EcoDensity in capable hands
Peter Simpson
Sun
When you are the new boy on the block, you can either blend in slowly or make a bold statement that gets you noticed right away. Vancouver’s new planning director, Brent Toderian, pronounced Todd-er-an, chose the second route — with a little nudge from Mayor Sam Sullivan.
Just 37, Toderian has carved out impressive planning credentials.
His previous posting was Calgary, where he managed centre city planning and design, leading the rejuvenation of the downtown core there. His Vancouver predecessor, the celebrated Larry Beasley, calls Toderian a “sophisticated urbanist.”
Toderian is articulate, passionate about his new role, somewhat inspiring and a tad idealistic, which makes him the ideal person to steer Mayor Sam’s new sustainability initiative, EcoDensity.
EcoDensity was to be launched to great fanfare Feb. 22.
Obviously, no one told Vancouver Police Chief Jamie Graham, who chose that day to announce his retirement, creating a feeding frenzy for newshounds. The EcoDensity announcement was pushed deep into the news pages.
Vancouver’s EcoDensity initiative is billed as an examination of what changes need to happen for Vancouver to grow into a truly sustainable city that is also livable and affordable.
Yes, those buzzwords have been heard many times before. And there is no shortage of definitions and perceptions of sustainability, livability and affordability.
What makes this initiative different? Well, to promote a greener lifestyle, Vancouver spent a barrel of green to publish a glossy, full-colour, 40-page booklet that fully interprets EcoDensity and how Vancouverites can get involved in the public-input process. There’s also an informative website.
The booklet contains lots of photos — happy men, women and children, tree-lined streets, destructive storms, tony residences, ice floes, bicycles, parched land, flowers and community festivals — a combination of impending ecological calamities and the world according to Ward and June Cleaver.
There are no photos depicting clogged arterial roads, homelessness or drug addiction.
The city hall news conference staged to announce EcoDensity included no prominent mainstream developers or builders. Instead, the speakers included representatives of organizations that live and die by eco-friendly — even no-growth — benchmarks.
Fair enough, I believe in holding true to principles, but the message would have sold much better had it been delivered by, say, David Podmore of Concert Properties, or David Negrin of Concord Pacific, influential development leaders who have played major roles in shaping the face of Vancouver.
And I am growing quite weary of hearing the same, tired message that people who rely on vehicles to get around the region are fatter than people who live in walkable areas such as Kitsilano.
First, I love Kits, but if it is so walkable, why can you seldom find a parking spot there? Second, I know many vehicle-friendly people in the so-called suburbs who are fit and healthy. Give it a rest already.
The one speaker who did not represent an organization was David McMillan, a west-side resident who wants to convert his ramshackle, lane-access garage into a coach-house apartment for his grown children who can’t afford to buy a home in Vancouver. He says he has the support of his neighbours.
At times, Vancouver slips into a Torontoesque, centre-of-the-universe mindset, yet it is just one of 21 GVRD municipalities, some of which already permit secondary suites, accessory apartments attached to lane-access garages and other innovative housing forms.
Langley and Surrey are among high-growth municipalities enjoying successes, so it shouldn’t be much of a stretch for Vancouver.
EcoDensity takes a hard look at the city’s ecological footprint, and how it relates to land use, housing affordability, transportation and neighbourhood amenities. Vancouver, the booklet states, “will be looking to remove barriers, offer incentives, allow new development, and prioritize building types and energy-saving ideas that are sustainable and affordable alternatives to current development.”
Sociological issues aside, Vancouver is a wonderful — albeit pricey — city in which to live, work and play. The EcoDensity strategy contains noble, supportable goals, but it has its challenges, detractors and over-the-top wish list of what might be construed by some as crunchy-granola components.
One of the predictable challenges is the ever-present not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) cabal. The public-consultation process, including the EcoDensity Fair today and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Riley Park Community Centre, should address many community concerns and allay fears.
Renowned professor Avi Friedman will kick off the EcoDensity speaker series tonight at 7 at the Vancouver Public Library. Friedman is best known for his innovative flex-house designs.
Make up your own minds. Some of you will embrace the EcoDensity concept; others will add it to the confusing maze of “green” programs already on the ground. For information on the EcoDensity program, including details on this weekend’s activities, visit www.vancouver.ca/ecodensity.
I look forward to participating in the consultation process. EcoDensity has only just begun.
© The Vancouver Sun 2007