13,500 randomly selected Burnaby residents will soon receive invitations to put their names forward for the Burnaby Community Assembly, an unprecedented opportunity for residents to shape the development of Burnaby’s Official Community Plan.
The assembly will create recommendations for the City of Burnaby on the important question:
How should Burnaby grow and change by 2050 to create a city where everyone can thrive?
Residents who receive an invitation have until Sunday, January 28, 2024 to volunteer. Forty-five assembly members will then be selected by civic lottery. To ensure everyone has the option to participate, accessibility supports such as child and elder care will be provided.
Assembly members will work together over 7 full-day sessions between February 24 and June 15, 2024 to learn about their city and develop recommendations for “Burnaby 2050”, the City’s Official Community Plan. Issues tackled by assembly members may include livability, housing accessibility, climate resilience and transportation in the context of a growing city.
The Burnaby Community Assembly and civic lottery process will be overseen by Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, in a collaborative, arm’s-length partnership with the City of Burnaby. The initiative is being further supported by the Civic Innovation Lab, a non-profit society founded in 2022 by the City of Burnaby and Simon Fraser University to combine the expertise and resources of both founding partners to find fresh solutions to challenges and issues affecting cities.
The Assembly will present its recommendations to City Council, who is responsible for final approval of the Official Community Plan. The City of Burnaby has committed to receive and respond to the Assembly’s recommendations, ensuring the process is transparent and accountable.
“We are pleased to again be working with the SFU’s Morris J Wosk Centre for Dialogue to undertake the important work of the Burnaby Community Assembly to help plan Burnaby’s future” said Mayor Mike Hurley. “I look forward to reviewing the assembly’s recommendations for Burnaby’s new Official Community Plan, and I thank all those who put their name forward to serve as potential community assembly members.”
“The City of Burnaby has long been a regional leader in democratic participation,” said Robin Prest, Assembly Chair and Program Director at SFU’s Morris J Wosk Centre for Dialogue. “The Burnaby Community Assembly will provide an unprecedented opportunity to hear deeply from the City’s diverse residents and create a positive vision for Burnaby’s future.”
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