It seems like the world is changing at a rapid rate. One day you're driving by a field, the next day you see bulldozers there. In the past it seemed like developments took longer to get started and longer to build. But perhaps that's just our perception. Or not.
Our story on page 3 today reflects what we are hearing more and more from our readers. When their neighbourhood changes, they are often surprised and wonder why they didn't know what was happening. They often blame us for not doing more reporting on planning and development in the city. Or they often read the story in our paper on the development and wonder why they weren't informed by the city.
Gone are the days when a neighbour might spend some time with you over coffee sharing information. Now, residents race from car to kitchen to the media centre, and back out in the morning to work.
Our attention spans seem shorter and the deluge of information seems impossible at times to keep up with.
So, what is a city to do when its residents say they are not being informed about changes to their neighbourhoods in time to offer input?
Burnaby, like other municipalities in B.C., is bound by rules and regulations on how and when to inform residents on developments or changes. They must advertise in local newspapers, put up signs and deliver notices. But is it enough? We think not. A recent court case in Vancouver ended up with a judge saying that cities must be held to a higher standard when communicating changes to residents. But it appears that we are heading down a path to a lower standard. There is a trend for cities to believe that posting things on their website can somehow be considered proper notice. But how many taxpayers go to the city's website to find notices about meetings? And should citizens have to hunt down such information?
But how can a city appease citizens and also not have development slowed to an unacceptable rate? It's a tough balance. But clearly there needs to more thought put into the whole process and how folks are informed and for how long. It's simply not acceptable to hope that folks catch a notice or see one ad, or a sign as they drive by. More time is needed and more communication, otherwise citizens rightly feel shut out and that's not a good thing.
