ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: May 22, 1997
C.C. File No.: 2252-1
TO: Standing Committee on Planning & Environment
FROM: Special Office for the Environment, in consultation with the
General Managers of Engineering, Community and Corporate
Services, and the Medical Health Officer
SUBJECT: ENVIRONMENTAL GRANTS
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT Council approve a grant of $5,000.00 to the Sierra Club
of Canada for their "Earth Fever Campaign"; source of funds to
be the Environmental Grant Fund in the Solid Waste Capital
Reserve.
CONSIDERATION
B. THAT Council approve a grant of $5,000.00 to the Cambie
Corridor Consortium Society for their "Cambie/Broadway
Corridor Inter-site Shuttle Pilot Project program; source of
funds to be the Environmental Grant Fund in the Solid Waste
Capital Reserve.
CITY MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The City Manager recommends approval of A and B.
COUNCIL POLICY
On March 27, 1990 Council approved an allocation of $250,000.00 to fund
the Environmental Grant Program.
On July 10, 1990 Council approved the Environmental Grant Guidelines and
Criteria.
On May 10, 1996 Council approved a further allocation of $250,000.00 for
the continuation on the Environmental Grant Program. They also approved
amendments to the Guidelines and Criteria requiring a detailed budget,
financial statement and brief summary report upon completion of the
project. The amended Guidelines and Criteria are appended for reference
in Appendix A.
Approval of grants requires eight affirmative votes.
BACKGROUND
On March 27, 1990 Council approved a number of recommendations
concerning the City's Environmental Program. One of those dealt with
the creation of a $250,000.00 fund to sponsor private, non-profit,
non-partisan, community based programs aimed at personal actions that
restore or improve the environment.
On May 10, 1996 Council approved the continuation of the Grant Program
and allocated a further $250,000.00 to the fund.
There have been nine Environmental Grant Reports considered by Council
to date. In total 37 requests have been reviewed with 27 funding awards
to organizations totalling approximately $294,000.00.
UPDATE REPORTS
Environmental Grant Criteria No. 8 requires that applicants submit a
brief summary report on completion of their project. Summaries and
update reports for the previous years recipients are attached to this
report as Appendix B.
1. Strathcona Community Gardens Society:
Environmental Systems Project, $20,000.00
2. Better Environmentally Sound Transportation Association:
Bike to Work Week, $15,000.00
3. Oceans Blue Foundation:
Keep Greater Vancouver Spectacular, $24,000.00
CURRENT GRANT REQUESTS
This is the 10th Environmental Grant Report and it contains 2 grant
requests.
Project Amount Requested
Cambie Corridor Consortium $ 5,000.00
Sierra Club of Canada 5,000.00
The staff Review Committee, comprising representatives of the Special
Office for the Environment and Corporate Services has reviewed the
submissions relative to the criteria approved by Council, and makes the
follow recommendation:
1. Sierra Club of Canada Requested: $5,000.00
Earth Fever Campaign Recommended: $5,000.00
Sierra Club was established in the United States in 1892 and has
over 700,000 members (approx. 3000 in Canada)
The Sierra Club's Mission is to:
Develop a diverse, well-trained grassroots network working to
protect the integrity of our global ecosystems. Five overriding
threats: loss of biological diversity; deterioration of our
oceanic and atmospheric commons; the ever-growing presence of toxic
chemicals in all living things; spiralling population growth and
the destruction of our remaining wilderness are the focus of Sierra
Club's mission.
The Sierra Club of Canada currently offers programs focused on:
climate change, forests, biodiversity, nuclear energy, toxics,
human health, particularly with respect to pesticides, and the
environmental dimension of the World Trade Organization.
The Climate Program is focusing on three major public education
programs in 1997: Impacts of climate change in urban centres; the
Earth Fever Campaign; the Impacts of climate change on the North
and a partnership with Destination Conservation, a program in 700
schools that reduces energy consumption.
The Sierra Club of Canada is seeking support for the urban-based
Earth Fever Campaign from the City of Vancouver because of its
leadership on the climate change issue. The Sierra Club program is
designed to support FCM 20% Club cities, like Vancouver, with
public education aspects of their programs.
