Deputy DefendsSpeed of Decision

Before Metro Board

The University of British Columbia has offi cially opened the Beaty Biodiversity Centre, new home to some of the world’s top biodiversity researchers and Canada’s largest blue whale skeleton exhibit.The centre houses the Biodiversity Re-search Centre, which has brought 25 principal investigators and their teams under one roof, and the Beaty Biodiver-sity Museum, with more than two million specimens, slated to open this fall.The 11,550-sq. metre, four-storey build-ing is designed to facilitate collaboration

among researchers from different disci-plines. The building has innovative sus-tainability features such as a green roof and water channel that supports aquatic plants and insects while helping reduce storm water surges.The $50-million proj-ect is made possible with support from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the Province of British Columbia, an $8-million gift from UBC alumni Ross and Trisha Beaty and a $3-million gift from the djavad mowafaghian foundation.

whale cont’d pg 10

Menzies Makes Metro Move on Voters’ List

UBC resident is cause of change; Metro is preparing for next Electoral Area A elections

The constructive request of UBC resident Charles Menzies that Metro Vancouver produce a Voters’ List to improve its lo-cal election process in the UBC area has brought an equally-constructive response from Metro.Mr. Menzies, an associate professor of an-thropology at UBC who ran unsuccessfully

for UBC area director on the Metro board, had complained—justifi ably, as it turns out—that the lack of a Voters’ List for Elec-toral Area A (which includes both UBC and the University Endowment Lands) in the 2008 election for Metro director hampered the dissemination of information about the election in which he ran.

menzies cont’d pg 10

Province Plans Review of Whether Campus

Needs Governance ChangeGovernment stance is discussed in letter to UNA; new

land use regime at UBC is also discussedThe provincial government makes clear in a letter to the University Neighbor-hoods Association (UNA) it is ready to start considering whether a change of governance is needed at the University of British Columbia.The letter comes from Bill Bennett, minis-ter of community and rural development, and while it refers fi rst to the related issue of new legislation affecting the control of land use planning at UBC, it refers sec-ondly to the issue of local governance at UBC.Referring to the way in which 6,000 residents of UBC are governed, Mr. Ben-nett—an MLA from East Kootenay—says in his letter,“UBC and the Province agree it is time to start thinking about whether there is a need for more representative local gov-ernment for the Point Grey peninsula, especially given the signifi cant current and projected population growth, and the increasing complexity of managing the area without the benefi t of a municipal government.“The Province is prepared to explore the idea of greater local self-government in the area. Residents of the many commu-nities on the Point Grey peninsula would need to be involved in any discussion of whether governance change is necessary

to carry out the core functions of gover-nance, planning and services delivery. Any further action in this regard is going to require time and discussion.“The University Neighborhoods Asso-ciation and its Board has played, and will continue to play, a vital role in guiding and administering the growing residential community on UBC’s Point Grey campus. I look forward to working with you on the transition to a new planning arrangement for the UBC Point Grey campus.”The provincial government introduced its stunning new legislation affecting control of land use planning at UBC on April 29, and this legislation, which transfers con-trol of local land use planning at UBC to the Province from Metro Vancouver, comes after a fractious November, 2009 meeting at which UBC and Metro failed to agree about a zoning bylaw Metro pro-posed for UBC.Called upon to mediate the dispute, the Province brought in the new legislation, claiming, “It ensures lands set aside early in the 20th century to support B.C.’s fi rst, and now largest, university will continue to advance UBC’s 21st century academic mission and help to achieve the goal of making UBC the best endowed public university in North America.”

Bennett cont’d pg 2

The provincial government considered the recent regulatory impasse between UBC and Metro Vancouver over a pro-posed Metro zoning bylaw at UBC serious enough to warrant prompt legislation ac-tion, says the deputy minister in charge.Dale Wall, deputy minister, community and rural development, told the May 12 meeting of Metro directors that “it was clear to the government that both parties were not happy”.Mr. Wall said Metro was no longer happy because while it had responsibility for plan-ning oversight at UBC, it had no regulatory control bylaw in place, while “UBC was nervous” that a Metro zoning bylaw would delay some of its research projects.

The government perceived the dispute as “serious”, Mr. Wall said, and after review-ing the record of a fractious November, 2009 joint meeting of Metro directors and UBC governors, it decided to act resolutely in what it thought was the best interest of both parties.The stout defense Mr. Wall presented of prompt government resolve in drafting the legislation to take control of land use planning at UBC away from Metro Van-couver in favor of the Province had sev-eral Metro directors shaking their heads in apparent consternation at a board meeting May 12th. Burnaby Mayor Derek Corri-gan led the head-shaking.

Metro was no longer happy”; UBC was nervous

Metro cont’d pg 2

UBC Unveils Blue WhaleSkeleton as Centre Opens

Volume 1, Issue 1 May 2010

THE CAMPUS RESIDENT MAY 2010

The unregulated development of Hamp-ton Place at UBC in 1995 led to both the initial oversight of UBC planning by Metro Vancouver and an Offi cial Com-munity Plan (OCP) in 1997.The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which went with the OCP al-lowed for a joint committee of three Met-ro directors and three UBC governors, and this joint committee became the main forum for formal discussions between the two bureaucracies with respect to land de-velopment at UBC and other issues.The two sides in the joint committee have bickered over a number of issues in recent years, and in November, 2009, formal dis-

In explaining how the new model of provincial gov-ernment control of land use planning at UBC will work, Mr. Bennett says in his letter to the UNA, “The new model ensures the interests of Metro Vancouver, the Province, UBC and the public are balanced“The legislation requires UBC to develop a land use plan for the campus through a public process directed and overseen by me. The model introduced in the legislation is similar to the University Endow-ment Lands (UEL) model.“The approval decision about UBC’s land use plan will be made in consulta-tion with my colleague, Honorable Moira Stilwell, Minister of Advanced Ed-ucation and Labour Mar-ket Development, to en-sure that UBC’s academic mission and goals are up-held in the plan.”

