Vancouver Park Board moves public meetings to City Hall on a pilot basis

The Vancouver Park Board is taking its meetings out of Stanley Park. Regular and committee meetings will shift from the board's headquarters at 2099 Beach Ave. to council chambers at Vancouver City Hall on a pilot basis, Daily Hive Vancouver reported. The first is Monday, Nov. 30, also the first working meeting of the new term.

The change is meant to make it easier for residents to attend and speak. At times at the Stanley Park building, people waiting to address the board have had to stand outside because of indoor capacity limits. City Hall sits near Broadway-City Hall Station on the Canada Line, and the board's announcement points to the planned Millennium Line extension, due to begin service there in late 2027.

Closer ties between the mayor, councillors and commissioners are another goal. Collaboration is a stated priority of Mayor Pete Fry and the Green Party of Vancouver. The announcement did not say how long the pilot will run or when a permanent location might be decided.

The move coincides with a new board. Its seven commissioners were sworn in on Monday, Nov. 2, at VanDusen Botanical Garden after the civic election. Green commissioner Tom Digby, the only incumbent, was elected chair, and COPE's Sacia Burton was named vice-chair. Both roles typically rotate. The other commissioners are Jamie Han, Tamiko Suzuki, T'uy't'tanat Cease Wyss, and Greens Spencer Van Vloten and Breanne Smart.