TELUS new giant screen: Ten questions that TELUS can't answer

Dear Mayor Robertson, 

(18 Feb 2015)

Thank you for your role in passing the bipartisan unanimous motion just two weeks ago seeking a reduction in unneeded / superfluous light in Vancouver.  I am writing you today to share my concerns about Telus' new sign bylaw amendment application at 520 West Georgia Street.  As a downtown resident and as a father, I do feel that a lot can be learned from my personal experience and my family's experience about living in front of Telus' giant screens at BC Place.  I do realise that Telus has made efforts to describe this new giant screen on Georgia Street in terms that are different from its screens at BC Place, but please take my word (amongst scores of other residents' testimony) that a whole new slew of suffering will be caused for nearby families irrespective of degrees of intensity or type of content if this new screen is approved. (Recall that Telus fiddled with the brightness and operating hours of their screens at BC Place for months, with little reduction in the suffering caused to nearby families.)

To the surprise of many, VanCityBuzz has recently published a photo with the heading "One of the projectors and the projection being tested at TELUS Garden" which seems to depict Telus' completed purchase, installation and testing of their new giant screen as though it was a fait-accompli (http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2015/02/telus-garden-office-tower-boast-giant-projection-screen/).  As a citizen who insists in due diligence in civic affairs, I admit that this type of contemptuous corporate behaviour infuriates me. - I wonder if it frustrates you also.

Over the last while, I have worked with a number of other downtown residents to prepare a list of ten questions that emphasise our main concerns with Telus' new sign bylaw amendment application, and I ask that you please have a read before making your decision concerning Telus' application. I do understand that Council may choose to convene a public hearing at which time I look forward to conveying to you in person and with more backstory, the elements that make up our primary concerns.

Thanks for your attention to this file and to the important precedents that may be created therein.

With regards,

David Cookson

----------------

City Council must say NO to TELUS’ new giant screen application

‘Application to Amend Sign By-law - 520 West Georgia Street’

Ten questions that must be answered:

• Telus’ new proposed giant video screen is only two blocks away from the closest residential high-rise building (amongst others).  In Telus’ own application, when addressing line-of-sight, Telus admits that ‘The Hudson’ at 610 Granville is only 176 meters away.  Scores of families will suffer. Is this not why we have bylaws to protect us?
• Telus is favouring corporate interests over family interests, this despite the pain and suffering that Telus has caused and is still causing to thousands of families living near Telus’ screens at BC Place.  Screens and homes simply don’t mix under any circumstances, even when care is taken to mitigate the effects. Have we learned nothing?
• Telus is misleading the public by claiming that the new giant screen is “only viewable in low light conditions” (i.e. in the evenings, which is incidentally the most invasive time of day for nearby residents).  However, in Telus’ own application, Telus admits that they intend to run the screen during several daytime events such as the Sun Run. So which is it?
• Telus is misleading the public by claiming that the new giant screen "will not feature advertising".  However all that will be required for Labatt to feature Budweiser ads (for example) will be for Telus to rent a single office at Telus Garden to Labatt.  In Telus’ own application, Telus admits that they intend to allow “brand recognition” (which precisely means advertising) on the screen for tenant businesses at Telus Garden. Has Telus not simply narrowly redefined the word "advertising" just to suit their current proposal?
• In the year 2015, no-one uses outdoor video screens to learn about community events – one would have to stand there staring and waiting for 15 minutes to glean anything valuable.  The vast majority of people use their smart phones or they listen to the radio, while others use the internet at home.  People without internet or radio access are generally made aware about upcoming events at the community centres that they frequent. Can anyone really claim that they've ever learned about any community events from the outdoor screens at Future Shop on Granville Street?
• Telus is misleading the public by claiming that the intensity of the new giant screen will be “lesser than that of a handheld smartphone or laptop” by using the measure ‘nits’ to describe light intensity.  What Telus is failing to explain is that ‘nits’ are a measure per square meter and so the bigger the screen the bigger the disturbance. Can these misleading claims (which work really well in short news-cycles) really go unchallenged?
• Telus is misleading the public by claiming that the disturbance caused by the new giant screen will be “exactly the same as that of normal lights from an office building”.  This is patently ridiculous given that video screens themselves are dynamic (i.e. they move and flash) and are designed to draw your attention.  Why else would anyone install a projection device on the outside of an office tower if not to draw people’s attention?
• Exposure to flashing and dynamic (i.e. moving) video imagery must remain a voluntary activity for residents living in residential buildings nearby, not something that they are held captive to nightly.  Would subjecting local residents to this nightly harassment really be a 'best practice' in the most densely populated residential neighbourhood in the country?
• Council recently passed a motion seeking a reduction in superfluous outdoor lighting in Vancouver.  Would permitting Telus’ proposed amendment not fly directly in the face of this unanimously supported Council motion?
• Telus has shown utter contempt for the City of Vancouver’s bylaws at BC Place where Telus continues to operate and earn the advertising revenues from their giant outdoor video screens.  In 2012 the Mayor and Council unanimously passed a motion demanding that the BC Place screens be brought into compliance but Telus has ignored this request for three years.  Should companies that act deplorably be granted special permissions by the City?

