PARK COMMISSIONER FEARS LOSS OF PUBLIC INPUT WITH SUDDEN CHANGE TO PARK NAMING RULES
Posted: Mar 26, 2012
Vancouver, BC, March 25, 2012 -
NPA Park Commissioner John Coupar will speak to media at noon today, over his concerns that public input will be curtailed under the new proposed procedure for naming parks to be voted on Monday evening. Coupar states the present park naming procedure is working well and was set up in 2007 as a result of extensive public consultation.
"I dispute the reasons being put forward by my Vision colleagues, and would go as far to suggest that this change is being done to benefit their political allies," says Commissioner Coupar. "The policy in place today was hammered out with extensive public consultation just over four years ago, and was approved across party lines. Why would you want to take away the public's opinion as to how we name our parks?"
Under the 2007 policy only two new parks have been named, a testament, says Coupar, that the policy is working fine.
Under the new proposed policy, the public consultation model only recently established will be subject to the political will of the Vision majority board," adds Coupar. "Nobody I've heard from except Vision commissioners seems to be comfortable with that.
Coupar says he and fellow NPA Park Commissioner Melissa De Genova hope that the public will join them at Monday evening's Park Board meeting to express their opposition to rule changes that will take away public input. They are urging anyone who wants to speak at Monday's Committee meeting to register beforehand by calling 604-257-8453 before noon tomorrow.
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