Bennett from pg 1

After listening to Mr. Wall explain why the provincial government introduced the legislation April 29th, Mr. Corrigan—to the amusement of some directors—said sarcastically, “You passed it so quickly, you have to be congratulated. We take a year to get things through, if they go through even then. It’s not funny, You are smiling. It’s pathetic.”The speedy introduction of the legislation also surprised Vancouver councilor Tim Stevenson while another director alleged, “Someone in Victoria pushed the panic button in a crisis that doesn’t exist.”Even Johnny Carline, Metro chief execu-tive offi cer, made a sarcastic remark in regard to alleged government haste. Re-ferring to a letter from UBC president Ste-phen Toope to the government in Victoria, Mr. Carline claimed, “Toope talks about the end of civilization as we know it.”Several directors, including Mr. Corrigan, referred to Metro attempts to get provincial intervention in fractious UBC-Metro rela-tions two and a half years ago, to which Mr. Wall replied, “We felt more could be done (by UBC and Metro) at that time.”

The unfl appable Mr. Wall said that after reviewing the record of the joint UBC-Metro meeting in November 2009, the government concluded it had grounds to act. Oddly, the Victoria civil servant of-fered that the two sides in disagreement were effectively saying the same thing—that the relationship wasn’t working. “We have acted as mediator. We tried to play this role.”The harsh term ‘dictatorship’ entered the Metro side of this discussion a few times. Richmond councilor Harold Steeves called UBC “a dictatorship”, as did an-other director. Metro chair Lois Jackson said, “We want to see democracy in action at UBC.”The full Metro board also heard from Judy Williams, representing the Wreck Beach Preservation Society and Pacifi c Spirit Park Society.Ms. Williams, a persistent critic of UBC, asked that the province not pass the land use planning legislation it has introduced “until groups have had time to study it.”Ms. Williams also called the standard of public consultation envisioned in the new land use planning process to be overseen by the government as “unreasonably low.”

metro from pg 1

Bill Bennett, Minster of Community and Rural Development

cussion came virtually to an end.Mr. Bennett brings a wealth of legisla-tive experience to bear as Minister of Community and Rural Development, to which position he was appointed in June 10, 2009.A Cranbrook, B.C. lawyer before enter-ing politics, Mr. Bennett was fi rst elected to represent the riding of East Kootenay in 2001 and re-elected in 2005.He was previously appointed Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts on June 23, 2008, and Minister of State for Min-ing on June 16, 2005.(Please turn to Page 3 for full text of the letter to the UNA from the Minister.)

page 2

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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT MAY 2010

Published by:

Editor: John Tompkins: johntompkins@shaw.ca

Full Text of May 5th Letter from Minister Bill Bennett

to UNA BoardThis letter is to advise that the Province of British Columbia introduced amend-ments to the Municipalities Enabling and Validating Act (No.3) on April 29, 2010 that will change local governance with respect to land use planning and development at the Point Grey Campus of the University of British Columbia.The Province, after discussions with UBC and Metro Vancouver, decided that planning roles on campus had to be clarifi ed, and determined that UBC should continue to develop plans and consult with the community as it does today, that the Minister of Community and Rural Development should be re-sponsible for formally signing off on the plans, and that Metro Vancouver should continue to be responsible for its regional planning and services.The new model ensures the interests of Metro Vancouver, the Province, UBC and the public are balanced. The legis-lation required UBC to develop a land use plan for the campus through a pub-lic process directed and overseen by me. The model introduced in legislation is similar to the University Endowment Lands (UEL) model. The approval deci-sion about UBC’s land use plan will be made in consultation with my colleague, Honorable Moira Stilwell, Minister of Advanced Education and Labour Mar-ket Development, to ensure that UBC’s academic mission and goals are upheld in the plan.Current servicing and regulatory ar-rangements are essentially unchanged. The current Offi cial Community Plan (OCP) for the Point Grey campus that was developed by Metro Vancouver will become the fi rst land use plan with one amendment. The amendment will allow UBC to proceed with a new Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences Building. Cur-

rently, the OCP designates the block on which the building is planned to be built as ‘Future Housing’ and the leg-islation will change that designation to ‘UBC Core’ for ‘academic use’.This initiative responds to a request from UBC and Metro Vancouver to help sort out planning responsibilities, so that each organization may concentrate on core functions. Metro Vancouver wants to focus on its goal of becoming a leader in regional sustainability. UBC wants to focus on its academic mission of being a world class university, pro-moting the values of sustainability.UBC and the Province agree it is time to start thinking about whether there is a need for more representative local gov-ernment for the Point Grey peninsula, especially given the signifi cant current and projected population growth, and the increasing complexity of managing the area without the benefi t of a munic-ipal government.The Province is prepared to explore the idea of greater local self-government in the area. Residents of the many com-munities on the Point Grey peninsula would need to be involved in any dis-cussion of whether governance change is necessary to carry out the core func-tions of governance, planning and ser-vices delivery. Any further action in this regard is going to require time and discussion.The University Neighborhoods Asso-ciation and its Board has played, and will continue to play, a vital role in guiding and administering the grow-ing residential community on UBC’s Point Grey campus. I look forward to working with you on the transition to a new planning arrangement for the UBC Point Grey campus.

