Planning and Environment Minutes

REPORT TO COUNCIL

STANDING COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL
ON PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT

MARCH 8, 2001

A Regular Meeting of the Standing Committee of Council on Planning and Environment was held on Thursday, March 8, 2001, at 2:00 p.m., in Committee Room No. 1, Third Floor, City Hall.

PRESENT:	Councillor Don Lee, Acting Chair Mayor Philip Owen Councillor Fred Bass Councillor Jennifer Clarke Councillor Daniel Lee Councillor Tim Louis Councillor Sandy McCormick Councillor Gordon Price Councillor Sam Sullivan
ABSENT:	Councillor Lynne Kennedy, Chair (Leave of Absence) Councillor George Puil (Leave of Absence)
CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE:	Judy Rogers, City Manager Brent MacGregor, Deputy City Manager
CITY CLERK'S OFFICE:	Laura Kazakoff, Meeting Coordinator

*Denotes presence for a portion of the meeting.

ADOPTION OF MINUTES

The Minutes of the Standing Committee on Planning and Environment meeting of February 15, 2001, were adopted.

RECOMMENDATION

1. Woodward's Redevelopment -

Tunnel and Areaways Decommissioning File: 5807

The Committee had before it an Administrative Report dated February 21, 2001, in which the General Manager of Engineering Services, in consultation with the Director of Legal Services, sought Council's direction in regard to annual fees for the areaways, tunnel and overpass encroaching from the Woodward's building. Consideration is sought in regard to authorizing the Director of Legal Services to enter into an agreement with the Woodward's owners to achieve decommissioning of the areaways and tunnel. It is also recommended that the Woodward's owner make a payment in lieu of repairs to the City parkade.

Mike Thomson, City Surveyor, reviewed the Administrative Report, and noted that in the last week the building has changed hands and is now owned by the Provincial Rental Housing Corporation (PRHC). He advised the City and the PRHC have agreed on the form of agreement as outlined in the report.

Shayne Ramsay, PRHC, advised the PRHC are prepared to execute the form of agreement with the City. Mr. Ramsay noted that plans for the building are for social housing with commercial retail uses, and the PRHC will be working with the City in that regard through the Development Permit Application process.

The following motion by Councillor Louis was put and carried. The Committee, therefore,

RECOMMENDED

A. THAT Council authorize the Director of Legal Services to enter into an agreement with the owner of the "Woodward's Building"(the "Woodward's Owner") at 101 West Hastings Street, such agreement being titled the "Areaways and Tunnel Contract" (the "Contract") on the following general terms and conditions:

1. The City forego annual fees due and owing for "cavities under the sidewalk and lane being situated on the south side of Cordova Street, the west side of Abbott Street, the north side of Hastings Street and in the lane running south from Cordova Street, having a total of 6,693 square feet" (the "Areaways") for the years 1996 and following to the "Deadline" (hereinafter defined);

2. The City forego annual fees due and owing for the use of "a tunnel under and across Cordova Street, west of Abbott Street occupying a total of 1,518 square feet" (the "Tunnel") for the years 1996 and following to the Deadline;

3. The City forego all annual fees due and owing ($4,000.00 per year) for use of the "Loading Area" in the City-owned Parkade from November 27, 1995 (the date of the purchase of the Parkade by the City) forward, as such Loading Area has not been used, provided that prior to finalization of the Contract, setting out the City's agreement to forego the annual fees referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 above, the Woodward's Owner releases the City from:

(i) all obligations contained in Loading Easement, registered under No's. BJ381025 to BJ381030 on title to the City-owned Parkade, and

(ii) all obligations contained in a related agreement, the Loading Area Agreement dated November 27, 1995 between the City and Fama Holdings Ltd., which agreement further defines the "Loading Area".