City Council must say NO to Telus Gardens new giant screen application: Concerned residents insist

City Council must say 'NO'
to Telus Gardens new giant screen application

‘Application to Amend Sign By-law - 520 West Georgia Street’ 

Be sure to send your comments to City Hall before February 18:
http://former.vancouver.ca/commsvcs/planning/rezoning/applications/520wgeorgia/feedback.htm

Download the PDF flyer here

Here’s why:

• Telus’ new proposed giant video screen is only two blocks away from the closest residential high-rise building (amongst others). In Telus’ own application, when addressing line-of-sight, Telus admits that ‘The Hudson’ at 610 Granville is only 176 meters away. Scores of families will suffer.
• Telus is favouring corporate interests over family interests, this despite the pain and suffering that Telus has caused and is still causing to thousands of families living near Telus’ screens at BC Place. Screens and homes simply don’t mix under any circumstances, even when care is taken to mitigate the effects – Have we learned nothing?
• Telus is misleading the public by claiming that the new giant screen is “only viewable in low light conditions” (which is incidentally the most invasive time of day for nearby residents). However, in Telus’ own application, Telus admits that they intend to run the screen during several daytime events such as the Sun Run.
• Telus is misleading the public by claiming that the new giant screen will not feature advertising. All that will be required for Labatt to feature Budweiser ads (for example) will be for Telus to rent a single office at Telus Gardens to Labatt. In Telus’ own application, Telus admits that they intend to allow “brand recognition” (which precisely means advertising) on the screen for tenant businesses at Telus Gardens.
• In the year 2015, no-one uses outdoor video screens to learn about community events – one would have to stand there staring and waiting for 15 minutes to glean anything valuable. The vast majority of people use their smart phones or they listen to the radio, while others use the internet at home. People without internet or radio access are generally made aware about upcoming events at the community centres that they frequent.
• Telus is misleading the public by claiming that the intensity of the new giant screen will be “lesser than that of a handheld smartphone or laptop” by using the measure ‘nits’ to describe light intensity. What Telus is failing to explain is that ‘nits’ are a measure per square meter and so the bigger the screen the bigger the disturbance.
• Telus is misleading the public by claiming that the disturbance caused by the new giant screen will be “exactly the same as that of normal lights from an office building”. This is patently ridiculous given that video screens themselves are dynamic (i.e. they move and flash) and are designed to draw your attention. Why else would anyone install a projection device on the outside of an office tower if not to draw people’s attention?
• Exposure to flashing and dynamic (i.e. moving) video imagery must remain a voluntary activity for residents living in residential buildings nearby, not something that they are held captive to nightly.
• Council recently passed a motion seeking a reduction in superfluous outdoor lighting in Vancouver. Telus’ new proposal flies directly in the face of this unanimously supported Council motion.
• Telus has shown utter contempt for the City of Vancouver’s bylaws at BC Place where they continue to operate and earn the advertising revenues from their giant outdoor video screens. In 2012 the Mayor and Council unanimously passed a motion demanding that the BC Place screens be brought into compliance but Telus has ignored this request for three years. Companies that act deplorably should not be, and cannot be, granted special permissions by the City. 

Listen to the radio show discussing Telus's new giant screen

Imagine someone bolted a giant advertising screen inside your home

Imagine someone came into your home and bolted a giant flat-screen TV to the wall of your living room.  Imagine that they went ahead and bolted another TV across from your dinner table and yet another in your kid’s bedroom.  Imagine that this perpetrator covered over the ‘off’ switches, hardwired the power cables, then disappeared back to the safety of his office and began pumping non-stop ads at you and your family ‒ Budweiser ads to sell you beer, Telus ads to sell you cell phones, and for good measure the occasional Terry Fox video so that you’d look like a jerk if you complained about it.  Imagine your astonishment if you found out that this vandal who was disrupting your previously quiet home was actually a Provincial Corporation, a breed of organisation that is responsible not to the local community but to the whims of wealthy corporate advertisers.

What if this Provincial Corporation offered to partly dim these screens in your home from time to time, or to turn them off for a few minutes on select nights, all this at their whims and musings.  Would you be satisfied with the reduced brightness?  Would you be able to return to a peaceful family life with your children despite the non-stop disruption into your private space? Would you consider the situation resolved?

As local residents re-group and plan their next steps, the incumbent BC Liberals continue to push residents ever closer to an unwanted but increasingly likely scenario: legal action against BC Pavilion Corp.

Breached! - Standards of Ethical Conduct for Directors of PavCo

How can BC PavCo’s Board of Directors headed by David Podmore continue to violate the public trust by propping up PavCo CEO Warren Buckley and General Manager Howard Crosley in their flagrant disregard for Vancouver’s civic authority?  Buckley and Crosley continue to operate the giant outdoor video screens at BC Place Stadium while knowingly prolonging the suffering of residents in hundreds of adjacent residential households - This despite Vancouver City Council’s unanimous motion on January 17, 2012 demanding that PavCo bring their outdoor signage at BC Place into compliance with the City's sign bylaws.

From within PavCo’s own official literature describing acceptable ‘Standards of Ethical Conduct for Directors of PavCo’ comes another disturbing revelation which further disgraces the PavCo organisation. Where addressing the organisation’s policy concerning compliance with the law, the document stipulates: 

“Directors shall not only comply fully with the law, but shall also avoid any situation which could be perceived as improper or indicate a casual attitude towards compliance.”

As clearly stated here, even activities which so much as create ‘a perception of impropriety’ are specifically identified as being in direct contravention of PavCo’s own ethical standards.  However, despite this clear and unambiguous policy statement concerning acceptable behaviours, ethical dishonesty continues to flourish at PavCo.

