Agenda Index City of Vancouver

NOTICE OF MEETING

CITY OF VANCOUVER

COURT OF REVISION

 

Minutes of this meeting.

AGENDA

ROLL CALL

1. Motion for Council to resolve itself into Court of Revision

COURT OF REVISION

2. Projects by Initiative

3. Delegations

4. Court of Revision to rise and report

COUNCIL

5. Council by resolution to receive the report of the Court of Revision

6. Court of Revision Applications

ON THE QUESTION OF WHETHER THE PROJECTS
SHOULD PROCEED OR NOT.

7. Adjournment

* * * * *


CITY OF VANCOUVER
COMMUNITY SERVICES
Planning Department
City Plans

APPLICATIONS

On December 7 and 14 2000, Council considered the following Business Improvement Area (BIA) applications:

Council referred all five applications to the Court of Revision for consideration as Council Initiatives.

ACTIONS

After reviewing letters of objection and hearing from delegations Council may choose to:

A. APPROVE THE APPLICATION

B. NOT APPROVE THE APPLICATION

b) establish the proposed _______ BIA, as described in Appendix __,

C. COUNCIL WISHES FURTHER INFORMATION

b) establish the proposed _______ BIA, as described in Appendix __,

1. BACKGROUND

Sections 455 through 463 of the Vancouver Charter make provision for the creation, renewal and funding of Business Improvement Areas (BIAs). Taxation of properties in an area pays for a variety of programs to promote and enhance the area.

Before a BIA, or BIA renewal, application can be approved, the proposal must be considered at a Court of Revision:

… Prior to the Court of Revision, the City notifies all property owners and business tenants of the Court of Revision Hearing, the proposed levy, and details on filing objections; and

… At the Court of Revision Council is advised of letters of opposition. Council also hears delegations. Council policy is that if one third of property owners, representing one third of the assessed property value, or business tenants, counted separately, object, the BIA proposal will be defeated.

… If approved, Council directs that a by-law establishing (or, in the case of renewals, re-establishing) the BIA boundaries and funding ceiling be prepared.

Further explanation of the notification and Court of Revision process follows.

2. NOTIFICATION PROCESS

BIA applications are a form of local improvement. As such, the City is required to mail to the owners of parcels liable to be assessed notification of the project, the designated area, and estimated annual rate. The notification letter must be sent at least one month prior to the hearing. While the Charter does not require notification of tenants, it is City policy to notify business owners of a BIA proposal. Staff have notified property owners and business tenants in the areas affected by the BIA proposals:

… Individually addressed letters were sent, postmarked on or before December 29, 2000, to all property owners affected by the BIA applications.

… The City does not have a current record of all business owners in an area. Letters to business owners were hand delivered to all businesses affected by the BIA applications.

In two areas, Collingwood and Hastings North, summary translations in the appropriate languages were enclosed. Detailed information about the translations is provided for each area (see Appendices).

3. LETTERS OF OPPOSITION

Property owners / business tenants who oppose the proposal(s) were invited to either write to the City Clerk, with the letter being received by 5:00 p.m. on January 29, 2001, or address Council directly at the Court of Revision.

Several questions emerged during the public process:

… Who will be charged: The BIA levy only applies to commercial and light industrial (Class 5 and 6) properties. Some letters were incorrectly hand delivered to residential properties. Several residential tenants called and were advised the levy will not apply to them.
… Can an owner choose to opt out: If the levy is approved it applies to all eligible owners.
… Is there a charge to property owners and to business tenants: There is one levy and it is included as part of the annual taxation bill sent to property owners. It is up to each owner as to whether they pass the charge along to tenants and how the amount charged to tenants is allocated.

4. BASIS FOR COUNCIL ACTION

Under section 506 of the Vancouver Charter a “sufficient number” of notices of objection to defeat a Local Improvement Council Initiative is deemed to be more than one-half of the assessed property owners, representing more than one-half of the value according to the last revised real-property assessment roll, of the parcels liable to be assessed. However, Council guidelines apply a more stringent standard for BIAs.

