Vancouver City Council |
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: January 19, 2004
Author/Local:P. Rutgers/8463RTS NO. 03868
CC File No. 2005
Meeting Date: February 10, 2004
TO:
Vancouver City Council
FROM:
General Manager of Parks and Recreation
SUBJECT:
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden Expansion Use of DCL Funds.
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT Council provide a capital grant in the amount of $13,000 to the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden Society; source of funding to be the 2004 Park Board Park Enhancement budget.
(This recommendation provides a grant and requires eight affirmative votes).
B. THAT Council allocate $13,000 to the Park Board 2004 Park Enhancement budget; source of funding to be the citywide DCL reserve.
CITY MANAGER'S COMMENTS
This request is one of several that are anticipated from organizations that are funding new or expanded, City-owned facilities on City property. It follows from Council's instruction to staff to report back on a strategy for providing funding for additional capital grants related to DCLs in situations where the DCL costs were an obstacle to a project proceeding. It was intended that these "public benefit" facilities would be provided relief from the City-Wide DCL, either through a grant program or through an amendment to the Vancouver Charter. Staff will be reporting back with an interim solution to this funding issue in advance of the 2004 Capital Budget. However, it is anticipated that the solution will be consistent with the recommendation above, ie. to fund these grants from existing capital accounts and replace the funding with City-wide DCL funding to maintain the overall capital expenditure program.
Should Council support the need for a grant to the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden Society, the City Manager RECOMMENDS approval of A and B.
POLICY
On June 2003 Council approved revisions to the Development Cost Levy (DCL) by-law. Council also resolved:
B4. For non-profits, provide DCL relief, where considered necessary, to non-profit-owned facilities that are already approved for a Civic Capital Grant, with such DCL relief being in the form of additional grant money, to pay back some or all of their DCL assessments; and, for non-profits that initiate a facility on City land, where the non-profit has raised the majority of funds, and where the facility will be City-owned, staff report back on a strategy for DCL relief where needed.
PURPOSE
This report seeks Council approval for a grant to the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Society to offset the cost of the City-Wide Development Cost Levy on the project to expand the Sun Yat-Sen Gardens.
DISCUSSION
The Dr. Sun Yat-Set Gardens is a civic facility operated by the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden Society on behalf of the City/Park Board. The Society is in the process of building an expansion to the existing facility. This $1.6 million project has attracted a City-Wide DCL payment of $13,000 which has been paid. As the Garden is a facility located on City property and is owned by the City, the Society has asked for relief of the DCL payment based on Council's approval of the City-Wide DCL guidelines noted above.
The source of funding proposed for the grant is the Park Board 2004 Park Enhancement account. However, it is proposed that, in advance of a more general staff recommendation on funding for DCL relief, that this amount be reimbursed to the Park Board from the City-Wide DCL Reserve for park development purposes.
* * * * *