Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Standing Committee on Planning & Environment

FROM:

General Manager of Engineering Services

SUBJECT:

Approval of 2001 Special Events

RECOMMENDATION

COUNCIL POLICY

The FEST Committee will obtain Council approval annually for the anticipated Special Events that use City property or where the event could have an impact on the adjacent property.

PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to submit for Council approval the list of anticipated special events to be held in 2001 and to identify issues about specific events on which staff need direction.

BACKGROUND

The City of Vancouver requires that anyone planning an event on City property, including streets, sidewalks and other public space, be granted permission from the City Engineer to hold the event. Applications are submitted to and vetted by staff in the Film & Special Events Office, Projects Branch of Engineering Services, and although final approval for all events comes from Council the vast majority of the applications are dealt with at a staff level, and only events that have a significant impact on specific neighbourhoods or the city as a whole are brought to Council's attention for specific approval.

At present, there is no charge for submitting a Special Event application to the City. The film industry, through the permitting fees it pays to the City, provides significant funding for the City's Film & Special Events Office, allowing staff to work on special events with no costs charged back to the applicants. Applications to hold special events are reviewed by Special Events staff and, if other City departments and outside organizations like BC Ambulance, Coast Mountain Bus Company or the Coast Guard are likely to be impacted, a FEST (Festival Expediting Staff Team) meeting is held with the organizers to address issues that might impact the public or the delivery of services. The main issues addressed are the safety of participants and the general public, and ensuring that there is no conflict between events. Although the Park Board has policies which apply to events held completely within a park, Parks staff also participate in the overall City process to approve events to ensure that no conflict between City and Park events occur. As the number of events in the Vancouver increases, the impacts on businesses and residents in the area are also considered. City costs (signage, barricades, sanitation, policing etc) and outside agency costs (Transit re-routing signs, Ambulance Service attendance) associated with the event are identified and the amount to be charge to organizers is calculated. Event organizers then submit a deposit to cover City costs and a letter of permission is issued to the organizers.

Some financial assistance is available to event organizers. A sum up to $500 can be provided to assist Event Organizers in covering the cost of policing services. This assistance is funded by the Police Department and is applied against policing charges for an event.

DISCUSSION
Appendix A contains the list of 246 Special Events which are anticipated in the City this year and which staff recommend be approved. Confirmed dates are noted, as is the type of event. If no application has been received to date, but the event is expected to continue, last year's date is shown. The majority of event applications are received early in the new year, and a report to Council is usually presented in the first quarter of theyear, before most events are scheduled to take place. Unfortunately, this Spring's threatened film writers strike and July's possible Screen Actors' Guild strike have resulted in a sharp increase in filming activity in the City this Spring, and Special Events staff have been busy assisting with approving and issuing permits for filming, resulting in this report being delayed in getting to Council. Even if the strike threat was not an issue, it is difficult for staff to gather enough data on anticipated upcoming events to report them to Council in a timely manner, given Council's wish to approve them in advance.

In 2000 the Special Events Office received a total of 249 Special Event applications. Of those, more than 65% were annual and ongoing events; 33 were considered to have enough of an impact to warrant a FEST Committee meeting with City staff, outside agencies and event organizers; and only four were considered significant enough to bring individually to Council's attention. A total of $18,719.11 in FEST assistance was distributed to 40 different events. Appendix B contains a detailed breakdown of these monies.

Events ranged in size and impact from the Symphony of Fire and Vancouver Sun Run to block parties and local community events. The Vancouver Art Gallery was the most popular location as 57 events were located either on the Robson Street Plaza or the Centennial Plaza. While most events were held in one specific area or community some, such as the Vancouver International Marathon, the Sun Run and the Pacific Populaire bicycle ride, touched multiple communities.

The following is a breakdown of the some of the events approved, by type.
· 6 major events (Symphony of Fire, Vancouver Sun Run, Jazz Festival, Vancouver International Marathon, Pride Parade, Molson Indy);
· 25 runs ( CIBC Run for the Cure, Pacific Road Runners ½ Marathon, Childrun);
· 18 festivals (Word on the Street, Dragon Boat Festival, French Summer Festival; Greek Summer Festival);
· 14 walks (Winter Solstice Procession, Terry Fox Walk);
· 13 parades (Vaisakhi Parade, Fools Day Parade, Kerrisdale Carnival Days);
· 7 openings (Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, Wall Street Community Garden);
· 44 demonstrations (Take Back the Night, Eracism, End the Arms Race);
· 44 Block Parties.

As well there were cultural and religious events, exhibitions, marches and ceremonies.

Earlier in the year the Special Events Office launched its website. It provides information for the public about guidelines for holding an event in the City of Vancouver, the application process through the FEST Committee, downloadable forms and an option to submit the Special Event application online. The website will soon be expanded to include a list of all events approved by the City's Special Events Office. The website address for the Special Events site is www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/engsvcs/events/index.htm.