As PavCo’s Board of Directors begin to jump ship (resignation of Peter Brown and Derek Brindle; speculation of further departures including David Podmore himself), one has to ask how contemptuous of civic authority and how self-important those in power at PavCo must be, to continue their reprehensible disregard for our citizens, our standards and processes, and our laws.

(Please click on the following image to view page-1 of the document ‘Standards of Ethical Conduct for Directors of PavCo’.  Full document here: http://www.bcpavco.com/resources/)

The Anger Over BC Place’s Video Screens

Spencer Toth of VanCityBuzz publishes a new story concerning the giant screens at BC Place Stadium.  In it, the author writes, “There is an even bigger issue represented by the large screen in Terry Fox Plaza, facing out along Robson Street towards Yaletown.  In sheer size, it is unbelievable and completely overshadows the Terry Fox memorial located there.  At night, the screen lights up the entire neighbourhood.  If facing anywhere else, this might have been acceptable, but it is facing a well-populated section of the downtown core.  I find it incredibly unsurprising that people have taken issue with it.”

(Please click the following link for the full VanCityBuzz story)  
http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2012/03/bright-lights-the-anger-over-bc-places-video-screens/

PavCo Minister Bell admits that lack of consultation by rogue agency BC PavCo is “problematic”

The following CKNW interview on the Bill Good Show was recorded following a meeting with BC PavCo Minister Pat Bell on February 8, 2012.  In the interview, Take the Giant Screen Down Now spokesperson David Cookson describes what representatives from the citizen’s group discussed with the Minister.  Also explained is the group’s new conciliatory demand concerning the three giant outdoor screens at BC Place Stadium.

Despite the Minister’s non-responsiveness towards residents for the five months following the erection of the outdoor screens, and despite the screens’ continued operation daily and nightly, the group has made great concessions from its previous demands to 'Take the Giant Screen Down Now' and now instead has made a simple request: that basic City standards and processes be applied to the signage at BC Place Stadium.

Adhering to City standards and processes IS WHAT ALL CROWN CORPORATIONS HAVE ALWAYS DONE in the City of Vancouver and also very importantly IT'S WHAT PAVCO SAID THEY WOULD DO when they engaged the City in 2008 about the BC Place Stadium renovations (see the September 2008 FCN ODP 'Upgrade Commitment Agreement' where PavCo agreed "not to fetter Council discretion" concerning the development of False Creek North).  This conciliatory demand that PavCo 'follow the City standards and processes' (which would mean that PavCo simply submit three sign permit applications to the City as per the City's bylaw requirements) is a completely reasonable request and one which is increasingly resonating with the vast majority of the public who are seeking a speedy resolution on this matter.

On January 17, 2012 Vancouver City Council unanimously passed a motion demanding that BC PavCo comply with the City's sign bylaws.

(CKNW radio interview player should appear just below this sentence)

PavCo Minister Bell deaf to new conciliatory request from TtGSDN group?

Take the Giant Screen Down Now organisation has taken a new conciliatory tone, deviating from its long-standing demands to immediately remove the giant screen at Terry Fox Plaza and the two other giant screens surrounding BC Place Stadium.  Rather than continuing to insist that the screens be taken down with no further discussion, the group has made great concessions towards BC PavCo and is now simply requesting that regular processes regarding city infrastructure be followed and that existing city standards concerning entertainment district signage be applied.

During a meeting with PavCo minister Pat Bell on February 8, 2012 David Cookson, spokesperson for Take the Giant Screen Down Now told the Minister that residents would be satisfied with PavCo and the Ministry if they “Just follow the process. There’s an accepted process in this city, one which was followed by the Federal Government for the CBC Studios screen at 700 Hamilton Street. All PavCo needs to do is submit three sign application permits to the City for the three screens it wishes to operate.  If indeed the public wishes there to be giant video screens at BC Place Stadium, then the City's standards and processes will certainly make it so.”

(Please click the following link for the full Metro Vancouver news story)  
http://www.metronews.ca/vancouver/local/article/1092901--residents-spotlight-billboard-woes

(Please click on the following two images to view the two memorandums delivered to Pat Bell during the February 8, 2012 meeting with the Minister.)

MEMORANDUM-1:  Questions for the Minister

MEMORANDUM-2:  Conciliatory request to the Minister

Minister Bell admits: Province could have done more

In the following story by 24 Hours News, PavCo Minister Pat Bell sidesteps questions about the gross negligence demonstrated by BC PavCo in erecting three screens at BC Place stadium – the Minister instead talks about the ‘complaints’ surrounding the screens.  

“The fact that emotions are as high as they are is a strong indication we haven’t communicated effectively,” Bell told 24 hours.  As explained to the Minister during a meeting with Take the Giant Screen Down Now spokesperson David Cookson on February 8, 2012 “emotions are as high as they are because BC PavCo has not yet followed the City’s standard processes concerning signage.  Communications with the public ‘after erecting the screens’ is really more of a damage mitigation tactic than anything else.  What the Minister and PavCo need to do now is just simply follow the City’s processes – it’s that easy.”

The province and PavCo have received increasing pressure from Vancouver City Council, which passed a unanimous motion last month demanding a clear action plan from the Crown Corporation to bring the digital screens into compliance.  Embarrassingly for PavCo, additional documents have also surfaced demonstrating PavCo’s written commitment in September 2008 “not to fetter council discretion” on issues regarding the development of False Creek North. 