The residential community at the Univer-sity of British Columbia may want to start thinking about whether there is a need for more representative local government on campus, If they don’t, they may fi nd UBC and the provincial government doing their thinking for them. As you will see by reading the government letter to the UNA board elsewhere on this page, UBC and the Province have already started to think about this issue, and it well behooves resi-dents not to follow suit and not get left behind.The main issue for us at this point cen-ters not on whether there will be change or not, or even what kind of change there might be, but on whether the process by which any decision for or against change is made. If this process is not fair and rea-sonable, any decision arising from it will lack validity, and by fair and reasonable, we mean if this decision about gover-nance at UBC is not made by the residents of UBC, it will lack validity. If the resi-dents elect for change by way of a valid process, then we support the change, and visa versa.The vital need for residents to brush up on their thoughts about governance at UBC comes about because of a seismic shift in who oversees governance at UBC. Until a few days ago Metro Vancouver labored under this responsibility. All this changed on April 29th when the provincial gov-ernment took over, and announced UBC and the Province had agreed it was time to start thinking about whether there is a need for more representative local gov-

ernment for the Point Grey peninsula, “es-pecially given the signifi cant current and projected population growth, and the in-creasing complexity of managing the area without the benefi t of a municipal gov-ernment.” As the minister of community and rural development Bill Bennett says in his May 5th letter to the UNA board, “The Province is prepared to explore the idea of greater local self-government in the area.” As part of the mobilization process, the residential community at UBC needs to realize its investment in this area. UBC has a huge ethical investment in generat-ing the right form of governance on cam-pus, and the province has a similar invest-ment in size and kind. This said, nothing overlooks the $1.5 billion the residential community has invested at UBC, an in-vestment which makes them players of equal size with their UBC and provincial government partners in any governance review process.The important process of looking at whether governance change is needed at UBC will almost certainly end in the fol-lowing manner: Does the heavily-invested residential community want to continue receiving effective governance via the University Neighborhoods Association or does it wish to switch to receiving gover-nance from a new municipal mayor and council? Before we reach this point, how-ever, we need to know that the process by which the decision it ultimately made is one designed to deliver the wishes of the campus residential community.

The next round of local government elections does not occur until Novem-ber, 2011. However, Metro Vancouver has already started work on ensuring they are better organized than the last round held in November, 2008. Ahead of the November, 2011 election in Elec-toral Area A, all residents at UBC and in the University Endowment Lands should receive cards in the nail notify-ing them of their right to vote, subject to eligibility; where to vote; and who they might for, while all candidates should have access to a Voters List, allowing them to mail out political and biograph-ical materials to potential voters.The last round of local government elections witnessed voting cards posted only to homeowners, In other words, if you rented a property at UBC or on

the UEL in November, 2008, you did not get a voting card in the mail, and if you wanted to vote, you had to rely mainly on Metro advertisements in lo-cal newspapers. Meanwhile, candidates had no way of accessing a ‘Voters List’, an integral part of electoral procedures everywhere.The commendable efforts of UBC resi-dent Charles Menzies has led to the change-around in Metro election poli-cies. Mr. Menzies, who ran and lost as a candidate for Metro director in 2008, pointed out the fl aws in the election process that all candidates struggled with. Maria Harris, who ran and won as a candidate for Metro director, agrees with the improvements Mr. Menzies said were needed.

Citizens, Stand By! It is Time to Talk

Metro Makes Changes in Election Rules MISSSING HEADING XXXXXXThe great wealth of talent in the campus community warrants a fl ood of letters to the editor of this publication on is-sues large and small. Should you hold an opinion on some aspect of commu-nity life, we would respectfully expect you to convey it to us in succinct writ-ten form—250 words at most would be fi ne. You may send it by mail either to The Campus Resident at the Old Barn Community Centre, or by e-mail to John Tompkins@shaw.caThe wonderful forest which surrounds this area might make a good subject for letter writing—tell us how much you appreciated being able to get out and walk around Pacifi c Spirit Region-al Park one day recently. The nearby beaches might make another topic—tell us how you plan to spend a sunny day

at Spanish Bank or Jericho Beach (or Wreck Beach?) in the months ahead. Surely someone has a comment on a recent concert at the world-class Chan Center for the Performing Arts.The daily life of a community consists not of all things wonderful, of course, and so we would look for letters in the critical vein as well as laudatory: Does vehicle traffi c go by your neighourhood at too great a speed? Do you fi nd a par-ticular crosswalk hazardous? Do you see a neighborhood receptacle being improperly used as a household garbage can? Let us bring the weight of public opinion to bear on these ill-conceived as-pects of campus as well as the enviable ones. Welcome to The Campus Resident, a monthly publication dedicated to the all-round good of the community.

The monthly Editorials which appear in this space represent the opinion of the board of directors of the University Neighborhoods Association. The editori-als bear no signatures because they do not necessarily represent the personal views of individual board members.The board reaches the positions taken in the editorials through discussion among members of the board, while the news-gathering department operates independent of the board.

page 3

University Neighbourhoods Association 6308 Thunderbird Blvd, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4

THE CAMPUS RESIDENT MAY 2010

The general public will have the op-portunity soon to review in detail an application by the University of Brit-ish Columbia to Metro Vancouver for an air-quality permit to operate a power plant using ‘biomass’ fuel on campus.In an ‘Environmental Protection No-tice’, Metro has invited written submis-sions on the UBC proposal from “any person who may be adversely affected by discharge of waste” from the plant, which UBC hopes will generate 12 per cent of its energy needs when it starts operating less than two years from now.As well as accepting written submis-sions, Metro will hold public hearings on the UBC power plant application in a review process a UBC source said is expected to take six months.If granted in accordance with provin-cial environmental regulations, the vital permit UBC seeks would allow its ‘bio-mass gasifi cation co-generation plant’ on campus to discharge contaminants into the air within specifi ed limits.The plant would employ the following process, according to data provided by Metro Vancouver (which has provin-cial authority to control air quality in the Lower Mainland): “Gasifi cation of biomass to produce a synthesis gas for combustion in a steam boiler and inter-nal combustion engine for the purposes of producing heat and electrical power.” Meanwhile, in its application, UBC of-fers that “energy produced will offset the amount of natural gas burned in the existing powerhouse.”The list of air contaminants expected to be produced include particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic com-pounds and total organic carbon, while emission controls will include an elec-trostatic precipitator.The new greenhouse gas (GHG) emis-sions targets for the UBC Vancouver campus rely in part on Metro granting this license.UBC President Stephen Toope ex-pressed UBC hopes for the biomass plant generating 12 per cent of cam-pus energy needs during a speech to delegates at one of the world’s largest environmental conferences, the recent GLOBE 2010 conference in Vancou-ver.While announcing the new emissions targets, Professor Toope reported that the biomass project is a partnership be-tween UIBC, Vancouver-based Nexterra Systems Corp. and GE Water & Power, and he called the electricity produced through biomass gasifi cation “clean.”At a board meeting earlier this year, the residential directors of the University Neighbours Association (UNA) said that they wanted to know as many de-tails as possible about emissions from the proposed renewable-energy plant before they decide whether or not to endorse it. After listening to a presentation by representatives of UBC Building Op-erations and UBC faculty at the meet-ing, directors raised a series of ques-tions about the potential impact of the

