CITY OF VANCOUVER

POLICY REPORT
DEVELOPMENT AND BUILDING

 

Date:

February 15, 2005

 

Author:

Celine Mauboules

 

Phone No.:

6198

 

RTS No.:

04859

 

CC File No.:

4657

 

Meeting Date:

March 31, 2005

TO:

Standing Committee on Planning and Environment

FROM:

The Director of the Housing Centre and the Director of Current Planning in Consultation with the Director of Legal Services and the Director of Finance

SUBJECT:

Single Room Accommodation By-law: 18 Month Report Back

RECOMMENDATION

A1. THAT Council, having issued conversion or demolition permits for the following designated rooms and the conditions under that permit having been met, approve the removal of four (4) rooms in the Ambassador Hotel (1212 Granville St.) from Schedule A to the Single Room Accommodation By-law.

A2. THAT Council, having authorized exemptions from the requirements of the Single Room Accommodation By-law for the following designated rooms, approve the removal of all 34 rooms in the Jolly Taxpayer Hotel (826/830 Hastings St.) from Schedule A to the Single Room Accommodation By-law.

B. THAT Council authorize the Director of Legal Services to bring forward an amendment to the Single Room Accommodation By-law removing from Schedule A the rooms listed in this Recommendation A and amending the By-law generally in accordance with Appendix A.

C. THAT subject to 2005 budget considerations, Council approve the continuation of two temporary positions (Planner 1 and a Clerk V position, including fringe benefits) for a period of one year at an estimated cost of $134,579. The prorated impact to 2005 for these temporary positions will be $100,935, including fringe benefits, while funding for 2006 will be $33,645 and will be added to 2006 CSG operating budget without offset.

CITY MANAGER'S COMMENTS

The City manager RECOMMENDS approval of A1, A2, B and C.

COUNCIL POLICY

On May 16, 1991, Council confirmed its policy of one-for-one replacement of Single Room Occupancy (SRO) rooms in the Downtown South and endorsed the principle of developing new social housing, constructing unsubsidized SRO replacement projects, and retaining and upgrading the existing SRO stock as required in the absence of new replacement housing, with priority given to housing long-term Downtown South residents.

On June 3, 1997, Council approved a motion requesting the Provincial Government to amend the Vancouver Charter to enable the City to regulate the conversion and demolition of SRO hotel rooms providing residential accommodation. The Provincial Government amended the Charter (S. 193D) in July 1997.

On October 1, 1998, Council approved "A Program of Strategic Actions for the Downtown Eastside." Key recommendations included improving existing SROs, maintaining and upgrading housing for existing residents, and building replacement low-income housing.

On October 16, 2001, Council adopted a policy to maintain and expand housing opportunities in Vancouver for low and modest-income households with priority being given to: families with children; seniors on fixed incomes or in need of support; SRO residents; the mentally ill; the physically disabled; and, others at risk of homelessness.

On March 26, 2002, Council endorsed the City's involvement in the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games and Paralympic Winter Games bid and Council moved that the City of Vancouver urge the Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation to work with community members to minimize the negative effects and to maximize the opportunities of hosting the Winter Games. The Inclusive Intent Statement (included in the Guarantees of the Bid Book) states that the goal is to ensure no evictions will occur as a result of the 2010 Winter Games.

September 16, 2003, Council approved a motion on housing, social diversity and inclusion that entailed the creation of a comprehensive housing and homelessness action plan for Vancouver and measures to legalize secondary suites.

On October 21, 2003, Council enacted the Single Room Accommodation By-law to manage the rate of change in the low-income housing stock.

On October 23, 2003 Council amended the Zoning and Development By-law to require an SRA Permit prior to the issuance of a Development Permit.

PURPOSE

The Single Room Accommodation By-law No. 8733 (henceforth referred to as the “SRA By-law” or the “By-law”) was enacted October 21, 2003 (see Appendix B) and staff committed to report back within 18 months of enactment regarding:

This report provides the above noted information, and addresses a number of issues that have arisen since the By-law’s enactment including:

BACKGROUND

History of the By-law
The SRA By-law was approved due to concerns about the loss of the low-cost housing stock (see Appendix A). In 1997, when the Province granted the Charter authority for the SRA By-law, there were 7,528 SRAs in the Downtown Core. According to the Housing Centre’s biannual Survey of Low Income Housing in the Downtown Core, between 1997 and the fall 2003, there was a net loss of more than 1,200 rooms (16% of the stock or an average of 170 units a year). While the creation of replacement units during that time period helped off set many of those losses, the cancellation of the provincial HOMES BC Program in 2001 created uncertainty about the future production of non-market housing.