(Please click the following link for the full 24 Hours story)  http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/local/2012/02/08/19357171.html

The BC Place giant screens debacle: City asks PavCo to do what it said it would do

The following story is from the personal blog of Vancouver City Councillor and citizen’s rights champion Geoff Meggs, who has officially and as a matter of public record exposed BC PavCo’s wilful disregard for due process in the BC Place giant screens debacle.  On his blog, the Councillor states “When Vancouver city council voted unanimously to demand an action plan from the BC Pavilion Corporation to bring its new digital signs into compliance with city policies, the city was simply asking PavCo to do what it has always said it would do.”

Councillor Meggs then goes on to produce documents showing how in a September 2008 ‘Upgrade Commitment Agreement’, PavCo specifically promised in writing to follow the City’s wishes concerning these matters and “not to fetter council discretion regarding False Creek North Official Development Plan Amendments or otherwise”. (Please see document image below.)

This damaging document serves as yet further proof in support of the massive outcry to Provincial Ministry officials to have the rogue PavCo organisation reined in and ordered to follow the due process always followed by Crown Corporations: that is, to submit three standard sign permit applications for the three outdoor screens to the City’s Centre for Billboard Permitting for standard scrutiny under the existing Sign Bylaw provisions applicable to all entertainment districts in our city.  − Is anyone else wondering where the PavCo Ministry is during all this? (i.e. The Ministry of JTI)

(Please click on the following link for Geoff Meggs’ blog)  http://www.geoffmeggs.ca/2012/01/18/the-bc-place-sign-debate-city-asks-pavco-to-do-what-it-said-it-would-do/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-bc-place-sign-debate-city-asks-pavco-to-do-what-it-said-it-would-do 

(Please click on the following image to view the ‘Upgrade Commitment Agreement’ where PavCo specifically promises to follow the City’s wishes concerning these matters. See item #3.)

PavCo admits to not owning BC Place giant screen! – points to Telus as culprit

In response to a Freedom of Information request submitted by citizen’s group ‘Take the Giant Screen Down Now’, BC PavCo has reluctantly but officially admitted that the giant video screen at Terry Fox Plaza does not belong to PavCo at all, but rather to a third party.

In a letter sent January 24, 2012 by PavCo administrator Alexandra Wagner, the PavCo CEO’s assistant confirms that “With respect to <revenues earned from advertising on all three giant outdoor screens> there are no records in reference to your request”, which confirms what has been suspected for months now: that a third party is collecting those advertising revenues instead.

Effectively narrowing down the screen owner’s identity to either PavCo or Telus Corporation, Wagner writes in her follow-up letter sent January 30, 2012 that “Ownership of the Screen at Terry Fox Plaza is part of the ongoing negotiations between PavCo and its preferred Telecommunications partner”, suggesting that the future ownership share of the screen between these two parties is currently under deliberation. Wagner does go on to admit however that “at present PavCo has no records related to the <screen ownership> portion of your request”, which finally confirms conclusively that PavCo is not the current owner of the screen, suggesting de facto that Telus must be. 

This admission further bolsters widespread beliefs that Telus Corporation is in fact the owner of all three giant outdoor screens at BC Place Stadium, a development first announced by MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert after being told so by PavCo Deputy Minister Dana Hayden in December of 2011.

As noted in previous blogs, non-Crown-agency third-party ownership and operation of the giant outdoor video screens at BC Place is illegal under a 2000-2003 BC Court of Appeals judgement concerning the BC Interpretation Act. It now remains to be seen how swiftly Vancouver’s City Council and Legal Department will use the courts to force Telus and PavCo to comply with the City’s Sign By-laws and ultimately whip PavCo’s leadership into behaving as they should have in the first place.

(Please scroll through the following document to view the full FOI correspondence with BC PavCo)

BC PavCo FOI correspondence

BC PavCo attempts to stave off Freedom of Information request: illegally withholds third-party documentation

The following two letters of complaint were sent January 29 and 31, 2012 to BC PavCo’s Freedom of Information Coordinator Alexandra Wagner (who is notably also the direct executive assistant and corporate secretary to PavCo CEO Warren Buckley). The letters which address PavCo’s incomplete FOI response describe on-going attempts by the PavCo leadership to continue withholding the screen owner’s identity as well as documentation describing PavCo’s complicity in the screen’s continued operation - this despite Freedom of Information laws requiring that PavCo disclose all related documentation. 

Observers can rest assured that those leadership and non-leadership members of the BC PavCo administration who are deliberately allowing justice to be obstructed through wilful non-disclosure of the screen owner’s identity will legally and financially be held accountable under laws such as the province’s Tort and Nuisance laws, just to name a few.  The hole is growing deeper – time to come clean.

(Please click on the following two images to view the two complaint letters sent to PavCo regarding their incomplete FOI response.)

Letter of Complaint #1

Letter of complaint #2

Residents rally against invasive light from digital signs outside BC Place

This article in the Globe and Mail tells how the three giant video screens at BC Place have sparked hundreds of emails and letters since last fall from downtown residents who properly assert that light from the flashing, beer-advertising sign has invaded their living rooms by day and their sleep by night.  The story goes on to explain that BC PavCo’s recent tinkering with the screens demonstrates that they’re not at all listening to residents’ concerns.  Concerned and directly affected citizens alike have been rallying for four months for the standard application of due process and have demanded that BC PavCo be made to comply with the city’s sign by-laws, laws which were precisely designed and have been successful at achieving the proper balance regarding appropriate signage throughout so-called ‘entertainment districts’ in the Vancouver downtown core.  Finally, the story reminds readers that CBC (recalling that CBC is a Federal government entity, a level of government superior to the Provincial government), when seeking to erect a screen at CBC Plaza at 700 Hamilton Street in 2008, followed the standard billboard permit application process as do all Crown corporations when looking to implement projects which are generally described and governed by Vancouver’s city by-laws. 

