Surrey threatens to pull out of Metro Vancouver regional growth plan – BC [Video]

Amid ongoing criticism of governance at the Metro Vancouver Regional District, the City of Surrey is threatening to pull out of a key regional coordination program.

Surrey city council voted unanimously this week to withdraw from the Metro 2050 Regional Growth Strategy.

Metro Vancouver describes the strategy, adopted two years ago, as the region’s “shared vision of how projected population, housing, and job growth will be managed over the next 30 years.”

In pulling the plug, elected Surrey officials did not mince words.

“It does fail Surrey, as it is,” said Mayor Brenda Locke. “It’s very clear in here that it’s talking about things that attach everything to public transit. It stops us from doing a lot of the development we can and should be doing.”

Surrey Coun. Linda Annis pointed to continued concerns about governance and spending at the regional body, ranging from the massively over-budget North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant to international travel to stipends for attending …