In addition, a 2003 PriceWaterHouseCoopers study (SRO Conversion/Demolition Update for the Downtown Vancouver, 2001-2015) forecast an estimated 1,500 to 1,800 SRA rooms (or an average of 114-128 per year) would be lost between 2001 and 2015. It was also anticipated that pressure on the existing stock would increase over time as readily developable sites in the downtown core were built. In light of these factors, and ongoing proposed demolitions and conversions (from residential to tourist use) of SRAs, a mechanism to control the loss of the existing stock was required.

The List of Buildings with Designated SRA Rooms
The SRA By-law approved by Council in the fall of 2003, designated 9,482 rooms in 198 buildings in the Downtown Core (the area bounded by on the north by Burrard Inlet, on the west by Burrard Street, on the south by False Creek and on the east by Clark Drive) as SRA accommodation, as set out in Schedule A to the By-law.

Schedule A of the SRA By-law (or the list of designated rooms) that was approved in October 2003 includes:

It should be noted that SNRFs (Appendix C in the 2003 Survey) are not included on the list because they are not governed by the Residential Tenancy Act.

Obtaining an SRA Conversion or Demolition Permit
An owner wanting to convert or demolish designated SRA rooms must apply for and obtain a Single Room Accommodation Conversion or Demolition Permit. The owner must pay an application fee of $100/per designated room that s/he is seeking to convert or demolish. The decision whether or not to approve the application rests with Council. Council can refuse the permit, approve it outright or attach conditions to it.

In making a decision, the Vancouver Charter requires that Council consider the following factors in deciding whether or not to approve a permit to demolish or convert a building with designated SRA rooms:

Conditions for Approval of an SRA Conversion or Demolition Permit
Conditions that Council may attach to the approval of the permit include the owner entering into a Housing Agreement, a Heritage Revitalization Agreement, and/or paying $5,000 per room into a reserve fund for the creation of replacement housing or other conditions Mayor and Council deem appropriate.

Staff examined a number of options before recommending the $5,000 per room fee for designated rooms being demolished or converted. Historically, conversions from tourist to residential use have often come in “waves” forcing tenants to relocate and creating uncertainty in their housing. While some of these conversions proved to be economically viable, others did not and reverted back to providing residential accommodation. Based on the 2003 PriceWaterHouseCoopers study, staff recommended a fee of $5,000 per room because the study projects that this fee would result in roughly 1,000 rooms remaining economically viable to convert (as opposed to 1,200 in the absence of a By-law or fee) between 2001 and 2015.

The fee serves as a policy lever to reduce the number of applications submitted by ensuring that only those conversions and demolitions that are economically viable will formally be pursued (the $5,000 amount per room also raises a small amount of the $50,000 to $80,000 required for each replacement housing unit). It should be noted that the ability to pay the $5,000 per room amount does not ensure the issuance of a conversion or demolition permit. Council considers each application on its merits and the circumstances at the time. One possible condition of permit issuance, should Council decide to approve the permit, would be the payment of the $5,000/room amount.

Obtaining and Exemption from the By-law
The By-law also provides for exemptions subject to the production of evidence, satisfactory
to Council, that the designated rooms meet the exemption conditions. Owners must provide
evidence that:

There is currently no application fee for owners seeking an exemption of designated rooms.

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BY-LAW SINCE ENACTMENT

Since enactment, Council has approved a number applications for SRA conversion and demolition permits, as well as for exemptions from the By-law.

To date, the following polices have guided staff’s recommendations to Council:

Council Approved SRA Demolition or Conversion Permits
Since enactment staff have received a number of enquiries regarding applications for conversion or demolition permits. Each proposed project involving the conversion or demolition of single room accommodation has been dealt with on a case-by-case basis to respect the particular circumstances of the application.

