Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Vancouver City Council

FROM:

The Director of Current Planning, in consultation with the General Manager of Engineering Services, the General Manager of the Park Board, the Director of Social Planning, the Director of Financial Planning & Treasury, the Director of Real Estate Services, the Director of Legal Services, and the Director of the Housing Centre.

SUBJECT:

Southeast False Creek: Schedule, Staffing and Budget for the Official Development Plan

 

RECOMMENDATION

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

In October 1995, Council approved a generalized work program, budget, and staff resources for the policy development, Official Development Plan, and rezoning stages of the Southeast False Creek project.

In October 1999, Council approved the Policy Statement for Southeast False Creek to guide all future planning for the site.

PURPOSE

This report recommends a process to create an Official Development Plan (ODP) for the City owned lands in Southeast False Creek (SEFC), and as such includes a work program, time line, staff resources, and budget.

BACKGROUND

In March 2000, Council approved $385,000 and a one-year work program to create an Official Development Plan for SEFC. In August 2001, Council approved a revised work program which increased the scope of work necessary prior to preparation of the ODP. At that time staff were directed to complete the five environmental plans recommended in the SEFC Policy Statement and then report back on a revised process to complete the ODP. As these plans - waste and water management, energy use, sustainable transportation, and urban agriculture - will be completed early this fall, staff are now bringing forward the ODP process.

DISCUSSION

ODP Work Completed
Significant progress has been made since last August in the planning for SEFC. Consultants have been engaged and, with extensive involvement of the the SEFC Stewardship Group, the five environmental studies will be completed early this fall. Staff have also completed a process to bring a new zoning and clarity regarding use, form and density to the private lands generally located between 1st and 2nd Avenues from Wylie Street in the west to Main Street in the east within the study area. This has been a comprehensive task involving an urban design consultancy, an economic analysis, and an on-going discussion with the property owners.
ODP Work Remaining to be Done
At this point we face perhaps the most important task of the ODP process so far. It is now time to develop a concept plan which structures the site, locates the proposed density and public services and amenities - including the park, all in a framework of environmental objectives as defined by our plans. It is at this stage that all that we have learned with respect to urban design and livability in the planning of the other "mega" projects must also come to the table. As important as the sustainable objectives are, they must fit in and complement a high quality design with a high degree of livability.

To be successful at this task we need dedicated staff in both Planning and Engineering to coordinate a process which draws on the expertise in all departments. As well, we need a consultant team to integrate the environmental plans and the Community Services White Paper, looking to identify "win/win" strategies which satisfy more than one plan.(see Terms of Reference attached as Appendix A) It will be important for this consultant to have an on-going dialogue with staff, Real Estate's consultant and the SEFC Stewardship Group. With the enthusiasm around the 2010 Olympic bid and the development of an athletes village as part of SEFC's sustainable community, this consultancy is an opportune time to re-engage the public in the SEFC process leading up to the submission of the ODP.

At the conclusion of the consultancy a series of workshops will help further develop the sustainability and urban design objectives leading to the submission of a preliminary ODP application, anticipated early in 2003. This will initiate a comprehensive and sustained public process, which will be defined with the help of the SEFC Stewardship Group, This public review and revisions should bring about a final submission by summer 2003, leading to a Public Hearing in the fall.

Staff believe that the work program defined above and shown in Table 1 can be completed in 16 months. If approved, this work program will supersede earlier approved projections. While the completion of an ODP would usually lead to sub-area rezonings, at present this work is not proposed. After the approval of the ODP, staff will report back with a rezoning work program and budget, thus allowing Council to decide at that time - based on up-to-date assessments of market conditions - whether or not to proceed with rezonings.

Table 1 - ODP Work Program

TASK

Sept 2002

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan 2003

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

June

July

Aug

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

merge environmental, structure plans w. Community Services white paper

                               

produce Preliminary ODP

        

_

                      

Public Open Houses and Review

                                

revise and complete final

                                

draft Council Report

                    

_

          

ODP Public Hearing and enactment

                          

_

    

2010 Olympic Bid
The Olympic bid represents a tremendous opportunity for Vancouver to reflect its ongoing commitment to the principles of sustainability. The planned Olympic athletes village will act as an overlay to the ongoing City initiatives for a sustainable community in SEFC and provide a stage on which to showcase this internationally significant endeavor.