Funding from the City of Vancouver of $5,000.00 is being sought to
print posters for billboards and transit shelter ads. The City
crest and acknowledgement would be included on those
posters/billboards used in Vancouver. Gould Advertising, Gallop
and Gallop, and Omni Advertising have all offered to provide Sierra
Club access to unsold space between June and December 1997. City
staff will also pursue other available display options.
In addition, funding would be allocated to posting fees that are
required to place billboards and posters, and for expenses related
to the coordination of placement of posters, billboards and radio
public service announcements.
With respect to the environmental grant guidelines, this program is
very supportive of city policies and meets all of the grant
criteria.
2. The Cambie Corridor Consortium Requested $ 5,000.00
Consideration 5,000.00
The Cambie Corridor Consortium Society (CCC) is the first
Transportation Management Association (TMA) in Canada. The mandate
of the consortium is to help restore livability to the
Broadway/Cambie corridor by reducing the number of workers
commuting to the area in single occupant vehicles by 20%.
The CCC has a full time transportation Management Coordinator whose
responsibility is to encourage major employers in the
Cambie/Broadway corridor (Cambie bridge to 33rd Avenue and Main to
Granville Streets) to join CCC and pool their resources for trip
reduction efforts. Each member of the consortium is required to
designate and train an Employee Transport Administrator (ETA) so
they can continue the development of their individual trip
reduction programs.
During the past year the CCC has achieved the following; increased
membership to twenty organizations by enrolling all the hospitals
in Vancouver; achieved non-profit society status 10/96; established
trained ETAs and transit kiosks in every workplace; completed
employee surveys in almost every workplace; developed/distributed
promotion brochures to many organizations (approx. 15,000
pamphlets); involved the consortium members in a one year transit
pilot project for the purchase of bus passes by payroll deductions;
lobbied for improved transit services, paying for car insurance by
kilometres driven, enforcing parking restrictions in the
Broadway/Cambie Corridor, safer bike routes, and most recently
established an inter-site shuttle bus pilot program between two
hospital sites;
The inter-site shuttle bus program ran for 8 months during which
two buses operated by the Consortium (for Vancouver General
Hospital and Health Sciences Centre) provided service between Oak
Street and U.B.C. sites for a total of 7,267 trips and 18,000
passengers.
With the success of this program (now permanent) the CCC has been
requested to proceed with a 4 month pilot shuttle program to link
St. Paul's, B.C. Cancer Agency, and the B.C. Centre for Disease
Control with Vancouver Hospital Oak and UBC sites. It would also
link B.C. Rehab Hospitals, Women's/Children's Hospitals, Child and
Family Research Centre, St. Vincents, Langara, Mt. St. Josephs and
Sunny Hills Hospitals with each other, and with St. Pauls, B.C.
Cancer Agency, B.C. Centre for Disease Control and Vancouver
General Hospital and Health Sciences Centre.
A pilot program was selected over attempting to obtain information
by survey response. The first shuttle service could start
immediately linking the Chara Health Services sites with Pearson
and Sunny Hill. The second shuttle would start September 2, 1997
linking St. Paul's and the hospitals between Oak and Cambie streets
south of 25th Avenue.
In addition to the shuttle service the CCC is also proposing to use
the shuttles to provide courier service between sites (possibly
blood and specimens).
The Cambie Corridor Consortium is asking for a $5,000.00 grant to
help cover the cost of setting up, operating and evaluating the
pilot project.
With respect to the environmental grant guidelines, this program
tends to support City policies. However, the staff review
committee notes concerns with strict compliance to criteria number
5. The proposal appears to supplement an existing program with the
potential that the grant money may be used to defray existing
operating costs.
SUMMARY
The Staff Review Committee place before Council for consideration the
Cambie/Broadway Corridor Program and recommend approval of the Earth
Fever Campaign in the following amounts.
Earth Fever Campaign $5,000.00
Cambie/Broadway Corridor $5,000.00
Inter-site Shuttle Program
* * * * *