General guidelines have been used to determine whether an SRA Permit is required for proposed work being completed on a building with designated SRA rooms. An SRA Permit is generally not required if:

To date, 10 completed conversion or demolition permit applications have been received and of those, 7 applications have been processed and reported to Council for decision. Table 1 below provides a summary of the 10 applications and a short description of approved applications follow.

Table 1: Summary of Conversion and Demolition Permits Applications

Address

Building Name

Conv/Demo permit application
# rooms

# tenants requiring relocation

Date Council approval

Conditions:
1. Housing agreement;
2. Heritage revitalization agreement;
3. $5,000

Replacement units/Remain in SRA stock

806 Richards

Plaza

33

0

11/04/03

3

0

511 Union

  

8

4

10/12/03

2

0

24 Water

Grand

44

0

09/03/04

2

0

1212 Granville

Ambassador

4

4

23/03/04

1

0

1261 Granville

Granville Hotel

100

30

08/06/04

1

83

746 Richards

Passlin

43

32

22/09/04

1

46

510 Homer

Victorian

56

0

01/02/04

3

0

309 Carrall

Rainier

47

0

TBD

TBD

47 (or more)

412 Carrall

Pennsylvania

70

0

TBD

TBD

43 (or more)

51 W. Hastings

Strathcona

50

0

TBD

TBD

50

TOTAL

455

70

    

129+

Council has reviewed and approved the following SRA conversion or demolition permits:

The Plaza (806 Richards Street):
The Plaza Hotel contained 33 designated SRA rooms. It was to be demolished as part of a larger redevelopment project that had been scheduled for the Development Permit Board before the SRA By-law was enacted.

In response to the enactment of the SRA By-law, the applicant proposed rezoning the property. As part of the rezoning, the applicant offered a contribution to the City's Affordable Housing Fund of $1.08 million, in addition to a cultural amenity.

It should be noted that the Vancouver Charter requires that payments required under the SRA By-law are deducted from the development cost levies to a maximum of the replacement housing component of the DCL By-law. As a result, the $165,000 ($5,000/33 rooms) amount was deducted from the replacement housing component of the DCL (effectively from the $1.08 million negotiated contribution to the City’s Affordable Housing Fund).

511 Union:
511 Union contained 8 designated SRA rooms. A development permit had been applied for before the SRA By-law was enacted. Council approved an SRA Permit to convert 8 SRA rooms to 4 self-contained dwelling units in exchange for a Heritage Revitalization Agreement and a $20,000 contribution to the City’s Affordable Housing Fund.

The Grand (24 Water Street):
The Grand contained 44 designated SRA rooms that had been closed for 30 years. The owner proposed to renovate it as part of a larger redevelopment project. Council approved the SRA Permit on the condition that the owner enter into a Heritage Revitalization Agreement.

The Ambassador (1212 Granville Street):
The Ambassador contained rooms that provided accommodation for tourists (38 rooms) and for permanent residents (4 rooms). The owner of the Ambassador (and the Canadian Hotel (1203 Seymour St.) submitted an application to exempt 38 rooms, as well as an application to convert the remaining 4 designated SRA rooms in the Ambassador to tourist use. Council granted the SRA Permit on the condition that the owner enter into a 5-year Housing Agreement that would require the owner to maintain monthly rent rates of all 26 SRA-rooms in the Canadian Hotel at current levels and maintain current tenant services (housekeeping and 24-hour presence at front desk for security). The value of the Housing Agreement that freezes rents is more than the equivalent of the $20,000 ($5,000 per four rooms) which Council could have required as a condition of the SRA conversion permit. Not only does the Housing Agreement guarantee 26 SRA rooms of above average quality in an area that typically has higher rents than other parts of the downtown core, but at the end of the 5-year Housing Agreement, all 26 rooms will also remain designated as SRA.

Granville Hotel (1261 Granville Street):
The Granville contained 100 designated rooms when the City purchased the building in the spring of 2004. The City then applied for an SRA permit to demolish 18 designated rooms and to convert the remaining 82 rooms to non-market housing with the units to be rented at the shelter component of welfare and to include washrooms and cooking facilities. The renovations served to improve the quality of the stock, as well as broaden the range of low-income housing in the City’s non-market housing portfolio which currently contains primarily sleeping rooms.