plant—which will convert dead trees into electricity—on such quality-of-life issues as air quality, neighborhood noise and truck traffi c fl ows at UBC. UNA president Mike Feeley said, “I want to know what the particle emis-sions from this plant are. What are the safety levels? What are the air quality standards? How will residents know those standards are being met?” Mr. Feeley also said, “I think the burden of proof is on UBC to convince residents that their project is not putting pollut-ants into the air above standard.” The new 1,827 square meter (19,666 square feet) building that UBC Plant Operations needs for its new process would stand at the northwest corner of Lower Mall and Agronomy Road. This plant will replace old works buildings currently at the site.Beyond providing energy to the cam-pus, the plant will facilitate research in clean energy and building systems. The managing director of UBC Build-ing Operations, Dave Woodson, told the UNA directors that Metro Van-couver limits emissions from power plants—such the UBC biomass plant—to 18 milligrams of particulate matter per cubic meter of air. “We expect no more than fi ve milligrams per cubic meter,” he said. “The impact of emis-sions on UBC air quality will be mini-mal: no odors or smoke, and no water discharge.” As part of the application to Metro, the UBC group also claims industrial noise from the biomass conversion plant will fall within current neighborhood noise levels and that truck traffi c levels will not increase signifi cantly above normal truck traffi c activity on campus when the plant goes into operation. They proj-ect an increase of only one percent. The key issue of whether particle emis-sions from the plant posed danger to residents also featured in the comments of UNA director Erica Frank.Ms. Frank, a professor at the school of population and public health at UBC, said that before she decided on whether or not to support the project, she expect-ed to see more expert testimony from the group affi rming project safety. As well as directors of the UNA, ex-ecutive members of the Southwest Marine Drive Ratepayers Association want to know as many details as pos-sible about possible impacts from the proposed UBC Biomass project (See accompanying story).Should all go well for UBC, the revo-lutionary biomass process will start producing electricity before the end of 2011 with this electricity going di-rectly to UBC users—including con-dominiums on campus. Surplus electricity from the plant would go to BC Hydro under the terms of recent green-energy guide-lines established by the utility. BC Hydro would pay UBC for the power it receives from the plant, while this income would defray—or help de-fray—the costs of purchasing the bio-mass fuel from suppliers.

Metro Mulls Issue of ‘Biomass’ PermitPublic hearing will be held; air quality will be protected

President Steven Toope of The University of British Columbia holds bag of woodchips collected from prunings Stanley Park trees. Chips will be burned at a biomass plant.

Vancouver Pruning Provides Dead Wood for UBC Power Plant

Dead trees will be shipped to UBC; waste will be turned into power

The dead leaves, broken branches and fallen trees that accumulate through the year in Vancouver parks and along Van-couver streets will no longer end up in landfi ll in Langley.Under an agreement with the University of British Columbia, signed May 11th, the City of Vancouver will provide wood waste for the Bio-energy Research and Demonstration Project at UBC.Trees and branches that fall in parks or on city streets, as well as other clean wood waste material, will now create energy by fuelling clean, renewable biomass-based heat and power for UBC’s Vancouver campus.The aggressive greenhouse gas reduction targets of both Vancouver and UBC aim to reduce waste, conserve energy and of-fer alternative transportation initiatives.Figures provided by UBC indicate it has set greenhouse gas emission targets be-

yond already-achieved Kyoto targets to: • reduce GHGs by an additional 33 per cent from 2007 levels by 2015 • reduce GHGs to 67 per cent below 2007 levels by 2020• eliminate 100 per cent of GHGs by 2050Figures provided by the City of Vancou-ver indicate it is on track to meet Kyoto targets, and to: • reduce community emissions by six per cent below 1990 levels by 2012 (on track)• reduce community emissions by 33 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020• reduce community emissions by 80 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050The City has already achieved a 33 per cent reduction in municipal op-erations emissions below 1990 lev-els and has committed to carbon-neu-tral municipal operations by 2012.

ad to come

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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT MAY 2010

UBC Unites With Vancouver to Plot ‘Greenest City’Partnership was launched May 11; environment agreement was signed

