Agenda Index City of Vancouver

POLICY REPORT
URBAN STRUCTURE

TO:

Vancouver City Council

FROM:

Director of Central Area Planning, Director of City Plans and the General Manager of Engineering Services in consultation with the General Manager of Parks & Recreation

SUBJECT:

Fraser River Estuary Management Plan

 

RECOMMENDATION

GENERAL MANAGER’S COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

The Industrial Lands Policies, adopted in March 1995, seek to retain most of the City’s existing industrial land base for industry and service businesses to meet the needs of port/river-related industry as well as city-serving and city-oriented industries.

City Council has approved various capital projects to reduce combined sewage overflows and other sewage discharges into the Fraser River.

In August 1988, City Council supported the policy of securing public access and developing a continuous waterfront walkway along the Fraser River from Point Grey Road to Angus Drive and, where feasible, from Angus Drive to Boundary Road.

The Southlands Plan, adopted in March 1988, seeks to retain the rural character of Southlands, supports the area’s Agricultural Land Reserve designation, and supports the protection and rehabilitation of existing natural habitats and the protection and enhancement of the water quality of the Fraser River and estuary.

PURPOSE

This report summarizes the revisions to the water quality section of the draft Estuary Management Plan (EMP) and recommends that Council endorse the final version of the Estuary Management Plan for the Fraser River (dated August 1994) with the above-noted conditions.

BACKGROUND

The FREMP was initiated in 1985 to examine changes in the estuary and to coordinate planning and decision-making in regard to human activities in the Fraser River estuary.

On June 21, 1994, City Council generally supported the draft version of the EMP. However, certain components of the plan required further consideration or clarification. These components involved water quality, area designations and financial support of FREMP activities.

On October 9, 1997, City Council instructed that, as part of the short-term Blueways work program, City staff bring forward the final version of the EMP to Council for endorsement.

The FREMP: FREMP is a cooperative effort among federal, provincial and local governments to coordinate planning and decision making on human activities in the estuary. Over 30 government agencies or bodies have some form of jurisdiction over the activities and resources of the Fraser River estuary. Initially only agencies with authority on the water side of the Fraser dykes were involved. However, it became clear that changes on the land sideof the dyke would also impact the future of the estuary. Subsequently, in 1991, the GVRD was added as a funding agency and municipal staff were asked to sit on committees directing the work of FREMP staff and consultants.

The FREMP represents a process rather than an agency, and as such, has no authority to impose decisions on participating agencies. Rather FREMP staff work with agencies to establish directions which are then implemented by the agencies with the appropriate jurisdiction.

The EMP: The final version of the EMP, including revisions to the water quality section, was released in August 1994. The document:

· summarizes the need for a coordinated plan to integrate environmental protection and economic development in the estuary;

· presents the vision, goals and guiding principles behind the plan, thereby providing a framework for integrated decision-making and coordination of activities;

· describes the issues of interest to FREMP, including both environmental protection (water quality management, fish and wildlife habitat) and human activities (log management, navigation and dredging, recreation, industrial and urban development);

· provides targets and proposed actions for each area of interest and the lead agencies in terms of implementation; and

· outlines the processes and management approaches which are proposed to help agencies to implement the plan.

DISCUSSION

While the draft EMP was largely supportable, there were a few components of the plan which required further consideration or clarification. These components are described below.

Water Quality: Since the draft report was released, FREMP has consulted with participants to determine acceptable revisions to the water quality section. The revised section has been included in the final estuary plan and addresses the concerns that were raised.

Of particular concern were the targets and actions in the water quality section of the draft plan. The target proposed improvement of water quality conditions throughout the estuary to a level that would allow water contact recreation and human consumption of shellfish. Participating FREMP agencies expressed concern regarding the feasibility, cost, timing, and means of achieving this target.

In response to these concerns, the target has been replaced by a more general objective of taking appropriate actions to improve water quality in the estuary. In addition, the emphasis of the revised water quality section has shifted to the development of an integrated approach to water quality management and monitoring within the estuary. These changes redefine the role of FREMP and require the program to play a key role in coordinating the identification of water quality issues and establishing priorities for improvement, within the context of existing waste management programs. Staff support the revisions to this section of the plan.

Area Designations: FREMP considers area designations to be a key management tool in the estuary. Area designations denote consensus between agencies with authority over the estuary about the future use of each section of the estuary. This is intended to reduce uncertainties in areas of the estuary which are currently undeveloped and which face competing future uses.

Area designations in the City of Vancouver would apply to the narrow strip between the riverbank or dyke and the boundary of the navigable channel, stretching from Boundary Road to the eastern edge of the Musqueam reserve. Within this area the uses of the estuary and the adjacent land are already clearly established and major changes are not anticipated. Consequently, staff recommend that area designations in Vancouver’s estuary be based on existing zoning.

City staff note that existing land uses reflect zoning schedules which involved considerable public input. The most recent example is the public process associated with the industrial lands strategy. Given other work priorities, staff do not recommend repeating the public process to reconfirm area designations. Rather staff recommend that area designations be based on existing zoning and applicable policies. In the future, should land use changes be considered along the Fraser River they will be subject to a full public process, in which FREMP, as an interested partner, will be invited to participate.

Financial Support of FREMP Activities: To carry out the EMP participating agencies are requested to make a commitment to joint funding for project planning and coordination, monitoring programs, and research activities.

Many of the actions proposed in the EMP would be led by FREMP staff or other agencies and would require limited City staff involvement. Other actions are consistent with existing City initiatives and would be implemented with City resources allocated to existing programs.

Up to the present, the City’s participation with FREMP endeavours has occurred within the budget of on-going work programs. Future actions may however require more concentrated staff involvement than could be accommodated within existing programs. As such, it is recommended that City staff continue to participate in FREMP programs and pursue FREMP initiatives within the context of existing City programs and that any requests for additional funding or staff time be reported back to Council for consideration.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

The EMP proposes targets and actions which, if implemented, would:

· improve environmental monitoring in the estuary;
· help preserve biologically important areas;
· reduce the impact of activities, such as log storage, on the natural habitat; and
· encourage more environmentally compatible development within the estuary.

CONCLUSION

City staff have participated in the development of the FREMP and in the revisions to the water quality section of the plan. The estuary plan encompasses an area much larger than the Fraser riverfront of the City of Vancouver and includes initiatives ranging from dredging and log storage to recreation and industrial development. The activities and actions in the estuary plan are consistent with City policy. It is recommended that the final plan be endorsed with the conditions that area designations be based on existing zoning and that participation in future FREMP programs or activities which cannot be accommodated within existing City programs be reported to Council.

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