Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets

FROM:

General Manager of Engineering Services in consultation with the Director of Real Estate Services and the Director of Financial Planning and Treasury

SUBJECT:

Development and Financing of 900 / 1100 East Kent Avenue

 

RECOMMENDATION

A. THAT Council approve the purchase of PEF land and development of the remainder of the 900 / 1100 Kent Avenue site at a cost of $6,650,000 as outlined in this report with funding to be provided as follows:

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

The General Manager of Engineering Services recommends approval of the foregoing.

COUNCIL POLICY

Property in long term use for civic purposes is held as an asset of the Capital Fund. Transfers between the Capital Fund and Property Endowment Fund are transacted at market value or cost.

Sales and purchases of property are subject to Council approval.

The use of internal financing for projects and program initiatives is subject to Council approval.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to recommend an overall development and financing plan for the purchase of the balance of a Property Endowment Fund site at 900 / 1100 East Kent Avenue for use by Engineering Department operations. Two companion reports before Council this same day outline business cases and recommend development and financing of a small batch Ready Mix / Precast Facility and a Material Transfer Facility.

BACKGROUND

· In 1996, the City purchased approximately 16.45 acres / 6.66 ha. of land on Kent Avenue east of Fraser Street (Lot P & Lot O at 900 and 1100 East Kent Avenue).
· The Kent Avenue purchase was primarily for the Aggregate Handling Facility and Asphalt Plant with the balance held in the PEF for other uses.
· In 1997, Council approved the development and financing of the Aggregate Handling Facility and Asphalt Plant which became operational in 1998.
· In 1998, Council approved the financing to purchase and develop a portion of the Kent Avenue site for the City's Recycling Receiving and Transfer Yard.

· In September 2001, approval for the development of the balance of the site was granted by the North Fraser Port Authority through the Fraser River Estuary Management Program (FREMP). This approval required the establishment of a setback from the Fraser River rendering approximately 1.2 acres unavailable for development.

DISCUSSION

Over the last year, Engineering Services have worked with the Director of Real Estate Services and FREMP to establish an overall development plan for the remaining land at Kent Avenue. The first component was to establish the landscape and habitat setback from the Fraser River through FREMP which then established the remaining land available for development.

Within Engineering Services, there are a number of operations on temporary sites in the City. These were looked at from the perspective of space planning, functional layout, and opportunities to share existing facilities. New uses proposed are a Ready Mix / Precast Facility, Material Transfer Facility, and Abandoned Autos. Both the Ready Mix / Precast Facility and the Material Transfer Facility are proposed on a full cost accounting business case basis which are detailed in two companion reports before Council this same day.

The following table summarizes the land areas and the status of each operation. Appendix I shows the site plan and layout of the operations.

Kent Avenue Land Area Status

Land Use

Area
(acres / ha)

Status

Asphalt Plant / Aggregate Facility

8.04 / 3.25

In operation since 1998

Recycling Receiving and Transfer Yard

1.11 / 0.45

Under construction
Approved by Council 1999

Shoreline Setback

1.19 / 0.48

Setback approved by FREMP

Ready Mix & Precast Facility

0.57 / 0.23

Proposed

Material Transfer Facility

2.50 / 1.01

Proposed

Abandoned Autos

2.30 / 0.93

Proposed

Total Area 900/1100 East Kent

15.71 / 6.35

  

1. Asphalt Plant / Aggregate Facility (8.04 acres)

The Asphalt and Aggregate facility was approved on a business case basis and has been in operation since 1998. The cost of land, capital improvements and operating are

recovered through the plant operation. Initially planned for approximately 6 acres, an additional 2.04 acres is used for the current operation and expansion. It is proposed that the cost of this additional land would be added to the existing Capital Financing Fund (CFF) loan and be repaid by the facility operation.

2. Recycling Receiving and Transfer Yard (1.11 acres)

This facility is a receiving yard for the City blue box recycling program and was approved by Council in 1999. City trucks deliver the blue box material to the site where it is placed into its appropriate bin prior to shipment in larger transfer trucks to a processor. This facility is funded from the Solid Waste Capital Reserve and is under construction.

3. Shoreline Setback (1.19 acres)

The section of the Fraser River fronting 900 East Kent is subject to a development setback ranging from 10 to 15 metres to maintain a zone of vegetation and habitat. The setback has been established with FREMP and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. As it has no development potential for City or other uses, the property will be transferred to the Capital Fund at no cost.

