Check your mailboxes this week, Burnaby – you could be selected for an "unprecedented opportunity" to shape the city's development.
The City of Burnaby is planning to randomly select 13,500 residents for the chance to have their say on the creation of Burnaby's Official Community Plan, according to a press release.
The Official Community Plan is one of the city's most crucial documents that plans for how the city grows, including land use, housing, transportation and the environment.
Residents who receive the invitation will have until Sunday, Jan. 28 to volunteer their names for a "civic lottery," in which 45 assembly members will be chosen.
The assembly will create recommendations for the city around the question: "How should Burnaby grow and change by 2050 to create a city where everyone can thrive?"
The assembly members "will be selected in a manner that broadly mirrors the demographic diversity of Burnaby," according to the assembly's new website.
The website also notes members can receive honorariums of up to $175 for each full-day meeting for those who have to miss work to take part or face other financial barriers.
The city describes the assembly as "a mini public."
Funding will be available to offset accessibility expenses that would prevent assembly members from attending, according to the website, and there will be accessibility supports in multiple languages.
The Burnaby Community Assembly will work over seven full-day Saturday sessions between Feb. 24 and June 15 to learn about the city and create recommendations for Burnaby 2050, the OCP.
The release says assembly members may discuss the following topics, in the context of a growing city:
- livability
- housing accessibility
- climate resilience and
- transportation
"Assembly members will examine municipal policy options and work through trade-offs in relation to their values. Members will interact with the wider community to generate ideas and explore solutions through dialogue," according to the website.
The assembly will give recommendations to city council, which is responsible for the final approval of the OCP.
"The City of Burnaby has committed to receive and respond to the Assembly’s recommendations, ensuring the process is transparent and accountable," stated the press release.
The engagement process, including the assembly and the civic lottery, will be overseen by Simon Fraser University's Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, in a collaborative, arm's-length partnership with the City of Burnaby, according to the release.
The centre has "extensive experience engaging Metro Vancouver communities," according to the website, including Burnaby's housing task force, Your Voice, Your Home.
The Civic Innovation Lab, a joint non-profit society founded by the city and SFU, will also support the project, as well as The Sortition Foundation, a non-profit that "specializes in recruiting and selecting people by civic lottery to take part in these kinds of events, in a way that is broadly representative of the wider population."
"We are pleased to again be working with the SFU's Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue to undertake the important work of the Burnaby Community Assembly to help plan Burnaby's future,” said Mayor Mike Hurley in the release.
"I look forward to reviewing the assembly's recommendations for Burnaby’s new Official Community Plan, and I thank all those who put their name forward to serve as potential community assembly members."
"The City of Burnaby has long been a regional leader in democratic participation," said Robin Prest, assembly chair and program director at SFU's Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue.
"The Burnaby Community Assembly will provide an unprecedented opportunity to hear deeply from the City’s diverse residents and create a positive vision for Burnaby’s future."
The names of assembly members will be kept confidential, according to the website, throughout the engagement process, "to ensure that members are not subject to unwanted attention or pressure during the assembly."
