Volume 1, Issue 1
May 2010
Province Plans Review of Whether Campus Needs Governance Change Government stance is discussed in letter to UNA; new land use regime at UBC is also discussed
UBC Unveils Blue Whale Skeleton as Centre Opens The University of British Columbia has officially opened the Beaty Biodiversity Centre, new home to some of the world’s top biodiversity researchers and Canada’s largest blue whale skeleton exhibit. The centre houses the Biodiversity Research Centre, which has brought 25 principal investigators and their teams under one roof, and the Beaty Biodiversity Museum, with more than two million specimens, slated to open this fall. The 11,550-sq. metre, four-storey building is designed to facilitate collaboration
among researchers from different disciplines. The building has innovative sustainability features such as a green roof and water channel that supports aquatic plants and insects while helping reduce storm water surges.The $50-million project is made possible with support from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the Province of British Columbia, an $8million gift from UBC alumni Ross and Trisha Beaty and a $3-million gift from the djavad mowafaghian foundation. whale cont’d pg 10
Menzies Makes Metro Move on Voters’ List UBC resident is cause of change; Metro is preparing for next Electoral Area A elections The constructive request of UBC resident Charles Menzies that Metro Vancouver produce a Voters’ List to improve its local election process in the UBC area has brought an equally-constructive response from Metro. Mr. Menzies, an associate professor of anthropology at UBC who ran unsuccessfully
for UBC area director on the Metro board, had complained—justifiably, as it turns out—that the lack of a Voters’ List for Electoral Area A (which includes both UBC and the University Endowment Lands) in the 2008 election for Metro director hampered the dissemination of information about the election in which he ran. menzies cont’d pg 10
The provincial government makes clear in a letter to the University Neighborhoods Association (UNA) it is ready to start considering whether a change of governance is needed at the University of British Columbia. The letter comes from Bill Bennett, minister of community and rural development, and while it refers first to the related issue of new legislation affecting the control of land use planning at UBC, it refers secondly to the issue of local governance at UBC. Referring to the way in which 6,000 residents of UBC are governed, Mr. Bennett—an MLA from East Kootenay—says in his letter, “UBC and the Province agree it is time to start thinking about whether there is a need for more representative local government for the Point Grey peninsula, especially given the significant current and projected population growth, and the increasing complexity of managing the area without the benefit of a municipal government. “The Province is prepared to explore the idea of greater local self-government in the area. Residents of the many communities on the Point Grey peninsula would need to be involved in any discussion of whether governance change is necessary
to carry out the core functions of governance, planning and services delivery. Any further action in this regard is going to require time and discussion. “The University Neighborhoods Association and its Board has played, and will continue to play, a vital role in guiding and administering the growing residential community on UBC’s Point Grey campus. I look forward to working with you on the transition to a new planning arrangement for the UBC Point Grey campus.” The provincial government introduced its stunning new legislation affecting control of land use planning at UBC on April 29, and this legislation, which transfers control of local land use planning at UBC to the Province from Metro Vancouver, comes after a fractious November, 2009 meeting at which UBC and Metro failed to agree about a zoning bylaw Metro proposed for UBC. Called upon to mediate the dispute, the Province brought in the new legislation, claiming, “It ensures lands set aside early in the 20th century to support B.C.’s first, and now largest, university will continue to advance UBC’s 21st century academic mission and help to achieve the goal of making UBC the best endowed public university in North America.” Bennett cont’d pg 2
Deputy Defends Speed of Decision Before Metro Board Metro was no longer happy”; UBC was nervous The provincial government considered the recent regulatory impasse between UBC and Metro Vancouver over a proposed Metro zoning bylaw at UBC serious enough to warrant prompt legislation action, says the deputy minister in charge. Dale Wall, deputy minister, community and rural development, told the May 12 meeting of Metro directors that “it was clear to the government that both parties were not happy”. Mr. Wall said Metro was no longer happy because while it had responsibility for planning oversight at UBC, it had no regulatory control bylaw in place, while “UBC was nervous” that a Metro zoning bylaw would delay some of its research projects.
The government perceived the dispute as “serious”, Mr. Wall said, and after reviewing the record of a fractious November, 2009 joint meeting of Metro directors and UBC governors, it decided to act resolutely in what it thought was the best interest of both parties. The stout defense Mr. Wall presented of prompt government resolve in drafting the legislation to take control of land use planning at UBC away from Metro Vancouver in favor of the Province had several Metro directors shaking their heads in apparent consternation at a board meeting May 12th. Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan led the head-shaking. Metro cont’d pg 2
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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT MAY 2010
metro from pg 1 After listening to Mr. Wall explain why the provincial government introduced the legislation April 29th, Mr. Corrigan—to the amusement of some directors—said sarcastically, “You passed it so quickly, you have to be congratulated. We take a year to get things through, if they go through even then. It’s not funny, You are smiling. It’s pathetic.” The speedy introduction of the legislation also surprised Vancouver councilor Tim Stevenson while another director alleged, “Someone in Victoria pushed the panic button in a crisis that doesn’t exist.” Even Johnny Carline, Metro chief executive officer, made a sarcastic remark in regard to alleged government haste. Referring to a letter from UBC president Stephen Toope to the government in Victoria, Mr. Carline claimed, “Toope talks about the end of civilization as we know it.” Several directors, including Mr. Corrigan, referred to Metro attempts to get provincial intervention in fractious UBC-Metro relations two and a half years ago, to which Mr. Wall replied, “We felt more could be done (by UBC and Metro) at that time.”