Council policy with respect to BIA applications has been to identify the “sufficient number” of objections to be either one-third of the assessed owners, representing at least one-third of the assessed value or one-third of the business tenants, counted separately. The one-third guideline has been used by Council to reflect the fact that Council initiatives require those who oppose an application to make the case that the levy is not desired. Typically, local improvements involve only a few owners, and in many cases have each petitioned to have the work done. Thisis not the case for a BIA application. For a large area, with many owners, the task of assembling sufficient opposition is difficult. For this reason, Council policy is to consider rejection if one-third, rather than one-half, of the owners or tenants oppose the application.

5. TABULATION OF RESULTS

Following this memo are separate appendices for each of the proposed BIAs (Appendix A - E) which provide notification data for the applications, and a tabulation of letters of opposition received as of January 24, 2001. The City Clerk will distribute copies of all objections received prior to the Court of Revision. As objections may be accepted until 5 p.m., on January 29, 2001, staff will distribute a supplementary memo with updated opposition data. Representatives from each of the applicants will be in attendance to respond to questions about the respective BIA proposals.

Ann McAfee

AMcA/sb
R:\CC\REPORTS\COURT\2001\01-02-01\CR010201.
Attachments

APPENDIX A

KERRISDALE BIA

Application to Renew (Re-establish) BIA

On December 14, 2000, Council considered an application by the Kerrisdale Business Association to renew the Kerrisdale BIA (Attachment A). Council referred the application to the Court of Revision for consideration as a Council Initiative.

The proposed BIA levy ranges from $108 to $9,186 annually, depending upon the assessed value of the property. About 60 properties will have a levy between $100 and $1,000, and 74 properties will be charged over $1,000 annually.

As the BIA levy will be based on the 2001 property assessment, the actual BIA levies may differ slightly from the estimates provided in the City’s notification.

Notification

Individually addressed letters (Attachment B) were sent, postmarked on or before December 29, 2000, to 106 property owners, owning 134 legal parcels located within the BIA boundaries. 12 letters were returned because the owners had moved with no forwarding address or the property had recently changed ownership. Ten of these letters were subsequently re-sent by courier to the new addresses.

Letters (Attachment C) were hand delivered to all businesses within the BIA. Over 220 letters were delivered.

Letters of Opposition

As of 5:00 p.m., January 24, 2001, letters of objection had been received from 2 property owners (1.9% of total) representing 2 assessed properties (1.5% of total) and an assessed value of $2,769,132 (1.8% of total). No tenants responded.

For information, should Council wish to apply the one-third guideline then:

… one-third of the number of assessed properties is 45 properties (subject to adjustments);
… since there are many multiple owners, one-third of the actual owners is 35 owners (subject to adjustments); and
… one-third of the assessed property value is in the order of $51,572,942.

Should the final number of owners or tenants indicating opposition approach the one-third guideline, Council may wish to consider denying the renewal application. As of January 24, 2001, the number of owners/tenants opposing the proposal is considerably less than one-third. However, should Council receive, on February 1, 2001, a petition or delegations indicating more wide spread opposition, then it will likely take some time to calculate whether the objections reflect one-third of the assessed property value. If this is the case, Council may wish to conclude the Court of Revision and have staff calculate the level of opposition. Recommendation C offers a way for staff to provide additional advice prior to Council deciding on the renewal application.

APPENDIX B

ROBSON STREET BIA

Application to Renew (Re-establish) BIA

On December 14, 2000, Council considered an application by the Robson Street Business Association to renew the Robson Street BIA (Attachment A). Council referred the application to the Court of Revision for consideration as a Council Initiative.

The proposed BIA levy ranges from $1,245 to $42,347 annually, depending upon the assessed value of the property. All 39 properties will be charged over $1,000 annually.

As the BIA levy will be based on the 2001 property assessment, the actual BIA levies may differ slightly from the estimates provided in the City’s notification.

Notification

Individually addressed letters (Attachment B) were sent, postmarked on or before December 29, 2000, to 34 property owners, owning 39 legal parcels located within the BIA boundaries. One letter was returned because the owners had moved with no forwarding address. The letter was subsequently re-sent by courier to the new address.

Letters (Attachment C) were hand delivered to all businesses within the BIA. Over 190 letters were delivered.

