Powell River Regional District planning committee members and planning staff have attended two workshops in recent months to discuss land use planning approaches, objectives and legislative tools. The only problem with the workshops, which were facilitated by a consultant from Vancouver Island and cost over $8,000, was the fact the public could not attend them, even though taxpayers footed the bill.
Some regional district directors appear to be feeling sensitive about the age-old secret-meeting issue. In fact, the issue seldom appears in regional district discussions, because generally meetings are open, transparent and inclusive.
The planning workshops are an exception in the regional district’s mostly stellar record. The regional district’s chief administrative officer has explained the workshops were closed to the public because no decisions were being made. The chair of the board has explained directors would not speak freely during the workshops if members of the public were present.
The workshops were planned as a way to resolve an impasse that exists on the planning committee. Two directors see planning issues one way, while the other two see them in a different way. The result has been a tied vote on a number of occasions, which has stalled progress on important initiatives, such as the southern regional district official community plan.
In a discussion of open meetings, the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association provided a list of questions which may be asked in determining whether a meeting is a meeting of council or a committee of council, as opposed to private discussions among persons who happen to be members of council or one of its committees. Are all members of the council or committee invited to attend? Is the group dealing with matters within the jurisdiction of council or the committee? Is there structured discussion? Does the discussion promote the decision-making process by materially moving along matters in the overall spectrum of council’s or the committee’s decisions?
If the answer to these questions is yes, then it is a meeting that must be called and conducted in conformance with lawful procedures.
When these questions are applied to the workshops, the answer is yes to all of them. Although no decisions were made, the discussion certainly moved along the decision-making process. In the first workshop, consensus was reached in giving direction to staff on a number of issues.
It’s admirable that elected officials with as much combined experience as regional district rural directors wanted to brush up on land use planning tools, but it’s disappointing they chose to hold the workshops behind closed doors.
