After seven days and with no specific end in sight, it’s tough for some councillors to stave off fatigue while participating in the public hearing on citywide rezoning.
Not that public hearings are new, but sitting in council chambers for at least 10 hours a day for seven days, oftentimes with repetitive public submissions, and then dealing with community meetings, phone conversations, the media, and ward emails, could wear down even the most hardened politician.
Councillors entered Day 7 of the citywide rezoning public hearing Monday with a little extra pep – and panelist questions – just 36 hours from hearing the last speaker on Saturday. They began with speaker number 403 and listened to a handful of additional panels, most with the same reasons for opposing the plan.
As of April 29, at 8:30 a.m., there were 910 people registered to speak. Thus far, 179 speakers who were registered to speak were called but haven’t spoken. There are still 329 remaining speakers.
Ward 2 Coun. Jennifer Wyness said that she expects the fatigue factor to set in further.
“We’re just showing up here, going, getting as much work done, listening to people, going home, getting up and doing it all over again, trying to see our family somewhere in the mix, too,” she said.
Where Coun. Wyness said there’s a challenge is as presenters come up and they deliver similar points, they’re asked questions by other councillors – or her – and she doesn’t want to do a disservice to others by not asking them.
“So, by not asking questions, it’s not that I don’t value the input. I just don’t get to show it because the question has been asked to a previous presenter,” she said.
The indefatigable Coun. Dhaliwal
Ward 5 Coun. Raj Dhaliwal spent his day off from the public hearing doing a community clean-up in Cornerstone. He said all of this is part of the job.
“At the end of the day, this is what we signed up for,” Dhaliwal told reporters.
“Our job is to stay amenable to persuasion, and we’re doing that, and it’s lengthy, but it’s really productive because you’re hearing different types of experiences, different types of lived experiences for people who are living in density or those who are not living in density.
“Myself, who comes from a ward that is very dense, listening to people who are not living in that world is refreshing and a different perspective.”
Coun. Dhaliwal said they’re still trying to keep up with resident emails, meetings, and pre-scheduled events. Yes, it means that they have to juggle their schedules, and going back and forth between council and those meetings, but he’s enjoying it.
“I don’t think fatigue is setting in. I think every day is a brand new day and brand new speakers and sometimes they bring a perspective that otherwise you may not have heard. So, for me in particular, it’s not a factor,” he said.
Ward 11 Coun. Kourtney Penner said she’s tried to establish a routine around nutrition, sleep and exercise to manage the lengthy hearing. But, she doesn’t feel fatigued.
“I don’t think I wouldn’t say that I’m fatigued. I wouldn’t say that. I think it’s been very interesting to hear the conversation from residents,” she said.
Penner said that many councillors have families to care for, extended family commitments, and even pets that need to exact their ounce of attention. She said ward teams have been picking up the slack for many councillors, working with admin to stay on top of things.
“In the grand scheme of things, this is two weeks out of four years, and it’s important to hear from the public,” Penner said.
City council has a regular meeting of council for a few items on Tuesday, and that meeting will go from 9:30 a.m. to noon. The public hearing will go from 1 to 4 p.m. and then from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. On Wednesday, May 1 it will go from 9:30 to 1 p.m.
It will resume from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on both Thursday and Friday (maybe Saturday).
