful for his commitment to the Museum as both a donor and advisor.”
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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT SEPTEMBER 28, 2010
process got underway. “In essence, the CLG is requesting that the WPG Vision be considered and adopted consistent with the prior standard for all previous Community Visions and free of unprecedented linkage with policy developed and adopted subsequent to the WPG Vision process,” the group writes in a letter to the mayor and council. They seek to have the scheduled council meeting postponed until later in the fall. The West Point Grey visioning process got underway in the spring of 2007 with a Vision Fair and was followed in the summer of that year with a series of ten workshops attended by a record number of citizens. The Choices Survey followed. The visioning process has taken place in all other Vancouver neighbourhoods in previous years under an initiative called City Plan. The West Point Grey CLG wants its visioning process to be completed in the same way as processes in all other communities, including Dunbar. The Vision Statement for West Point Grey lists a dozen areas where residents would like to see livability in their neighbourhood improved. One of their top priorities—supported by 89% of all those responding to the 2007 survey—was how to reduce the impact of traffic to and from UBC on their lives. “Action to address negative impacts associated with growing reliance on diesel buses for UBC transit is a particular priority,” the Vision specifies. “Increasing truck traffic, parking and other transportation issues associated with the scale and pace of UBC development should be addressed.”
Minister Makes Known Land Use Hearing Rules UNA is among organizations to be considered for consultation; UNA chair is among those to sit on public hearing committee
Ben Stewart, Minister of Community and Rural Development Ben Stewart, Minister of Community and Rural Development, has issued an order telling UBC who it should consider consulting when amending its Land Use Plan. Mr. Stewart lists the University Neighbourhoods Association among several organizations UBC should specifically consider consulting. He also lists the University Endowment Lands, Metro Vancouver, City of Vancouver, Vancouver School District, various agencies of both provincial and federal governments and Musqueam First Nation. As well in his order Mr. Stewart tells UBC who it should appoint to any committee struck to hold public hearings into creation of the new Land Use Plan. The minister lists the chair of the UNA as
among those who should sit on this committee. Other than the UNA chair, he lists two members of the UBC Board of Governors, UBC Vice-President, External, Legal and Community Affairs (Stephen Owen), UBC Associate Vice-President, Campus and Community Planning (Nancy Knight) and “two external professional planners who are not employees of the Board of Governors.” The order delegates full responsibility for developing the new Land Use Plan to UBC. In a letter to members of the UNA board, Mr. Stewart says, “The order establishes consultation and public involvement requirements that meet or exceed those laid out in the Local Government Act for municipalities and regional districts. If I am not satisfied with the consultations, I can choose not to adopt the proposed Land Use Plan.” The need for an amended UBC Land Use Plan arises with obsolescence of the Official Community Plan (OCP) for UBC on June 24th of this year when legislation giving the provincial government the right to oversee land use planning at UBC came into effect. The government had introduced this legislation April 29th following a breakdown in harmonious relations between UBC and Metro Vancouver over land use issues. UBC and Metro had created the OCP in 1997 after UBC unilaterally developed Hampton Place, the first of what has since become a series of residential neighbourhoods on campus.
Deluxe Hotel Suites, West Coast Style Yosef Wosk Reflecting Pool at UBC Museum of Anthropology
The UNA’s Sustainability Committee wants to provide practical tips on how each of us can contribute to sustainability. Thus this contest which we run each month in this newspaper. If you have a tip please forward it to the UNA Sustainability Contest at both jpt@tjclaw.com and judyandjim@shaw.ca. The author of the tip selected will receive a $25.00 gift certificate (courtesy of Save-On) for use in our local Save-On Supermarket and at the end of the year there will be a significant prize for the year’s winner. People connected to the Sustainability Committee in any way should assume that while their suggestions may be found to have great merit, and be published, they will not lead to a prize. There is no winning tip for this issue. Please submit your tip for next month
THIS CONTEST IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE UNA SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE. WE ACKNOWLEDGE THE PARTICIPATION AND SUPPORT OF ONE OF OUR COMMUNITY’S PARTNERS IN SUSTAINABILITY, WESBROOK PLACE’S SAVE-ON SUPERMARKET.
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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT SEPTEMBER 28, 2010
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