People biking on the seawall on a nice day

City of Vancouver provides update on proposed parks and recreation transition

November 21 2024 –

The City of Vancouver is outlining next steps in the proposed transition of Parks and Recreation governance to City Council, including potential areas for operational integration.

The Council report update (350 KB), which will be presented at the November 27 Standing Committee on Policy and Strategic Priorities, includes key progress related to governance structure recommendations, identification of opportunities for conversion of temporary parks to permanent parks, and opportunities for enhanced organizational integration.

Governance structure recommendations

The Council-appointed Parks and Recreation Working Group, which has delivered its final report, has engaged with parks and recreation stakeholders over the past several months. The Working Group proposals include:

  • Establishment of a Council Sub-Committee on Parks and Recreation — Membership would include five Councillors, appointed by Council, who would serve in an advisory role to Council on all issues related to parks and recreation. Members of the proposed sub-committee could also represent Council in discussions with other elected bodies related to parks and recreation issues. This would help align Vancouver with other major municipalities whose councils govern parks and recreation services through similar Council sub-committees.
  • Parks and Recreation Community Partner Relations Office — This office would strengthen and formalize effective engagement and governance of parks and recreation across successive elections, and would include dedicated staff to different service facets, with the mandate to respond to issues raised by stakeholders.

Conversion of temporary parks and greenspaces to permanent parks

A significant outcome of this transition would be the conversion of many temporary parks and greenspaces into permanent parks, safeguarding them for future generations. 

Staff have identified potential temporary parks and “custody, care and management” (CCM) parks for designation as permanent parks should the transition proceed. 

The total additional park area that could be designated as permanent parks would be approximately 36 hectares (88.9 acres), across 17 parks.

Operational integration opportunities and savings

Combining City and Parks and Recreation operations is expected to simplify processes and enable faster and more cohesive decision-making across a range of policy and operational issues. Citizens and stakeholders would no longer need to navigate two separate processes managed by different staff teams under different elected bodies.

The current dual system has led to increased costs and delays, particularly in construction projects requiring both Council and Park Board approval. Over the past four years, these delays have added approximately $15 million to the construction costs of projects in the City’s current four-year capital plan. Early integration opportunities identified suggest annual savings of $6.9M to $7.9M from operational efficiencies, reduced contracting and increased effectiveness. This means that the combined savings from operational efficiencies, reduced contracting, increased operational effectiveness and cost avoidance after these early integration opportunities are implemented are estimated to be in the range of $7M per year or up to $70M over 10 years, with an expectation of additional savings associated with further opportunities that could be realized over the medium and longer terms. This work is consistent with other efforts of the City to optimize resources and enhance operational excellence, in line with the recommendations of the Mayor’s Budget Task Force (8.9 MB).

Next steps

Next steps include discussing transition scenarios with the City’s unions and liaising with the Provincial government to understand intentions related to timing for the requested Vancouver Charter changes.

The Council report and more information is available online (350 KB). More information also is available on the proposed parks and recreation transition section of the City’s website.