To: Councillor Kerry Jang
From: Acting City Manager Sadhu Johnston
Re: "Beacon of Racism."
Councillor Jang, thank you for your inquiry of Dec. 8, 2015.
At present, the city of Vancouver has no bylaws or policies in place governing the naming of hotel properties. My understanding is that this is a private agreement between the Holborn Group and Trump International Hotels Management LLC and, as a result, the city has limited authority.
You may have seen that Holborn Group chief executive officer Joo Kim Tiah has released a statement citing contractual obligations, contracts and agreements with the Trump organization and others that are legally binding and may not be altered. He has made it clear that Donald Trump's political statements in no way reflect the values of the Holborn Group.
While I appreciate your many suggestions for "workarounds," I must tell you that none of them appears to be workable in our current regulatory framework.
I will address them in the order you presented them to me:
The denial of an occupancy permit for a luxury hotel/condominium complex would be unprecedented. While it may have been, as you put it "an awesome tweet" and a "totally cool idea," enforcement of this type is not warranted and could result in expensive, unnecessary and ultimately unsuccessful litigation.
Normally, enforcement of this type is reserved for newly constructed or renovated buildings that fail to meet code and pose a risk to life and safety. So far, there is no indication that the Trump/Holborn project has failed in any regard.
Addressing your second point, taste is a subjective issue. An occupancy permit may not be denied simply because the person for whom the hotel is named has, in your words, "the aesthetics of a well-heeled chimp." This, even if true, would not be considered a valid reason to deny occupancy.
Regarding amending the city's sign bylaw to prohibit the display of the letters M-P-R-T-U or any combination thereof on buildings taller than 60 storeys: While this is a novel suggestion, it may appear that the city is unfairly targeting this particular project. I appreciate your concern that vandals could make off with or obscure one of the letters resulting in an objectionable or obscene phrase, but the word RUMP, in current context would not be regarded as obscene, but rather mildly amusing in a juvenile sort of way. As per your suggestion, staff have researched the issue and have not been able to come up with any objectionable anagrams.
Regarding your next point, there is currently no section of the sign bylaw that governs vowel-to-consonant ratios for commercial enterprises. Creating such a section would require an exhaustive inventory of all commercial enterprises in the city. No one wants to do that.
Also, the city has no authority to compel any business owner to include the phrase "Beacon of Racism" in any of its exterior signage or advertising materials. In fact, to do so may be contrary to the Criminal Code and may qualify as hate speech.
Regarding requiring the hotel operator to include a publicly accessible mosque on the ground floor of the building adjacent to the main hotel lobby: While this idea has merit and promotes the city's multiculturalism policy, it is far too late in the process to demand that the developer or hotel operator do this as a condition of final approval. (See attached memo.)
Your suggestion is conducive with the city's goals of fostering better understanding through the promotion of multidenominational places of worship in unexpected places, but forcing a developer to include a place of worship after the initial approval phase is not feasible. The same is true when it comes to your suggestion that the project be forced to include a Mexican Cultural Centre. At best, the city may be able to reserve a space for a taco truck outside the building.
Finally, you are correct in your assertion that the city does retain control over street-naming rights. In the past, prominent citizens who have made significant contributions to the city have been honoured by having streets or portions of streets named after them. A recent example is the section of Abbott Street named Pat Quinn Way. There is also Clancy Loranger Way adjacent to Nat Bailey Stadium, so the precedent has been set.
Renaming any portion of the 11-hundred block of West Georgia Street "Racist Vulgarian Way" would be subject to the criteria laid out in the city's revised street-naming bylaw, which, as you know is a minefield.
Thank you for your inquiry.
Stephen Quinn is the host of On the Coast on CBC Radio One, 690 AM and 88.1 FM in Vancouver.