REPORT TO COUNCIL
Date: |
September 23, 2003 |
Author: |
Robert Buller |
Phone No.: |
604.873.7477 |
RTS No.: |
3637 |
CC File No.: |
3107-1 |
Meeting Date: |
October 9, 2003 |
TO: |
Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets |
FROM: |
Vancouver City Planning Commission |
SUBJECT: |
Vancouver City Planning Commission: Supplemental Funding Request |
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT the Vancouver City Council approve supplemental funding of $10,000 to the Vancouver City Planning Commission (VCPC) to cover one third of the cost for the creation of Alternative Futures, an interactive website highlighting alternative and affordable housing in Vancouver Additional funds are being sought from the Real Estate Foundation of BC, VanCity, and the City.
B. THAT the source of funds be from the 2003 Contingency Reserve.
CITY MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The City Manager advises that other City staff have been involved in Affordable Housing Policies over many years and that if Council is going to provide funding for this study, appropriate City staff will need to be involved to assist.
PURPOSE
This report requests supplemental funding to the Vancouver City Planning Commission to participate in a jointly funded initiative to create an interactive web site. Known as Alternative Futures, this web site will first explore issues related to affordable housing and alternative housing choices and in the future will focus other issues of interest to the planning commission such as community engagement, and public realm.
This funding is being sought outside the normal annual funding process of the Planning Commission to adhere to the budget cycles of the matching grantors who require a commitment of matching funding by early October.
BACKGROUND
The Vancouver City Planning Commission has long been involved in considering issues related to neighbourhoods, density and affordable housing. As outlined in our 2003 work plan, the Commission made a number of initiatives on this topic this year. Most notable was a public Housing Forum, which was held at Science World on April 30 '03. This event featured speakers and panellists from Vancouver and covered a wide range of topics concerning affordable housing and increased housing choices. It was an inquiry into the steps Vancouver should take now to be better prepared for housing needs in the future. The event attracted over 250 participants and garnered significant print and media coverage. A number of Councillors attended as did several staff.
The program for this event is attached as appendix I
One of the conclusions from the public forum was that Vancouver has many examples of innovative, sustainable forms of housing adaptation and infill - from multi unit conversions, to coach houses to duplexes and live-work additions. It was suggested that a tour of these sites could inform the debate on the future of housing in other more suburban single-family neighbourhoods in Vancouver.
Arising from that conclusion was an exciting idea to create an interactive web site and video source that could be easily accessed by the public at large. The website would contain a virtual tour of housing types and neighbourhoods in Vancouver that people are proud of, as well as ideas for new housing forms and options that could enhance the diversity and affordability of housing in Vancouver.
Since April, members of the Planning Commission have been working with volunteers from the general public to make this idea into a reality. They developed a project proposal and obtained strong interest from the Real Estate Foundation of BC and VanCity to fund two thirds of the cost of the project, pending a matching grant from the City of Vancouver.
DISCUSSION
As the only unelected, multi-partisan, and broadly-focused volunteer citizen advisory board to Council, the Planning Commission is in the unique position to facilitate public discourse from citizen to citizen. The Planning Commission believes that an interactive "ideas" website will be an important tool for citizen engagement and public discourse in Vancouver.
In order to promote public discourse on housing choice and affordability, the web will contain:
· A virtual Housing Tour, featuring working examples of livable density and successful in-fill developments in Vancouver. This will include 3 - 4 minute video segments featuring interviews, visual descriptions, walking tours of locations, meetings with community members.
· Alternative Visions - interviews with leading thinkers in housing affordability and choice, urban design, demographics.
· Interviews with the real experts, those people who've had to live with the consequences!
· Vancouver's Bold Experiments: False Creek, the Carling-Okeefe Brewery Site, and Woodward's.
To facilitate the engagement of citizens in the discussion, the website will also feature:
· Feedback resources: Interactive boxes for responding to specific or general questions posed on the website; discussion areas for users
· Flash Media visuals.
· Graphics: Maps, photographs, drawings
· Text documents: Written reports with graphics and links
· Links to related internal content
· Links to external websites
The project team includes VCPC members as well as a representative from CMHC and City staff. Others will be added as necessary. Assistance with content has likewise been offered from a variety of sources.
While the first focus of the interactive website will be on housing choice and affordability, the Commission anticipates using the template to apply to other elements of its workplan including public realm, civic governance and other long-term planning issues.
FUNDING
The size and scope of this project lies outside the normal resources of the Commission as the budget totals $30,000.
The VCPC requested funding support from each of the Real Estate Foundation of BC (August 26, 2003) and VanCity (Sept. 2, 2003). Each is prepared to request a matching grant from their respective boards, pending a commitment of a grant from the City of Vancouver.
CONCLUSION
The Vancouver City Planning Commission believes this initiative could become a powerful tool for the City to reach out and engage citizens, stakeholders and civic leaders. It could be further developed to be applied to other important topics within civic governance.
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