ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: August 31, 1995
Dept. File No.000 185
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: General Manager of Engineering Services
SUBJECT: The Closure and Lease of Portion of the Lane East
of Denman Street, North of Robson Street
RECOMMENDATION
THAT Council close, stop-up and lease to the abutting
owner of Lot "C" of Lots 41 and 42, Block 55, District
Lot 185, Plan 904, the portion of the lane east of
Denman Street, north of Robson Street, shown within the
bold outline on the plan attached as Appendix "A",
subject to the following conditions:
a) The term of the lease to be two years subject to a
one month notice of cancellation, if the lease area
is required for municipal purposes.
b) The rental to be $150.00 per month inclusive of an
amount in lieu of taxes, as if levied.
c) The lessee shall at all times, provide clear and
open public access through the leased premises.
d) There shall be no new structures allowed on the
premises without the written consent of the General
Manager of Engineering Services.
e) The City reserves a public utility right-of-way
over the entire leased premises.
f) All agreements are to be to the satisfaction of the
Director of Legal Services.
g) No legal right or obligation shall be created, and
none shall arise hereafter, until the documents are
executed.
COUNCIL POLICY
The authority for closing and disposing of streets and lanes
is set out in the Vancouver Charter.
PURPOSE
This report seeks Council approval of the closure and lease
of a portion of the lane east of Denman Street, north of
Robson Street.
BACKGROUND
Alley Cat Rentals has been operating a small bicycle and
roller-blade rental business at the rear of the building
located at 1781-1785 Robson Street. Their operations
involved use of a portion of the 10 foot wide City lane which
is not open to vehicular traffic, but is used as a pedestrian
connection between Robson Street and the lane north of Robson
Street. They did not lease any portion of the lane from the
City.
The Planning Department refused to issue a permit for Alley
Cat's use of the rear of this building, because it did not
meet Section 10.4 of the Zoning and Development By-law, which
requires principal pedestrian access to every principal
building and every principal use to be directly from a
street, and the building is deficient five parking spaces.
Alley Cat Rentals and the building owner were in the process
of appealing the refusal to the Board of Variance when it was
suggested that if they could lease the portion of the
abutting lane from the City, their principal access to their
operation could be considered as coming directly off the
street. They would still be deficient in parking and
therefore, Engineering would only support this relaxation if
the development permit was limited to a two year period.
This and the cancellation provisions proposed for the lease,
would allow staff to monitor their performance and any
neighbourhood complaints with regard to parking. Also, there
are concerns with this building with respect to the Building
Code. The limited term and cancellation provisions will
allow staff to terminate the lease, should these problems not
be addressed.
The building owner applied to the Engineering Department to
lease the abutting portion of lane and submitted with his
request, several letters from nearby residents and business
owners, giving strong support for the Alley Cat Rentals' use
of the site.
DISCUSSION
The Alley Cat operation in the lane has existed for some time
now, and has had a positive effect on the condition of the
lane. According to the neighbours, their presence has
improved security and cleanliness at the rear of the
buildings. This area had been experiencing problems with
loitering, etc., which the neighbours attributed to the
presence of the liquor store across Robson Street.
CONCLUSION
The primary use for the subject portion of lane is for
pedestrian movement. If the use of the lane by Alley Cat can
improve the safety and cleanliness in the lane, while not
impeding the use of the pedestrian route, we are prepared to
recommend the lease to Council, subject to the terms set out
in the recommendation.
* * * * *