Final phase of Stanley Park logging approved, and a legal challenge kicks back into gear

Good morning, 

Nate with you today. We got an excellent response from readers on our question about Kits Pool usage last week, so we’re trying a slightly different type of story in today’s follow-up coverage. Let us know what you think!

On that same note, we’re looking for reader comments, observations, and anecdotes for an upcoming story on bikes and biking in Vancouver. Being peak rolling season, we want to feature the joys and pains of riding and sharing Vancouver roads. 

You can send those along to [email protected] and it may be featured in an upcoming issue.

With that, let’s get to today’s top stories, recommendations, and events!

— Nate Lewis, Vancity Lookout

As always, you can send your tips, leads, and story ideas to Nate at [email protected].

PS - If you find this newsletter valuable, please consider forwarding it to your friends. New to the Lookout? Sign-up for free. 

WEATHER

Wednesday: 23 🌡️ 15 | ☀️

Thursday: 23 🌡️ 13 | 🌤️

Friday: 18 🌡️ 12 | 🌧️

THE LOOKOUT RECOMMENDS

Bravo to oysters: One of the best seafood spots in the city, Bravo over at 4194 Fraser St., is doing a happy hour from 4-5:30 pm from Tuesday-Sunday, which, for a place this nice, means you should absolutely stop by. They do half a dozen oysters for $15, which is not bad in this economy.

Mark down Pride: Pride events are gearing up. A few to check out include Davie Village Pride Festival on Aug. 3, back after a long break; the parade from 1-3:30 pm downtown (map here); Pride at the Improv on July 31; and, frankly, too many others to count, which can see here. 

Get yourself a magazine (or two): This last year, I’ve really gotten into magazines. There’s something wonderful about holding something real in the age of the internet. Two recommendations: the first is a magazine called Fare which combines travel and food. The second is for true magazine lovers – it’s called Stack and every month they send you a new, random magazine from around the world. It’s been absolutely delightful. 

— Recommendations by Lookout managing editor Geoff Sharpe

STANLEY PARK

Final phase of Stanley Park logging approved, and a legal challenge kicks back into gear

The park board unanimously approved the third and final round of tree removals in Stanley Park, which will be focused near trails in the interior of the park, including along Lees Trail, Lovers Walk, Tatlow Walk, and around Beaver Lake. 

The tree removals – which are being done for public safety after thousands of trees were compromised by a multi-year Hemlock looper insect outbreak – have drawn significant public opposition, including lawsuits by the Stanley Park Preservation Society (SPPS). 

Just over 11,000 trees have been removed so far, while over 54,000 new seedlings have been planted, according to the park board. 

The third phase of work, expected to begin late this year and finish in early 2027, will be done within a 40-metre area of trails, meaning portions of the park’s interior forests will be left untreated. 

B.A. Blackwell, the forestry company acting as both the park board’s consultant and the contractor for all the looper-related tree removal work in the park to date, won the contract after being the only company to submit a bid. Blackwell was also the only bidder for Phase 2 work, and was awarded the Phase 1 contract after preparing the initial report that found the looper outbreak had impacted some 160,000 trees in Stanley Park. 

“There may be a general understanding [in the industry] that somebody who has all of that on-the-ground knowledge perhaps has a competitive advantage. I think that’s probably one of the big reasons that we saw only a single bidder,” Joe McLeod, the park board’s urban forestry manager noted. 

Comm. Angela Haer pointed to Blackwell’s dual role as consultant and head contractor as a conflict of interest and sought to have the bid process reopened to allow other companies to apply for the contract.

However, that was ruled out of order by staff, “Because that work has already been done [and] there’s already been a competitive process performed,” park board clerk Jessica Kulchyski told Haer.

Blackwell recommended the park board approve a work plan with a 75-metre buffer zone, covering almost double the area of the 40-metre option.  

However, park board staff recommended and commissioners approved the smaller project area as a balance between maintaining public safety, keeping costs down, and retaining dead trees as nesting areas for birds and other wildlife. 

“We felt that [40 metres] was far enough away from any busy area that we could leave a dead tree standing,” park board commissioner Tom Digby told Vancity Lookout. 

“There's a great deal of ecological value in dead trees standing and falling, logs being lying on the ground… birds, woodpeckers, bugs, insects, all kinds of species need dead trees to thrive in,” Digby said, adding that leaving more fuel for a potential fire or the unlikely, though possible, event of a tall tree falling onto a path was acceptable given those ecological benefits. 

The park board’s urban forestry department has final say over any work or assessments being proposed or submitted by Blackwell or its sub-contractors. 

Michael Robert Caditz, a lead member of SPPS, who filed a judicial review against the city and park board for their handling of the tree removals, told Vancity Lookout that the society’s members were happy that the park board chose the 40-metre buffer option. 