With the Olympics as a possibility, the timing of the ODP becomes more important. In order to achieve the construction timetable for an Olympic athletes village, and complete site remediation, rezoning and infrastructure requirements, it is imperative that we move forward with the ODP in accordance with the schedule outlined.

Stewardship Group Recommendations
City Council appointed the SEFC Stewardship Group to advise City staff in securing and maintaining the vision for the sustainable neighbourhood in SEFC as set out in the Policy Statement.

The Stewardship Group believes the ODP phase is the opportunity to make the public and the development community aware of sustainability issues and generally increase the acceptance of sustainability.

Stewardship Group Recommendations
1. Provide the financial and staff resources necessary.

2. Sustainable development processes rely upon informed decision-making and community-based planning. To do this it is important that a dialogue with the public is maintained by regularly publishing information on the progress for public review. Opportunities should be provided for the community to have input into the development of the ODP concept plan.

3. Sustainable design relies on an integrated and collaborative systems approach. Where possible, staff should conduct multi-disciplinary workshops to strategize goals, outcomes and actions for the project, as part of the ODP phase.

Staffing Requirements
Over the past year staff have primarily focused on the project management of the environmental plans, the coordination of the Stewardship Group and the rezoning of the private lands. With more time allocated by the supervisor, a reduction of staff resources on the dedicated team was possible. Now, as we gear up for the ODP and public consultation, we need to staff a dedicated team at an appropriate level.

In Planning, a temporary Planner II and a temporary Planning Assistant III are needed, and in Engineering, a temporary Civil Engineer I is required half-time As well, time must be budgeted for staff involvement from Social Planning, the Housing Centre, the Park Board, and Legal Services. A more detailed breakdown of staff requirements is included in Table 2. A consultant budget has also been included, for the merging of the environmental plans.

Revised Budget
The new budget summarized below, reflects the revised work program and includes recurring costs, such as staffing and public consultation, and non-recurring costs, which currently consist mostly of public consultation and consultancies. Funding will be sourced from existing funds remaining in the project account and new funds. Consistent with previous Council decisions, funding for the ODP stage will be provided by the

Property Endowment Fund and credited against future rezoning fees. With the additional funds required for the ODP, and the anticipated cost of the sub-area rezoning process, we are still within the $1.5 million required as rezoning fees, and as such, are on target for full cost recovery.

Table 2 - ODP Budget

STAFF
Planning
· Planner II (salary/fringe benefits)
· Planning Assistant III (salary/fringe benefits)

Engineering
· ½ time Civil Engineer 1(salary/fringe benefits)

Social Planning/Housing Centre
Legal Services
Park Board

$97,213
66,886

$164,000



44,000

24,000
24,000
24,000

OTHER
· Overtime
· Public Consultation
· Computers
· Consultancies
· Public Hearing(s)

  


20,000
75,000
5,000
62,000
3,000

SUB-TOTAL

  

445,000

- EXISTING FUNDS

  

-180,000

TOTAL

  

$265,000

CONCLUSION

With the completion of the environmental plans expected early this fall, and the advancement of the process for the rezoning of the privately-owned lands, the stage is set for the creation of an ODP which will accommodate an Olympic athletes village within the plans for a sustainable neighbourhood in SEFC. To complete an ODP for the city lands in a time frame which will respond to both City and Olympic needs, Council is asked to approve the revised process, staffing and budget, as set out in this report.

- - - - -

SEFC ODP PROCESS: Draft Terms of Reference - SEFC Sustainable Design Study

PROJECT BACKGROUND

SEFC Site Context
Southeast False Creek (SEFC) is one of the last remaining industrial waterfront sites in the downtown area to be redeveloped. The SEFC study area comprises a total of approximately 36 hectares (80 acres) of former industrial land on the southeastern shore of False Creek between Cambie Bridge and Science World. The majority of the land in the study area north of 1st Avenue (20 hectares/50 acres) is owned by the City of Vancouver and will be a brown field development site. The study area also includes over 12 hectares (30 acres) of privately-owned land, between 1st and 2nd Avenues to the south and between Quebec and Main Streets to the east.