Vancouver, the would-be ‘greenest city in the world’, has entered into a new partnership on the environment with the University of British Columbia.Mayor Gregor Robertson and UBC President Stephen Toope launched the partnership—designed in part to help Vancouver become the greenest city in the world by 2020—by signing a Mem-orandum of Understanding at Vancou-ver City Hall May 11th.The signing of this deal signals the launch of a multi-year collaboration to advance common goals of sustainabil-ity, climate action and the development of a green economy.At a news conference, Mayor Robert-son said, “This partnership will have a real impact in helping us reach our goal of becoming the world’s greenest city by 2020.“Our collaboration will benefi t residents of Vancouver and UBC’s community as we work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance livability. “Leaders around the world are explor-ing new ideas for greener futures and we will all achieve more if we share our collective learning.”Professor Toope said, “The University will bring its expertise to help Vancou-ver achieve its inspiring goal, while building knowledge by adapting the in-novative principles and programs that have worked well at UBC to meet the needs of a world class urban centre. “The competencies we create through this partnership will have broad and positive impacts far beyond municipal or community boundaries.”The Greenest City Action Team Schol-ars program has emerged as one of the fi rst initiatives to result from this new partnership of UBC and the City of Vancouver on the environment. UBC will provide grants for 10 eligi-ble graduate students enrolled in UBC Masters or PhD programs to support the Greenest City 2020 Plan and its imple-mentation by the City of Vancouver. Each student will work on one of 10 long-term goals of the Vancouver 2020 Greenest City Action Plan which in-clude green economy/green jobs, green-er communities and human health. The Greenest City Action Team came together early in 2009 to develop a plan—including measurable targets—to make Vancouver the greenest city in the world by 2020.The Greenest City Action Team Schol-ars began their work with the City on May 17 prior to a public consultation in June on the actions and implementation for each of the Greenest City Action Plan goals. Students will be responsible for specifi c research programs studying global best practices. “University education is about more than just classroom learning,” said Greenest City Action Team Scholar Malcolm Shield. “Programs like the Greenest City Action Scholars help to evolve theory into practice, and create benefi ts not only for those of us directly involved, but for all current and future Vancouver residents.”

President Steven Toope of the Univerisity of British Columbia (left) and Mayor Gregor Robertson of the City of Vancouver (right) sign agreement to collaborate on enhancing local environment. Collaberation will employ the services of ten graduate students this summer. Students are pictured in background.

Residents Rue Plan For ‘Biomass’ Traffi c Biomass energy is great idea; plant at UBC is wrong, says

spokesperson for residentsThe leafy neighborhood of Southwest Marine Drive will suffer the most from trucks running wood pellets and other combustible materials to a proposed ‘biomass’ power plant at the Univer-sity of British Columbia, according to a spokesperson for its residents.Liz Haan, a long-time director of the Southwest Marine Drive Homeowners Association, said that her association plans to present Metro Vancouver with arguments why it should not grant UBC an air quality permit for a proposed bio-mass plant that UBC predicts will gen-erate 12% of its power needs without production of greenhouse gases.“This project will adversely affect our quality of life because big double-trucks fetching wood pellets and other combustible materials to be burned on campus will all run to and from Marine Drive every day, 365 days a year,” Ms. Haan said.The local homeowners do not oppose the idea of UBC developing a facility that burns dead or dying trees in order to generate heat and electricity. Ms. Haan said, “On the contrary, this sounds like a great idea. However, we do oppose the location of this plant on campus. The energy plant should be built close to the source of the wood fuel. They should

not be trucking it (biomass fuel)) in to UBC.”Ms. Haan said that building power lines to carry energy onto campus from some biomass plant located wherever the source of fuel is located is a far bet-ter proposal than trucking the fuel onto campus. The feisty Ms Haaz also challenges the truck traffi c numbers UBC is using to support its application to Metro Van-couver for an air quality license.In information posted on the Internet, UBC states, “It is estimated that the (biomass) system will require two to three truckloads of wood fuel daily, less than one per cent of current truck traffi c to campus.”Ms Haan disputes both the ‘three truck loads’ fi gure and the ‘one percent’ fi g-ure.The fi rst fi gure (three trucks loads) misleads people, according to the Southwest Marine Drive homeowner, because UBC is reporting ‘truckloads’ instead of truck trips.”In truth, she says, every load of wood pellets and other combustible material transported onto campus by trucks run-ning along Marine Drive amounts to two truck trips—one trip in which a full truck transports material onto campus,

and one trip in which the same truck re-turns along Marine Drive empty. “So, the sum of three truck loads of wood daily is actually six truck trips a day.”The second fi gure (one per cent) mis-leads people allegedly because the cal-culation is made on the basis of 300 truck-trips to UBC on an average day.“But 300 trucks trips a day came at the height of the UBC construction boom (a few years back),” she said, “and if there are only, say, 100 truck trips a day at present, the biomass traffi c would amount to six percent of total truck traf-fi c.”Ms. Hann posed the question, ““What is their baseline fi gure for coming up with only one percent?”The out-spoken Marine Drive hom-eowner and group spokesperson said that instead of shipping waste (wood) onto campus for burning, UBC might like to look at harnessing energy sourc-es close at hand.She offered human sewage produced at UBC as an example: “Everyone poops at UBC.”Ms. Haan also wondered about the car-bon footprint left by diesel trucks fetch-ing wood on campus every day of the year: “This project is putting more die-sel trucks on the road,” she said.

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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT MAY 2010

The newest ‘café’ at the University of British Columbia opens only once a month, and stays open for only 90 minutes at a time. In these short sessions, however, the cafe offers members of the pub-lic looking for information about the latest scientifi c research (in the fi eld of health sciences) a very tasty menu. Welcome to the Café Scientifi que at UBC, which held its third monthly session on May 25 (Understanding Cardiac Disease) and which looks forward to offering further intellec-tually-nutritious sessions on campus in the months to come!The global phenomenon called ‘Café Scientifi que’ began in the United Kingdom over ten years ago, and based on the earlier Philosophers’ Café movement founded in France, its popularity quickly spread. In Canada, Café Scientifi ques have opened in dozen cities, including Vancouver where one has been held at the Railway Club, 579 Dunsmuir Street for the last two years. Now, the Health Sciences Institute (LSI) has opened a Café Scientifi que at UBC with sessions held in a real UBC café, namely the Café Perugia, a 40-seat establishment located in the Life Sciences Centre, the largest building on campus, located at 2350 Health Sciences Mall. The growing engagement of the public in science, particularly life

science given its direct impact of health and life, provides the plausi-ble basis for Café Scientifi ques, says Christian Naus, LSI director. “In the midst of hearing about the devastating effect of many illness-es, people are seeking information about the causes of disease and im-provements in treatment. “The LSI Café Scientifi que will provide meaningful opportunity for the public to interact with not only the expert scientists, but also ‘spe-cial guests’ who will share their personal experience with the illness discussed.”The prestigious Life Sciences Insti-tute provides an ideal environment, both physically and scientifi cally, for a Café Scientifi que. It stands at an easily-accessible part of campus, next to residential neighborhoods which are home to a growing popu-lation of all age groups—including both elementary and high school stu-dents. Scientifi cally, research at the LSI spans a wide range of health-re-lated scientifi c topics, and for these reasons, Dr. Naus and Associate di-rector Linda Matsuuchi successful applied for funds to underwrite the Café program from the Canadian In-stitute of Health Research.The innovative, multi-department LSI employs 87 principal investi-gators from ten departments in the faculty of medicine and faculty of science, and its stated goal “is to

generate and sustain interdisciplin-ary research dedicated to discover fundamental biological processes of life.”The LSI research groups focus on several major themes, including cardiovascular systems, diabetes, oncology, developmental biology, microbiology, infectious diseases, immunity, infl ammation, cell biol-ogy and gene expression. Dr. Mat-suuchi says, “Most projects have a strong relevance to the public and are well suited for outreach activi-ties such as the Café Scientifi que.”The noble objectives of the Café Scientifi que at UBC, said its LSI promoters in their application for funding from the Canadian Institute for Health Research, “is to provide an integration point where the pub-lic will meet expert scientists, train-ees and individuals who are suffer-ing from the health concerns.“In an informal setting, the science behind the diseases and its impact will be discussed.“As such, it is consistent with CHIR objectives to ‘establish an acces-sible/informal discussion between the general public and scientists about the value and impact of health research on the health of Canadians, the health care system and the econ-omy as a whole.”The fi rst Café Scientifi que at UBC on January 26 drew 30-40 people to the Café Perugia to hear two

Monthly public event is called ‘Café Scientifi researchers from the LSI answer questions and provide the latest in-formation about ‘Diabetes: Causes, Consequences and Cures?’ A similar event followed April 13 when two LSI researchers reported the latest information from ‘inside the fi ght against the Flu pandemic’. The May 25 session—held after publication deadline—bears the title ‘Electric Signaling in the Heart and Body: Understanding Cardiac Disease.’The newest café at UBC provides not only intellectual fare for free. Coffee/tea/juice and tasty sandwich-es and cakes come with information about the latest news from the world of medical research. Those wishing to register for a Café Scientifi que session should contact the Life Sci-ences Institute. (Readers should contact Theresa Lung at tlung@interchange.ubc.ca or 604-827-4781 if they wish to get an invitation to attend a session at the Café.)Dr.Christian Naus and Dr. Linda Matsuuchi host guests at Cafe Scientifi que at the Life Science building on campus

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Café Caters To Folks

THE CAMPUS RESIDENT MAY 2010

ue’; talks about health research are on menu

Cafe Scientifi que held monthly at the Cafe Perugia in the Life Sciences building on campus.

The UNA is holding a community garage sale at St. Anselm’s Church on Saturday June 5 from 10am – 1pm. Be sure to come out and support local re-use by sharing no longer needed items locally. St. Anselm’s is located at 5210 University Boulevard (across from the University Golf Club). If you are interested in reserving a table for $10, please contact Ralph Wells at 604.822.3263 or rwells@myuna.ca

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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT MAY 2010

UBC Athletics Amends New Tennis Centre Plan

The vigorous complaints of residents about plans for a proposed New Tennis Center at UBC, coupled with recent suc-cessful UBC fund-raising efforts in the fi eld of sports infrastructure, have led to changes in the plans.At an Open House recently, UBC re-vealed that it had made its New Tennis Center plans more acceptable to residents of the Hawthorn Place residential neigh-borhood by making three major changes:

•There would be no vehicular passenger drop-off zone on East Mall across the road from Hawthorn Place;

• A hedge in part hiding the New Tennis Center from view would be retained, and

•Cedar siding would be used instead of black steel on that portion of the centre which remains visible from across East Mall.UBC had revealed its old plans at an Open House in January, and residents living nearby expressed concern at some aspects of them immediately. The residential lobby certainly made its point, according to a UBC source. “We listened to vigorous complaints from residents, and we changed the plan to ac-

commodate them,” he said. The UBC source also said. “At the same time, the residents are lucky in that UBC Athletics and Recreation is reasonably fl ush with cash at the moment, thanks to successful fund-raising in relation to the Olympic venue at UBC.”In one major fund-raising coup, UBC received $10 million from Calgary law-yer/businessman Doug Mitchell, and although all these funds went towards the cost of building the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Arena (along with $35 mil-lion from the Vancouver Olympic Com-mittee), the donation allowed UBC to

recover its $10 million investment in the project for placement in other sports-re-lated ventures.The costly use of cedar-wood siding will add as much as $200,000-$300,000 to the cost of construction, the UBC source said. The $8.9 million New Tennis Centre proposal will go before the UBC board of governors, and if the board approves, construction would begin almost imme-diately with planned completion in the fall. The core of this proposed sports facil-ity at UBC consists of eight indoor ten-nis courts in a new one-storey building, 7,206 square meters in fl oor area with three of the new courts allowing for tour-nament tennis, meaning these courts will be wider than the fi ve new leisure courts by having spectator seating about them.The new building also provides for four squash courts, storage space and admin-istrative offi ces, while a small bar will allow for the licensed consumption of li-quor during tournaments. The rectangular shaped New Tennis Cen-tre stretches from East Mall east into Os-borne fi eld (part of UBC playing fi elds) and will take over ground space currently occupied by three of four outdoors courts. The fourth outdoor court will remain as will the existing Tennis Center. The new tennis facility at UBC would appear well overdue. The existing Ten-nis Centre at the corner of East Mall and Thunderbird Boulevard contains only four indoor courts, and when its canvas roof leaked two years ago, UBC spent signifi cantly to repair it. Meanwhile, the paved surfaces of the four outdoor courts along East Mall suffer constant damage as the roots of nearby trees break through them.

