Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Standing Committee on Planning and Environment

FROM:

Director of City Plans

SUBJECT:

Approval of Council Initiative - Proposed Yaletown BIA

 

RECOMMENDATION

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

Section 456 of the Vancouver Charter gives Council the authority to create a Business Improvement Area (BIA). Council may grant money to a BIA for planning and implementation of business promotion schemes provided that the money is recovered through a special property tax.

Council policies with respect to the establishment of a BIA include:

· October 14, 1997: A BIA may be established by Council Initiative; property owners and commercial tenants receive notification of the Initiative, and the BIA will not proceed if one-third or more of the tenants or owners, counted separately, are in opposition.

PURPOSE

The Yaletown Business Association (YBA) has completed the first step in the process of establishing a new Business Improvement Area (BIA). The purpose of this report is to approve the YBA as sponsor of, and to commence a Council Initiative for, the proposed Yaletown BIA.

BACKGROUND

The Yaletown Business Association was formed in 1992, and incorporated as a non-profit society in 1993 to promote business in the Yaletown area. In 1994, the YBA attempted to establish a BIA under the former procedure, which required a petition representing the support of 50% of the affected property owners. The time and resources required to collect the required signatures proved too much for the YBA at that time, and the effort was abandoned. In April 1997, the YBA membership approved a second attempt to establish a BIA; however, when informed that the City was considering a new BIA formation process, the YBA resolved to defer their application until after the revised process was approved.

In October 1997, Council approved a streamlined process which eliminates the Petition requirement, and proceeds entirely by way of Council Initiative, i.e. the BIA initiative will not succeed if one-third of the property owners or tenants are in opposition. The present Yaletown BIA application is one of several to attempt to establish a BIA under the revised process.

DISCUSSION

The proposed Yaletown BIA is bounded by the Downtown Vancouver BIA along Homer and Hamilton Streets, by Georgia Street to the north, and by Concord Pacific Place. A portion of the Concord lands are included in the BIA. A map of the proposed boundary is attached as Appendix A.

The YBA proposes a Year 1 budget of $160,650.00, representing an annual levy rate of 37c per $1,000 of assessed property value. A copy of the proposed budget is attached for information as Appendix B.

Outreach Activities

Since April of this year, the YBA has been actively working toward the present BIA application. In July, the YBA began conducting outreach activities to commercial tenants and property owners through its newsletter, YBA News. Since September, it has also publicized the BIA proposal through the local newsletter Yaletown Trendz, and by mail-outs, public information meetings, and direct contact. As part of their outreach, the YBA distributed a `Declaration of Support' form to property owners and tenants, receiving back 51 written responses: 48 in favour (18 owners; 30 tenants) and 3 against (2 owners; 1 tenant). Based on the support forms and their general outreach, the YBA believes the BIA proposal is generally supported. The YBA has also secured the support of Concord Pacific.

The YBA formally applied to the City for consideration of a BIA on October 9, 1998. A copy of their application letter and documentation of their outreach activities is attached as Appendix C (distributed to Council members; on file in the City Clerk's Office).

Five years ago, when the YBA was incorporated as a society, its by-laws were reviewed by the City's BIA coordinator and drafted to conform with the City's requirements. If a BIA is approved, it is the intention of the YBA to conduct an annual general meeting at which time the membership would approve the BIA and operate thereafter as the Yaletown BIA.

Staff Comments

Staff are satisfied that the YBA has notified all property owners and tenants within the proposed BIA boundaries. Staff attended two public information meetings held at the Roundhouse Community Centre at which approximately 30 people were in attendance (in total). Participants seemed generally supportive; an informal show of hands yielded no votes of opposition.

As there are over 600 properties within the proposed BIA, the owner response rate for YBA's `Declaration of Support' form is very low, but if it is representative of owners and tenants generally, it would indicate a relatively low level of opposition.

At the instruction of staff, the YBA notices contained the name and telephone number of the City's BIA Coordinator. The Coordinator received calls from two property owners opposing the BIA on the ground that it would not benefit them, but who would not oppose it if their property could be excluded from the proposed boundary. One property - occupied by theShowmart Building - would create a `hole' in the BIA if excluded. Staff do not support gaps of this nature, as they erode an important principle of the BIA program, i.e. that everyone within the BIA should contribute their fair share toward BIA revenue. The other property -occupied by the Central Steam Plant - could reasonably be excluded by a slight jog along the northern boundary. Staff have discussed the latter option with the YBA, but to date there have been no changes to the proposed boundaries.

To date, three letters/forms of opposition have been received (two from the above owners). These are attached as Appendix D (distributed to Council members; on file in the City Clerk's Office).

CONCLUSION

The Yaletown Business Association is requesting that Council consider approval of the proposed Yaletown BIA, and has asked that their application be forwarded by way of Council Initiative, to a Court of Revision, in order that they may commence operations as a BIA in April 1999. The results of YBA outreach activities indicate only minimal opposition at this stage in the process.

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