Giving a priority to locating housing near downtown jobs, Council approved the release of SEFC from the industrial land base in 1990. Council further directed that the SEFC lands be developed to incorporate principles of energy-efficient community design and be explored as a model for "sustainable development". A SEFC Policy Statement was subsequently approved by Council in 1999 that describes the general planning principles that will guide future development of the site.

The next stage is to complete an Official Development Plan, the phase in which the general layout and concept plan is developed for the site. An Official Development Plan (ODP) is approved by Council as a by-law, securing development rights and public amenities for the area. As part of this process, sustainability plans have been required in the areas of water and waste management, energy efficiency, sustainable transportation, community services, and urban agriculture. These plans will be completed in the early fall of 2002.

The next step of the ODP process is to merge these plans with the draft site structure to create a more detailed plan for the area. This work would be part of a sustainable design study that would pull together the recommendations of each plan into strategic options and through interaction with City staff, the SEFC Stewardship Group, and selected urban design professionals, address the implications to the ODP of each option. These terms ofreference describe the budget, timeline and scope of work for this sustainable design study.
A thoughtful meshing of social, economic and ecological considerations will allow this urban neighbourhood, once developed, to continue to function at sustainable levels of social and environmental performance. While much of Vancouver's large-scale inner-city planning (False Creek South, Concord, Coal Harbour) focussed on ensuring that public and social amenities were created by development, SEFC adds to these public benefits, the possibilities of long-term on-site and off-site environmental benefits. It is intended that the lessons learned in SEFC will be transferrable to the rest of the city.

Council Policy
On October 16, 1990, Council adopted the Clouds of Change report which called for planning initiatives that: bring housing and employment together; increase housing adjacent to the downtown; and, with respect to SEFC, incorporate principles of energy-efficient community design in the area plan.

On February 22, 1994, Council directed staff to explore the potential for utilizing City land in SEFC as a model for sustainable development.

On October 19, 1999, Council adopted the Southeast False Creek Policy Statement: Towards a Sustainable Urban Neighbourhood and Major Park which outlines the policies for the SEFC sustainable development community.

Densities and Preliminary Site Plan
The exact form of the SEFC development is still evolving, but for the purpose of this Sustainable Design Study, the following should be assumed:
· Estimated resident population for the study area is 11,000 - 14,000 people.
· Estimated number of employees in the study area is 300 people.
· The overall residential density target is about 2.4 FSR (higher on the Private land and lower on the City owned land). The total FSR based on all uses is about 3.0. Total floor area will be distributed approximately in the following way: residential - 5.36 million square feet; commercial (office and retail) - 650,000 square feet; and institutional (school, daycare, neighbourhood house) - 83,000 square feet.
· There will be about 6,000 residential units in the entire site - about 2,500 on City owned land. Average unit size on City owned and Translink land is assumed to beapproximately 850 square feet compared to 750 square feet on Private land. Average occupancy will be about 2.12 residents per unit.
· The City owned land will have 35% family housing and 20% non-market housing.
· An elementary school (K-7) with approximately 500 students will be located at the centre of the site.
· Other possible community facilities that are being discussed include a K-3 annex, three 50-70 space day cares, three 60 space out-of-school care facilities, a neighbourhood house and facilities for non-motorized boating.
· There will be a large park of about 10.7 hectares (26 acres) mainly in the western portion of the site.
· Preliminary site and structure concepts will be made available.

Available City and Other Reference Documents
1. Southeast False Creek Policy Statement: Towards a Sustainable Urban Neighbourhood and a Major Park in Southeast False Creek (Policy Statement), October 1999, City of Vancouver. Available on the Internet at http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/commsvcs/planning/intro_page.htm
2. Urban Design Principles for Southeast False Creek, Draft 2001, City of Vancouver.
3. Clouds of Change, October 1990, City of Vancouver.

Work Program
Engineering and Planning staff will take a lead role in directing this consultant study with direct participation from a technical support committee of staff from a range of civic departments, including Planning, Engineering, Parks and Recreation, Permits and Licenses, Cultural Affairs as well as Environmental Health.