Plans for a new tennis centre at UBC get underway. Adequate funding has been obtained in part from Federal Government sources.Above, Brian Sullivan, UBC Vice President of Students (left), Bob Philip (right), Andrew Saxton, Member of Parliament, North Vancouver

East Mall passenger drop-off zone is eliminated; cedar-siding is planned instead of ‘ugly’ steel wall

The University of British Columbia is moving forward with plans to ex-pand Thunderbird Park, thanks to the Recreational Infrastructure Canada (RInC) program, a major job-cre-ating investment from Canada’s Economic Action Plan.“With projects like this, our govern-ment is not only creating immediate jobs for our communities, but is also actively contributing to the health and fi tness of Canadians,” said MP Andrew Saxton on behalf of Lynne Yelich, minister of state for Western Economic Diversifi cation.The $1 million investment is direct-ed towards the Tennis Centre, which is one component of the multiphase redevelopment of Thunderbird Park. “We are grateful for the Government of Canada’s investment in recre-

ational infrastructure at UBC” said Brian Sullivan, UBC vice-president, students. “The new and improved Tennis Centre will benefi t students, faculty and staff and be a welcome addition to the amenities of our Uni-versity Town.”The Recreational Infrastructure Canada (RInC) program will invest $500 million in recreational facilities across Canada over a two-year pe-riod. In total, WD has approved 718 RInC projects that will use all of the funding available in the West. These projects are helping provide a tem-porary economic stimulus that will help reduce the impacts of the global recession while renewing, upgrading and expanding recreational infra-structure in Canadian communities.

Action Plan Puts Funds In UBC Tennis Centre

U Town sports facilities are enhanced; job creation is immediate

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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT MAY 2010

‘Green Streets’ to Synchronize With Pacifi c Spirit Park Trails

UBC is working with Metro; project is in planning stageThe ‘green streets’ of South Campus will soon connect to the dirt and gravel trails of Pacifi c Spirit Regional Park.A joint work project between Metro Vancouver and the University of Brit-ish Columbia to connect car-free resi-dential streets and hiker-friendly park trails has entered the planning stage.Richard Wallis, operations supervisor for Metro Vancouver in the area that includes Pacifi c Spirit Regional Park, told a Metro parks committee meeting in Burnaby recently that “three trail connectors are being established” to link the Wesbrook Place residential neighborhood (in South Campus) to the Douglas Fir trail that runs through the adjacent forest.The plausible connector-project has a long and diffi cult history dating back to days when Metro Vancouver was re-ported ready to erect fencing around its park to prevent UBC residents enter-ing from South Campus. However, the March 31 report of Mr. Wallis indicates these days are well over. As well as the three trail connectors between Spirit Park and UBC/South Campus, Metro has work underway on other trails in the park near UBC.On an unrelated issue, the west-re-gional Metro parks supervisor report-ed on an increase of instances in which people visiting Wreck Beach in 2009 came there with cameras resulting in several minor altercations. He told the Metro park committee that Metro is working with the Wreck Beach Preser-vation Society on a plan to educate and communicate with the public regard-ing the unique nature of Wreck Beach. “We are working with the Society to develop a strategy to educate beach newcomers of the clothing optional status of the beach and appropriate beach etiquette.”The two reports form part of a compre-hensive report on operations in Pacifi c Spirit Park and Wreck Beach which Mr. Wallis provided the Metro com-mittee. The park supervisor provides comprehensive reports on a semi-an-nual basis. As well as park committee, these reports also go to the (full) Metro board of directors.

The moribund West Point Grey ‘vision-ing’ process has returned to life.The visioning process, a task completed in just about every other neighborhood in Vancouver over the last decade, died in West Point Grey about three years ago after two years of enthusiastic input from the community of 40,000.However, according to senior city plan-ner Catherine Buckham, the near future looks rosier than the recent past.In a letter invited to the 30-40 members of the West Point Grey Community Liai-son Group, the senior planner writes, “We recognize that there has been a break in

the fi nal step of the WPG Vision process and we apologize for this delay.” Ms. Buckham has invited the members of this group to a meeting to help craft a plan forward.“Over the past year much of our attention has been focused on hosting the Winter Games, and we have also had challenges related to the budget, staffi ng levels and other unanticipated setbacks in the deliv-ery of our services,” she writes. “Now that the preparation for and hosting the Olympics are behind us, there is an op-portunity this Spring to seek City Coun-cil’s approval of the West Point Grey

Vision and move forward with imple-mentation.” The West Point Grey visioning process began in the spring of 2005 with a well-attended ‘Vision Fair’ at the Point Grey Community Centre, and it continued through the summer of that year with a dozen weekly focus-groups on various aspects of life in the community.Up to 50 residents turned up at each of these focus sessions—considered “an ex-cellent city-wide attendance record” by municipal staff.Then, for reasons now explained, the pro-cess went into cold storage.

Planner Promises New Life for ‘Vision’Council is due for report; citizens are helping write it

Connectors now in the planning stage will lead from Douglas Fir Trail in Pacifi c Spirit Regianol Park to South Campus where UBC is developing its largest neighbourhood. Sign post pictured above stands at junction with Sherry Sakamoto trail.

