Hear this!...we failed.

In continuation from my blog, “The Ecological Price?” it appears the public hearing for the Skirt Mountain project was a failure. Activates are threatening to take Langford to court claiming the public hearing was flawed and counterproductive. The Victoria Island Community Forest Action says the hearing wasn’t properly conducted, and that some speakers were “interrupted and berated by the mayor”. Zoe Blunt a representative for VIC FAN is threatened to seek a B.C. Supreme Court judicial hearing to stop the bylaw enabling the development to occur. There is some mixed documentation of what actually occurred, as some members felt they were bullied by the mayor challenged their remarks and some council members said the mayor merely spoke to correct “inappropriate or incorrect” information.

The breakdown of this method is seems the people weren’t truly heard or felt they had a chance to fully vocalize their concerns with the project. On the other hand, people could merely be reacting this way as they did not receive what they wanted. A proper morderator should have been used, to ensure proper conversation was established. A moderator could have been used to make sure people arn't interupted and give them a chance to not feel intimiated when they spoke. So since this incident, people are demanding for a new public hearing to be ordered, but there has been no set date of if there will be another hearing.
The Skirt Mountasin project will cost approximately $1.7 billion, and promised a public amenity package worth $26 million.

Exert from: Goldstream Gazette: Wed March.4/09, article “Activists demand new Skirt Mtn. public hearing”

The Ecological Price?

A public hearing was held in Langford, which heard citizens voice their concerns about the Skirt Mountain 2,800 unit residential project. Many citizens wished to convey their issues about the loss of ecosystem through the development of this residential project, which ultimately will impact the native animal’s habitat. The developers in turn wanted to reach a compromise with the citizens promising to dedicate 40% as open space. This is where the concern and issue mostly arise, as citizens felt that this was not enough, and by not creating a larger open space this in turn will greatly affect natural flora and fauna

So the public hearing was done for citizens to gather together in a unified manner to voice their concerns and plans they wish to accomplish. Many different people from all walks of life had their chance to speak and most importantly were heard. This is a good form of community participation which was done in a beneficial manner, as the citizens took part and fell like they could be heard

Exert from: Goldstream Gazette: Friday, February.27/09, article “South Skirt Project gets Council nod”

Victoria Vital Signs

In the Philanthropy section of the Goldstream Gazette indicates a survey is being done for those people who decide to donate to a charity, and would like to know if their donation is going to have an impact or not. Problem is there are countless charities out there, so which one do you support? Which one would gain the most from your donation? This survey and report is to help address these concerns. That’s where the program Vital Signs comes in. It’s used as a measure to identify what people may not know and give proper acknowledge meant to the issues that need it. Vital Signs gives citizens intelligence on social issues, assisting in identifying challenges the community faces and clarifying priorities.

Factors determine the indicators published in Vital Signs each year:
-The first part of the national initiative, all participating community foundations publishes Vital Signs report in 2009 agree to publish one common indicator for cross-country comparison.
-Second, the Foundation calls upon the citizens of the region to get involved by participating in a survey which will be launched online (http://www.victoriafoundation.bc.ca/), this helps determine which indicators will be published in the report. This part of the process enables the public to have important input about where they feel opportunities and challenges exist in the region
-The third factor that determines which indicators are published is data-availability-whether or not the data exists to report on the suggested indicator

This is a helpful tool to address concerns individuals in a public may have, as “Victoria is our community and Vital Signs is our report card”

Exert from: Goldstream Gazette: Fri Feb.27/09, article “Foundation survey helps identify community needs”