ABSTRACT
Bill Diepeveen's story traces the evolution of his professional practice from what people might call "pre-participatory days" though instructive examples of mediating complex multiparty land-use and transportation cases to his work of pioneering provincial or regional institutions that enabled innovative intermunicipal mediation and dispute resolution. They had talked about health, employment issues, and a variety of things beyond the scope of the board but very relevant to the community, and they were able to come up with a plan to address all those issues. The city planning staff attempted some sessions. They did not go anywhere. Things were going from bad to worse in sessions, and the planners became increasingly frustrated. City staff had sat down with that community group and negotiated the widening of the road because it was a traffic bottleneck. The agreement also allowed for at-grade light rail transit adjacent to the roadway.