The significant reduction in operational area for phase three (about 57 hectares compared to about 90 hectares with the 75 metre option) was good, however, it’s still not acceptable, Caditz said. 

Caditz said SPPS is asking that before any tree is cut down, it should be individually assessed – something that hasn’t and isn’t being done under the assessment system used by the city and its contractors for the looper moth work – and only be felled if the tree is imminently dangerous. 

Stanley Park Preservation Society still has its judicial review against the city pending, with Caditz telling Vancity Lookout they had agreed to adjourn the case until after this meeting. Now, Caditz is alleging that park board commissioners and staff made several procedural errors in Monday’s meeting, which SPPS will include in updated court submissions. 

Caditz anticipates the judicial review hearing, which he hopes will quash the board’s recently approved plan, will now be scheduled within the next two months. 

Further, Caditz said they have an agreement with the city that logging will not resume until after a court decision. 

As a legal matter before the board and the subject of private in-camera park board discussions, Comm. Digby could not confirm or deny any details about the pending case, however, he did explain that there’s enough time for a hearing to go ahead before logging could resume in mid-October. 

“The plan is clear, and anyone who wants to challenge it [through the courts] would certainly have time,” if they act quickly, Digby said. 

As part of the motion, Digby attempted to bring an amendment that would have formed a public listening and discussion process between commissioners and Vancouver residents around public concerns about the park board’s urban forestry plan, including the long-term management of Stanley Park. 

Digby pointed to the ongoing litigation with SPPS as something that’s limited commissioners’ ability to have public conversations outside of board meetings about the tree removals in Stanley Park, and Digby said he wanted to have more of those conversations, with the help of park board staff “at an appropriate time in the future.” 

No other commissioner was willing to support Digby’s amendment, meaning it did not move forward. 

“None of my colleagues at the park board want to engage in public discussion,” Digby told Vancity Lookout, saying he was disappointed in the lack of support from his colleagues.

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THE VANCOUVER NUMBER

1,300

The number of drivers charged on eastern Ontario roads for speeding during Canada Road Safety Week. [CTV]

THE AGENDA

🏙️ Vancouver is looking for a new city manager. Paul Mochrie’s departure from the city’s top bureaucratic job is being described as a ‘mutually agreed upon leadership change’ by Mayor Ken Sim. Deputy City Manager Karen Levitt will be acting City Manager until a replacement is hired. Read more. [Daily Hive]

🍷 City councillors approved later hours for liquor service downtown, extending closing time to as late as 4 am - the latest ‘last call’ in Canada. But changes won’t be automatic; businesses will have to apply to have their licenses updated, which requires input from neighbours and the community. Read more. [CTV]

🛝 In other City of Vancouver news, Parks Board Comm. Brennan Bastyovanszky has given notice he will try to remove his colleague Marie-Claire Howard from the board when they return from their summer break in September. If an elected official is absent without leave for four consecutive meetings, they can be disqualified from holding office. This spring Howard was absent for part of one meeting, followed by three consecutive absences, so it remains to be seen if partial absence will be counted against her for the purposes of disqualification. Overall, Howard has missed about 40% of board meetings since the start of 2024, according to meeting records supplied to Vancity Lookout by Comm. Laura Christensen. [Vancity Lookout]

👮 A teenager turned themselves in to police in connection with the fatal stabbing of a 15-year-old near Robson Square over the weekend. Read more. [CityNews]

🏀 The Toronto Raptors will play a pre-season game against the Denver Nuggets in Vancouver this October. Tickets go on sale August 27. Read more. [TSN]

₿ Political opponents and economists are questioning Mayor Ken Sim’s enthusiasm for bitcoin - and the amount of time the mayor spends promoting it - as the mayor continues to advocate for a portion of the city’s financial reserves to be invested in the cryptocurrency. Read more. [The Tyee]

🧑‍⚖️ The suspect in the Lapu Lapu Day incident is now facing three additional murder charges. Read more. [CBC]

HOME OF THE WEEK

With the Vancouver and Canadian housing market at a bit of a standstill, home prices seem to be lower than in recent memory (or at least low for Vancouver).

We’ve noticed it in the two-bedroom home market and this place is no exception. With two-bedrooms, and two-bathrooms at 786 sq feet plus a flex room, this place has a lovely kitchen and a large private patio. But what we love the most about it is the proximity to the Golden Triangle.

Is it cheap? Not really, but it’s better than you’d expect.

GIVEAWAY

Win one of two $75 gift cards to your favourite Vancouver Italian restaurant

Growing our community is a challenge. Social media giants have blocked news in Canada, so it makes reaching new readers harder and harder.

So we need your help, and we’re throwing in a fun prize: until July 28, every person you refer to the Lookout newsletter enters you for a chance to win one of two $75 gift cards to your favourite Vancouver Italian restaurant.

Referring someone is easy. Just click this link and share that unique URL with your friends or family, or forward this email to a friend. Every person whom you refer increases your odds of winning.

