Agenda Index City of Vancouver

POLICY REPORT
URBAN STRUCTURE

TO:

Vancouver City Council

FROM:

Director of City Plans in consultation with the Director of Current Planning, General Manager of Corporate Services, General Manager of Parks and Recreation, Director of Legal Services, and Manager of Real Estate Services

SUBJECT:

Interim City-wide Development Cost Levy By-law: Boundary Adjustment & Implementation in Granville Slopes

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

GENERAL MANAGER’S COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

On December 8, 1998, Council approved a Financing Growth Review to address increased demands for City services as a result of new residential and employment growth. On January 28, 1999, Council adopted two types of interim City-wide charges on development, both to remain effective until the Financing Growth Review is completed. The first is a Community Amenity Contribution (CAC) Policy which applies a flat rate of $3.00 per square foot to all privately-initiated, standard rezonings in areas without pre-existing CAC policy. Second is a Development Cost Levy (DCL), for new development generally. Specific aspects of the Interim City-wide DCL include:

· a 12-month grace period, so that the DCL takes effect for any project receiving a building permit on, or after, January 28, 2000; and
· A rate of $26.91 per square metre ($2.50 per square foot) for all uses except:

On June 6, 1999, Council approved a boundary and allocation of the Interim City-wide DCL. Council also approved that proceeds from Interim City-wide DCL not be assigned to specific projects pending completion of the broader Review, unless they are tied to a comprehensive benefit package.

In 1989, Council approved the Granville Slopes Concept Plan (bounded by Beach Avenue and Pacific Street between the Granville and Burrard Street Bridges, and including 910 Beach Avenue). Council also approved that the Granville Slopes park be developed, with 2/3 of the funding to be provided from CACs on new development requiring rezoning. In July 1993 Council approved an alternative funding arrangement for the other1/3 of park capital costs. The CAC rate is currently $6.30 per square foot.

Council must approve all expenditures of DCL funds. DCLs can be used to provide the following capital projects: park acquisition and development; replacement housing; daycare and infrastructure (streets, water, sewage, drainage).

PURPOSE

The purpose of this report to seek Council approval of an adjustment to the proposed Interim City-wide DCL District boundary.

BACKGROUND

On July 6, 1999, Council approved the boundary and allocation of the Interim City-wide DCLs. Council also directed the Director of Legal Services to prepare the necessary Interim City-wide DCL By-law for approval.

The Interim City-wide DCL boundary contains two types of excluded areas:
· existing DCL districts; and
· ODP and CD-1s with secured public benefits, and other property with alternative funding arrangements for public benefits in-place.

The basis for exclusion from the City-wide DCL is that these areas have already made, or are committed to make, substantial contributions toward the provision of DCL-type capital projects that are equal, or superior, to what the City-wide DCL will provide.

In drafting the Interim City-wide DCL By-law, the excluded areas were individually scrutinized to ensure that public benefits have been adequately secured. For an area to be excluded from City-wide DCLs, it must demonstrate three criteria:
· growth-related demands for capital projects have been accounted for;
· each property owner has or will contribute to these capital projects; and
· these commitments are secured by an adopted Official Development Plan or zoning by-laws and/or legal agreements to the satisfaction of the Director of Legal Services.

DISCUSSION

Interim City-wide DCL Boundary Amendment to Include Granville Slopes

Each area excluded from the Interim City-wide DCL boundary approved by Council on June 6, 1999, was reviewed against the above criteria. All met the criteria except the Granville Slopes Concept Plan area. Although the Concept Plan provides for a park (capital project), and a funding strategy directs CACs from rezonings toward the park project, the three remaining redevelopment sites in the area do not meet the third criteria. These sites donot have commitments to provide for growth-related capital projects secured by existing by-laws and/or legal agreements. If new development occurs without rezoning no development levy could be collected if the area is excluded from the City-wide DCL. To minimize the risk of legal challenge to the new Interim City-wide DCL By-law, staff recommend that all development sites unable to meet all the above criteria should be subject to DCLs, and thus treated equitably. For this reason, staff recommend that the Granville Slopes Concept Plan area be included in the Interim City-wide DCL District (Recommendation A).

The recommended (amended) Interim City-wide DCL District boundary is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Recommended Interim City-wide DCL District Boundary

Implications for Granville Slopes Development

The Granville Slopes Neighbourhood Concept Plan envisions a high-density residential neighbourhood surrounding a park. Council has approved use of the Property Endowment Fund (PEF) to purchase and develop the park, and established a CAC of $6.30 per square foot to pay for the park. The Granville Slopes CAC policy directs all CACs collected from rezonings toward repayment of the PEF. The Interim City-wide CAC Policy does not apply to Granville Slopes because of this pre-existing CAC policy.

As noted above, applying the City-wide DCL to the area ensures that all development, including development which does not involve a rezoning, contributes to the park payment. To ensure sites within the Granville Slopes Concept Plan area that proceed by way of a rezoning are not double charged ($6.30 CAC plus $2.50 City-wide DCL), staff recommend that the Granville Slopes CAC rate (currently $6.30 per square foot) be reduced by an amount equal to the Interim City-wide DCL (residential rate is currently $2.50 per square foot), making the revised Granville Slopes CAC rate $3.80 per square foot (Recommendation B). This ensures that future rezonings in Granville Slopes will contribute the same proportional amounts as the three rezonings already approved in this area, each of which provided a CAC for park.

Staff reviewed development activity within the Granville Slopes Concept Plan area and determined there are no applications in-process affected by this change of approach.

Implications of Applying Interim City-wide DCLs to Granville Slopes Park

Council policy is to not apply Interim City-wide DCLs to specific capital projects, pending completion of the broader Financing Growth Review, unless the DCLs are tied to a specific benefit package. Because a specific benefit package exists in Granville Slopes, staff recommend applying Interim City-wide DCLs collected from rezoned sites within the Granville Slopes Concept Plan area to repayment of the PEF for park. Park acquisition and development is a DCL-eligible capital project. This ensures that the prior agreements to have Granville Slopes redevelopment contribute toward repayment of the PEF for park in the area are maintained.

Administratively, staff will keep CACs and DCLs collected within the Granville Slopes Concept Plan area separate from those collected from development elsewhere in the City to ensure that:

· development levies (DCLs and CACs) collected within Granville Slopes are used to repay the PEF for the park capital project;
· this prior agreement does not affect future city-wide DCL allocation policies; and
· DCL fees collected elsewhere are not contributing to repayment of parks in Granville Slopes.

The intent is to ensure that prior agreements to have development within Granville Slopes contribute toward their local park repayment are met, and that DCL allocations for parks City-wide are not affected (Recommendation C).

CONCLUSION

This report seeks Council approval of an adjustment to the Interim City-wide DCL District boundary. Staff recommend including the Granville Slopes Concept Plan area within the Interim City-wide DCL District because it has neither approved by-laws (ODP/CD-1) or legal agreements in-place to secure public benefits. To ensure that future rezonings in Granville Slopes do not contribute more than those already approved, staff recommend reducing the Granville Slopes CAC rate from $6.30 to $3.80 per square foot. The difference in the CAC amount is equal to the Interim City-wide DCL of $2.50 per square foot, which new development in this area will be subject to. To maintain existing PEF repayment agreements, staff also recommend applying City-wide DCLs and CACs collected in Granville Slopes toward repayment of the PEF for the park in this area.

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