Letters of Opposition

As of 5:00 p.m., January 24, 2001, no letters of objection had been received from property owners or tenants.

For information, should Council wish to apply the one-third guideline then:

… one-third of the number of assessed properties is 13 properties (subject to adjustments);
… since there are many multiple owners, one-third of the actual owners is 11 owners (subject to adjustments); and
… one-third of the assessed property value is in the order of $126,938,006.

Should the final number of owners or tenants indicating opposition approach the one-third guideline, Council may wish to consider denying the renewal application. As of January 24, 2001, the number of owners/tenants opposing the proposal is zero. However, should Council receive, on February 1, 2001, a petition or delegations indicating significant opposition, then it will likely take some time to calculate whether the objections reflect one-third of the assessed property value. If this is the case, Council may wish to conclude the Court of Revision and have staff calculate the level of opposition. Recommendation C offers a way for staff to provide additional advice prior to Council deciding on the renewal application.

APPENDIX C

PROPOSED COLLINGWOOD BIA

Application to Establish BIA

On December 14, 2000, Council considered an application by the Collingwood Business Association (CBA) to establish the proposed Collingwood BIA (Attachment A). Council referred the application to the Court of Revision for consideration as a Council Initiative. In response to opposition from major non-profit property owners on Joyce Street, the CBA is requesting that Council approve a reduced boundary deleting all Joyce Street properties north of Kingsway (shaded area on boundary map).

The proposed BIA levy ranges from $53 to $9,522 annually, depending upon the assessed value of the property. Ten properties will have a levy under $100, about 85 properties will be levied between $100 and $1,000, and 15 properties will be charged over $1,000 annually.

As adjustments to boundaries and budgets are possible, there may be some variation between actual levies and the figures quoted above. Also, as the BIA levy will be based on the 2001 property assessment, the actual BIA levies may differ slightly from the estimates provided in the City’s notification.

Notification

Individually addressed letters (Attachment B) were sent, postmarked on or before December 29, 2000, to 92 property owners, owning 108 legal parcels located within the proposed BIA boundaries. Summary translations of the letters (Attachment C), in Chinese, Korean, Punjabi and Vietnamese were attached as part of the notification packages. One letter was returned because the owners had moved with no forwarding address.

Letters (Attachment D) were hand delivered to all businesses within the proposed BIA. These letters also had summary translations enclosed (Attachment C). Over 290 letters were delivered.

Letters of Opposition

As of 5:00 p.m., January 24, 2001, letters of objection had been received from 5 property owners (5.4% of total) representing 5 assessed properties (4.6% of total) and an assessed value of $1,825,900 (2.3% of total). Two tenants responded (0.7% of total).

For information, should Council wish to apply the one-third guideline then:

… one-third of the number of assessed properties is 36 properties (subject to adjustments);
… since there are many multiple owners, one-third of the actual owners is 31 owners (subject to adjustments); and
… one-third of the assessed property value is in the order of $26,247,622.

Should the final number of owners or tenants indicating opposition approach the one-third guideline, Council may wish to consider denying the BIA application. As of January 24, 2001, the number of owners/tenants opposing the proposal is considerably less than one-third. However, should Council receive, on February 1, 2001, a petition or delegations indicating more wide spread opposition, then it will likely take some time to calculate whether the objections reflect one-third of the assessed property value. If this is the case, Council may wish to conclude the Court of Revision and have staff calculate the level of opposition. Recommendation C offers a way for staff to provide additional advice prior to Council deciding on the BIA application.

APPENDIX D

PROPOSED KITSILANO FOURTH AVENUE BIA

Application to Establish BIA

On December 7, 2000, Council considered an application by the Kitsilano Chamber of Commerce to establish the proposed Kitsilano Fourth Avenue BIA (Attachment A). Council referred the application to the Court of Revision for consideration as a Council Initiative.

The proposed BIA levy ranges from $18 to $6,927 annually, depending upon the assessed value of the property. Eight properties will have a levy under $100, about 130 properties will be levied between $100 and $1,000, and 23 properties will be charged over $1,000 annually.

As adjustments to boundaries and budgets are possible, there may be some variation between actual levies and the figures quoted above. Also, as the BIA levy will be based on the 2001 property assessment, the actual BIA levies may differ slightly from the estimates provided in the City’s notification.