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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT MAY 2010

UBC President Stephen Toope was joined by Premier Gordon Campbell, CFI President Eliot Phillipson, Ross Beaty and Hamid Eshghi, president of the djavad mowafaghian foundation, for today’s opening ceremony.“The Beaty Biodiversity Centre exem-plifi es UBC’s goal to engage and in-spire,” said Prof. Toope. “The synergy and intellectual discourse enabled by the shared research space, and the cu-riosity and refl ection inspired by the museum’s public programs, will have an enormous impact on our under-standing of our complex and intercon-nected world.”“The CFI is proud to support leading-edge research by UBC scientists that will not only advance basic knowl-edge on the origins of life but inform critically important conservation ef-forts to maintain biodiversity in Can-ada and around the world,” said Mr. Phillipson.“By investing in cutting-edge labs and equipment, we are giving these tal-ented researchers the tools to answer fundamental questions about how species emerge, and how to conserve those that are endangered,” said Pre-mier Campbell, who noted that B.C. is the most biodiverse province or terri-tory in Canada. “In the face of climate change, we are working to fi nd ways to sustain life in all its forms, even as we take action to protect our natural world by reducing our carbon foot-print.”“The Beaty Biodiversity Centre will enrich our local society, Canadian society, and global society by carry-ing out research and displaying some

of the species and biodiversity of our world,” said Ross Beaty. “And it will teach existing and future generations – our children – the wonders and fra-gility of many of the species we all share the earth with.” The opening ceremony was followed by the naming of the Djavad Mowaf-aghian Atrium, a two-storey glass gal-lery in the Beaty Biodiversity Muse-um that houses the 25-metre skeleton of a blue whale that washed ashore on the coast of Prince Edward Island in 1987. Articulated in the species’ sig-nature lunge-feeding pose, the UBC blue whale is the largest skeleton ex-hibit in the world suspended without external armature.“The museum’s atrium will become a focal point for outreach and educa-tional activities that will help school children and the general public gain a better understanding of, and apprecia-tion for, the interconnectedness of all living things on earth,” said Djavad Mowafaghian in a statement. “The knowledge of where we come from and where we are going will entice us to be more active in helping to im-prove our environment for our chil-dren.”The museum also announced today summer preview dates for the blue whale exhibit in advance of the mu-seum’s fall public opening. On May 22 – International Day of Biological Diversity – the public is invited to see the blue whale and celebrate her jour-ney with the people from PEIand B.C. who worked to save her. Ad-ditional previews will occur on May29, June 19, July 17, and August 21.

At a recent board meeting, Metro direc-tors agreed the local election process is fl awed and should be upgraded, and is-sued a directive to Metro staff to pursue some of the proposals suggested by Mr. Menzies.The brisk directive orders staff to obtain the provincial voters list, available from Electrons BC, to create a proper Electoral Area A voters list for use in all subse-quent local government elections (held every three years).“Many, if not most, local area elections use the BC Voters’ List,” Mr. Menzies had argued./“So, it should not be too dif-fi cult for Metro to do so.”The new directive engages Metro in what its directors call ‘election outreach’.As well as mining provincial data bases, Metro staff will seek written submissions about the Electoral Area A election pro-cess by placing advertisements in local newspapers and the Metro Vancouver

website, and mailing directly to representative organizations in Electoral Area A.These organizations will include the University Neighborhoods Association, the Alma Mater Society, and UBC Housing and Conferences.As pointed out by Mr. Menzies, the most egregious election fl aw in the November 2008 election had Metro Vancouver—in the absence of a Voters’ List—send-

ing out election material “only to those on the B.C. Assessment Rolls” (i.e. only to those local residents who own homes).As a result, Mr. Menzies said, “more than 50% of my neighborhood of nearly 2,000 people did not receive notifi cation of election.” (i.e. renters did not receive notices of election from Metro).Metro directors agreed this was a gross defi ciency.The local Metro director Maria Harris agrees the reforms are necessary.Ms. Harris said in the November 2008 election in which she was successful, many people turned up at local poll-ing stations with insuffi cient information about who they might vote for.They also turned up at polling stations with only rudimentary ways of identifying themselves—using driving licenses rather than the kind of proper voting cards they would have likely had if living and voting in a Vancouver municipal election.

Charles Menzies

Whale cont’d from pg 1 Menzies cont’d from pg 1

The

6308 Thunderbird Blvd.604.827.4469

at The Old Barn

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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT MAY 2010

Thunderbird Liquor License Lets Patrons Drink at Sports Events—but not Rock Concerts

UBC granted partial approval; need for improved event management is cited

The provincial liquor licensing branch has drawn a distinction between sports events and rock concerts held at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Arena at the University of British Columbia.A liquor license recently granted to UBC allows it to sell liquor to up to 9,000 hockey fans during games at the $45 million complex on Wesbrook Mall at Thunderbird Boulevard, but not to fans at rock concerts there, though the licens-ing branch said it would reconsider the

situation if UBC reapplied for a license.UBC had applied for a liquor license to cover both sporting and non-sporting events at its facility, which was a ven-ue for Olympic and Paralympic Games events,The new license at theThunderbird arena relates to two of its three rinks—the new main rink used in the Olympics and the renovated Father Bauer rink, which has been in use for over 40 years and where a limited liquor license was in effect for

years prior to the new, revised license.No consumption of alcohol may take place in and around the third rink which is reserved for community hockey.Hockey fans may drink in most corners of the facility, including an outdoors pa-tio area, but not in some family-oriented non-drinking areas.The recent UBC application for a new post-Olympics liquor regime at the sta-dium relied heavily on support from Metro Vancouver. While supporting the

UBC application, Metro recommended that a probationary period be established in order to assure the liquor branch that special event management by UBC was appropriate. The liquor branch agreed that event man-agement by UBC needed to be improved (especially rock concert event manage-ment), but advised that it was not able to issue a license on the basis of a proba-tionary period.

UNA Team Takes Fun Run Seriously

From left to right Back Row, Elliot Escalona, Alan Wai, , John Avelon Middle Row: Jessica McLachlan, Jan Fialkowski, Rocio Escalona,Ralph Wells, Michelle WeberFirst Row: Raymundo Escalona, Hester Avelon, Cathie Cleveland, Laurel Avelon

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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT MAY 2010

AD TO COME

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