4. "Deadline" to mean November 30, 2005, provided that if the City requires either the Areaways Work or the Tunnel Work as defined in the Contract or both to be done before that date for any valid City purpose as determined by the City Engineer in his sole discretion, then the City will have the right to advance the deadline by giving Fama six (6) months written notice of same, but the City may not give such notice until on or after November 30, 2001;

5. That the Woodward's Owner decommission the Areaways and Tunnel prior to the Deadline. All costs to decommission the Areaways and Tunnel and repairs to the street and sidewalk replacement are to be the responsibility of the Woodward's Owner. All work to be to the satisfaction of the City Engineer;

6. If the Woodward's Owner does not decommission the Areaways by the Deadline, the Woodward's Owner must pay to the City the aggregate of all annual fees then due and owing by the Woodward's Owner to the City pursuant to the Areaways Easement (as defined in the Contract) and the Encroachment By-Law. For greater certainty, the annual fees which would then be due and owing to the City would be the amount of $19,729.00 in 1996 and $19,744.00 in each of 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000, for a total of $98,705.00 in the years 1996 to 2000 inclusive, together with all annual fees owing in the years 2001 to the Deadline calculated in accordance with the Encroachment By-Law;

7. If the Woodward's Owner does not decommission the Tunnel by the Deadline, the Woodward's Owner must pay to the City the aggregate of all annual fees due and owing by the Woodward's Owner to the City pursuant to the Tunnel Easement (as defined in the Contract) and the Encroachment By-Law. For greater certainty, the annual fees which would then be due and owing to the City would be the amount of $4,204.00 in 1996 and $4,219.00 in each of 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000, for a total of $21,080.00 in the years 1996 to 2000 inclusive, together with all annual fees owing in the years 2001 to the Deadline calculated in accordance with the Encroachment By-Law;

8. Such other terms and conditions as deemed necessary and appropriate by the Director of Legal Services and the General Manager of Engineering Services.

B. THAT the Woodward's Owner pay $50,000.00 (inclusive of all taxes if applicable) as a payment in lieu to satisfy its obligations in respect of repairs to the City-owned lands on the north side of Cordova Street (the "Parkade")

C. THAT all annual rentals and/or annual fees for a "pedestrian overpass and merchandising area over Cordova Street", comprising an area of approximately 9,460 square feet (the "Overpass") be forgiven for the years 1996, 1997 and 1998 (a total of $84,120.00) upon payment of the $50,000.00 as described in Recommendation "B".

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

(Councillor Clarke absent for the vote)

NOTE FROM CLERK: Items 2 and 3 below were dealt with concurrently by the Committee; however, for ease of reference the two items are minuted separately.

2. Financial Audit and Review of TransLink File: 5561

At its meeting on March 6, 2001, Vancouver City Council referred the following motion, submitted as a Notice of Motion at the February 20, 2001, meeting of Vancouver City Council, to the March 8, 2001, Planning and Environment Committee meeting in order to hear from speakers:

MOVED by Cllr. Bass,
SECONDED by Cllr. Louis,

WHEREAS, TransLink has proposed a $7 million cut to its 2001 budget, with the majority of the cutbacks - 70 per cent - to public transit and the balance to road building and maintenance;

AND WHEREAS, these public transit cuts will result in a reduction in bus services (of 3.3 per cent) to citizens in Vancouver and throughout the region;

AND WHEREAS, a public transit user who makes 16 one-zone, round-trips per month is now paying an additional $96 annually following last June's fare increase;

AND WHEREAS, TransLink will spend over $60 million on ticket vending machines and electronic fare boxes, and their provisional 2001 budget will see a $21.7 million increase in debt servicing costs;

AND WHEREAS, TransLink is considering the abandonment of all funding of operations and maintenance of SkyTrain's new Millennium line;

AND WHEREAS, following the failure of the vehicle levy, TransLink is now projecting a 2001 budget deficit of $34 million;

AND WHEREAS, the emission of greenhouse gases from vehicles is causing an extreme environmental crisis and thus it is a regional transit authority's prime responsibility to favour public transit;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT, Vancouver City Council, under Section 7 of the GVTA Act, ask the BC Minister Responsible for Transit to request the Auditor General of British Columbia to undertake a full and complete financial audit and review of TransLink.