Passlin (746 Richards Street):
This project is rather unique and serves to highlight the ways in which the SRA By-law can be used to leverage opportunities for the creation of replacement low-cost housing. Owners of the Passlin (746 Richards St.) applied for an SRA Demolition Permit for all 43 designated rooms so that they could redevelop the site. Negotiations resulted in an agreement to bonus the new development with 99,639 sq. ft. of additional density, and an investment of $720,000 in Downtown South Development Cost Levy funds in the project, in return for the developer giving the City 46 units of low-cost housing worth approximately $5,765,000.

The Victorian Hotel (514 Homer Street):
Located in Victory Square, the Victorian Hotel contains 56 designated SRA rooms. The owners initially applied for an exemption from the By-law but because all of the 56 rooms in the Victorian were classified as Class 1-residential, they did not meet the criteria for exemption as set out in the By-law. The owners then applied for an SRA conversion permit to convert to tourist use. Building inspection reports showed that the extensive renovations had also been carried out without permits. As a condition of approving the conversion, Council required that the applicant obtain all of the necessary City permits required for the alterations carried out without permits and that the alterations be inspected and approved for occupancy by the Chief Building Official; and, that the owner make a payment of $280,000 ($5,000 per 56 rooms converted/demolished) to be deposited in the reserve fund earmarked for the provision of replacement housing.
Council-Approved Exemptions
In developing the SRA By-law, the list of buildings with designated rooms was based on the Housing Centre’s 2003 Survey of Low-Income Housing in the Downtown Core. The purpose of this bi-annual survey is to monitor the low-income housing stock and to track changes to the number of buildings and rooms, vacancy rates and rents. However, it does not identify which rooms in a building are greater than 320 square feet or which rooms are used for non-permanent resident purposes such as tourist (or transient guest) use. As well, some buildings on the list had already been converted to transient guest or other non-residential uses prior to enactment of the By-law. Those buildings remained on the list since they may have included rooms rented to permanent residents all or part of the year even if their primary focus was tourist use.

The SRA By-law was structured so that affected property owners could request that all or a portion of rooms in their buildings be removed from Schedule A (the list of buildings with designated rooms) of the SRA By-law by submitting the necessary documentation. In order to be eligible for an exemption, owners must complete an application form (there is no application fee for owners seeking an exemption) and provide the following evidence:

To date, staff have received 10 applications for exemption. Of those, staff have processed and reported to Council on seven applications and Council subsequently approved exemptions for:

Address

Name

# Designated Rooms Exempted

Date of Council Approval

1176 Granville St.

Howard Johnson

110

18/11/03

1221 Granville St.

Ramada Inn and Suites

116

18/11/03

1018 Granville St.

Global Village Backpackers

67

10/02/04

310 Cambie St.

Cambie International Hostel

42

23/03/04

515 Seymour St.

Seymour/Cambie Hostel

40

23/03/04

1212 Granville St.

Ambassador

38

23/03/04

826 W. Hastings St.

Jolly Taxpayer

34

2/11/04

347 W Pender St.

New Backpackers Hotel

20

TBD

403 E. Hastings St.

Patricia Hotel

101

TBD

666 Alexander

Ocean Rooms

11

TBD

TOTAL

579

  

PROPOSED ADMINISTRATIVE AMENDMENTS TO THE BY-LAW

In addition to required periodic amendments to Schedule A (to remove those designated rooms for which Council has approved exemptions and SRA conversion or demolition permits), staff have identified a number of minor amendments to the By-law that would assist in administration.

Amendments to Schedule A of the By-law
The SRA By-law requires that Council periodically remove or add buildings and designated rooms to Schedule A of the By-law. On June 8, 2004 staff provided Council with a status update on the By-law and Council approved a series of amendments to Schedule A of the By-law.

This report recommends the following additional amendments to Schedule A be approved to remove those designated rooms for which Council has approved exemptions, as well as SRA conversion or demolition permits (to which all of the conditions attached to the issuance of the permit have been met):

Delegation of Authority

The Charter states that Council may delegate the decision making authority for SRA exemption and conversion or demolition permit approvals. In the initial policy report, staff committed to reporting back to Council on this issue. The experience to date has been that each application has been unique. Several have included heritage considerations and others, rezonings. Consequently, applications are decided on a case-by-case basis. Council is often required to address the policy issues each application may raise and therefore it is recommended that decision making power continue to rest with Council.