The unflappable Mr. Wall said that after reviewing the record of the joint UBCMetro meeting in November 2009, the government concluded it had grounds to act. Oddly, the Victoria civil servant offered that the two sides in disagreement were effectively saying the same thing— that the relationship wasn’t working. “We have acted as mediator. We tried to play this role.” The harsh term ‘dictatorship’ entered the Metro side of this discussion a few times. Richmond councilor Harold Steeves called UBC “a dictatorship”, as did another director. Metro chair Lois Jackson said, “We want to see democracy in action at UBC.” The full Metro board also heard from Judy Williams, representing the Wreck Beach Preservation Society and Pacific Spirit Park Society. Ms. Williams, a persistent critic of UBC, asked that the province not pass the land use planning legislation it has introduced “until groups have had time to study it.” Ms. Williams also called the standard of public consultation envisioned in the new land use planning process to be overseen by the government as “unreasonably low.”
In explaining how the new model of provincial government control of land use planning at UBC will work, Mr. Bennett says in his letter to the UNA, “The new model ensures the interests of Metro Vancouver, the Province, UBC and the public are balanced “The legislation requires UBC to develop a land use plan for the campus through a public process directed and overseen by me. The model introduced in the legislation is similar to the University Endowment Lands (UEL) model. “The approval decision about UBC’s land use plan will be made in consultation with my colleague, Honorable Moira Stilwell, Minister of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development, to ensure that UBC’s academic mission and goals are upheld in the plan.”
Bennett from pg 1
Bill Bennett, Minster of Community and Rural Development
The unregulated development of Hampton Place at UBC in 1995 led to both the initial oversight of UBC planning by Metro Vancouver and an Official Community Plan (OCP) in 1997. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which went with the OCP allowed for a joint committee of three Metro directors and three UBC governors, and this joint committee became the main forum for formal discussions between the two bureaucracies with respect to land development at UBC and other issues. The two sides in the joint committee have bickered over a number of issues in recent years, and in November, 2009, formal dis-
cussion came virtually to an end. Mr. Bennett brings a wealth of legislative experience to bear as Minister of Community and Rural Development, to which position he was appointed in June 10, 2009. A Cranbrook, B.C. lawyer before entering politics, Mr. Bennett was first elected to represent the riding of East Kootenay in 2001 and re-elected in 2005. He was previously appointed Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts on June 23, 2008, and Minister of State for Mining on June 16, 2005. (Please turn to Page 3 for full text of the letter to the UNA from the Minister.)
To inquire ad about availability and ad rates contact John Tompkins:
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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT MAY 2010
Published by: University Neighbourhoods Association 6308 Thunderbird Blvd, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4 Editor: John Tompkins: johntompkins@shaw.ca
Citizens, Stand By! It is Time to Talk The residential community at the University of British Columbia may want to start thinking about whether there is a need for more representative local government on campus, If they don’t, they may find UBC and the provincial government doing their thinking for them. As you will see by reading the government letter to the UNA board elsewhere on this page, UBC and the Province have already started to think about this issue, and it well behooves residents not to follow suit and not get left behind. The main issue for us at this point centers not on whether there will be change or not, or even what kind of change there might be, but on whether the process by which any decision for or against change is made. If this process is not fair and reasonable, any decision arising from it will lack validity, and by fair and reasonable, we mean if this decision about governance at UBC is not made by the residents of UBC, it will lack validity. If the residents elect for change by way of a valid process, then we support the change, and visa versa. The vital need for residents to brush up on their thoughts about governance at UBC comes about because of a seismic shift in who oversees governance at UBC. Until a few days ago Metro Vancouver labored under this responsibility. All this changed on April 29th when the provincial government took over, and announced UBC and the Province had agreed it was time to start thinking about whether there is a need for more representative local gov-
ernment for the Point Grey peninsula, “especially given the significant current and projected population growth, and the increasing complexity of managing the area without the benefit of a municipal government.” As the minister of community and rural development Bill Bennett says in his May 5th letter to the UNA board, “The Province is prepared to explore the idea of greater local self-government in the area.” As part of the mobilization process, the residential community at UBC needs to realize its investment in this area. UBC has a huge ethical investment in generating the right form of governance on campus, and the province has a similar investment in size and kind. This said, nothing overlooks the $1.5 billion the residential community has invested at UBC, an investment which makes them players of equal size with their UBC and provincial government partners in any governance review process. The important process of looking at whether governance change is needed at UBC will almost certainly end in the following manner: Does the heavily-invested residential community want to continue receiving effective governance via the University Neighborhoods Association or does it wish to switch to receiving governance from a new municipal mayor and council? Before we reach this point, however, we need to know that the process by which the decision it ultimately made is one designed to deliver the wishes of the campus residential community.
Metro Makes Changes in Election Rules The next round of local government elections does not occur until November, 2011. However, Metro Vancouver has already started work on ensuring they are better organized than the last round held in November, 2008. Ahead of the November, 2011 election in Electoral Area A, all residents at UBC and in the University Endowment Lands should receive cards in the nail notifying them of their right to vote, subject to eligibility; where to vote; and who they might for, while all candidates should have access to a Voters List, allowing them to mail out political and biographical materials to potential voters. The last round of local government elections witnessed voting cards posted only to homeowners, In other words, if you rented a property at UBC or on
the UEL in November, 2008, you did not get a voting card in the mail, and if you wanted to vote, you had to rely mainly on Metro advertisements in local newspapers. Meanwhile, candidates had no way of accessing a ‘Voters List’, an integral part of electoral procedures everywhere. The commendable efforts of UBC resident Charles Menzies has led to the change-around in Metro election policies. Mr. Menzies, who ran and lost as a candidate for Metro director in 2008, pointed out the flaws in the election process that all candidates struggled with. Maria Harris, who ran and won as a candidate for Metro director, agrees with the improvements Mr. Menzies said were needed.
