A new report from the BC Ministry of Municipal Affairs puts the University Endowment Lands (UEL) one step closer to municipalization.
The governance report recommends that the area become its own municipality or amalgamate with Vancouver, but it’s only a first step in a long process of potential reform.
The UEL is an unincorporated area between UBC campus and Vancouver which, as of 2021, had just over 3000 residents.
Over the years, residents have voiced concerns regarding a lack of directly elected political leadership — where cities would have a mayor, the UEL is run by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs. The Ministry appoints a manager for day-to-day operations.
The current governance structure means UEL residents receive services from several levels of government, while those living 15 minutes away in Vancouver get all of the same services municipally.
Policing is provincial, provided by an RCMP agreement shared with UBC. Fire services are from the City of Vancouver, as are public schools. Garbage is collected by the UEL itself, while road maintenance is shared between the UEL and the province and the list goes on.
The report was only recently released but was launched in 2020 by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, who conducted the governance report to study these issues and potential solutions.
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs consulted with stakeholders and reviewed four possible governance scenarios — continuing with the status quo, getting more services from Metro Vancouver, incorporating the UEL into its own city and amalgamating with Vancouver.
The report recommends the two municipalization options — incorporation and joining Vancouver — as viable solutions to the current governance challenges.
The report notes that including the UEL in Vancouver might be logistically simpler as service infrastructure already exists, but that incorporating the UEL into its own town could only bring a “slightly higher” accountability with local government.
Jen McCutcheon, the Director for Metro Vancouver's Electoral Area A, which includes the UEL, characterized the report as a starting point for the region.
“It’s certainly not the finish line for changing the governance structure, but it’s a necessary and fairly big first step in determining what the options are, as well as what the implications would be,” she said.
The report also recommends launching a “governance review and approval process” to establish the timing and sequence of a future transition.
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs wrote in a statement that it will be “undertaking further engagement with key interested parties, including local First Nations, to determine how to best meet the needs of people living within the community.”
Notably, leləm̓, one area of rapid growth in the UEL, is a residential community developed by the Musqueam Capital Corporation.
McCutcheon noted governance reform in the UEL could have implications for UBC residents as well.
Policing is one example — if the UEL were to amalgamate with Vancouver and thus end its service agreement with the RCMP, UBC may reconsider its policing services as well.
Beyond just UEL reform, McCutcheon said UBC may someday go through a similar process, albeit starting in a very different place.
“Already we see challenges with not having … one direct place where [UBC] residents can call when they have various concerns … we might need to be looking at changes to the governance structure to the UBC piece.”