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Michael Geller

    TIER ONE CHAMPION FOR AN ECOSYSTEM-BASED APPROACH IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Michael Geller is another outsized personality. He put his stamp on the UniverCity sustainable community atop Burnaby Mountain. This is the project that had the profile to put the Metro Vancouver region on the international map as a leader,” stated Kim Stephens


    The Pacific Northwest is a part of North America acutely sensitive to environmental issues. And with the ‘salmon crisis’ being such a dominant issue, people wanted action rather than more talk. There was a commitment by all those involved in the Burnaby Mountain project to leave a legacy for the next generation. “One of the real advantages we had at UniverCity is that I had the budget to try out new ideas. So, as far as I was concerned, Kim Stephens could do whatever he wanted to protect Stoney Creek,” stated Michael Geller.

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    CHAMPION FOR AN ECOSYSTEM-BASED APPROACH: “One of the real advantages we had at UniverCity is that I was able to try out new ideas. Part of the appeal was that I have always been interested in innovations,” stated Michael Geller, the CEO who overcame fear and doubt to build a community atop Burnaby Mountain (2nd in a series)


    “Even before I started, I got a call from Don Stenson who was then Director of Planning at the City of Burnaby. He asked me to come to his office and said something that I have never forgotten. He said there is one thing that I want you to never forget… STORMWATER. Whatever you build on top of that mountain, the stormwater flows into Stoney Creek must be no worse than they are today. That is why Kim Stephens could do whatever he wanted because protecting Stoney Creek from stormwater impacts was THE most important thing that I could do,” recalled Michael Geller.

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    OVERCOMING FEAR AND DOUBT TO BUILD A COMMUNITY ATOP BURNABY MOUNTAIN: “UniverCity proved to be a rare opportunity to demonstrate how a new, sustainable community can truly integrate stormwater management into urban design, starting where the rainfall lands,” stated Michael Geller, founding president and CEO of the SFU Community Trust


    “Not everyone gets to plan a brand-new community on top of a mountain as I did at Simon Fraser University. To everybody embarking on these gentle densification projects to construct 4 or 6 homes on single-family lots, you must get the drainage right. Get it wrong and it can be expensive to fix the problem,” stated Michael Geller. “One of the real advantages we had at UniverCity is that I was able to try out new ideas. Whenever people would say, we cannot do that, I could say: I will give you written assurance from the university that if this idea does not work, we will fix it.”

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