Full Text of May 5th Letter from Minister Bill Bennett to UNA Board This letter is to advise that the Province of British Columbia introduced amendments to the Municipalities Enabling and Validating Act (No.3) on April 29, 2010 that will change local governance with respect to land use planning and development at the Point Grey Campus of the University of British Columbia. The Province, after discussions with UBC and Metro Vancouver, decided that planning roles on campus had to be clarified, and determined that UBC should continue to develop plans and consult with the community as it does today, that the Minister of Community and Rural Development should be responsible for formally signing off on the plans, and that Metro Vancouver should continue to be responsible for its regional planning and services. The new model ensures the interests of Metro Vancouver, the Province, UBC and the public are balanced. The legislation required UBC to develop a land use plan for the campus through a public process directed and overseen by me. The model introduced in legislation is similar to the University Endowment Lands (UEL) model. The approval decision about UBC’s land use plan will be made in consultation with my colleague, Honorable Moira Stilwell, Minister of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development, to ensure that UBC’s academic mission and goals are upheld in the plan. Current servicing and regulatory arrangements are essentially unchanged. The current Official Community Plan (OCP) for the Point Grey campus that was developed by Metro Vancouver will become the first land use plan with one amendment. The amendment will allow UBC to proceed with a new Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences Building. Cur-
rently, the OCP designates the block on which the building is planned to be built as ‘Future Housing’ and the legislation will change that designation to ‘UBC Core’ for ‘academic use’. This initiative responds to a request from UBC and Metro Vancouver to help sort out planning responsibilities, so that each organization may concentrate on core functions. Metro Vancouver wants to focus on its goal of becoming a leader in regional sustainability. UBC wants to focus on its academic mission of being a world class university, promoting the values of sustainability. UBC and the Province agree it is time to start thinking about whether there is a need for more representative local government for the Point Grey peninsula, especially given the significant current and projected population growth, and the increasing complexity of managing the area without the benefit of a municipal government. The Province is prepared to explore the idea of greater local self-government in the area. Residents of the many communities on the Point Grey peninsula would need to be involved in any discussion of whether governance change is necessary to carry out the core functions of governance, planning and services delivery. Any further action in this regard is going to require time and discussion. The University Neighborhoods Association and its Board has played, and will continue to play, a vital role in guiding and administering the growing residential community on UBC’s Point Grey campus. I look forward to working with you on the transition to a new planning arrangement for the UBC Point Grey campus.
MISSSING HEADING XXXXXX The great wealth of talent in the campus community warrants a flood of letters to the editor of this publication on issues large and small. Should you hold an opinion on some aspect of community life, we would respectfully expect you to convey it to us in succinct written form—250 words at most would be fine. You may send it by mail either to The Campus Resident at the Old Barn Community Centre, or by e-mail to John Tompkins@shaw.ca The wonderful forest which surrounds this area might make a good subject for letter writing—tell us how much you appreciated being able to get out and walk around Pacific Spirit Regional Park one day recently. The nearby beaches might make another topic—tell us how you plan to spend a sunny day
at Spanish Bank or Jericho Beach (or Wreck Beach?) in the months ahead. Surely someone has a comment on a recent concert at the world-class Chan Center for the Performing Arts. The daily life of a community consists not of all things wonderful, of course, and so we would look for letters in the critical vein as well as laudatory: Does vehicle traffic go by your neighourhood at too great a speed? Do you find a particular crosswalk hazardous? Do you see a neighborhood receptacle being improperly used as a household garbage can? Let us bring the weight of public opinion to bear on these ill-conceived aspects of campus as well as the enviable ones. Welcome to The Campus Resident, a monthly publication dedicated to the all-round good of the community.
The monthly Editorials which appear in this space represent the opinion of the board of directors of the University Neighborhoods Association. The editorials bear no signatures because they do not necessarily represent the personal views of individual board members.The board reaches the positions taken in the editorials through discussion among members of the board, while the news-gathering department operates independent of the board.