- referred

The following speakers expressed support for the motion:

Libby Davies, MP-Vancouver East

Bill Harper, CUPE BC
Albert Melenius, Amalgamated Transit Union
David Cadman, Society Promoting Environmental Conservation
Ron Stromberg (brief filed)
John Irwin
Tom McGregor, Advocacy Access
Phil LeGood (brief filed)
Jim Houlihan, Canadian Auto Workers
Ron Williams, Office and Professional Employees International Union

Comments made by the foregoing speakers include the following:

· TransLink should be audited to determine where the money is going, and to pinpoint any unnecessary expenditures ;
· TransLink never should have gone ahead with expensive projects and systems, such as new vending boxes for existing SkyTrain line, electronic fare boxes for buses, etc., without agreements/commitments in place to enable them to pay for these systems;
· Memorandum of Understanding between Province and TransLink regarding the vehicle levy should be made public;
· when transit authority was transferred to TransLink, why was the huge debt also transferred?

The Committee unanimously agreed to amend the motion as follows:

The second whereas be amended to strike out the words "in Vancouver and";

The sixth whereas be amended to change "$34 million" to "$7 million".

The Resolution be amended to add at the end: "and recommend options for more efficient methods of operation of the transit system."

The motion as amended was put and carried. The Committee, therefore,

RECOMMENDED

WHEREAS, TransLink has proposed a $7 million cut to its 2001 budget, with the majority of the cutbacks - 70 per cent - to public transit and the balance to road building and maintenance;

AND WHEREAS, these public transit cuts will result in a reduction in bus services (of 3.3 per cent) to citizens throughout the region;

AND WHEREAS, a public transit user who makes 16 one-zone, round-trips per month is now paying an additional $96 annually following last June's fare increase;

AND WHEREAS, TransLink will spend over $60 million on ticket vending machines and electronic fare boxes, and their provisional 2001 budget will see a $21.7 million increase in debt servicing costs;

AND WHEREAS, TransLink is considering the abandonment of all funding of operations and maintenance of SkyTrain's new Millennium line;

AND WHEREAS, following the failure of the vehicle levy, TransLink is now projecting a 2001 budget deficit of $7 million;

AND WHEREAS, the emission of greenhouse gases from vehicles is causing an extreme environmental crisis and thus it is a regional transit authority's prime responsibility to favour public transit;

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

(Councillor Louis not present for the vote)

3. Cuts to Transit Services by TransLink File: 5561

At its meeting on March 6, 2001, Vancouver City Council referred the following motion, submitted as a Notice of Motion at the February 15, 2001, meeting of Vancouver City Council, to this meeting of the Standing Committee on Planning and Environment in order to hear from speakers:

MOVED by Cllr. Louis,
SECONDED by Cllr. Bass,

WHEREAS City of Vancouver transportation plans and policy statements endorse the principle that more and better public transportation services are needed in the City and the region for social, environmental and transportation purposes;

AND WHEREAS the average peak period 'wait time' or service frequency that transit users experience in the Greater Vancouver region is already one of the worst of any major Canadian metropolitan area;

AND WHEREAS officials of TransLink have publicly stated an intention to cut bus services in the region as a result of an anticipated funding shortfall;

AND WHEREAS transit users throughout the region were promised more - not less -services when TransLink implemented its June, 2000 across-the-board transit fare increase;

AND WHEREAS transit fares were increased with the understanding that services would be improved;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT the City of Vancouver strongly opposes any cuts to existing transit services in the City, and the region at large.

- referred

The following speakers expressed support for the above motion:

Libby Davies, MP-Vancouver East

Comments made by the foregoing speakers include the following:

· cuts to services will impact lower-income people, persons with disabilities, and students, who are often dependent on the transit system;
· buses provide the back-bone of the transit system;
· cutting transit services will be the beginning of a trend, and will lead to more cuts, perhaps affecting routes with high demand;
· other municipalities earmark a larger percentage of property taxes for transportation costs than GVRD municipalities do;
· the GVTA Act provides the authority to protect air quality and collect revenues;
· cuts to suburban and rural routes will impact urban areas, as people who now use transit to travel from a low ridership area into urban areas may see their route cut and will be forced to start using a private vehicle;
· cuts in transit services will result in increased congestion, air pollution, and loss of jobs;
· cuts proposed by TransLink should be reversed so that 30% of the cuts be to transit and 70% of the cuts be to roadways;
· rather than transit cuts, funding alternatives should be pursued, such as increased parking fees downtown, increased property taxes, and calling on the Province to increase gas tax;
· high costs of projects such as electronic fare boxes will not be offset by the subsequent reduction in fare evasion;
· funds set aside for new ticket vending machines for existing SkyTrain line could be used to offset shortfalls in bus services;
· private vehicle users are subsidized at a much higher cost than transit users.

