Reimer Asks Toderian for the Data

BLOG POST posted on January 27, 2011 by Joseph Jones

Unsubstantiated "Data" from Vancouver Planners

Open Letter to Brent Toderian, Director of Planning, City of Vancouver

[Posted by Joseph Jones with permission of author Rand Chatterjee]

IN RE:  Source Data for "Density and the Environment" Graphic

Dear Sir,

The Council of the City of Vancouver has scheduled Tuesday, 1 February 2011 for a debate regarding the "Vancouver Views" Staff Report, a crucial and stated rationale for which concerns the relative energy intensity ("building energy") of the residential high-rise tower building form.

A lone graphic bar chart, entitled "Density and the environment" (attached in two of its latter Powerpoint builds) and created by consultants to the City of Vancouver (apparently the Sheltair Group) in 2007, purports to represent the actual and relative total operating building energy expended per occupant for seven forms of new construction as measured in "hectares/person." The later metric is reportedly related in some way to the ecological footprint concept first developed by UBC Professor William Rees.  

No additional information of any kind is available from any source to the public to explain, qualify or verify the data presented on this bar chart, data which are of critical relevance in this high priority debate on sustainability policy in Vancouver.  Building energy use represents at least one third of the carbon footprint of Vancouver residents, as large or larger than any other category of GHG emission by city residents.

On Thursday evening, 20 January 2010, Council Chair Andrea Reimer requested the following, as transcribed from the videotaped Council record at 8 hours and 49 minutes into the full recording that began shortly before 2:00 PM:

Andrea Reimer [pictured and addressing Brent Toderian]: … if you could get the presentation that you gave today up online. And finally, if the data is available for some of the graphs, it is always useful, to have the people, I know there is some very gifted technology folks who have come, and they have come and would like access to that data.

[Quick view on YouTube of Reimer's Question to Toderian]

The value and legal validity of the upcoming debate on February 1 and the implementation of one of the highest priority policies of this current City Administration depends on the timely release and analysis of this Council-requested data.

This includes any and all information, data, records, correspondence and reports relating to the creation of the graphic entitled "Density and the environment"  and any other information that is or has ever been in the possession of the City Planning Staff from any source that bears on the issue at point: the relative carbon footprint, embodied or operating, of various building typologies.  

This graphic bar chart was shown to many in the public for the first time during the Planning Department presentation to Council on 20 January 2011.  It was not included in the meeting package, was not captured on the Council video recording, and is not to my knowledge currently available on the web site of the City of Vancouver.

The residents, voters, taxpayers, architects, engineers, and ecological activists of this city request at least the same minimum consideration be granted to them as granted to Councillors: that this data be released on the web site of the City in an accessible form no later than the close of business, 5:00 PM  Friday, 28 January 2011, and that public notice be provided of the location of this data at that time.

I cannot reiterate more strongly that inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading material information provided to a court of public decision may invalidate or render voidable its proceedings.

Respectfully,

Rand Chatterjee
Vancouver, BC