ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: June 20, 2002
Author/Local: F.A. Scobie/7399

RTS No. 02816

CC File No. 3104

Council: June 25, 2002

TO:	Vancouver City Council
FROM:	Chair, Development Permit Board
SUBJECT:	Development Permit Board Members' Alternates

RECOMMENDATION

THAT Council amend Section 11 of the Development Permit Board and Advisory Panel By-law No. 5869, to enable the Board to convene and conduct its meeting in the event that a Member and his/her appointed Alternate Member(s) is unable to attend, and in this circumstance also authorize the Director of Development Services in his/her capacity as Chair of the Development Permit Board to become a voting Member.

FURTHER THAT the Director of Legal Services be instructed to prepare the amending by-law for enactment.

CITY MANAGER'S COMMENTS

The City Manager recommends approval of the foregoing, noting the importance of ensuring the Development Permit Board has the ability to continue to perform its function in rare circumstances when both an appointed Member and his/her Alternate Member(s) is unavailable.

COUNCIL POLICY

Council Policy is reflected in By-law N0. 5869, attached as Appendix A, which is the current Development Permit Board and Advisory Panel By-law.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to recommend an amendment to the procedures of the Development Permit Board in the event that a Member and his/her Alternate Member(s) is unavailable to attend a Board meeting.

DISCUSSION

The current procedural limitations imposed on the Development Permit Board are posing an unusual challenge as a consequence of a Member and his/her Alternate Member being unable to attend the next scheduled meeting. Unless some greater flexibility is incorporated into the By-law, the Development Permit Board will be unable to proceed with its next meeting, and some future meetings may similarly be in jeopardy.

Under By-law No. 5869:

· the Director of Development Services is the Chair of the Board and a non-voting Member;
· there are three voting Members: Co-Director of Planning; General Manager of Engineering Services; and Deputy City Manager;
· two of the voting Members have only one Alternate Member; the other has two Alternate Members;
· any of the seven Members and Alternate Members may function as an Alternate Chair, if the Chair is unable to attend; and
· if, once a Board meeting is in progress, one of the voting Members (or their Alternate Member) is unable to continue, the Chair becomes a voting Member in the event the other two voting Members are unable to reach a common decision on the application before the Board.

The Co-Director of Planning has, as his Alternate Member, the other Co-Director of Planning. The Deputy City Manager has the General Manager of Community Services as his Alternate Member. The General Manager of Engineering Services has both the Deputy City Engineer and an Assistant City Engineer as his Alternate Members.

Unfortunately, both the Deputy City Manager and the General Manager of Community Services will be absent on July 8^th, being the next scheduled meeting of the Development Permit Board.

In a recent instance, a Member was unavailable to attend and his/her Alternate Member had another commitment but was able to attend the Board meeting at the outset so it could be properly convened. The Alternate Member was then excused, with the Chair becoming a voting Member, pursuant to the By-law. The weakness in this procedure is that it requires either the Member or his/her Alternate Member to be available at the outset of the meeting, if only to then be excused.

This weakness, albeit rarely confronted, could be addressed by having more Alternate Members appointed. This approach is not recommended as a high level of continuity amongst those sitting at Board meetings is considered critical to the effective, consistent decision-making of the Board. A more effective approach would be to expand the circumstance in which the Chair becomes a voting Member, to enable this to occur when both a Member and their Alternate Member are unable to attend a Board meeting at the outset.

To achieve this additional procedural flexibility, Section 11 of the Development Permit Board and Advisory Panel By-law would best be amended by inserting an additional provisions as noted in bold italics below:

11. If:

(a) a Board member:

(i) is unable to attend a Board meeting;
(ii) leaves a Board meeting; or
(iii) does not attend an adjourned Board meeting

because of illness or by consent of the Chair, and that Board member's alternate does not attend such meeting; or

(b) the Director of Development Services, under Section 9, appoints a Board member to act as Chair at a meeting, and that Board member's alternate does not attend such meeting;

and if the vote of the Board members present at such meeting are equal for and against a question, the Chair shall have the right to exercise the casting vote.

Council can be assured that Board Members take their responsibilities on the Board very seriously, doing their utmost to attend the meetings. Alternate Members, although usually available, are essentially only used during a Member's absence for reasons of illness or vacation. The amendment recommended to Section 11 will therefore not result in Members reducing their attendance; it will only enable the Board to convene and fulfill its responsibilities when a Member and his/her Alternate Member are unavoidably prevented from attending.

LINK TO APPENDIX A

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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver