“So let the sunshine in…face it with a grin…”

I love the mystery of Halloween, going door-to-door not knowing what each home is going to give you. Sometimes you win (a bag of Smarties!) and sometimes you lose (Tootsie Rolls left over from last year’s stash). You don’t always get what you want. Politics is that way, too.

On Monday night (Oct. 26, 2020) my Councillor colleagues and I had our annual discussion and vote on which of us would sit on which committees and commissions for the next year (the final year of our four-year terms). The votes usually reflect our respective skills, the dynamics of our working relationships, tenure and some degree of self-interest (we are humans, after all). For the past three years I’ve asked my colleagues to support me in my desire to serve on Banff's Municipal Planning Commission (MPC).

For the past three years my colleagues refused me: typically, with a 5:2 vote. And on Monday they said no again. (We don't know the tally. Secret vote.)

This story of my efforts to be on the MPC’s board is one that sheds light on the workings of our Town.

Has four years of being refused by my colleagues diminished my desire to be your voice on the MPC? Not in the least. I will never stop wanting what is best for our community in the long-run, and for the remainder of my term, I will keep the interests of our National Park and community forefront in my mind.

There is merit in me bringing your voices to the body that has considerable influence on the quality of life of Banff residents. Second, I bring the voice of a builder and designer to the committee that decides Banff’s built environment. Adding this experience and expertise to the MPC would strengthen its decisions.

Like anyone, my career has had moments where I wish I’d done things a different way. Those are experiences from which I’ve learned a great deal, and I want to bring those lessons with me to the MPC. I've also had success, including imagining a place for community and history on Bear Street, the Bison Courtyard. People have come to call it "the new heart of Banff."

The MPC deals with many hospitality decisions, from hotels to restaurants to B&Bs. I help run award-winning hospitality businesses; I know the pleasures and pitfalls of welcoming guests to Canada's first national park and this magnificent UNESCO World Heritage Site. I believe our planning decisions should try to match the majesty of our surroundings.

Finally, we all know that the economic consequences of cumulative planning decisions have led to three decades of chronic housing shortages and high rents. I may be the only applicant with engineering degrees and an economics degree. I understand how subsidies to business lead to high rents for residents. Actually, the Town's own recruitment information asks MPC applicants to have competency in “urban planning architecture, landscape architecture… construction…engineering…or real estate”. 

Do my opponents on Council consider my voice too persuasive? Do they fear that I would push back at Town administration or developers? Do they not like that I have argued in Court to uphold Parks Canada policies? Do they feel I would create imbalance on the MPC? Do they want four-year terms? If any of the above are the reasons, I don't think they hold water: Town Planners are professionals and developers are skilled in pushing for their own interests. The MPC has eight members; my voice would be but one. Our Committee policy spells out one-year terms, not four-year ones. There is a need for Town representatives who will push for the interests of our National Park and community.

This summer, after three years of proposing and three years being refused, I accepted the fact that the majority of Council does not want this experience and expertise. So, I went back to the drawing board and found another way that I could strengthen the MPC and so serve my constituents. I submitted questions to be added to the list of queries Council asks committee applicants to answer. Council reviews those answers when selecting five (5) public members on the MPC. My six questions (see them beginning on P.58 of this Council Agenda from July 13 2020) were designed to open the MPC's doors to new voices and, I believe, would go a long way to revealing which applicants have diverse, professional perspectives. Council again rejected my contribution.

I believe in open government. When I ran for Town Council, people elected me partly to shed light on public decision-making, to create a more transparent relationship between the Town and residents. I want a Council which honours diversity, including diverse points of view. To those who voted for me three years ago, thank you for letting me help carry the torch for this community. When we agree to carry a torch for our Town, we should also agree to use it to shine a light onto things about our governance that need illumination and airing out, or on closed doors that need to be opened. My interest in serving on the MPC, in the questions I ask of my Council colleagues, in how I consider my own role as the voice of my constituents, and in why I wrote this blog, are all driven by my sincere wish to improve the quality of life for Banff residents and honour the mandate you gave me when you elected me to Council.

Further to that end and after three years of serving our community, I have two requests of constituents and readers:

First, please mark your calendars for next August & September and apply to Town Committees. Because it’s important for the next elected Council (to be elected October, 2021) to have a diverse set of candidates from which to select. Then, once you've applied, next October you are entitled to call the newly elected and re-elected Council members and persuade them of your interest in serving on Committees. One of the first things a new Council will do, a week after the election, will be to hold an "Annual Organizational Meeting" when Committees are appointed.

Second, and perhaps even more importantly, if you are thinking of running as a candidate for Council in the next municipal election (October, 2021), whatever your political views, please feel welcome to call or email me. I’d be happy to offer a warm cup of tea around our bonfire pit on our patio and share thoughts.

Of course, all 11 of our Town Committees do important work. Since elected, I have been proud to serve on Banff’s Assessment Review Board, the Banff Heritage Corporation board, and our regional Waste Management Commission.[1] I am glad to have been selected for these and have learned much. I'm grateful to the hard-working, intelligent members of our community who guide these Committees.

In closing, though most of this blog has been a rant, I am pleased to end it with a related decision that also happened at Monday’s meeting of Council. After my colleagues said no to my serving on the MPC, they did elect me to the Development Appeal Board (DAB), the body that hears development disputes in the Town. I have served on this quasi-judicial board many years ago. In addition to knowing the Land Use Bylaw and Parks regulations well, I am well-schooled in principles of natural justice and procedural fairness. Given the impartial stance of the DAB, for people concerned about decisions by Town Planners or the MPC, if you bring your concerns to the DAB please be aware that I cannot engage with you once a dispute is looming. This may silence me somewhat, however, my independence protects your interest and respects the independence of the Board.

I continue to welcome your thoughts or calls about matters above or your priorities during this final year serving our community. Please reach out.

Sincerely,

Peter J Poole

[1] There's a certain irony in having been placed on these Committees. You know the saying: there are two things we cannot avoid: death and taxes. Well, in my Committee work, I've got those covered. I'm on the committee that handles tax disputes. And I'm on the Heritage Committee that cringes when old buildings get demolished and the Waste Management Commission that runs the place where demolished buildings are dumped.