The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, commonly referred to as the Vancouver Park Board, is the elected board with exclusive possession, jurisdiction and control over public parks in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.[1]
Established by an 1889 amendment to the Vancouver Incorporation Act, 1886 (later the Vancouver Charter),[2] has seven elected commissioners who are charged with determining the policy direction of the body.[3] The board has a mandate to "provide, preserve and advocate... to benefit people, communities and the environment". Commissioners are elected at-large every four years, with a chair and vice-chair elected by the commissioners every year.[4] Vancouver is the only major city in Canada with an elected park board, although Cultus Lake, British Columbia, also has an elected board.[5]
History
Vancouver Park Board commissioners at the 50th Golden Jubilee Banquet commemorating the dedication of Stanley Park by Lord Stanley in 1889
The Vancouver Park Board has its origins in the 1886 granting of the 380-hectare (950-acre) military reserve at First Narrows to the City of Vancouver for use as a park. The new park, named Stanley Park, was formally opened in 1888. A warden and Parks Committee were appointed to oversee its development and management. In 1890, the appointed committee was replaced by a permanent elected body: three elected commissioners. Vancouver By-law No. 96 created the board and gave the commissioners absolute control and management over the park system. It was expected to expend monies voted to it by city council and had the power to enter into contracts and pass by-laws. Over its history, the board has been known as:[6]
Committee on Works and Property (1887–1888)
Parks Committee (1888–1889)
Board of Parks Commissioners (1890–1955)
Board of Parks and Public Recreation (1956–1973)
Board of Parks and Recreation (1974–present)
The first elected commissioners, serving from 1890 to 1891, were James Welton Horne (chairman), M.J. Costello and Robert Garnett Tatlow. The number of commissioners was expanded to five in 1904 and to seven in 1929 when Vancouver amalgamated with the municipalities of South Vancouver and Point Grey.[7]
Park Board commissioners served without remuneration until a 1972 amendment to the Vancouver Charter allowed them an annual honorarium of $1000.[8]
On December 6, 2023, three ABC commissioners left the party to sit as independents after Vancouver mayorKen Sim introduced a motion to ask the provincial government to change the Vancouver Charter to dissolve the park board.[9] While remaining independent, they have indicated they will form a majority bloc with Green Party commissioner Tom Digby.[10]
In June 2009, Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson and Vancouver city councillor Raymond Louie, both of whom were members of the Vision Vancouver party, were accused by Vancouver city councillor Suzanne Anton, a member of the opposition Non-Partisan Association party, of attempting to destroy the independence of the park board by centralizing budget oversight.[12] Aaron Jasper, a Vision Vancouver member of the park board, called on the city council to restore the decentralized budget control.[12]
In September 2009, Susan Mundick, the general manager of the board, announced her retirement.[13]Penny Ballem, the city manager of Vancouver hired by Robertson, stripped Mundick of all routine transitional duties.[14] Ballem then stated she would help the park board choose Mundick's replacement, a selection process city hall traditionally had not been involved in.[15] In response, Anton urged Robertson and the city council to limit Ballem's control of the park board.[15]
Parks
The Vancouver Park Board oversees 250 parks and gardens, including major attractions such as Stanley Park and VanDusen Botanical Garden, 24 community centres with pools, skating rinks and playing fields, as well as three golf courses.[16]
Notes
^Shum was elected as an NPA candidate in the 2014 election but announced she would "sit as an independent" in December 2016.[11]
