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University Endowment Lands

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University Endowment Lands
File:BCCoat.JPG
University Endowment Lands
Location of University Endowment Lands
Area

Population

13.96 km²

Approx. 40,000(1)

Location

Altitude

Latitude 49 15' 37.96" N
Longitude 123 14' 2.14" W

Sea level to 105 metres

Incorporation n/a (unincorporated)
Province

Regional District

British Columbia

Greater Vancouver Regional District

Mayor

MLA

MP

none

Gordon Campbell

Stephen Owen (Liberal)

Time zone

Postal code

Area Code

Pacific Time Zone

Various

604 & 778

(1) Includes daytime UBC student population.

The University Endowment Lands (also known as University Hill or the UEL) is an unincorporated community immediately west of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. While not part of the City of Vancouver, it is commonly referred to as part of it in casual conversation. (Mailing addresses for the region also use Vancouver as the city name.)

Mainly upper class professionals live in the non-university areas of the UEL, as it's considered one of the most expensive parts of the Greater Vancouver Regional District. Two public schools, University Hill Secondary and Elementary (usually refered to as "U-Hill" by the locals) are also located in the area.

Residents of the University Endowment Lands are not considered to reside in neither the University of British Columbia (UBC) nor Vancouver. They live on Crown land and pay their taxes directly to the Provincial Government. There was a referendum in the mid 1990s, in which the residents chose to have no municipal governing body.

Geography

The University Endowment Lands are located immediately west of the City of Vancouver. About half of the UEL is made up of Pacific Spirit Park, a mostly forested land that was originally set aside for development which never materialized. Located on Point Grey, the UEL also boasts tall cliffs near the water, with steep drops of approximately 70 metres down to the beaches below.

Because of its isolated location and the nature of the steep cliffs next to the beaches, Greater Vancouver's only clothing-optional beach is located in the University Endowment Lands, in a place known as Wreck Beach, located near the western tip of the peninsula.

Climate

Because the UEL is close to seaside cliffs and the Strait of Georgia, above-average winds are common. Most of the winds come from the Strait itself, Howe Sound and the Burrard Inlet.

Snowfalls are also more common than many parts of the City of Vancouver because of the area's higher altitude and the lack of an urban heat island due to less terrestrial development.

The UEL enjoys higher humidity compared to other parts of Greater Vancouver due to the fact that it is surrounded on three sides by water. Fog is common in the winter months, especially in areas near Pacific Spirit Park and the water.

History

The creation of the University Endowment Lands was first proposed after the passing of the University Endowment Act of 1907, in which the British Columbia provincial government agreed to set aside two million acres of British Columbia Crown land to be sold or leased to fund the creation of a university. This land was to be in the Caribbo region of the province's interior, which consisted of mostly agricultural land. This idea was changed in 1911 when the provincial government passed the University Site Act, which set aside 175 acres in Point Grey for the university. This is where the UEL is located today.

By 1920, it was realized that the Cariboo land did not have a high enough market value to generate the income needed for the university, so that idea was abandoned. This led to the British Columbia University Loan Act, which allowed the Lieutenant-Governor to sell 3,000 hectares of Crown land on Point Grey for residential development. The money from the auction was put in the University Endowment Account for the university. [1]

However, a lot of the development that was planned was halted due to economic hardships stemming from the Great Depression. The university could not afford to prepare the land for development or to clear the forest land for development. In the 1930s, the university returned control of the land to the government. By the mid-1950s, over half of the undeveloped land in the UEL remained undeveloped due to the Depression and war shortages in the 1940s.

There have been many attempts to develop this land, which was then opposed by environmentally-aware residents in the area. In 1988, the creation of Pacific Spirit Park was announced by the provincial Premier Bill Vander Zalm. The park currently makes up of over half of the UEL, acting as a greenbelt between the developed areas and the City of Vancouver. Development, in large part, is very limited -- for any proposed developments in the UEL by the Greater Vancouver Regional District or the University of British Columbia, the following groups must be consulted beforehand: university students, university staff, university faculty, environmental groups, businesses, residents and the general public. [2]

File:UEL welcomesign.jpg
A University Endowment Lands welcome sign on Northwest Marine Drive.