– Feeling the pressure mounting, PavCo CEO Warren Buckley has chosen to run and hide and has left BC Place assistant general manager Kathy Delisser all alone to make outlandish statements, such as trying to shrug-off responsibility by saying that BC Place isn’t free to do exactly what it wants with the sign due to ongoing sponsorship negotiations. …It’s becoming increasingly obvious to even the least interested onlooker that PavCo’s actions regarding the three screens at BC Place Stadium are marred with irregularities and that the erecting of the three screens is a complete deviation from any and all accepted procedures considered appropriate by all levels of civic and provincial government.

(Please click the following link for full story in the Globe and Mail)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/residents-rally-against-invasive-light-from-digital-signs-outside-bc-place/article2307488/ 

Vancouver requires “clear action plan” on digital signs compliance at BC Place

In this story appearing in the Georgia Straight, Vision Vancouver councillor Geoff Meggs describes the unanimous motion passed by Vancouver City Council concerning the giant digital billboards at BC Place Stadium and describes how the City is requesting that PavCo follow standard protocols which are typically followed by Crown Corporations, “This motion asks PavCo to do what Crown corporations have said in the past they would do...that they would adhere to city policies and procedures when it came to issues that would normally be under our jurisdiction”.

Meggs’ motion, which was passed unanimously by City Council, asks Vancouver’s city manager to write to PavCo, advising them that the City requires a clear action plan to bring the signs into compliance “with city standards and processes”.  City Manager Penny Ballem adds that “there’s a larger question here as we go forward... about PavCo’s relationship to the city.” 

– It seems that PavCo CEO Warren Buckley’s appalling lack of community values and shameful actions are not only trouncing on local city residents’ right to a peaceful home environment, but now Buckley is also putting into jeopardy BC PavCo’s long-term relationship with the City of Vancouver.  …Not exactly qualities you’d want from the head of one of our provincial organisations, nor someone you’d want empowered to make such big decisions about the shape and character of our City.

(Please click the following link for full Georgia Straight News story)
http://www.straight.com/article-585491/vancouver/vancouver-requests-clear-action-plan-digital-signs-bc-place 

City Hall insists that PavCo comply with Sign By-laws

“There’s no reason why a small group of revenue-hungry elitist executives in a dark room somewhere can decide what type of harassment that they’re going to impose on our community,” says residents group Take the Giant Screen Down Now primary spokesperson David Cookson about the BC PavCo leadership.  – Vancouver City Council agrees.

In this follow-up story by Erica Bulman, we learn how Vancouver City Council has demanded a clear action plan from PavCo on how it will bring into compliance the giant digital screens at BC Place which are beaming ads directly into the adjacent condos.  In the story, City Council clearly warns that failure to respect municipal bylaws would create “difficulties down the road” for PavCo.  City Councillor Geoff Meggs then insists that PavCo needs to “…do what is right by the public, not just what is right by PavCo.”

Councillor Meggs goes on to explain about agreements made between PavCo and the City prior to the stadium renovations, “They promised when they applied for rezoning in the first place they would come forward to the city the way anybody else would under the circumstances.”  Crown corporations traditionally respect municipal bylaws, but PavCo erected the screens without city approval.  

(Please click the following link for full 24 Hours News story)
http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/local/2012/01/17/19258581.html

UNANIMOUS! - City backs residents in billboard battle

In this follow-up story by Matt Kieltyka, we learn how Vancouver City Council is standing up for residents complaining about the electronic billboards at B.C. Place, unanimously voting in favour of a game plan which councillors hope will pressure BC PavCo into complying with the city’s sign bylaw.  PavCo’s reprehensible behaviour has harshly been criticised by several members of City Council, with Councillor Meggs saying “(Residents) are asking for some reasonable accommodations from PavCo and they should get it.”  

The motion effectively puts the PavCo leadership on notice that they must comply with City processes and sign bylaws and demands an action plan from PavCo for full compliance.  City manager Penny Ballem also confirms that the City is looking into possible legal options if PavCo does not respond swiftly.

(Please click the following link for full Metro Vancouver News story)
http://www.metronews.ca/vancouver/local/article/1074173--city-backs-residents-in-billboard-battle

‘Blinded by the light’ – Take the Giant Screen Down Now group vows to protest until screen comes down

In this story by Metro reporter Matt Kieltyka, members of Take the Giant Screen Down Now (TtGSDN) and the community alike applaud Councillor Meggs for standing up for local residents quality of life and well-being.  City Councillor Meggs states that “On an overcast day, it’s quite disturbing having a light flashing in your living room”.  — 'Disturbing' is an understatement; community residents need rest when they’re at home, not bombardment with advertising all day every day.

Surprisingly, the MLA For Vancouver-False Creek Mary McNeil remains conspicuously quiet on the issue and has abandoned the Councillor to defend this community on his own, which is disappointing to say the least since this is McNeil’s constituency. TtGSDN primary spokesperson David Cookson confirms not hearing back from McNeil despite repeated requests for contact by phone and by email on many occasions. Is MLA McNeil toeing the partisan line and simply refusing to listen to her electorate in the hopes that this will go away?

