Petition Victory: The CRD has decided to end its paid membership with the Urban Development Institute (UDI) after almost a quarter century.

https://www.change.org/p/withdraw-the-crd-capital-regional-district-from-development-lobby-membership

I would like to sincerely thank the CRD's staff for doing the right thing on this issue. (It appears it was a staff decision, as the item does not seem to have appeared on a CRD Board agenda).

It's Official: I have been informed by top-level staff at the CRD that the organization has decided to end its membership with the Urban Development Institute (UDI).

The CRD had been a member of the UDI for almost a quarter century, having joined as a paying member in 2001, apparently without a vote by the CRD Board to do so.

The CRD's Regional Growth Strategy appeared 2 years later in 2003.

I would like to further call on the CRD to end the permanent seat that it had allotted the UDI on its Regional Housing Advisory Committee.

Thank you to those in the CRD who made the decision and to everyone who signed this petition and raised awareness about the issue in their communities. 

This is a win for democracy, but while the CRD has withdrawn its membership officially, it is crucial that we follow through by helping to ensure that the CRD make any contact with this organization open and transparent and that it end the practice of providing the lobby with a permanent seat on its Regional Housing Advisory Committee.

Thank you again,
Sasha Izard