Demographics

The University Endowment Lands' residential population is small and the non-university includes mostly upper-class professionals as the land there is very expensive. The other residents are mostly students living in the university's residences. The daytime university population is around 40,000 and includes undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty and staff. As with most universities, diverse cultural and ethnic groups make up of the daytime university population, making the UEL very multicultural.

Government and politics

An unincorporated entity, the UEL has no mayor or municipal government. Rather, it is mostly ruled by the University of British Columbia, the Greater Vancouver Regional District and the Province of British Columbia, and they control three entities: the University of British Columbia, University Hill and Pacific Spirit Regional Park.

Residential and commercial taxes are paid directly to the provincial government as the UEL is Crown land.

For provincial elections, the UEL falls under the Vancouver-Point Grey electoral riding. Its current Member of the Legislative Assembly is Gordon Campbell, who is also the current Premier of the province.

For federal elections, the UEL is in the Vancouver Quadra electoral riding. Its current Member of Parliament is Stephen Owen.

File:Ubc 003.jpg
The University of British Columbia, which occupies half of the UEL.

Transportation

The UEL is fairly isolated in terms of transportation. It is reachable only via five roads from Vancouver: Southwest Marine Drive, Northwest Marine Drive, 16th Avenue, 10th Avenue (which turns into University Boulevard upon entering the UEL) and Chancellor Boulevard.

For public transit buses, UBC is the terminus of many east-west routes. Public transit is managed by TransLink and operated by Coast Mountain Bus Company, and is heavily used due to the discounted bus pass for university students called the uPass. The following routes service the UEL and UBC:

File:Uel-aerial.jpg
Aerial photo of the University Endowment Lands and University of British Columbia, with downtown Vancouver in the distance.

There have also been talks about the possibility of creating a rapid transit line to the university. Among the ideas that have surfaced regarding this includes extending the Millennium Line of SkyTrain to UBC, replacing the current bus rapid transit 99 B-Line.

Economy

The UEL is largely a residential neighbourhood, and most economic activity is centred at the University of British Columbia and the area around University Village and University Marketplace. UBC's stores are located mostly in the Student Union Building ("the SUB"). The Village and Marketplace, located next to each other near the intersection of University Boulevard and Allison Road, are located off-campus and home to a food court, several restaurants, some shops, some medical clinics and some services. This is the only commercial area outside of the UBC campus in the UEL.

In addition to the locations above, there are small cafeterias and cafes located in certain buildings on the UBC campus.

There are also several museums and performing arts theatres on campus, including the Belkin Art Gallery, the Museum of Anthropology, the Fredric Wood Theatre, the Chan Centre and the Morris Art Gallery.

The eastern end of the UEL is home to the University Golf Course, which is one of the original developments in the non-campus portions of the UEL.

Film industry

Because many films require university scenes, the UBC/UEL area is a desirable filming location. Combined with the fact that the Vancouver area is the third-largest film production centre in North America, this has made UBC a popular location for many productions. Production companies who wish to shoot on-campus must pay a fee to the university, which goes to the film and theatre departments.

Some notable movies and television shows shot in the UEL include The Exorcism of Emily Rose, 88 Minutes, Taken, Try Seventeen, She's the Man, The Butterfly Effect, Wind Chill and The 4400.

Education

The UEL is home to the University of British Columbia (hence the name "University Endowment Lands"), University Hill Secondary School, University Hill Elementary School, the Vancouver School of Theology and Regent College.

Sports

UBC's sports teams are called the UBC Thunderbirds and they play at various locations on campus, including War Memorial Gym, Thunderbird Stadium, UBC Aquatic Centre and Thunderbird Winter Sports Centre. The Student Recreation Centre (REC) is home to intramural sports for students.

2010 Winter Olympics

For the 2010 Winter Olympics, the Thunderbird Winter Sports Centre will be replaced by a newer building, named the UBC Winter Sports Centre. The new structure will seat 6,650. Construction will begin April 2006 and the building is expected to be completed by April 2008. After the Olympics, the building will serve as a recreational facility, with classrooms and research laboratories [3].

See also

Surrounding municipalities

Northwest: Howe Sound, Bowen Island North: Burrard Inlet, West Vancouver
West: Strait of Georgia University Endowment Lands East: Vancouver
South: Strait of Georgia Southeast: Richmond



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