The following amendment by Councillor Price was put and carried.

THAT the motion be amended to add at the end: ", but recognizes this is required if a new funding source, supported by TransLink and the enabling senior governments, cannot be found."

- CARRIED

(Councillor Bass opposed)
(Councillor Louis not present for the vote)

The amendment having carried, the motion as amended was put and carried. The Committee, therefore,

RECOMMENDED

THAT WHEREAS City of Vancouver transportation plans and policy statements endorse the principle that more and better public transportation services are needed in the City and the region for social, environmental and transportation purposes;

AND WHEREAS the average peak period 'wait time' or service frequency that transit users experience in the Greater Vancouver region is already one of the worst of any major Canadian metropolitan area;

AND WHEREAS officials of TransLink have publicly stated an intention to cut bus services in the region as a result of an anticipated funding shortfall;

AND WHEREAS transit users throughout the region were promised more - not less -services when TransLink implemented its June, 2000 across-the-board transit fare increase;

AND WHEREAS transit fares were increased with the understanding that services would be improved;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT the City of Vancouver strongly opposes any cuts to existing transit services in the City, and the region at large, but recognizes this is required if a new funding source, supported by TransLink and the enabling senior governments, cannot be found.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

(Councillor Louis not present for the vote)

The Committee adjourned at 5:10 p.m.

- - - - -

CITY OF VANCOUVER

REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
STANDING COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL ON
PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT

MARCH 8, 2001

A Regular Meeting of the Council of the City of Vancouver was held on Thursday, March 8, 2001, at 5:10 p.m., in Committee Room No. 1, Third Floor, City Hall, following the Standing Committee on Planning and Environment meeting, to consider the recommendations of the Committee.

PRESENT:	Mayor Philip Owen Councillor Fred Bass Councillor Jennifer Clarke Councillor Daniel Lee Councillor Don Lee Councillor Sandy McCormick Councillor Gordon Price Councillor Sam Sullivan
ABSENT:	Councillor Lynne Kennedy (Leave of Absence) Councillor Tim Louis Councillor George Puil (Leave of Absence)
CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE:	Brent MacGregor, Deputy City Manager
CITY CLERK'S OFFICE:	Laura Kazakoff, Meeting Coordinator

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MOVED by Cllr. Don Lee,
SECONDED by Cllr. Sullivan,

THAT this Council resolve itself into Committee of the Whole, Mayor Owen in the chair.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Report of Standing Committee on Planning and Environment
March 8, 2001

Council considered the recommendations of the Committee, as contained in the following clauses of the foregoing report:

Cl.1: Woodward's Redevelopment - Tunnel and Areaways Decommissioning
Cl.2: Financial Audit and Review of TransLink
Cl.3: Cuts to Transit Services by TransLink

MOVED by Cllr. Don Lee,

THAT the recommendations of the Committee, as contained in Clauses 1-3 of this report, be approved.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

RISE FROM COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MOVED by Cllr. McCormick,

THAT the Committee of the Whole rise and report.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

ADOPT REPORT OF COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MOVED by Cllr. Price,
SECONDED by Cllr. Don Lee,

THAT the report of the Committee of the Whole be adopted.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

ENQUIRIES AND OTHER MATTERS

1. Leave of Absence - Councillor Bass File: 1254

MOVED BY Cllr. Daniel Lee,
SECONDED BY Cllr. McCormick,

THAT Councillor Bass be granted Leave of Absence from March 26 to March 30, 2001.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

2. Workers' Compensation Board - Change in Regulations File: 4105

Councillor Clarke noted a News Release outlining amendments to environmental tobacco smoke regulations announced today by the WCB was distributed to all Council members.

The Council adjourned at 5:15 p.m.

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