VANCOUVER ARTS GUIDE

Performance

Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, about seven strangers in a remote English guesthouse, is a perfect show to spend an evening enjoying. It’s on now at the Granville Island Stage. 

Speaking of theatre, over at the BMO Theatre Centre, You Used to Call me Marie starts on Sept. 25 and is a music and dance performance of the epic story of generations of Métis women. 

We just discovered that Scotiabank Dance Centre offers a subscription to dance shows. The new season begins Oct 9, and tickets are as low as $26 for a pack. 

Music

The Vancouver Bach Family Choir has announced a number of shows for the season, including Silent Movie Mondays: Phantom of the Opera and their Christmas show. 

Early Music Summer Festival is your chance to explore Bach, Schubert, and more classical music. Multiple shows will be held across the city from July 26 to Aug. 8. 

We’ve added this one to our must-see list — Firehall Arts Centre, A History of Motown is back after selling out in April. It’s a concert and a party exploring the best music of that time. Tickets available from Aug. 6-17. 

Movies

I rewatched Alfonso Cuarón’s Children of Men last month. It is maybe one of the most prescient movies for our current times? Lucky for you, it’s playing tomorrow afternoon (if you can get off work, I promise not to tell). But don’t worry—there are many other great movies this week, including In the Mood for Love, Sydney Pollack’s They Shoot Horses, Don’t They, Fincher’s mesmerizing Zodiac, and arguably the Coen’s best movie (movie fans don’t hate me), A Serious Man.

Over at Cinematheque, director Kurosawa Kiyoshi’s upcoming movie Cloud is garnering critical reception, so be sure to check it over the next few weeks. The 4k remastered version ofStanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon and a series of movies from the influential Chinese director Tsui Hark also grace the venue this month.

INFRASTRUCTURE

Pool reservation system staying put for now, while Lookout readers have their say

What happened: On Monday evening, ABC park board commissioner Marie-Claire Howard attempted to bring an urgent motion to remove the reservation system at Kits Pool. However, as was anticipated based on our reporting last week, Howard’s motion was deemed not to meet the park board’s procedural standard for urgent business, and did not move forward. 

• In explaining the ruling, park board chair Laura Christensen said she did not find any public safety, financial, or legal risk associated with Howard’s proposed motion. 

Salty overflow: “The pool has been open for a month and there have been no changes in the last two weeks that I feel would constitute an emergency needing immediate changes. Commissioner Howard could have submitted a notice of motion at our meeting two weeks ago and we could be debating this today. She did not.” 

• “To quote a sitting ABC city councillor, ‘this is not the wild west of [expletive] procedure,’ Christensen said, referring to Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung’s viral outburst last year.

Christensen said she knows there are “voices on both sides of this debate” that want to be heard. Staff will be reviewing and collecting public feedback on the reservation system at the end of the summer, and will report back to the board on possible incremental improvements that could be made for next year. 

Pool politics: Mayor Ken Sim took the decision as an opportunity to criticize the park board as an institution, in line with his long-standing attempt to abolish the board and bring parks and recreation under city control. 

“What we have seen with Kits Pool is a reminder of a bigger problem: the Park Board itself. It continues to operate with limited accountability and with little regard for what residents are actually asking for,” Sim said in a statement, citing “overwhelming public feedback” for the immediate removal of the advance booking system. 

“I will be actively exploring all options with City staff to eliminate the advance booking system,” Sim said, meaning he would try to override the park board’s jurisdiction over operations at their facilities. Sim did not clarify if he would be trying to remove the booking system for all four outdoor pools or just Kits.

• Comm. Tom Digby told Vancity Lookout that he would ask his colleagues on the park board to take legal action if Sim followed through with his threat to intervene in park board jurisdiction. 

What readers think: We put out a poll on the issue last week, and did you all ever respond. Nearly 170 readers cast votes, with two-thirds of you saying you don’t like the current reservation system.

We also got 40 comments from readers (more than I’ve seen for any poll we’ve run!), which broke down about the same way as the general voting (two-thirds against, one third in favour). Here’s a selection of some of the comments submitted by readers: 

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COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Grouse Mountain’s resident bears, Grinder and Coola, are turning 24 this month and we’re all invited to their birthday party this Saturday.

• A new sandwich shop is opening on Main St. at Prior in the space formerly occupied by Pizza Farina. 

• The Perseid meteor shower will be at its most visible in Vancouver mid-August, with 50-75 shooting stars each night. 

• The Georgia Straight has made a map of all the neighbourhood book exchanges in Vancouver.

GAME TIME

With the long days and great weather, we’re getting our fair share of these. Can you work out what it is?

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Snapped this picture on my way home on Monday evening. That new office building may be blocking views of the East Van Cross, but it’s serving as its own form of public art with that sunset reflection!