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OPENING
REMARKS
His Worship, Mayor Mike Hurley delivered the following
opening remarks:
“Thank you for coming out once again
to help Burnaby address its housing needs.
We have come a long way since we
launched in January, progressing through the largest public engagement
exercise in Burnaby’s history and staying on track with our schedule.
We are almost finished the second
phase of Your Voice. Your Home.
In a couple of weeks the Community
Recommendations Report will be prepared and released publicly, marking the
beginning of the final phase of the engagement process.
You have done so much already.
Thank you very much for all your work so far.
To those Task Force members who were
able to join the Community Recommendations Workshop on May 25, a special
thank you for coming out on a Saturday. Your presence there was an important
signal to the 96 randomly-selected community members that the work they did
really matters.
Over the course of the day, workshop
participants considered about 290 recommendations, and ultimately reduced
that list to 42. It was a difficult process, but people stuck with the work
of identifying what they think Burnaby needs most. Feedback at the end of
the day was overwhelmingly positive. Now it is our turn to work through
today’s agenda.
We have some interesting points to
discuss and there may well be disagreements about specific recommendations or
process points. For example, I know some members of this Task Force would
have liked to be more involved in the Rental Zoning report that went to
Council a few weeks ago. Staff began working on the Rental Zoning Policy
last September, which is why this was highlighted as one of the policies in
motion when the Task Force first met. I have full confidence and trust in
staff and I support their recommendations.
There was a real need for certainty
among both tenants and landlords so they could get on with planning for their
next steps, including where they would live, and whether they would return to
their neighbourhood.
At the outset of this process we
were all made aware that we should not expect to get every one of our ideas
accepted. That would be unrealistic. If I wanted to do things that way we
would not have undergone this extensive consultation and deliberation
process. However, having said that, if the Task Force can improve on the
Rental Zoning policy in a way where everyone one wins, Council is open to
considering amendments.
If the past is an indication of the
future, I expect that we will find our way through all of this. Your
willingness to find real, workable solutions in a respectful, collaborative
environment is what makes this Task Force so valuable. In the end, I know we
will find a balance and everyone here will see that the majority of their
input is reflected in the final report to Council.
So once again, we will deliberate
and find a way forward by hearing each other out and focusing on balanced
outcomes that work for Burnaby.
Let’s keep going.”
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