LATE DISTRIBUTION
   FOR COUNCIL MAY 13, 1997
                                                                                                                                                                                                       A5
                             ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT


                                           Date: May 7, 1997
                                           Dept. File No. H411-1
                                           CC File: 3253-2/2201


   TO:       Vancouver City Council

   FROM:     General Manager of Engineering Services

   SUBJECT:  FCM Grant Request for FCM Municipal Rights-of-Way Defense Fund

   RECOMMENDATION

        THAT Council approve the request of the FCM for a grant of $14,155
        to contribute to a Municipal Rights-of-Way Fund from Contingency
        Reserve. (Requires 8 votes for approval)


   GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

        The General Manager RECOMMENDS approval of the foregoing. 

   COUNCIL POLICY

   All grant requests must be approved by Council with a minimum of 8
   votes. The action plan proposed by FCM is consistent with the
   Telecommunications  Policy  adopted by Council in July of 1996.


   PURPOSE

   The purpose of this report is to recommend that Vancouver participate in
   the Federation of Canadian Municipalities action plan on
    Telecommunications: Access to Municipal Rights-of-Way  and to seek
   approval of a grant request from FCM to fund that action plan.

   BACKGROUND

   In 1993 the newly passed federal Telecommunications Act significantly
   changed the face of the telecommunications industry.  Competition and
   deregulation has resulted in an increase in demand for access to
   municipal rights of way.  Some municipalities, like Vancouver, antici-
   pated the effect of this change and have already adopted appropriate
   policies and are acting on those policies.  
   Vancouver has been an active participant in the work of an FCM
   Sub-committee on Telecommunications since its inception in 1993.  The
   work of this committee includes the development of suggested telecom-
   munications policies for member municipalities to adopt as well as a
   Model Access Agreement.  The principals in the model agreement have been
   used as a basis for all Vancouver telecommunications agreements since
   its development, including those with Starcom and Metro Vancouver Fiber
   Services.  Other agreements are currently in negotiation.

   The model agreement sets out the following five principals that address
   the concerns of municipalities:

        1.   The ability to control the number and type of above ground and
             underground telecommunications infrastructure; 
        2.   Telecommunications companies will not impose additional
             financial burden on tax payers as a result of their use of the
             rights-of-way;

        3.   Municipal governments must not be responsible for the costs of
             relocating telecommunications infrastructure if required for
             municipal purposes;

        4.   Municipal governments must not be liable for any loss result-
             ing from damages arising      from the actions of the munici-
             pal government; and

        5.   Municipal governments must receive revenues over and above
             direct expenditures to        ensure full and adequate compen-
             sation from companies that use municipal property for profit.

   However, some Canadian municipalities have found that in dealing with
   these national and sometimes international telecommunications companies,
   there is much pressure to back down from these positions and a regional
   and even national municipal strategy has become imperative.  Moreover,
   the CRTC has, up to now, chosen not to address the issues of compensa-
   tion for the use of municipal rights of way.  We expect that there are
   now enough conflicts between the industry and Canadian municipalities
   that it is only a matter of time before these issues must be resolved
   either in front of the CRTC or in the Courts.

   ACTION PLAN

   FCM has drafted an action plan to deal with these issues and its
   essential steps are as follows:

        1.   Awareness and solidarity amongst member municipalities;
        2.   Fund raising to support the action plan;
        3.   Research on legal position and valuation principals;
        4.   Negotiations with Stentor, the CCTA and the Federal Govern-
             ment; and
        5.   Possible Hearings of the CRTC


   Stentor and the CCTA are organizations that represent the telephone
   companies and the cable companies respectively.

   GRANT REQUEST

   FCM member municipalities are being asked to contribute on the basis of
   $0.03 per capita to a municipal rights-of-way defense fund that will be
   dedicated to the issue of telecommunications and access to municipal
   rights-of-way.  It will be used for research, legal and other costs
   regarding interventions before the CRTC.  To date, Metropolitan Toronto,
   and the cities of London and Edmonton have committed funding.  The
   cities participating in the Big Cities Mayors Caucus on Friday May 9,
   1997 will be asked to commit funding before a general membership request
   goes out to all FCM members.

   CONCLUSION

   Vancouver staff is supportive of the FCM action plan and believe that
   working together through the FCM is the most effective and economical
   means to protect our fundamental rights respecting control of our
   rights-of-way and to recover the substantial costs imposed on us by
   telecommunications companies using those rights- of-way.




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