Departmental Responsibility
Section 3.3 of the By-law refers to the “Director of Planning” but should refer to the “Housing Centre Director.” Staff recommend that the Housing Centre Director be responsible for processing, assessing and reporting applications to Council, in consultation with the Director of Current Planning and the Director of Legal Services.

Application Requirements
Section 4.3 of the By-law sets out the application requirements for an SRA conversion or demolition Permit. Owners seeking an SRA permit to convert or demolish designated rooms are required to provide Council with:

If an owner is seeking an application to demolish designated SRA rooms, requirements set out in section 4.3(b) may not be necessary. For example, an owner may be wanting to demolish designated SRA rooms that housed permanent residents, therefore records required under the Hotel Guest Registration Act or Hotel Room Tax Act should not be required as they would not exist. Staff recommend Section 4.3 (b) of the By-law be amended to give discretion to the Director of the Housing Centre on what records are deemed appropriate.

Applying for Other City Permits
Section 4.1(a) states that a person must not apply for any permit under any City by-law (for example a Development Permit or a Building Permit) in connection with the conversion or demolition of a designated room. Staff recommend that this be changed to allow a person to make application for other permits but that the permits not be issued until an SRA Conversion or Demolition Permit has been approved and until all conditions are met. This will allow better coordination of City regulatory processes and will prevent unnecessary delays for the applicant.

SRA Conversion or Demolition Application Fee
Currently, owners are charged an application fee of $100 per designated SRA room when applying for an SRA Conversion or Demolition Permit. This is a non-refundable processing fee to cover the cost of administering the By-law and is in addition to the $5,000 per room fee that Council may require as a condition of permit approval.

Staff have tracked the actual time and resources required to process an application and have examined whether a minimum fee for small projects and a maximum fee for large projects with a sliding scale for those in between would be more appropriate. It is recommended that applications involving 10 or less rooms be charged a $1,000 application fee, and for each additional room, a $100 per room application fee be charged to a maximum of $6,000 per application.

FUTURE IMPLEMENATION OF THE BY-LAW: SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

Staff continue to refine the policies and procedures put in place to ensure that effective implementation of the By-law, while also ensuring owners and tenants are aware of the By-law and its requirements. There remain a few key issues which staff have been monitoring and which are addressed below.

Issues Related to SRA Conversion or Demolition Permits: $5,000 Per Room Fee
Staff committed to review the $5,000 per room payment that Council can require as a condition of the issuance of an SRA conversion or demolition permit and recommend whether or not to amend the amount or introduce a range of fees.

As noted earlier, the $5,000 per room fee is based on a 2003 PriceWaterHouseCoopers study that projects this fee would result in roughly 1,000 rooms remaining economically viable to convert between 2001 and 2015 (amounts to roughly 70 units per year). Since October 23, 2003, Council has approved 7 SRA conversion or demolition permits involving 288 designated rooms. The high number of applications that were formally pursued (and approved by Council) may be indicative of the number of projects that were in process (at the DE application stage) at the time of enactment of the By-law (4 of the 7). The remaining three applications (the Ambassador, the Victorian and the Passlin) were not in the development application process but the Ambassador and the Victorian were providing tourist accommodation at the time of enactment and would likely have been exempted if they had been commercially assessed. Therefore the Passlin was the only application that reflected an economically driven demolition of 43 designated rooms. As noted earlier, however, the approval of SRA demolition permit to demolish all 43 rooms in the Passlin was unique in that the By-law helped leverage the creation of 46 improved SRA replacement units.

Projects such as the redevelopment of Woodward’s, the build out of the Concord lands, and the future development of the False Creek Flats will likely impact the demand for the conversion or demolition of SRAs. The continued implementation of the By-law will provide a more accurate accounting of whether or not the $5,000 per room payment will limit the number of projects that are economically viable. Staff will continue to monitor the number of applications being received and will report back to Council on whether or not consideration should be given to raising the fee. At this time, staff recommend that the fee remain at $5,000 per room.

