Metro Vancouver Regional District Board and Committees. What’s in Store for the New Regional Growth Strategy.

With the new year, the Metro Vancouver Regional District Board and its committees have been restarted and refreshed with a new configuration of directors and members due to the fall municipal election.

Because there are 41 directors appointed from Tsawwassen First Nation, our region’s 21 municipalities, and one electoral area, most of the work in studying and developing policies occurs in committees with their work sent to the overall Metro Vancouver Board for approval.

People appointed to the Board and its committees should be working in the region’s best interest. Most of the time, what’s best for the region is also what’s best for a municipality, but there can be times when regional and local municipal interests appear misaligned. When there is a misalignment, a director or committee member must make a difficult call. In the past, I’ve noticed this happens most often around land use decisions.

Before the election, the Regional District was working towards adopting Metro 2050, which is the new regional growth strategy.

Map of land with the regional Rural land-use designation in Metro 2050. Select map to enlarge.

For a regional growth strategy to be “in force,” it must be approved by Tsawwassen First Nation and all 21 municipalities in Metro Vancouver. While Tsawwassen First Nation and 19 municipalities did approve Metro 2050, Surrey and Township of Langley Councils had concerns about Metro 2050, and each did not approve it before the municipal elections. It will be interesting to see how things shake out regarding adopting Metro 2050 with new Councils in Surrey and the Township, plus a refreshed Metro Vancouver Regional District Board.

Councillor Paul Albrecht and Councillor Rosemary Wallace are the primary and alternate appointments to the Metro Vancouver Regional District Board by Langley City Council. Councillor Albrecht is also on the Regional Planning Committee, Liquid Waste Committee and Water Committee. Councillor Wallace is on the Climate Action Committee and Zero Waste (Solid Waste) Committee.