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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT MAY 2010
Metro Mulls Issue of ‘Biomass’ Permit The general public will have the opportunity soon to review in detail an application by the University of British Columbia to Metro Vancouver for an air-quality permit to operate a power plant using ‘biomass’ fuel on campus. In an ‘Environmental Protection Notice’, Metro has invited written submissions on the UBC proposal from “any person who may be adversely affected by discharge of waste” from the plant, which UBC hopes will generate 12 per cent of its energy needs when it starts operating less than two years from now. As well as accepting written submissions, Metro will hold public hearings on the UBC power plant application in a review process a UBC source said is expected to take six months. If granted in accordance with provincial environmental regulations, the vital permit UBC seeks would allow its ‘biomass gasification co-generation plant’ on campus to discharge contaminants into the air within specified limits. The plant would employ the following process, according to data provided by Metro Vancouver (which has provincial authority to control air quality in the Lower Mainland): “Gasification of biomass to produce a synthesis gas for combustion in a steam boiler and internal combustion engine for the purposes of producing heat and electrical power.” Meanwhile, in its application, UBC offers that “energy produced will offset the amount of natural gas burned in the existing powerhouse.” The list of air contaminants expected to be produced include particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and total organic carbon, while emission controls will include an electrostatic precipitator. The new greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions targets for the UBC Vancouver campus rely in part on Metro granting this license. UBC President Stephen Toope expressed UBC hopes for the biomass plant generating 12 per cent of campus energy needs during a speech to delegates at one of the world’s largest environmental conferences, the recent GLOBE 2010 conference in Vancouver. While announcing the new emissions targets, Professor Toope reported that the biomass project is a partnership between UIBC, Vancouver-based Nexterra Systems Corp. and GE Water & Power, and he called the electricity produced through biomass gasification “clean.” At a board meeting earlier this year, the residential directors of the University Neighbours Association (UNA) said that they wanted to know as many details as possible about emissions from the proposed renewable-energy plant before they decide whether or not to endorse it. After listening to a presentation by representatives of UBC Building Operations and UBC faculty at the meeting, directors raised a series of questions about the potential impact of the
plant—which will convert dead trees into electricity—on such quality-oflife issues as air quality, neighborhood noise and truck traffic flows at UBC. UNA president Mike Feeley said, “I want to know what the particle emissions from this plant are. What are the safety levels? What are the air quality standards? How will residents know those standards are being met?” Mr. Feeley also said, “I think the burden of proof is on UBC to convince residents that their project is not putting pollutants into the air above standard.” The new 1,827 square meter (19,666 square feet) building that UBC Plant Operations needs for its new process would stand at the northwest corner of Lower Mall and Agronomy Road. This plant will replace old works buildings currently at the site. Beyond providing energy to the campus, the plant will facilitate research in clean energy and building systems. The managing director of UBC Building Operations, Dave Woodson, told the UNA directors that Metro Vancouver limits emissions from power plants—such the UBC biomass plant— to 18 milligrams of particulate matter per cubic meter of air. “We expect no more than five milligrams per cubic meter,” he said. “The impact of emissions on UBC air quality will be minimal: no odors or smoke, and no water discharge.” As part of the application to Metro, the UBC group also claims industrial noise from the biomass conversion plant will fall within current neighborhood noise levels and that truck traffic levels will not increase significantly above normal truck traffic activity on campus when the plant goes into operation. They project an increase of only one percent. The key issue of whether particle emissions from the plant posed danger to residents also featured in the comments of UNA director Erica Frank. Ms. Frank, a professor at the school of population and public health at UBC, said that before she decided on whether or not to support the project, she expected to see more expert testimony from the group affirming project safety. As well as directors of the UNA, executive members of the Southwest Marine Drive Ratepayers Association want to know as many details as possible about possible impacts from the proposed UBC Biomass project (See accompanying story). Should all go well for UBC, the revolutionary biomass process will start producing electricity before the end of 2011 with this electricity going directly to UBC users—including condominiums on campus. Surplus electricity from the plant would go to BC Hydro under the terms of recent green-energy guidelines established by the utility. BC Hydro would pay UBC for the power it receives from the plant, while this income would defray—or help defray—the costs of purchasing the biomass fuel from suppliers.
Photo by Martin Dee,UBC
Public hearing will be held; air quality will be protected
President Steven Toope of The University of British Columbia holds bag of woodchips collected from prunings Stanley Park trees. Chips will be burned at a biomass plant.
Vancouver Pruning Provides Dead Wood for UBC Power Plant Dead trees will be shipped to UBC; waste will be turned into power The dead leaves, broken branches and fallen trees that accumulate through the year in Vancouver parks and along Vancouver streets will no longer end up in landfill in Langley. Under an agreement with the University of British Columbia, signed May 11th, the City of Vancouver will provide wood waste for the Bio-energy Research and Demonstration Project at UBC. Trees and branches that fall in parks or on city streets, as well as other clean wood waste material, will now create energy by fuelling clean, renewable biomass-based heat and power for UBC’s Vancouver campus. The aggressive greenhouse gas reduction targets of both Vancouver and UBC aim to reduce waste, conserve energy and offer alternative transportation initiatives. Figures provided by UBC indicate it has set greenhouse gas emission targets be-
yond already-achieved Kyoto targets to: • reduce GHGs by an additional 33 per cent from 2007 levels by 2015 • reduce GHGs to 67 per cent below 2007 levels by 2020 • eliminate 100 per cent of GHGs by 2050 Figures provided by the City of Vancouver indicate it is on track to meet Kyoto targets, and to: • reduce community emissions by six per cent below 1990 levels by 2012 (on track) • reduce community emissions by 33 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020 • reduce community emissions by 80 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050 The City has already achieved a 33 per cent reduction in municipal operations emissions below 1990 levels and has committed to carbon-neutral municipal operations by 2012.
ad to come
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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT MAY 2010
UBC Unites With Vancouver to Plot ‘Greenest City’
Photo by Martin Dee,UBC
Partnership was launched May 11; environment agreement was signed
President Steven Toope of the Univerisity of British Columbia (left) and Mayor Gregor Robertson of the City of Vancouver (right) sign agreement to collaborate on enhancing local environment. Collaberation will employ the services of ten graduate students this summer. Students are pictured in background.
Residents Rue Plan For ‘Biomass’ Traffic Biomass energy is great idea; plant at UBC is wrong, says spokesperson for residents The leafy neighborhood of Southwest Marine Drive will suffer the most from trucks running wood pellets and other combustible materials to a proposed ‘biomass’ power plant at the University of British Columbia, according to a spokesperson for its residents. Liz Haan, a long-time director of the Southwest Marine Drive Homeowners Association, said that her association plans to present Metro Vancouver with arguments why it should not grant UBC an air quality permit for a proposed biomass plant that UBC predicts will generate 12% of its power needs without production of greenhouse gases. “This project will adversely affect our quality of life because big doubletrucks fetching wood pellets and other combustible materials to be burned on campus will all run to and from Marine Drive every day, 365 days a year,” Ms. Haan said. The local homeowners do not oppose the idea of UBC developing a facility that burns dead or dying trees in order to generate heat and electricity. Ms. Haan said, “On the contrary, this sounds like a great idea. However, we do oppose the location of this plant on campus. The energy plant should be built close to the source of the wood fuel. They should
not be trucking it (biomass fuel)) in to UBC.” Ms. Haan said that building power lines to carry energy onto campus from some biomass plant located wherever the source of fuel is located is a far better proposal than trucking the fuel onto campus. The feisty Ms Haaz also challenges the truck traffic numbers UBC is using to support its application to Metro Vancouver for an air quality license. In information posted on the Internet, UBC states, “It is estimated that the (biomass) system will require two to three truckloads of wood fuel daily, less than one per cent of current truck traffic to campus.” Ms Haan disputes both the ‘three truck loads’ figure and the ‘one percent’ figure. The first figure (three trucks loads) misleads people, according to the Southwest Marine Drive homeowner, because UBC is reporting ‘truckloads’ instead of truck trips.” In truth, she says, every load of wood pellets and other combustible material transported onto campus by trucks running along Marine Drive amounts to two truck trips—one trip in which a full truck transports material onto campus,
and one trip in which the same truck returns along Marine Drive empty. “So, the sum of three truck loads of wood daily is actually six truck trips a day.” The second figure (one per cent) misleads people allegedly because the calculation is made on the basis of 300 truck-trips to UBC on an average day. “But 300 trucks trips a day came at the height of the UBC construction boom (a few years back),” she said, “and if there are only, say, 100 truck trips a day at present, the biomass traffic would amount to six percent of total truck traffic.” Ms. Hann posed the question, ““What is their baseline figure for coming up with only one percent?” The out-spoken Marine Drive homeowner and group spokesperson said that instead of shipping waste (wood) onto campus for burning, UBC might like to look at harnessing energy sources close at hand. She offered human sewage produced at UBC as an example: “Everyone poops at UBC.” Ms. Haan also wondered about the carbon footprint left by diesel trucks fetching wood on campus every day of the year: “This project is putting more diesel trucks on the road,” she said.
Vancouver, the would-be ‘greenest city in the world’, has entered into a new partnership on the environment with the University of British Columbia. Mayor Gregor Robertson and UBC President Stephen Toope launched the partnership—designed in part to help Vancouver become the greenest city in the world by 2020—by signing a Memorandum of Understanding at Vancouver City Hall May 11th. The signing of this deal signals the launch of a multi-year collaboration to advance common goals of sustainability, climate action and the development of a green economy. At a news conference, Mayor Robertson said, “This partnership will have a real impact in helping us reach our goal of becoming the world’s greenest city by 2020. “Our collaboration will benefit residents of Vancouver and UBC’s community as we work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance livability. “Leaders around the world are exploring new ideas for greener futures and we will all achieve more if we share our collective learning.” Professor Toope said, “The University will bring its expertise to help Vancouver achieve its inspiring goal, while building knowledge by adapting the innovative principles and programs that have worked well at UBC to meet the needs of a world class urban centre. “The competencies we create through this partnership will have broad and positive impacts far beyond municipal or community boundaries.” The Greenest City Action Team Scholars program has emerged as one of the first initiatives to result from this new partnership of UBC and the City of Vancouver on the environment. UBC will provide grants for 10 eligible graduate students enrolled in UBC Masters or PhD programs to support the Greenest City 2020 Plan and its implementation by the City of Vancouver. Each student will work on one of 10 long-term goals of the Vancouver 2020 Greenest City Action Plan which include green economy/green jobs, greener communities and human health. The Greenest City Action Team came together early in 2009 to develop a plan—including measurable targets—to make Vancouver the greenest city in the world by 2020. The Greenest City Action Team Scholars began their work with the City on May 17 prior to a public consultation in June on the actions and implementation for each of the Greenest City Action Plan goals. Students will be responsible for specific research programs studying global best practices. “University education is about more than just classroom learning,” said Greenest City Action Team Scholar Malcolm Shield. “Programs like the Greenest City Action Scholars help to evolve theory into practice, and create benefits not only for those of us directly involved, but for all current and future Vancouver residents.”