(Please click the following link for full story) http://www.metronews.ca/vancouver/local/article/1070563--blinded-by-the-light

‘Signs of Trouble’ - If Telus owns screens at BC Place Stadium then City By-laws should apply – PavCo and Telus duck comments on ownership

In this follow-up story by CTV BC News, MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert confirms that PavCo Deputy Minister Dana Hayden admitted Telus Corporation’s ownership of the Terry Fox Plaza screen.  When contacting Telus to confirm ‘who owns the screens’, Telus is exposed by CTV reporter Shannon Paterson as inappropriately ducking the question and deferring to sponsorship issues. – Similarly for PavCo.  Interestingly, jurisprudence in the BC Appeals Court decision ‘District of Squamish v. Great Pacific Pumice’ indicates that City By-laws are applicable, therefore providing the City with the authority to remove third-party-owned screens from Provincial land if they do not comply with City By-laws.

If Telus proves to be the owner of the screens, PavCo CEO Warren Buckley and PavCo Minister Pat Bell will have a lot of explaining to do, beginning with why this vital information has been withheld from City Hall and from the general public for all these months. (CTV video link should appear just below this paragraph)

City Hall and residents questioning leadership at BC PavCo

In this story, CTV BC News reports that “Complaints keep on rolling in” about the giant screen at Terry Fox Plaza and how “There’s been a steady stream of complaints about the billboard for more than three months – Councillor Geoff Meggs has an inbox full of emails”.   Meggs goes on to describe how “People are being driven crazy by the lighting that’s hitting their buildings” and explains that “There hasn’t been enough of a <consultation> process as far as they’re concerned” and “a lot of them are demanding that the sign be taken right down”.  (CTV video link should appear just below this paragraph)

City Hall confirms “A lot of residents are demanding the sign be taken right down” – PavCo and Telus lock down all communications with press and public

The following CTV News story confirms the flood of complaints reaching City Hall over the last four months regarding the intolerable nuisance caused by the three giant video screens at BC Place Stadium.  Also covered in the story is the increasingly likely prospect of Telus Corporation actually owning and operating the three screens in secrecy.

Seeking desperately to flee from this public relations disaster, both PavCo CEO Warren Buckley and Telus spokesperson Shawn Hall have frantically resorted to the age-old damage mitigation tactic of stonewalling the press by refusing to comment on the Telus ownership issue.  Increasingly, it’s not just the ownership of the giant screens of that’s being put in question, but also the leadership of the BC Pavilion Corporation.  

(Please click on the following link for the full CTV BC News story)
http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20120112/bc_place_lights_120112/20120112/?hub=BritishColumbiaHome

Questions swirl around ownership of B.C. Place’s video boards

Investigative journalist Bob Mackin of the Vancouver Courier publishes an incredible admission from the PavCo Ministry stating that the three giant video screens at BC Place Stadium are privately owned by Telus Corporation and not at all owned by BC PavCo as CEO Warren Buckley has been intimating to City Hall and to Vancouver City residents!  

(Please click here for full Vancouver Courier story) http://www.vancourier.com/Questions+swirl+around+ownership+Place+video+boards/5987095/story.html

“Crown corporations usually consult with the City” says Councillor – Why not PavCo?

In this CKNW News story, Councillor Geoff Meggs correctly points out that PavCo and the BC Liberals have deliberately circumvented Vancouver City By-laws, this despite existing precedents for voluntary assessment of video screens set by the Federal government at CBC Studios 700 Hamilton Street in September 2008. In City documents made publicly available at http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/20080930/documents/p1.pdf, the City Director of Planning writes, “CBC, (al)though a federal government crown corporation, has chosen to work with the City on their sign proposals and apply for the necessary by-law amendments and permits.”

Provincial and Federal agencies, as a matter of protocol and of respect for civic authority, always follow city by-laws voluntarily - Such has always been the case, as it has been completely unthinkable that the Crown would act in a way so obviously detrimental to the well-being of the local community. PavCo has the honourable distinction of showing us otherwise.

Billboards still hurt their eyes
LAURA BAZIUK CKNW NEWS

A Vancouver City Councillor is trying to address the complaints he says are still coming in about the bright lights around BC Place.

It's been more than three months since people living near the newly renovated stadium started complaining that its billboards were keeping them up at night.

Geoff Meggs says that issue hasn't gone away and Pavco's efforts haven't been enough.

So, he plans to table a motion next week to ask the stadium operator to bring the signs up to standard, "Go back, use the best match you can work out for what should have happened in terms of public consultation and go through a process with people, because it's not working the way it is."

Meggs says the city was taken by surprise when the signs were installed without consultation, as he says Crown corporations usually do.

City Hall turns up the heat to protect local residents – PavCo to be told to deliver a sign bylaw compliance plan

Liveable communities champion and City Councillor Geoff Meggs has tabled a sharply worded motion for discussion at the upcoming City Hall Council chamber session on January 17th.  In the motion document posted on the City website (see ‘Motions on Notice’ at  http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/20120117/regu20120117ag.htm), Meggs outlines the various discussion items to be addressed regarding the BC Place Stadium Digital Signs, items which could not be less embarrassing and exposing for BC PavCo CEO Warren Buckley and his team.  Among the shameful items to be reviewed is the categoric rebuttal of recent PavCo propaganda suggesting that fiddling with operating hours and/or brightness has reduced the daily torment felt by residents whose glass-enclosed living rooms, dining rooms and bedrooms are facing the giant illuminated screens.  Also on the list-of-shame is the continued exposure of PavCo Minister Pat Bell’s non-collaboration with Mayor Robertson’s team, a subject on which Bell mislead the BC Legislative Assembly on November 17th, 2011. 

