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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT APRIL 14, 2014
Vancouver School of Theology is scheduled to move out of the Iona Building in Chancellor Place, after building was sold to UBC RESIDENTS continued from Page 1 “Campus and Community Planning supports the amendment to the neighbourhood plan to allow the transfer to proceed and recommends that the Board of Governors approve the deletion of the text to facilitate the transfer of the Iona Building from the VST to UBC.” At the February Open House, UBC officials explained that the VST—currently housed in the Iona Building—will be replaced by the School of Economics, causing student population likely to rise to 300 economics students from 150 theology students. In response, residents expressed concern about the significant impact on their neighbourhood of this doubling of foot traffic. Residents have fought a long battle to tame rogue car parking in their neighbourhood, and they fear a new battle will break out if revisions to the neighbourhood plan are approved by the UBC Board of Governors. The issue of noise in the Chancellor Place community also generated discussion at the Open House with residents suggesting that 300 economics students are more likely to have noisy after-hours public events than 150 theology students. Generally, residents held that the change from VST occupation of the Iona Building to UBC occupation is one which would have affected their decisions to purchase condominium units in Chancellor Place. In e-mail correspondence with The Campus Resident, Thomas Beyer, a resident-director of the University Neighbourhoods Association, said he and other Chancellor Place residents have three concerns. “The major concern is about more traf-
fic and parking, namely affluent, highpowered-car-driving students abusing the very few parking spots. “Parking is generally a major issue on Ministry of Transportation roads at UBC; parking is currently poorly enforced, and with the ministry likely to cancel the funding of the commissionaires, another UNA-funded solution has to be found. “So, UBC is offloading its cost once again onto residents.” The second concern of residents, as expressed by Mr. Beyer, is that Chancellor Place used to be a “theological” neighborhood, and with the decampment of VST, it will be “just another UBC mixed academic-residential community for UBC profit maximization.” Mr. Beyer said, “The third concern is that there is essentially no neighborhood consultation.” “UBC does what it wants, and then informs residents of its decision (to install the School of Economics instead of VST in the Iona Building).” However, he said, consultation “is not accommodation!” Fellow resident Peter Hebb concurred. In an e-mail, Mr. Hebb said, “Thomas Beyer has accurately summarized the parking and traffic concerns of the strata councils and their residents in the ‘theological’ neighbourhood.” Ying Zhou, a Chancellor Place resident who is also a director of the UNA, said the UNA board needs to continue the difficult task of securing increased rights for residents in relation to UBC, “especially on issues relating to developments on campus that are next to us, or near to us or may otherwise affect us.” Ms. Zhou also said she hopes more residents will attend Open Houses in future to express concerns first hand “before any (UBC) procedures are made.”
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