The Vancouver Park Board voted Monday to seek independent legal advice about challenging Mayor Ken Sim’s plan to disband the elected body.
Sim has asked the provincial government to open the Vancouver Charter in order to scrap the 135-year-old board and to bring parks administration under the authority of city council.
The move is opposed by the majority of park board commissioners who do not sit with Sim’s ABC Vancouver party.
On Monday, the board narrowly voted to allocate up to $20,000 for legal advice on launching a judicial review of the mayor’s plan.
The vote broke 4-3, with non-ABC commissioners supporting it, and ABC commissioners voting against it.
“We’re facing a completely novel question, which is not only do we have still these ongoing questions of jurisdiction with the city, but the city is threatening to abolish this park board altogether,” said Green Commissioner Tom Digby, who proposed the motion.
“If there is going to be any changes we want to be sure the city is acting correctly.”
The board also approved an amendment by board chair Brennan Bastyovanszky to seek legal advice on whether disbanding the elected board mid-term violated voters charter rights.
“I wish I didn’t have to (vote for) this, I have been put in this situation where we need legal advice because all of our rights, every right of every person in Vancouver is being violated because of this, and I want clarity on that,” he said.
“This would set a terrifying precedent across the country where votes don’t matter. Where no matter how many people come out, their voice can be snuffed out at any point if someone in power doesn’t like what they hear.”
ABC commissioners spoke against the motion, focusing primarily on the cost.
“I’m a little concerned that we already have a very low budget, our infrastructure is falling apart, we have a lot of upgrades to make in Vancouver, you know that, where is this $20,000 coming from?” Commissioner Angela Haer said.
“You know, you’re a lawyer, that $20,000 isn’t going to be enough, we’re going to have to put in a lot more, maybe hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
The money for the proposed legal advice would come from the park board funds allocated to the general manager’s office.
Sim originally floated eliminating the elected park board in 2021, but reversed that position in 2022 when ABC ran a slate of park board candidates and he pledged instead to “fix” the board.
In December, he again reversed course, arguing that the “system is broken and no amount of tweaking will fix it.”
The provincial government has signaled willingness to open the Vancouver Charter, but that the city must first address “a number of items” including land ownership, the future of workers and consultation with local First Nations.
Last month, Sim unveiled a new transition group dedicated to advancing the plan to scrap the park board.
The group has been given a six-month timeline to provide recommendations and feedback to council on how it can engage with the public on its proposed governance over parks and recreation services, as well as review the current governance structure and community relations practices of the elected board.