As City Hall shines an even brighter spotlight on PavCo’s demonstrated contempt regarding the hundreds of complaints continuing to flood City and Provincial officials’ inboxes, it has become clear to Vancouverites that the leadership of this Crown agency lacks the very basic respect and concern for community values that citizens expect and demand in this day and age.  This late and ugly discovery about PavCo’s lack of community concern becomes particularly alarming when one realises that this Crown agency wields such great influence over the shape and infrastructural character of our great city, a city whose world-class reputation has been painstakingly built on responsible principles of liveability, sustainability and harmony with our urban environment. 

Next Tuesday morning promises to be an exciting chamber meeting for citizens concerned with protecting Vancouver residents’ quality of life, and a miserably painful day for disconnected officials PavCo Minister Pat Bell and CEO Warren Buckley.

(Please click on the Motion Notice image here below to enlarge the text) 

PavCo Giant Billboard continues to operate in 2012 - No rest for neighbours

‘City Hall Watch’, a citizen review website addressing major City of Vancouver policies, chronicles the 2008 decision by the BC Supreme Court and BC Court of Appeals to have a giant billboard at Main and Broadway removed as per the City of Vancouver’s wishes.  The story goes on to explain that “At the time, the City of Vancouver had assembled an entire legal team to fight the billboard in Mount Pleasant”, and that now, the author adds, “the city has experience and <has set> a precedent in fighting illegal billboards.”  - Will City Hall once again mount a determined charge against, this time a high intensity electronic billboard, and force the dismantling of the Terry Fox Plaza giant screen?  Indications coming from City Hall are very promising… stay tuned for developments.  

(Please click on the following link for story)  http://cityhallwatch.wordpress.com/2012/01/07/pavco-giant-billboard-continues-to-operate-in-2012-no-rest-for-neighbours/

Mayor rings Bell with sternly worded letter about giant screen

In this news scoop by Bob Mackin of the Vancouver Courier, the investigative reporter acquires and publishes a letter from Mayor Gregor Robertson to PavCo Minister Pat Bell for all to see.  In the impressively sternly worded letter, the Mayor declares that the giant video screen at Terry Fox Plaza “is not in compliance with our sign By-law” and emphasises that “This sign is already the source of significant complaints due to its impact on the neighbours”.  Furthermore, the Mayor insists that “Minister, I would ask that you direct your officials at PavCo to…bring your signage into compliance with our Bylaw”.  This revealing letter leaves no doubt whatsoever that the Mayor wants the giant screen taken down.  Read Bob Mackin’s full story at:  http://2010goldrush.blogspot.com/2011/12/mayor-rings-bell-with-letter-about.html

(Please click on the Mayor’s letter here below to enlarge the text)

Residents call for removal of illegal screen - Concerns rise over drop in property value

The following story in Vancouver’s largest Chinese language newspaper about the giant video screen describes how property values of hundreds of homes facing Terry Fox Plaza are expected to decrease significantly as a result of PavCo erecting the giant video screen.  The story explains that those property owners worried about the ill-health effects on their families of continuous daily exposure to the incessant flashing Telus and Budweiser advertising are also now expecting to have great difficulty in selling their homes.  – Ask yourself honestly: Would you buy a home for your family which is facing a giant flashing video advertising screen?

The Sing Tao story continues by reporting that Vancouver City Mayor Gregor Robertson has requested of the PavCo Minister (Pat Bell) that he instruct PavCo to comply with City By-laws (effectively calling for the removal of the screen).  The story ends by describing how local residents John Kang and Jason Hathaway are negatively affected, both directly and indirectly, by the giant video screen.

By DAVID JANG, SING TAO NEWS

December 22, 2011

居民促拆體育館強光熒幕 轟違溫市府附例 憂物業價值降

http://news.singtao.ca/vancouver/2011-12-22/headline1324553581d3609080.html

‘Vancouver's most unwanted night light’ - Provincial Officials thumb their noses at Vancouver Residents

In the following 24 Hours Vancouver news story, PavCo Minister Pat Bell’s disingenuous and misleading responses about the giant video screen at Terry Fox Plaza are further exposed.  When taking stock of opinions on the subject, at last count:  The Vancouver City Mayor has asked that the screen be removed, City Councillor Geoff Meggs has said that residents were “ambushed” with this giant screen in their living rooms, Vancouver City By-laws dictate that the screen must be dismantled, MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert has stated that the screen must be taken down, and the overwhelming local resident outcry has demanded that the giant screen be immediately removed. When will the BC Liberals stop this daily harassment into our homes? 

Residents in nearby towers complain the glare from the oversized screen at BC Place is disrupting their home life. (PHOTO COURTESY OF STOPBILLBOARD)

By ERICA BULMAN, 24 HOURS

The province appears to be thumbing its nose at Vancouver residents, allowing a giant BC Place screen to beam ads into nearby glass condos because the provincial land it sits on is exempt from city bylaws.

Residents around Terry Fox Plaza are up in arms, blinded by the flashing billboard, which is lit from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Many say the light wakes them, prevents children from sleeping, and floods living rooms in the early evenings.  The advertisement screen is nearly 2,000 sq. ft. although a city bylaw allows just 200 sq. ft.

