Hello Parents, Friends + Neighbours,

As many of you may have seen last week, the Referral Report for the 7th/8th and Arbutus Staff report went before Council on Tuesday, May 17th.

Given the extensive technical issues with the report and the new amended application, we were hopeful that Council would make a recommendation to not refer this report to Public Hearing, and instead direct the applicant to rework this report.

However, the flawed and misleading report did receive majority approval by Council to advance to the next steps. The rezoning application will now move to a Public Hearing despite both Councillor Melissa De Genova and Councillor Colleen Hardwick standing with us to oppose the referral due to the proposal lacking readiness for consideration, for its preemptive nature (prior to the Broadway Plan approval) and for all the reasons we argue against its viability.

We have not yet been advised when the Public Hearing will occur, but we are expecting it to be later in June. 

We will be in touch once the date for the Public Hearing is set with some clear calls to action around attending a Rally and Speaking up at the Public Hearing. In the meantime, you can help by encouraging others to get involved and to understand the rezoning application's implications on safety, lack of consultation, and community impact.

Sincerely,

Your partners in change making.