Issues Related to Exemptions from the By-law: Encouraging Owners to Complete Applications for Exemption
Following enactment of the By-law, affected owners were sent registered letters including a copy of the SRA By-law, as well as the notice of designation the By-law requires be posted in a conspicuous location such as the lobby. The letter also provided owners with information on how to apply for an exemption or an SRA conversion or demolition permit for any designated rooms.

There were no time limits specified in the By-law for owners seeking an exemption of designated rooms. Staff believe there are some SRAs that were likely providing accommodation for tourists on the day of enactment of the By-law and therefore may be eligible for an exemption, but have not completed applications for exemptions of all or some designated SRA rooms. Staff will send another letter reminding owners and operators of the requirements of the By-law, as well as encouraging those who may be eligible for an exemption from the By-law to contact staff.

Monitoring and Ensuring Compliance
SRA staff are working closely with property use inspectors (PUIs) in monitoring SRAs. PUIs inform SRA staff of change of ownership in order to ensure that the new owners can be made aware of the requirements of the By-law. PUIs and SRA staff are in frequent communication regarding any renovations or changes being carried out with or without permit to ensure that the SRA By-law requirements are being adhered to. Finally, all information is noted in PRISM (the City’s permit review and inspections system) to ensure that other permit staff are aware of the history of any SRA issues related to specific properties.

Since enactment of the By-law, property use inspectors have conducted site visits as part of their regular Standards of Maintenance By-law inspections. They also have responded to individual requests for SRA By-law related inspection based on complaints received. As noted above, staff are aware of some SRAs that are operating as tourist use, probably since before the By-law was enacted, but have not come forward for an exemption. SRA staff are also aware of two buildings with designated SRA rooms that may be carrying out work that requires an SRA conversion permit (letters have been sent).

Currently, the monitoring of vacancies, rents, etc. are carried out by the Housing Centre through the bi-annual Survey of Low-income Housing for the Downtown Core. Staff that conduct surveys for this report also refer any infractions to PUI and SRA staff. However, this systematic data collection only takes place every two years.

A number of suggestions are being proposed to ensure proper monitoring and compliance with the SRA By-law. SRA staff have developed an inspection report and checklist (see Appendix B) that will be used by the PUIs to assist in the ongoing monitoring of SRAs. License and Inspections will also be reporting back to Council by year end with proposed changes to the Standards of Maintenance By-law. One of the proposed changes is requiring owners and operators to maintain a standardized ledger that will assist in the monitoring of SRAs. SRA staff will work with License and Inspections staff to ensure that owners and their staff are informed when these changes are implemented and receive any training if necessary. Informing owners and operators of these changes and the reasons for their implementation will help ensure consistent and equitable treatment in the monitoring and enforcement of the By-law.

Finally, provisions in the SRA By-law allow for penalties to those owners and operators who do not comply with the By-law. Penalties are punishable upon conviction by a fine of not less than $50 and not more than $2,000 for each offence per room. Further, every person who commits an offence of a continuing nature against the By-law is liable to a fine not exceeding $50 for each room for each day such an offence is continued. In addition to other possible remedies, the City has the ability to seek an injunction to prevent an owner from proceeding with the conversion or demolition. As well, failure to comply with the requirements of the By-law could result in a show cause hearing as to why the business license should not be revoked. SRA staff are working with License and Inspections and Legal Services staff to determine the most appropriate process for ensuring compliance with the By-law.

Incentives
The costs of heating, insurance, repairs and maintenance of SRAs have increased significantly as buildings age and the demographics of the tenants change. An increasing number of tenants have mental health and/or addiction problems and are hard to house. The shelter component of income assistance has also not increased since 1991. Staff are reviewing the economic viability of SRAs as part of the work on the Housing Plan for the Downtown Eastside communities. Furthermore, work being carried out under the Vancouver Agreement provides additional opportunities to improve the economic sustainability of SRAs.

The City of Vancouver, in partnership with other levels of government, the Police Department and the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, have undertaken a series of initiatives aimed at closing illegitimate businesses and halting criminal activity. There is some concern that the work carried out by the Coordinated Enforcement Team has pushed some of this illegal activity (in particular drug related activity) into the community’s SRAs. The Vancouver Agreement’s Housing Task Team developed the SRO Management Program to improve the management and living conditions of SRAs and their residents.