The City liaises with a number of community groups with a direct interest in the planning of SEFC, such as the SEFC Stewardship Group, who also need to be consulted as part of the consultancy. Also, as part of this consultancy there will need to be a public process which will lead to a broad public participation component in the ODP process to be conducted by Planning staff.

Schedule
The City is anticipating awarding a consulting contract in mid September. The Consultant must be available to begin immediately following a contract award. The study time frameis a total of 2 months, including time for City review of draft reports for each phase of the study. Expected completion of the study is the end of November, 2002.

Budget
Currently there is no fixed budget for the study. Incorporating sustainability into the Official Development Planning process is a fairly new concept, and as such, the cost to complete this study is yet to be determined. The proposal should be for a fixed price inclusive of all disbursements based on the scope and timeline outlined in this RFP. Payment will be upon satisfactory completion of the final report.

SCOPE OF WORK

Part 1: Review and Summarize Existing Work
The consultant will:
· meet with City staff to establish the key decisions the City needs to make at the ODP stage and the key objectives guiding those decisions; these key objectives should be based on local values; the key decisions and objectives identified will provide a basis for organizing and integrating the strategies reported in the previous studies
· review the SEFC environmental plans (water and waste, energy, transportation and urban agriculture), the community services white paper, and the draft site structure from the perspective of the key decisions and objectives found above; the review would not include any further analysis of the specific strategies, instead it would involve integrating existing info
· summarize the findings of the environmental plans and the community services white paper; identify win-win situations in which the strategies identified in the various reports work together towards environmental, social and economic sustainability and could be applied to SEFC; also note strategies that conflict with each other, identify any uncertainties or issues that may warrant further study, either to help prepare the final ODP or as part of the development stages to follow
· complete a cost benefit analysis of each strategy, determining the value to the development in terms of benefits versus life cycle costs
· prioritize the strategies available based on the objectives outlined above and the associated costs
· write a progress report summarizing the environmental plans and community services white paper, describing the strategies available for the ODP, presenting the costs associated with each option, and prioritizing the options based on the ODP objectives

Part 2: Workshop with City Staff and Real Estate's Consultant
The consultant will:
· present their findings on the combined strategies and implications of the previous studies with respect to each decision required for the ODP
· facilitate a discussion with City staff and Real Estate's Consultant in order to reach agreement on key issues and to identify additional information or study required to support final decisions
· work with City Staff and Real Estate's Consultant to integrate the environmental plans and community services white paper with the draft site structure plan
· make recommendations as to the best options for the SEFC ODP, and create new versions of the site structure plan

Part 3: Workshop with SEFC Interest Groups
The consultant will:
· present the findings of Parts 1&2 to invited SEFC interest groups
· answer questions from the attendees of the workshop
· record ideas and questions generated in the workshop
City staff will:
· invite members of various SEFC interest groups to the workshop
· coordinate the logistics of the event
· coordinate an expanded public workshop with the SEFC interest groups and the general public.

Part 4: Final Report
The consultant will:
· complete a final report summarizing the findings of Parts 1-3

Deliverables
The Part 1 Progress Report will include options developed for the ODP, cost benefit analysis of these options, and prioritization of the options based on the given criteria.

The final report will present the results of the sustainable design study review, workshop, and public consultation in a format that can be easily integrated into the ODP, including areas that may require further analysis or discussion to support a final decision. The report should take the form of a written report in 8.5" x 11" vertical format. Included in the report will be relevant maps, drawings, and specifications as deemed necessary by the staff project managers. The consultant will provide 5 unbound copies of the draft report, one unbound reproducible black and white final copy and 10 bound copies of the final report. A disk copy of the written report in a City compatible format will also be providedby the consultant. Any other presentation material including maps, drawings, photographs as slides as deemed necessary will also be provided by the consultant.

Education and transferability of the results of this project will be important outcomes. The work of the consultants will be as transparent as possible to allow for the public to understand the choices and their implications. This would allow for meaningful public participation in decision making and would have a high educational value.

All work completed by the consultant is to be to the satisfaction of the Director of Current Planning and the General Manager of Engineering Services.

* * * * *

ag020723.htm

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