Updates to the Proposed Electoral Area A Zoning Bylaw:

On October 28, 2011, the Metro Vancouver Board gave initial readings to a revised Electoral Area A Zoning Bylaw. This revised Zoning Bylaw is the result of months of work between staff and the Electoral Area A Advisory Planning Commission.

Links below are provided to the proposed Zoning Bylaw, a table summarizing some of the major changes being proposed and a staff report that outlines the rationale for updating the Zoning Bylaw and the process that has been followed to date. No changes to use or density are being proposed. If you have any questions, comments or feedback that you would like to provide please contact Jason Smith, Regional Planner at jason.smith@metrovancouver.org or at 778-452-2690.

It is anticipated that a public hearing on the proposed Zoning Bylaw will be held in the early part of 2012.

 Electoral Area Zoning Bylaw 1144, 2011
 Staff Report
 Table of Proposed Major Changes to the Electoral Area A Zoning Bylaw

Metro Vancouver Electoral Area
Metro Vancouver (Greater Vancouver Regional District or GVRD) is a partnership of 22 municipalities, one electoral area, and one treaty First Nation. Metro Vancouver, as the regional government for 2.3 million people, has three major roles: providing core services/infrastructure to the region, such as drinking water, sewerage, drainage and solid waste management; planning and policy, including regional growth, utilities, air quality and parks; and a political forum for discussion of significant community issues at the regional level. 

The Electoral Area comprises approximately 818 square kilometres of land, most of which is located in the northern part of the regional district. It also includes Barnston Island and the urban communities of University of British Columbia (UBC) and University Endowment Lands (UEL). As of 2006, the population of the Electoral Area was approximately 11,000, the majority of whom lived at UBC or UEL.

The Electoral Area is represented on the Metro Vancouver Board by an elected Director. The Director is also on the TransLink Mayor’s Council which contains representatives from each of the municipalities from within the region and collectively represents the viewpoints and interests of the citizens of the region. 

Electoral Area Geography:

• Lands along Howe Sound, located between the District of West Vancouver and Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (excluding the Village of Lions Bay). This includes the communities of Ocean Point, Strachan Point and Montizambert Wynd. 
• Bowyer and Passage Islands (in Howe Sound) 
• Northern portion of Indian Arm including Croker Island
• Boulder Island and Carraholly Point (at the southern end of Indian Arm)
• West side of Pitt Lake
• Barnston Island (in the Fraser River, west of Golden Ears Bridge)
• University Endowment Lands (includes most of Pacific Spirit Regional Park)
• University of British Columbia Area (includes Point Grey Campus lands and part of Pacific Sprit Regional Park)

Metro Vancouver Region-wide Services
Metro Vancouver provides region-wide services, which includes the Electoral Area, as follows:

• 9-1-1 emergency telephone
• Air quality
• General government
• Labour relations
• Regional Utilities 
• Regional parks
• Strategic and regional growth planning

Metro Vancouver is responsible for the regional growth strategy which covers the entire region, with the exception of the Howe Sound Islands which are within the jurisdiction of the Islands Trust and lands within federal jurisdiction, such as First Nation Reserves, the airport and port lands.

Within Electoral Area A, Metro Vancouver provides regional infrastructure services to UBC and UEL, specifically water supply and waste water treatment. In terms of regional parks, the Electoral Area contains Pacific Spirit Regional Park, and parklands on Barnston Island.

Metro Vancouver Electoral Area Services
Metro Vancouver, in its role as the local government, is responsible for certain planning, building permit, emergency planning, and general administration services for the Electoral Area. However, compared to an incorporated municipality, Metro Vancouver offers fewer services to the Electoral Area.

Metro Vancouver provides local government services to the Electoral Area as follows:

• Land use planning (excluding Passage and Bowyer Islands, which receive their land use planning from the Islands Trust; excluding the UEL which are directly administered by the Province; and excluding UBC which provides its own land use planning with the Province as its authority).
• Building permits and inspection (excluding UBC and the UEL)
• Liquor license review (comments on applications which are approved by the province)
• General administration, which may include conducting studies, facilitating aid agreements and working with residents to address concerns in their communities
• emergency planning and response services.

 Emergency management planning and response

No local recreational or community services / facilities or structural fire protection services are provided by Metro Vancouver to the Electoral Area. Additional infrastructure and services, such as drinking water, septic, garbage collection, and snow clearing may be organized and contracted directly by individual communities. For example, the University of British Columbia and University Endowment Lands arrange their own services. At UBC, the University Neighbourhood Association (UNA) is responsible for local regulation (such as noise, parking, and animal control), as well as community programs and recreation, and acts as a liaison for the community’s use of UBC facilities.

University of British Columbia
In June 2010, responsibility for local land use planning at the University of British Columbia Point Grey Campus was transferred to the Province and UBC was given the ability to manage amendments to their Land Use Plan, subject to Ministerial approval. Metro Vancouver is required by legislation to provide Chief Planning Officer’s comments on UBC’s Regional Context Statements; acceptance of the Regional Context Statement is the responsibility of the Minister. For further information, contact Gary Paget at the Ministry of Community, Sport, and Cultural Development at (250) 953-4129.