This complements much of the work being done through the implementation of the Vancouver Agreement Downtown Eastside Economic Revitalization Plan. The Plan will help improve the viability of commercial space within buildings containing designated SRA rooms.

The key objectives of the Plan include:

Finally, staff will continue to research and report back on the following issues with respect to the SRA By-law and possible incentives for owners providing well managed, affordable housing:

Hostels
“Hostel” is not a use that is defined under any of the City’s by-laws. Concern has been raised that some hostels are renting to local residents and charging daily rates that amount to the monthly shelter component. Instead of having a private room for $325 per month, these tenants have to share a room with three or more other people. This gives rise to two issues. The first issue has to do with liveability in hostels. This issue will be addressed through revisions to the Standards of Maintenance By-law that will be reported to Council by License and Inspections by year end. The Housing Plan for the Downtown Eastside will also provide recommendations such as increasing the minimum square footage per bed per SRA room.

The second issue is how “hostels” are being operated in relation to the SRA By-law and whether they are providing tourist or residential accommodation and should or should not be eligible for exemptions.

Council has approved exemptions for three designated SRAs that were operating as “hostels” (the Cambie International, the Seymour/Cambie Hostel and the Global Village Backpackers). The operators met the conditions for exemption and provided the necessary evidence to show that they were providing accommodation for tourist use. All of these “hostels” have a written policy that they do not provide accommodation to individuals living in Vancouver and were able to demonstrate the application of this policy. Those operators that cannot produce evidence to prove their designated rooms meet the conditions for exemption from the By-law will be required to apply for an SRA conversion permit to be decided by Council.

RESOURCES AND FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

On September 16, 2003, Council approved the creation of a temporary Planner I position for a period of one and a half years at an annual cost of $67,870; as well as a Clerk V temporary position for a period of one and a half years at an annual cost of $44,122.00. Council also approved estimated start-up costs of $15,000. Funding for fiscal 2003 of $43,000 was obtained from the contingency reserve, and funding of $112,000 for fiscal 2004 and $28,000 for fiscal 2005 was added to the Community Services operating budget without offset. It should be noted that the SRA conversion or demolition permit application fee ($100/room) generated $45,500 in offsetting revenues. As discussed previously, however, a number of applications were in process at the time of enactment of the By-law. Future offsetting revenues will likely be lower as the number of economically viable conversions being pursued is more limited.

The continued implementation and administration of the By-law requires the Planner 1 and Clerk V positions be extended temporarily for one year for a total of $134,579, including fringe benefits (Planner 1 $70,062 and Clerk V $64,516). The prorated impact to 2005 for these temporary positions will be $100,935, including fringe benefits and will be finalized subject to 2005 budget considerations. Funding for 2006 will be $33,645 and will be added to 2006 CSG operating budget without offset.

The Director of the Housing Centre will report back to Council within six months with a resource report that will seek permanent staffing resources to implement the Downtown Eastside Housing Plan, the Homeless Action plan, as well as the ongoing efficient and effective administration and implementation of the SRA By-law. With respect to enforcement and compliance with the By-law, premises are generally operating in compliance. However, should this situation change, the Director of Legal Services, and the Deputy Chief License Inspector will report to Council with any additional staffing resource requirements.

CONCLUSION

This report provides an overview of the implementation of the Single Room Accommodation By-law that was enacted by Council October 21, 2003. The By-law is working well in protecting the interests of the low-income community while also allowing economically viable conversions and demolitions to proceed. This report recommends changes to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of implementing the By-law in relation to other City programs. Staff will continue to monitor the implementation of the By-law and will report back to Council as required.

- - - - -

APPENDIX A

Changes to the Single Room Accommodation By-law No. 8733

1. Section 3.3: Exemption Application Requirements:

2. Section 4.1 Regulation of conversion or demolition

Section 4.1 should read as follows:

3. Section 4.3, Conversion or Demolition Permit:

4.3. An applicant for a conversion or demolition permit must give Council the Housing Centre Director:
(a) an application for the conversion or demolition permit in the form prescribed by the Housing Centre Director.

APPENDIX B - Single Room Accommodation By-law No. 8733

APPENDIX C - SRA Checklist (for PUIs)

* * * * *

pe20050331.htm

Comments or questions? Send us e-mail at info@city.vancouver.bc.ca
© 2002 City of Vancouver