“The land that PavCo operates on is provincial land … so they are exempted from it,” a Tourism, Jobs and Innovation Ministry official said Tuesday. 

Last month Minister of Tourism Pat Bell told the B.C. legislature PavCo is working with the city to fix the problem.  “Our senior staff say that’s not the case,” said Coun. Geoff Meggs, adding he can almost read the ads “with the naked eye” from his home in Fairview, nearly two kilometres away.

A ministry official told 24 hours Bell’s office sent a letter about the screen to Vancouver’s mayor Monday, but wouldn’t reveal its contents.

PavCo has reduced the screen’s operational time to 12 hours per day.  “They’ve changed the time and reduced the glare a little bit but I think they’re hoping just by ignoring it and saying it’s solved, the people who’ve had their homes in some ways wrecked, give up and move away,” said Vancouver West End MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert, who represented the area before riding boundaries changed.  He said residents are rightly concerned their home values have depreciated.  No one from PavCo was available to comment.

“You can’t be sitting anywhere within your glass home without this penetrating light flashing off all the surfaces within your home. We close our blinds but the light still comes through,” said David Cookson, who leads the group Take the Giant Screen Down Now. “We’re not talking about lights that serve the community; it’s something put up simply to blast advertising.  “I understand the stadium is a good thing for the city’s economy. We all think the Whitecaps and Lions are great, we like entertainment, we like living in a bustling city, but this is so far beyond what’s considered acceptable."

PavCoCrime posts YouTube video showing Minister Pat Bell caught on tape covering up BC PavCo’s violation of City By-laws!

YouTube video producer/editor ‘PavCoCrime’ has posted a scandalous video on YouTube showing how Minister Pat Bell is trying to conceal PavCo’s violation of City By-laws, resulting in the destruction of quality of life, health and well-being for downtown Vancouver residents.  It was only a matter of time before videos like this would start surfacing!  Thank you PavCoCrime for your excellent work! (please click on the following YouTube link to view video)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmyB9XiKR44

Premier Christy Clark confirms citizens want giant screen removed – Discussions imminent

Following Vancouver City Mayor Gregor Robertson’s critical comments about the giant screen and also the recent fiery criticisms received by PavCo Minister Pat Bell on the floor of the BC Legislative Assembly, in a letter sent November 21, 2011, BC Premier Christy Clark also confirms receiving demands that the giant screen be removed and states that citizens’ “feedback and requests will be included in any related discussions”. 

Please keep up your email and letter writing folks!  PavCo’s friends are quickly disappearing!  (for simple instructions on how to write an email, please click on the following link and follow the instructions)  http://takethegiantscreendownnow.blogspot.com/2011/11/pavco-minister-is-warned-modifying-how.html

Chinese language news story – Outrage spreads over giant PavCo video screen

Overwhelming rejection of PavCo’s unscrupulous actions continues – The citizen’s protest campaign over the reckless erection of a giant video screen in Yaletown at Terry Fox Plaza in front of hundreds of glass residential homes has been picked up by Chinese language website Goldy News, signalling a further dissemination of the protest movement across languages, further helping to unite Vancouver City residents in their demand for the immediate removal of the giant screen.  

(Please click on the following link for full story)
http://www.goldynews.com/2011/11/1-1302/

PavCo Minister is warned: “Modifying how you break the law is still breaking the law!”

In this CTV News story, the discrepancies in PavCo Minister Pat Bell’s misinformed comments about the giant video screen at Terry Fox Plaza become glaringly obvious – No doubt, as a result of PavCo’s extended mis-information campaign.  We are hopeful that once the Minister’s staff has had a chance to verify for themselves that Vancouver City By-Laws are indeed being broken and that the Vancouver City Mayor himself has asked for the removal of the screen, that Minister Bell will instruct PavCo to stop breaking City By-laws, to Take the Giant Screen Down Now, and to relocate the screen to a venue where it is not directly facing hundreds of glass residential homes.  (CTV video link should appear just below this paragraph)

PavCo Minister says that breaking Vancouver City By-laws is a “successful conclusion”??

In this video of the BC Legislative Assembly, Vancouver West End MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert warns the Minister responsible for PavCo that the giant video screen MUST BE TAKEN DOWN NOW!  Please email Minister Pat Bell <JTI.Minister@gov.bc.ca> and MLA Mary McNeil <mary.mcneil.mla@leg.bc.ca> (and be sure to ‘cc’ MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert <s.chandraherbert.mla@leg.bc.ca>), and tell Minister Bell and MLA McNeil that:

1. local residents STILL have a giant video screen invading their living rooms, flashing across their dinner tables, and pumping ads into their children’s bedrooms;
2. this situation has DEFINITELY NOT “reached a successful conclusion”;
3. modifying how you break the law is STILL breaking the law;
4. EVEN THE MAYOR OF VANCOUVER has asked the Province to comply with City By-laws;
5. PavCo cannot possibly be “working within the structure of the approved bylaws” because the screen’s SIZE ITSELF contravenes City By-laws (as well as several other sections of the law);
6. City Councillor Meggs has said that PAVCO AMBUSHED CITY HALL with this giant screen and therefore the Minister cannot claim that “PavCo has been working with the City”;
7. comments about operating hours and brightness are a poor whitewash tactic – The health and wellbeing of Vancouver City residents is NON-NEGOTIABLE;
8. the giant video screen at Terry Fox Plaza MUST BE TAKEN DOWN NOW!

(Legislative Assembly video link should appear just below this paragraph)