"I am quite happy to be absent for the progressing of this matter," he told Dunedin City Council chief executive Sandy Graham in an email.
The meeting is to be held on Wednesday while Cr Vandervis remains on leave.
A report included in the meeting agenda shows investigator Jordan Boyle believes Cr Vandervis breached the council's code of conduct.
The complaint was laid by Cr Marie Laufiso, who alleged Cr Vandervis had shown contempt for the council's te pae Māori forum, as well as for mana whenua and mātāwaka.
Cr Vandervis declined to participate in the investigation.
Mr Boyle found Cr Vandervis breached the code by refusing to attend te pae Māori meetings, referring to mana whenua representatives on two council committees as anti-democratic and race-based representation, and for statements made in an email in July last year.
The July 16 email included comments about a decision-making hui agenda being "not understandable by non-Māori speakers" and the hui being held "in a tribal environment that excludes sovereign non-compliant elected representatives".
"Regarding Karitane admission requirements detailed verbally at last week's non-public meeting, I am not prepared to submit to the sexist, racist and tribal ritual requirements that have been spelled out in order for me to enter 'safely' on this marae."
Mr Boyle said all councillors were expected to attend te pae Māori meetings and Cr Vandervis had chosen to exclude himself.
The email amounted to a material breach of the code and specifically the requirement to uphold the reputation of the council, he said.
The investigator noted the council had unelected members on its audit and risk subcommittee and there was no evidence Cr Vandervis had a problem with this.
"Cr Vandervis' issue therefore appears to be limited to Māori representatives only," Mr Boyle said.
"I view this breach as material. This is because I consider a councillor taking positions solely based on race is inappropriate and brings Cr Vandervis into disrepute."
Various other matters were not considered to amount to a breach of the code.
"His actions were not aimed at other members," Mr Boyle said.
Actions that did not meet the threshold of a breach included writing to the Dunedin Public Art Gallery director to complain about "irrelevant Māorified text" beside Claude Monet's La Debacle.
"I consider Cr Vandervis has inappropriately involved himself in operational matters in this instance," Mr Boyle said.
Cr Vandervis responded to an invitation by Cr Bill Acklin to meet for waiata preparation by saying elected representatives should not be compelled to sing, "leave alone in a language that most of us know little of the meaning of".
Mr Boyle said people might not agree with the way Cr Vandervis characterised waiata.
"However, Cr Vandervis is entitled to express his opinion about what councillors should and should not be required to do, provided this is done respectfully."
The councillor's pronunciation of the word Māori was not correct, but Mr Boyle was unable to say if this was intentional.
In her complaint, Cr Laufiso said the council had adopted a position of zero tolerance towards racism.
"We can't let our silence be interpreted as tacit endorsement," she said.
Mr Boyle's report said Cr Laufiso considered Cr Vandervis' failure to attend te pae Māori meetings to engage with mana whenua was flouting the oath and declaration each councillor made to act in the interests of the whole city.
He said Cr Laufiso felt obliged to make the complaint as a direct challenge to Cr Vandervis' actions, which she felt were disrespectful and damaging to the council's reputation.
"She considered Cr Vandervis operated from an unconscious position of 'rightness of whiteness'."
Mr Boyle said he was not required to make a finding on whether Cr Vandervis demonstrated contempt for te pae Māori and both mana whenua and mātāwaka.
"I have not heard from Cr Vandervis as part of this process. Despite this, I do think it is reasonable to state his words and actions [do] appear to demonstrate contempt."
The council will consider the findings of the investigation and decide whether a material breach of the code of conduct occurred.
Possible sanctions for a material breach include a letter of censure, requesting an apology and suspension from committees.
