DRA News & Events � Proposed Closure of Queen Elizabeth Annex and Related Issues

Dear Vancouver School Board Trustees:

The Dunbar Residents’ Association is extremely concerned at the unreasonably short timeline given for public consultation on the proposed closure of Queen Elizabeth Annex and the other Phase 1 EFR proposals. These are proposals that will have a significant impact on all of the neighbourhoods involved and therefore require meaningful community consultation and a reasonable amount of time for citizens to gather information and respond in an informed way.

We understand that the Annex is to be closed and the property sold to provide funds for the provision of neighbourhood schools at UBC. The closure of Queen Elizabeth Annex will have an impact on our community at present and seems short-sighted for the future, given the City’s Ecodensity Charter and its predicted population growth.

The proposals raise a number of issues that citizens need time to assess and address, and the limited time given is difficult to understand in the context of what should be a desire by the VSB to engage in genuine community consultation. We urge that you engage in additional community consultation, extend the deadline for feedback for at least six months and postpone your decision accordingly.

Yours truly,

Susan Chapman
Co-President
Dunbar Residents’ Association