The city wants to name the new plaza on Bute Street at Davie after LGBT activist Jim Deva, who died unexpectedly Sept. 21.
“Jim always stood up for what he believed in,” Vision Vancouver Coun. Tim Stevenson told the Courier. “He was completely open and transparent and he became a mentor to all kinds of people.”
Deva and his life and business partner Bruce Smyth opened Little Sister’s Book and Art Emporium on Davie Street in 1983, and shortly after became embroiled in a battle with Canada Customs, now called Canada Border Services Agency. When the federal agency seized copies of gay and lesbians books and comics from outside the country ordered by Little Sister’s, Deva, Smyth and store manager Janine Fuller launched a lawsuit that would last more than two decades and end up in the Supreme Court of Canada.
Prior to Pride Week last summer, the city closed off a short block of Bute Street to traffic and converted it into a mini park complete with picnic tables for community events and gatherings. The move was the first of more than 30 recommendations included in the Davie Street Revitalization Report. The plaza is closed for the winter, but Stevenson said, if all goes well next year it will reopen permanently with improvements such as proper lighting.
The notice of motion, which went back to council Tuesday after the Courier’s press deadline, noted Deva’s passing had prompted a remarkable outpouring of “community reflection of his life and legacy as a champion for LGBTTQ equality, expression and social justice.”
The motion asked staff to report back on a recent consultation regarding the future of the Bute Street Plaza and the feasibility of making the location a permanent tribute to the legacy and contributions of both Deva and the LGBTTQ community.
LGBT advocate Barb Snelgrove got the ball rolling with a formal email request to mayor and council Sept. 22, the day after Deva passed away, for a permanent memorial with the Bute Street Plaza in mind.
“Jim believed so strongly in not only LGBTQ rights and freedoms, but worked passionately on preserving and enhancing the Davie Village district,” Snelgrove wrote in part. “So perfectly located, and so I formally propose, the renaming of the plaza, (to be reopened next year as a permanent structure) in his name would be a fitting tribute for one of the true leaders of this neighbourhood and its community.”
Snelgrove said the response from council was positive and immediate.
Stevenson added a permanent tribute to Deva is fitting considering his contributions to this city.
“With proper lighting it will be a lovely plaza,” said Stevenson. “And we might make it bigger and include a mini museum to the LGBT community with plaques. I think Deva Plaza would be an appropriate name.”
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