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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT MAY 2010
Café Caters To Folks
Monthly public event is called ‘Café Scientifi
Dr.Christian Naus and Dr. Linda Matsuuchi host guests at Cafe Scientifique at the Life Science building on campus
The newest ‘café’ at the University of British Columbia opens only once a month, and stays open for only 90 minutes at a time. In these short sessions, however, the cafe offers members of the public looking for information about the latest scientific research (in the field of health sciences) a very tasty menu. Welcome to the Café Scientifique at UBC, which held its third monthly session on May 25 (Understanding Cardiac Disease) and which looks forward to offering further intellectually-nutritious sessions on campus in the months to come! The global phenomenon called ‘Café Scientifique’ began in the United Kingdom over ten years ago, and based on the earlier Philosophers’ Café movement founded in France, its popularity quickly spread. In Canada, Café Scientifiques have opened in dozen cities, including Vancouver where one has been held at the Railway Club, 579 Dunsmuir Street for the last two years. Now, the Health Sciences Institute (LSI) has opened a Café Scientifique at UBC with sessions held in a real UBC café, namely the Café Perugia, a 40-seat establishment located in the Life Sciences Centre, the largest building on campus, located at 2350 Health Sciences Mall. The growing engagement of the public in science, particularly life
science given its direct impact of health and life, provides the plausible basis for Café Scientifiques, says Christian Naus, LSI director. “In the midst of hearing about the devastating effect of many illnesses, people are seeking information about the causes of disease and improvements in treatment. “The LSI Café Scientifique will provide meaningful opportunity for the public to interact with not only the expert scientists, but also ‘special guests’ who will share their personal experience with the illness discussed.” The prestigious Life Sciences Institute provides an ideal environment, both physically and scientifically, for a Café Scientifique. It stands at an easily-accessible part of campus, next to residential neighborhoods which are home to a growing population of all age groups—including both elementary and high school students. Scientifically, research at the LSI spans a wide range of health-related scientific topics, and for these reasons, Dr. Naus and Associate director Linda Matsuuchi successful applied for funds to underwrite the Café program from the Canadian Institute of Health Research. The innovative, multi-department LSI employs 87 principal investigators from ten departments in the faculty of medicine and faculty of science, and its stated goal “is to
generate and sustain interdisciplinary research dedicated to discover fundamental biological processes of life.” The LSI research groups focus on several major themes, including cardiovascular systems, diabetes, oncology, developmental biology, microbiology, infectious diseases, immunity, inflammation, cell biology and gene expression. Dr. Matsuuchi says, “Most projects have a strong relevance to the public and are well suited for outreach activities such as the Café Scientifique.” The noble objectives of the Café Scientifique at UBC, said its LSI promoters in their application for funding from the Canadian Institute for Health Research, “is to provide an integration point where the public will meet expert scientists, trainees and individuals who are suffering from the health concerns. “In an informal setting, the science behind the diseases and its impact will be discussed. “As such, it is consistent with CHIR objectives to ‘establish an accessible/informal discussion between the general public and scientists about the value and impact of health research on the health of Canadians, the health care system and the economy as a whole.” The first Café Scientifique at UBC on January 26 drew 30-40 people to the Café Perugia to hear two
researchers from the LSI answer questions and provide the latest information about ‘Diabetes: Causes, Consequences and Cures?’ A similar event followed April 13 when two LSI researchers reported the latest information from ‘inside the fight against the Flu pandemic’. The May 25 session—held after publication deadline—bears the title ‘Electric Signaling in the Heart and Body: Understanding Cardiac Disease.’ The newest café at UBC provides not only intellectual fare for free. Coffee/tea/juice and tasty sandwiches and cakes come with information about the latest news from the world of medical research. Those wishing to register for a Café Scientifique session should contact the Life Sciences Institute. (Readers should contact Theresa Lung at tlung@interchange.ubc.ca or 604-827-4781 if they wish to get an invitation to attend a session at the Café.)
The
THE CAMPUS RESIDENT MAY 2010
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with Taste for Science
ue’; talks about health research are on menu
Cafe Scientifique held monthly at the Cafe Perugia in the Life Sciences building on campus.
The UNA is holding a community garage sale at St. Anselm’s Church on Saturday June 5 from 10am – 1pm. Be sure to come out and support local re-use by sharing no longer needed items locally. St. Anselm’s is located at 5210 University Boulevard (across from the University Golf Club). If you are interested in reserving a table for $10, please contact Ralph Wells at 604.822.3263 or rwells@myuna.ca
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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT MAY 2010
UBC Athletics Amends New Tennis Centre Plan East Mall passenger drop-off zone is eliminated; cedar-siding is planned instead of ‘ugly’ steel wall
Plans for a new tennis centre at UBC get underway. Adequate funding has been obtained in part from Federal Government sources.Above, Brian Sullivan, UBC Vice President of Students (left), Bob Philip (right), Andrew Saxton, Member of Parliament, North Vancouver
The vigorous complaints of residents about plans for a proposed New Tennis Center at UBC, coupled with recent successful UBC fund-raising efforts in the field of sports infrastructure, have led to changes in the plans. At an Open House recently, UBC revealed that it had made its New Tennis Center plans more acceptable to residents of the Hawthorn Place residential neighborhood by making three major changes: •There would be no vehicular passenger drop-off zone on East Mall across the road from Hawthorn Place;
• A hedge in part hiding the New Tennis Center from view would be retained, and •Cedar siding would be used instead of black steel on that portion of the centre which remains visible from across East Mall. UBC had revealed its old plans at an Open House in January, and residents living nearby expressed concern at some aspects of them immediately. The residential lobby certainly made its point, according to a UBC source. “We listened to vigorous complaints from residents, and we changed the plan to ac-
Action Plan Puts Funds In UBC Tennis Centre U Town sports facilities are enhanced; job creation is immediate The University of British Columbia is moving forward with plans to expand Thunderbird Park, thanks to the Recreational Infrastructure Canada (RInC) program, a major job-creating investment from Canada’s Economic Action Plan. “With projects like this, our government is not only creating immediate jobs for our communities, but is also actively contributing to the health and fitness of Canadians,” said MP Andrew Saxton on behalf of Lynne Yelich, minister of state for Western Economic Diversification. The $1 million investment is directed towards the Tennis Centre, which is one component of the multiphase redevelopment of Thunderbird Park. “We are grateful for the Government of Canada’s investment in recre-
ational infrastructure at UBC” said Brian Sullivan, UBC vice-president, students. “The new and improved Tennis Centre will benefit students, faculty and staff and be a welcome addition to the amenities of our University Town.” The Recreational Infrastructure Canada (RInC) program will invest $500 million in recreational facilities across Canada over a two-year period. In total, WD has approved 718 RInC projects that will use all of the funding available in the West. These projects are helping provide a temporary economic stimulus that will help reduce the impacts of the global recession while renewing, upgrading and expanding recreational infrastructure in Canadian communities.
