Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Standing Committee on Planning and Environment

FROM:

Director of City Plans

SUBJECT:

Approval of Council Initiative - Robson Street BIA Renewal

 

RECOMMENDATION

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

Council policy for the renewal of a BIA was approved on July 30, 1992 as follows:

A BIA is renewed (re-established) by Council Initiative process; property owners and commercial tenants receive notification of the Initiative, and the renewal will not be approved if one third or more of the owners, representing one third of the assessed property value, or one third of the tenants, counted separately, are in opposition. An outline of the process is attached as Appendix A.

Section 462 of the Vancouver Charter was amended on September 23, 1998 to permit BIA renewal terms of up to 20 years. Council has exercised its authority under the amendment by approving ten year renewal terms for the Mount Pleasant and Downtown Vancouver BIAs.

PURPOSE

The Robson Street Business Association (RSBA) has completed the first step in the BIA renewal process. The purpose of this report is to commence the second step, which is to re-confirm the RSBA as BIA sponsor, to approve a Council Initiative to renew the BIA, to forward the renewal application to the Court of Revision, and to approve the proposed 5 year funding ceiling.

BACKGROUND

The Robson Street BIA is one of the City's 5 oldest BIAs. It was first established in 1991, for a 5 year term. On November 16, 1995, Council approved a five-year renewal term for the BIA, commencing April 1 1996 and expiring March 31 2001. The Robson Street Business Association wishes to renew the BIA for a third 5 year term (April 1 2001 - March 31 2006). No boundary changes are proposed at this time.

DISCUSSION

The BIA boundary comprises the three blocks of Robson Street between Burrard, on the east, and Jervis, on the west. A map of the boundary is attached as Appendix A.

The RSBA proposes a Year 1 renewal budget of $371,308.00, representing an annual levy rate of $1.09 per $1,000.00 of assessed property value. A copy of the proposed budget is attached for information as Appendix B. In the event that Council approves the Robson Street BIA renewal at the Court of Revision, staff will report back for approval of the Year 1 budget along with all of the other BIAs' 2001 - 2002 budget requests.

The proposed 5 year budget is attached as Appendix C. The proposed funding-ceiling of $1,645,852 is the sum of the projected annual budgets over 5 years, and reflects an increase of 27% over the previous 5 year budget.

Membership Outreach Activities

Outreach to the BIA membership commenced with a membership survey in the December 1999 issue of the RSBA newsletter. Survey responses and the upcoming renewal were featured in the June 2000 issue. The newsletter is distributed to every property owner and business within the BIA.

On May 30 2000, the RSBA held an informal general meeting of property owners and businesses to discuss renewal issues. Twenty-one people attended, including eight panel members (RSBA Directors and staff, Vancouver Police, and a lighting consultant). A draft renewal proposal was circulated. A show of hands at the conclusion of the meeting was unanimous in support for the draft renewal proposal.

During Spring and Summer 2000, a second survey was sent to all 219 BIA members (28 property owners and 191 tenants). The survey asked recipients to priorize RSBA activities and to rate the RSBA's performance. A total of 91 responses were received (42% of total), including 12 property owners (43% of owners) and 79 businesses (41% of businesses). In answer to the question `Do you think the Association is good for the street?', 87 responses (96%) were `yes', 1 (1%) was `so-so', no responses indicated `no', and 3 (3%) did not respond to the question.

During the latter part of August , teams of property owners and business tenants, supplied with blank `support forms' began canvassing the street. They were ultimately able to obtain 139 signed forms, representing 63.5% of owners and businesses. This included 17 property owners (60% of total) and 122 businesses (64% of total).

On August 15 2000, the RSBA distributed a 14 page Renewal Proposal Report to all BIA members. It included advance notice of the September AGM, a four page outline of proposed renewal initiatives and contact list of RSBA Directors, copy of the proposed 5 year budget, and a four page summary of accomplishments over the past 10 years. The report also contained a summary of the results from the Spring/Summer survey.

In late August, 2000, the RSBA formally notified all of the property owners and tenants of its upcoming September annual general meeting (AGM). 23 voting members (10% of total) were in attendance at the AGM, including 7 property owners (25% of total) and 16 business tenants (9% of total). The proposed renewal, 5-year budget, and 2001-2002 budget were approved unanimously.

Based on the AGM results and member input received to date, the RSBA is confident that the 2001-2006 Renewal Proposal, the proposed 5-year renewal term, and the 5-year budget are generally supported. The RSBA formally applied to the City for renewal of its mandate on December 4, 2000. A copy of their application letter, a further letter outlining their outreach process, and documentation of their outreach material, is attached as Appendix D (limited distribution - on file in the Office of the City Clerk).

Staff Comments - Membership Outreach and Support

Staff are satisfied that the RSBA has notified all commercial property owners and tenants within the proposed renewal area. The RSBA was able to generate a high a rate of return on both the Spring /Summer survey (42%) and the membership support form (65.5%). The survey indicates a 96% approval rating for the BIA, which appears to be confirmed by the significant number of support forms submitted, and the unanimous renewal vote at the Annual General Meeting. Only about 10% of the BIA membership attended the meeting; although this is typical for many BIAs, the AGM results would carry greater weight if attendance had been better.

The RSBA reports that, as of the date of this report, no property owners or businesses have contacted the BIA to express opposition to the renewal proposal. Staff have received no telephone calls or correspondence from individuals expressing opposition or concern regarding the renewal proposal; however, the City's BIA Coordinator was not listed as a contact in the RSBA's literature.

CONCLUSIONS

The Robson Street Business Association is requesting that Council consider approval of its proposed 5 year renewal term and 5 year funding ceiling of $1,645,852, and has asked that their application be forwarded by way of Council Initiative to a Court of Revision. The results of RSBA outreach activities indicate no opposition at this stage in the process.

ATTACHMENTS THAT DO NOT HAVE ELECTRONIC COPY ARE AVAILABLE ON FILE IN THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE

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