4. Ready Mix and Precast Plant (0.57 acres)

In an accompanying report, a replacement of the existing facility in Cambie Yard is proposed. The facility makes small batches of ready mix concrete and precast concrete products for use by City crews. With the pending closure of the Cambie Yard, this facility must be relocated. This operation is recommended based on its business case which saves the City money compared with purchasing these products from private suppliers. Financing for the project is recommended from the Capital Financing Fund to be repaid from charges to City operations.

5. Material Transfer Facility (2.50 acres)

A trial is currently underway in which excavated material from City water, sewers and streets maintenance and construction operations throughout Vancouver are delivered to a central site and then transhipped to a landfill in larger, more efficient vehicles. The trial has demonstrated this process to be more cost effective than the practice of using smaller City vehicles for final delivery to the disposal site. The operation also allows for the separation and recycling of asphalt and concrete. This operation is recommended based

on its business case with financing from the Capital Financing Fund to be repaid from charges to City operations. This proposal is the subject of a separate report before Council this same day.

6. Abandoned Autos (2.30 acres)

The Abandoned Auto operation removes vehicles that have been abandoned on city streets and lanes. Vehicles are removed and held until they are either recovered by their owners or sent for disposal to auction or scrap. Typically more than 800 vehicles are impounded and more than 5500 complaints are handled annually. This operation is now temporarily located on a PEF site that is proposed for sale or redevelopment. The cost to purchase and develop the site for the Abandon Auto operation is estimated at $2,296,000.

There is no business case related to the Abandoned Auto operation so alternative funding will be required to achieve this relocation. The lease cost on the current site can provide $110,000 annually to repay financing, with the additional amount estimated at $202,000 proposed to come from increased parking enforcement fine revenue approved by Council earlier this year.

Site Planning

As part of the site planning, opportunities for sharing of infrastructure were explored to save on capital improvements. Both the Material Transfer Facility and the Ready Mix /Precast Facility can have high sediment content in their stormwater runoff. These have been placed adjacent to the existing aggregate facility so they can tie into the existing stormwater treatment system.

Another consideration was material and equipment flow and the resulting need for adjacency. Crews dump excavated waste at the Material Transfer Site and then proceed to pick up material from the Precast Facility or the aggregate facility before returning to the job site. The Ready Mix / Precast Facility will also use raw material from the aggregate facility for its production. The proposed layout works well for sharing services, adjacency of materials, and flow of equipment.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

The following table summarizes the facilities and the proposed funding to purchase and develop the remainder of the 900 / 1100 Kent Avenue site. Existing funded operations are also noted.

Existing and proposed Financing

 

Area
(acres)

Existing
Funding

Proposed
Funding / Source

Asphalt Plant /Aggregate Facility

6.0

In operation since 1998
(existing CFF loan)

  

Asphalt Plant /Aggregate Facility Addition

2.04

  

$1,428,000 CFF loan repaid by surplus plant operations

Recycling Receiving and Transfer Yard

1.11

Approved by Council 1999
construction Spring 2002

  

Shoreline Setback

1.19

  

transferred to Capital Fund at no cost

Ready Mix / Precast Facility

0.57

  

$399,000 CFF loan
repaid by facility operations
(detailed in companion report)

Material Transfer Facility

2.50

  

$1,750,000 CFF loan
repaid by facility operations
(detailed in companion report)

Abandoned Autos

2.30

  

$1,610,000 for land and
$686,000 site development costs financed by CFF loan to be repaid from current budget and new parking enforcement revenues

Total Area 900/1100 East Kent

15.71

    

SUSTAINABILITY

Development of this site and operation of these facilities reinforces the City's commitment to sustainable practices. From a site development perspective, the Fraser River foreshore will be preserved with a natural landscape habitat zone. Any impacts on the river will be further reduced by treating storm water runoff from the material transfer and precast site using the existing sediment control pond at the asphalt plant.

Operationally a number of sustainable practices flow from this development. The Recycling Receiving Transfer Yard is an efficient facility which reduces trucking and diverts material from

the landfill to recycling. The Material Transfer Facility will also reduce trucking impacts on the environment. Material reuse will also be part of this facility. Concrete and asphalt will be diverted from the landfill by crushing it on site and using it in place of imported aggregate.

CONCLUSION

Development of the land adjacent to the asphalt plant (900 / 1100 Kent Avenue) is well suited for development of the facilities noted. The site provides the required adjacencies for operations and takes advantage of savings by sharing site servicing costs. Business cases are in place which will provide the city with long terms savings through their operation.

* * * * *

cs020613.htm

Comments or questions? You can send us email.
[City Homepage] [Get In Touch]

(c) 1998 City of Vancouver