commodate them,” he said. The UBC source also said. “At the same time, the residents are lucky in that UBC Athletics and Recreation is reasonably flush with cash at the moment, thanks to successful fund-raising in relation to the Olympic venue at UBC.” In one major fund-raising coup, UBC received $10 million from Calgary lawyer/businessman Doug Mitchell, and although all these funds went towards the cost of building the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Arena (along with $35 million from the Vancouver Olympic Committee), the donation allowed UBC to
recover its $10 million investment in the project for placement in other sports-related ventures. The costly use of cedar-wood siding will add as much as $200,000-$300,000 to the cost of construction, the UBC source said. The $8.9 million New Tennis Centre proposal will go before the UBC board of governors, and if the board approves, construction would begin almost immediately with planned completion in the fall. The core of this proposed sports facility at UBC consists of eight indoor tennis courts in a new one-storey building, 7,206 square meters in floor area with three of the new courts allowing for tournament tennis, meaning these courts will be wider than the five new leisure courts by having spectator seating about them. The new building also provides for four squash courts, storage space and administrative offices, while a small bar will allow for the licensed consumption of liquor during tournaments. The rectangular shaped New Tennis Centre stretches from East Mall east into Osborne field (part of UBC playing fields) and will take over ground space currently occupied by three of four outdoors courts. The fourth outdoor court will remain as will the existing Tennis Center. The new tennis facility at UBC would appear well overdue. The existing Tennis Centre at the corner of East Mall and Thunderbird Boulevard contains only four indoor courts, and when its canvas roof leaked two years ago, UBC spent significantly to repair it. Meanwhile, the paved surfaces of the four outdoor courts along East Mall suffer constant damage as the roots of nearby trees break through them.
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‘Green Streets’ to Synchronize With Pacific Spirit Park Trails UBC is working with Metro; project is in planning stage
Connectors now in the planning stage will lead from Douglas Fir Trail in Pacific Spirit Regianol Park to South Campus where UBC is developing its largest neighbourhood. Sign post pictured above stands at junction with Sherry Sakamoto trail.
Planner Promises New Life for ‘Vision’ Council is due for report; citizens are helping write it The moribund West Point Grey ‘visioning’ process has returned to life. The visioning process, a task completed in just about every other neighborhood in Vancouver over the last decade, died in West Point Grey about three years ago after two years of enthusiastic input from the community of 40,000. However, according to senior city planner Catherine Buckham, the near future looks rosier than the recent past. In a letter invited to the 30-40 members of the West Point Grey Community Liaison Group, the senior planner writes, “We recognize that there has been a break in
the final step of the WPG Vision process and we apologize for this delay.” Ms. Buckham has invited the members of this group to a meeting to help craft a plan forward. “Over the past year much of our attention has been focused on hosting the Winter Games, and we have also had challenges related to the budget, staffing levels and other unanticipated setbacks in the delivery of our services,” she writes. “Now that the preparation for and hosting the Olympics are behind us, there is an opportunity this Spring to seek City Council’s approval of the West Point Grey
The
Vision and move forward with implementation.” The West Point Grey visioning process began in the spring of 2005 with a wellattended ‘Vision Fair’ at the Point Grey Community Centre, and it continued through the summer of that year with a dozen weekly focus-groups on various aspects of life in the community. Up to 50 residents turned up at each of these focus sessions—considered “an excellent city-wide attendance record” by municipal staff. Then, for reasons now explained, the process went into cold storage.
The ‘green streets’ of South Campus will soon connect to the dirt and gravel trails of Pacific Spirit Regional Park. A joint work project between Metro Vancouver and the University of British Columbia to connect car-free residential streets and hiker-friendly park trails has entered the planning stage. Richard Wallis, operations supervisor for Metro Vancouver in the area that includes Pacific Spirit Regional Park, told a Metro parks committee meeting in Burnaby recently that “three trail connectors are being established” to link the Wesbrook Place residential neighborhood (in South Campus) to the Douglas Fir trail that runs through the adjacent forest. The plausible connector-project has a long and difficult history dating back to days when Metro Vancouver was reported ready to erect fencing around its park to prevent UBC residents entering from South Campus. However, the March 31 report of Mr. Wallis indicates these days are well over. As well as the three trail connectors between Spirit Park and UBC/South Campus, Metro has work underway on other trails in the park near UBC. On an unrelated issue, the west-regional Metro parks supervisor reported on an increase of instances in which people visiting Wreck Beach in 2009 came there with cameras resulting in several minor altercations. He told the Metro park committee that Metro is working with the Wreck Beach Preservation Society on a plan to educate and communicate with the public regarding the unique nature of Wreck Beach. “We are working with the Society to develop a strategy to educate beach newcomers of the clothing optional status of the beach and appropriate beach etiquette.” The two reports form part of a comprehensive report on operations in Pacific Spirit Park and Wreck Beach which Mr. Wallis provided the Metro committee. The park supervisor provides comprehensive reports on a semi-annual basis. As well as park committee, these reports also go to the (full) Metro board of directors.