Notification

Individually addressed letters (Attachment B) were sent, postmarked on or before December 29, 2000, to 124 property owners, owning 161 legal parcels located within the proposed BIA boundaries. Two letters were returned because the owners had moved with no forwarding address. One of these letters was subsequently re-sent by courier to the new address.

Letters (Attachment C) were hand delivered to all businesses within the proposed BIA. Over 325 letters were delivered.

Letters of Opposition

As of 5:00 p.m., January 24, 2001, letters of objection had been received from 10 property owners (8.1% of total) representing 17 assessed properties (10.6% of total) and an assessed value of $9,573,196 (6.8% of total). Three tenants responded (0.9% of total).

For information, should Council wish to apply the one-third guideline then:

… one-third of the number of assessed properties is 54 properties (subject to adjustments);
… since there are many multiple owners, one-third of the actual owners is 41 owners (subject to adjustments); and
… one-third of the assessed property value is in the order of $47,147,785.

Should the final number of owners or tenants indicating opposition approach the one-third guideline, Council may wish to consider denying the BIA application. As of January 24, 2001, the number of owners/tenants opposing the proposal is considerably less than one-third. However, should Council receive, on February 1, 2001, a petition or delegations indicating more wide spread opposition, then it will likely take some time to calculate whether the objections reflect one-third of the assessed property value. If this is the case, Council may wish to conclude the Court of Revision and have staff calculate the level of opposition. Recommendation C offers a way for staff to provide additional advice prior to Council deciding on the BIA application.

APPENDIX E

PROPOSED HASTINGS NORTH BIA

Application to Establish BIA

On December 7, 2000, Council considered an application by the Hastings Chamber of Commerce to establish the proposed Hastings North BIA (Attachment A). Council referred the application to the Court of Revision for consideration as a Council Initiative.

The proposed BIA levy ranges from $50 to $8,600 annually, depending upon the assessed value of the property. Six properties will have a levy under $100, about 190 properties will be levied between $100 and $1,000, and 74 properties will be charged over $1,000 annually.

As adjustments to boundaries and budgets are possible, there may be some variation between actual levies and the figures quoted above. Also, as the BIA levy will be based on the 2001 property assessment, the actual BIA levies may differ slightly from the estimates provided in the City’s notification.

Notification

Individually addressed letters (Attachment B) were sent, postmarked on or before December 29, 2000, to 211 property owners, owning 263 legal parcels located within the proposed BIA boundaries. Summary translations of the letters (Attachment C), in Chinese, Italian and Vietnamese were attached as part of the notification packages. Five letters were returned because the owners had moved with no forwarding address. Three of these letters were subsequently re-sent by courier to the new addresses.

Letters (Attachment D) were hand delivered to all businesses within the proposed BIA. These letters also had summary translations enclosed (Attachment C). Over 375 letters were delivered.

Letters of Opposition

As of 5:00 p.m., January 24, 2001, letters of objection had been received from 39 property owners (18.5% of total) representing 50 assessed properties (19 % of total) and an assessed value of $23,591,657 (15.4% of total). 28 tenants responded (7.5% of total). Most of the opposition responses were on a petition form-letter distributed by a Hastings Street property owner. three property owners have subsequently delivered retraction (support) letters. The opposition totals are adjusted to reflect the retractions.

For information, should Council wish to apply the one-third guideline then:

… one-third of the number of assessed properties is 88 properties (subject to adjustments);
… since there are many multiple owners, one-third of the actual owners is 70 owners (subject to adjustments); and
… one-third of the assessed property value is in the order of $51,210,531.

Should the final number of owners or tenants indicating opposition approach the one-third guideline, Council may wish to consider denying the BIA application. As of January 24, 2001, the number of owners/tenants opposing the proposal is considerably less than one-third. However, should Council receive, on February 1, 2001, a petition or delegations indicating more wide spread opposition, then it will likely take some time to calculate whether the objections reflect one-third of the assessed property value. If this is the case, Council may wish to conclude the Court of Revision and have staff calculate the level of opposition. Recommendation C offers a way for staff to provide additional advice prior to Council deciding on the BIA application.

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