Take the Giant Screen Down Now: The BC Place giant screens debacle: City asks PavCo to do what it said it would do

Tuesday, 7 February 2012

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.)

Taking inventory of complaints received

The following agencies, departments and organisations have been made known to our organisation as having received complaints about the giant video screen at Terry Fox Plaza:

- Premier Christy Clark’s office
- Minister Pat Bell's office (PavCo Minister)
- Deputy Minister Dana Hayden’s office
- MLA Mary McNeil's office (False Creek N)
- MLA Adrian Dix (Vancouver Kingsway)
- MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert (West-End)
- MLA Jenny Kwan (Mount Pleasant)
- MP Libby Davies (Vancouver East)
- MP Hedy Fry (Vancouver Centre)
- BC Ombudsperson office

- BC Information and Privacy Commissioner
- BC PavCo’s Executive Management
- BC PavCo’s Chair and Board of Directors
- BC PavCo's marketing department
- BC PavCo's general inquiries office
- Pace Group Communications' office
- Mayor Gregor Robertson's office
- City Councillor Geoff Meggs' office
- City Councillor Andrea Reimer’s office
- Various other City Councillor's offices

- City Manager Penny Ballem

- City General Manager Brenda Prosken

- City Parks Commissioner Constance Barnes
- City Planning Department

- City Real Estate Services Department

- City Development Permit Board
- Enquiries Centre for Billboard Permitting
- City's Board of Variance office
- Chief Building Inspector's office
- Deputy Chief Building Official's office
- City Noise Complaints office
- City 311 Hotline

- City Legal Services Department

- Chief Medical Officer, Van Coastal Health
- Vancouver Police Department

- Insurance Corporation of BC (ICBC)

- False Creek Residents Association
- Vancouver Public Space Network
- Budweiser (Labatt)
- PepsiCo
- Dr Pepper (Snapple Group)
- The Province News
- Telus Corporation

Quick summary of the situation

BC PavCo, a BC provincial agency, decided in September 2011 to contravene several sections of the Vancouver City Signage By-laws (meant to protect citizens from exactly this type of billboard harassment) by erecting the biggest baddest high-definition LED giant video screen in all of Vancouver at Terry Fox Plaza. This was done for the sole purpose of generating revenues by forcibly pumping Telus, Budweiser and Pepsi advertising at the local community, with no consideration paid to the fact that this daily flashing assault would also be pumped into the living rooms, across dinner tables and into the children's bedrooms of residents in the immediately adjacent glass residential community. PavCo's response to the outcry from this community demanding that the screen be moved elsewhere so that it is not directly facing hundreds of glass residential homes? – ‘Too Bad For You’

BC PavCo's Freedom of Information Act violation

...BC PavCo CEO Warren Buckley was legally required to provide documents proving the ownership of the giant video screen at Terry Fox Plaza. Under a Freedom of Information Act request submitted by citizen’s group 'TtGSDN', PavCo’s deadline to confirm the identity of the screen’s true owner/operator was January 23, 2012. Remarkably, in December 2011 Deputy Minister of JTI Dana Hayden told MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert that Telus Corporation is the true owner and operator of all three outdoor screens at BC Place Stadium. Interestingly, neither Telus nor PavCo have since asked the press for a retraction of media reports suggesting the same. Will Warren Buckley try to continue hiding these documents from the public despite repeated attempts by the media and the public to acquire them? The Office of the Information & Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia is now investigating PavCo's non-compliance with the Freedom of Information Act.