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Menzies cont’d from pg 1
Charles Menzies At a recent board meeting, Metro directors agreed the local election process is flawed and should be upgraded, and issued a directive to Metro staff to pursue some of the proposals suggested by Mr. Menzies. The brisk directive orders staff to obtain the provincial voters list, available from Electrons BC, to create a proper Electoral Area A voters list for use in all subsequent local government elections (held every three years). “Many, if not most, local area elections use the BC Voters’ List,” Mr. Menzies had argued./“So, it should not be too difficult for Metro to do so.” The new directive engages Metro in what its directors call ‘election outreach’. As well as mining provincial data bases, Metro staff will seek written submissions about the Electoral Area A election process by placing advertisements in local newspapers and the Metro Vancouver
website, and mailing directly to representative organizations in Electoral Area A. These organizations will include the University Neighborhoods Association, the Alma Mater Society, and UBC Housing and Conferences. As pointed out by Mr. Menzies, the most egregious election flaw in the November 2008 election had Metro Vancouver—in the absence of a Voters’ List—sending out election material “only to those on the B.C. Assessment Rolls” (i.e. only to those local residents who own homes). As a result, Mr. Menzies said, “more than 50% of my neighborhood of nearly 2,000 people did not receive notification of election.” (i.e. renters did not receive notices of election from Metro). Metro directors agreed this was a gross deficiency. The local Metro director Maria Harris agrees the reforms are necessary. Ms. Harris said in the November 2008 election in which she was successful, many people turned up at local polling stations with insufficient information about who they might vote for. They also turned up at polling stations with only rudimentary ways of identifying themselves—using driving licenses rather than the kind of proper voting cards they would have likely had if living and voting in a Vancouver municipal election.
Whale cont’d from pg 1
UBC President Stephen Toope was joined by Premier Gordon Campbell, CFI President Eliot Phillipson, Ross Beaty and Hamid Eshghi, president of the djavad mowafaghian foundation, for today’s opening ceremony. “The Beaty Biodiversity Centre exemplifies UBC’s goal to engage and inspire,” said Prof. Toope. “The synergy and intellectual discourse enabled by the shared research space, and the curiosity and reflection inspired by the museum’s public programs, will have an enormous impact on our understanding of our complex and interconnected world.” “The CFI is proud to support leadingedge research by UBC scientists that will not only advance basic knowledge on the origins of life but inform critically important conservation efforts to maintain biodiversity in Canada and around the world,” said Mr. Phillipson. “By investing in cutting-edge labs and equipment, we are giving these talented researchers the tools to answer fundamental questions about how species emerge, and how to conserve those that are endangered,” said Premier Campbell, who noted that B.C. is the most biodiverse province or territory in Canada. “In the face of climate change, we are working to find ways to sustain life in all its forms, even as we take action to protect our natural world by reducing our carbon footprint.” “The Beaty Biodiversity Centre will enrich our local society, Canadian society, and global society by carrying out research and displaying some
of the species and biodiversity of our world,” said Ross Beaty. “And it will teach existing and future generations – our children – the wonders and fragility of many of the species we all share the earth with.” The opening ceremony was followed by the naming of the Djavad Mowafaghian Atrium, a two-storey glass gallery in the Beaty Biodiversity Museum that houses the 25-metre skeleton of a blue whale that washed ashore on the coast of Prince Edward Island in 1987. Articulated in the species’ signature lunge-feeding pose, the UBC blue whale is the largest skeleton exhibit in the world suspended without external armature. “The museum’s atrium will become a focal point for outreach and educational activities that will help school children and the general public gain a better understanding of, and appreciation for, the interconnectedness of all living things on earth,” said Djavad Mowafaghian in a statement. “The knowledge of where we come from and where we are going will entice us to be more active in helping to improve our environment for our children.” The museum also announced today summer preview dates for the blue whale exhibit in advance of the museum’s fall public opening. On May 22 – International Day of Biological Diversity – the public is invited to see the blue whale and celebrate her journey with the people from PEI and B.C. who worked to save her. Additional previews will occur on May 29, June 19, July 17, and August 21.
at The Old Barn
The
The 6308 Thunderbird Blvd. 604.827.4469
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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT MAY 2010
Thunderbird Liquor License Lets Patrons Drink at Sports Events—but not Rock Concerts UBC granted partial approval; need for improved event management is cited The provincial liquor licensing branch has drawn a distinction between sports events and rock concerts held at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Arena at the University of British Columbia. A liquor license recently granted to UBC allows it to sell liquor to up to 9,000 hockey fans during games at the $45 million complex on Wesbrook Mall at Thunderbird Boulevard, but not to fans at rock concerts there, though the licensing branch said it would reconsider the
situation if UBC reapplied for a license. UBC had applied for a liquor license to cover both sporting and non-sporting events at its facility, which was a venue for Olympic and Paralympic Games events, The new license at theThunderbird arena relates to two of its three rinks—the new main rink used in the Olympics and the renovated Father Bauer rink, which has been in use for over 40 years and where a limited liquor license was in effect for
years prior to the new, revised license. No consumption of alcohol may take place in and around the third rink which is reserved for community hockey. Hockey fans may drink in most corners of the facility, including an outdoors patio area, but not in some family-oriented non-drinking areas. The recent UBC application for a new post-Olympics liquor regime at the stadium relied heavily on support from Metro Vancouver. While supporting the
UBC application, Metro recommended that a probationary period be established in order to assure the liquor branch that special event management by UBC was appropriate. The liquor branch agreed that event management by UBC needed to be improved (especially rock concert event management), but advised that it was not able to issue a license on the basis of a probationary period.
UNA Team Takes Fun Run Seriously
From left to right Back Row, Elliot Escalona, Alan Wai, , John Avelon Middle Row: Jessica McLachlan, Jan Fialkowski, Rocio Escalona,Ralph Wells, Michelle Weber First Row: Raymundo Escalona, Hester Avelon, Cathie Cleveland, Laurel Avelon
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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT MAY 2010
AD TO COME