There is only one major new event this year to bring to Council's attention for specific approval, and two that, although not new, have changed somewhat, and deserve special note. These include:

Molstar SNOWJAM - July 28 and 29, 2001

This is a new event for Vancouver, although it has been held in Calgary since 1998, and this year will also be held in Saskatoon, Ottawa, Toronto and Halifax as well as in three U.S. cities. Molstar SNOWJAM is a sports and music festival geared to 15 to 30 age demographic. It involves professional snowboarding, skateboarding, and rollerblading competitions as well as live music performances. The event site will have 3 major areas including a 60 foot high snowboarding ramp requiring 150 tonnes of real snow. Anticipated total attendance for this event is 60,000 (10 - 12,000 at any one time). The event hours would be noon to 10:00pm on Saturday, July 28 and noon to 6:30pm on Sunday, July 29.

SNOWJAM is proposed to take place on the south side of False Creek, just west of Science World, on land owned by the P.E.F. Staff and the FEST Committee are supportive of this event and ask that Council approve the use of City property and streets for it, subject to satisfactory arrangements with relevant City staff regarding detailed planning.

Canada Day - July 1, 2001

Canada Place Corporation has hosted Canada Day Celebrations inside the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre for the last 14 years. The celebration culminates in a fireworks display held in Burrard Inlet. As a result of a 5,000 person convention inside the Convention Centre this year the event has moved outdoors, resulting in the need to close City streets. The Canada Day Celebration will be held on Cordova Street and Canada Place Way, with an additional venue on Marathon-owned land west of Canada Place. The event will require street closures and traffic control on surrounding streets. On March 8,

Council approved a one-time grant of up to $13,300 to help cover Engineering and Police Services costs. Since then FEST Committee members have met with the event planners, Port and Cruise Ship terminal officials, bus and taxi organizations, and the two hotels impacted by the closure to ensure that access for cruise ship passengers and hotel guests won't compromise the safety of event attendees. More than thirty-hours of Special Events Office staff time has been dedicated to this one event.

Vancouver Sun Run - April 22, 2001

The Vancouver Sun Run covers ten kilometres through downtown Vancouver. It is now one of the three largest runs of its type in the world. Participation has increased to more than 45,000 registrants, which results in a significant road closure and wide-ranging impacts on a number of downtown neighbourhoods.

In 1999 Council approved a later start time on a trial basis for the Vancouver Sun Run and asked staff to report back on its impact. In 2000 and 2001 the Sun Run started at 9:00am, instead of at 8:15am. The organizers had received requests to start the race later to allow extra time for participants living outside of greater Vancouver to travel into the downtown core. Coast Mountain Bus Company did not have service available early enough for these participants to arrive on time utilizing public transit. Although the current Coast Mountain Bus Company dispute resulted in limited transit access to the starting point for this year's Run, it had little impact on overall participation.

The FEST Committee can now support the later start time based on the experience of the last two years. Concerns raised in the 1999 report have been included below, with updates;
1. 1999: Park Board policy was to open the park to traffic by 10:00 a.m.

2. 1999: Participation in the event had continued to grow each year and there was concern that the route may not be able to accommodate the additional participants the later start time would allow for.

3. 1999: The number of participants created a back log and the length of time spent on the route was anticipated to increase significantly.

4. 1999: Access to and from the apartments on the south side of Beach Avenue and Pacific Boulevard was severely restricted for much of the race.

The routes for a number of runs, including the Vancouver International Marathon, the Sun Run, the Scotiabank Half Marathon, the CIBC Run for the Cure and the Pacific Roadrunners ½ Marathon all restrict the ability of some residents to exit by vehicle. Some complaints have been received from residents living south of Beach Avenue, between Granville and Thurlow, and south of Pacific Boulevard, between Marinaside Crescent and Drake. The Sun Run prevents vehicles from exiting both areas for approximately 1½ hours as the bulk of runners pass. The Vancouver International Marathon passes the area over a 5 hour period, but only blocks access for 10 minutes at a time. The Pacific Roadrunners ½ Marathon passes the area for approximately ½ hour period, and also blocks access for 10 minutes at a time. Staff are discussing ways of reducing the impacts on those residents south of Pacific Boulevard but given the current route there is no alternative for those residents south of Beach Avenue. If a significant route change is required by the FEST Committee, staff will report back to Council.

As well, the Stanley Park Causeway "S" curve reconstruction project may have some impact on both the Vancouver Sun Run and the Vancouver International Marathon in 2002. Staff have informed the organizers of both events of this possibility and will work with them to reroute the events if necessary. Again, any significant changes will be brought to Council's attention.

Aside from these events, the only other one that will require special attention from Council is the 2001 Celebration of Light, the four-night Fireworks Event that replaces the Symphony of Fire. Council has asked for a report back on final details and cost estimates to provide city services for the event for inclusion in the 2001 operating budget.

CONCLUSION

While the Special Events Office apologies for the delay in getting this report to Council, we hope Council will appreciate the constraints under which we work, and approve all of the 2001 Special Events listed in Appendix A. As well, it is recommended that Council approve the new Molstar Snow Jam, and the 9:00 am start for the Vancouver Sun Run.

LINK TO APPENDIX A

LINK TO APPENDIX B

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pe010614.htm

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