ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: January 26, 2000
Author/Local: Jane Bird/6653
RTS No. 1264
CC File No. 5559

Council: February 1, 2000

TO:	Vancouver City Council
FROM:	Manager, Vancouver Rapid Transit Office, in consultation with the Director of City Plans and the General Manager of Engineering Services
SUBJECT:	SkyTrain Phase 1 - Access to Grandview Cut

RECOMMENDATION

A. THAT the City approve the amenity package to be provided by Rapid Transit Project2000 Ltd. within Vancouver.

B. THAT Council agree to provide access to City streets on the terms of the Street Use Agreement for the existing SkyTrain line, and to the Grandview Cut to the satisfaction of the City Manager and Director of Legal Services.

C. THAT the City Manager and the Director of Legal Services be authorized to finalize negotiations with Rapid Transit Project2000 Ltd. and TransLink for a Memorandum of Understanding containing the terms of the amenity package described in this report as the basis on which the City will provide access to the Cut and to finalize the legal agreements contemplated by the Memorandum.

D. THAT the above resolutions A, B and C be subject to the finalization of a legal agreement between TransLink and Rapid Transit Project2000 Ltd. on the overall cost sharing agreement for the construction of SkyTrain.

CITY MANAGER'S COMMENTS

The City Manager supports the above recommendations.

COUNCIL POLICY

· The City will collaborate with the Province on planning for the SkyTrain route, alignment, station locations, and station area planning, while continuing to resolveissues through the GVTA (TransLink) about cost-sharing and completion of the entire T-line.

· Council acknowledged the Province's proposed Phase I SkyTrain alignment from Boundary Road to Commercial Drive, and endorsed the proposal subject to the Province addressing safety and security issues, implementing traffic management and transit interface to adequately accommodate ridership and patron movements, addressing community station precinct concerns, and constructing a Central Valley Greenway/Bikeway.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to present for Council's consideration and approval the amenity package staff have negotiated with Rapid Transit Project2000 Ltd. and to recommend Council authorize staff to negotiate a Memorandum of Understanding setting out the amenity package and authorizing access to City lands and streets, including the Grandview Cut, for the purpose of constructing Phase 1 of the SkyTrain extension to from New Westminster to VCC.

The Memorandum of Understanding will form the basis for the City Manager and the Director of Legal Services to finalize the legal agreements between the City and Rapid Transit Project2000 Ltd.

BACKGROUND

Phase 1 SkyTrain Alignment

The Province, through a company called Rapid Transit Project2000 Ltd. (RTPO), is building Phase 1 of the SkyTrain extension. Phase 1 of the extension, shown as a thick black line on Appendix A, is an elevated guideway running west from New Westminster, along the Lougheed Highway and Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railway corridor, to Vancouver Community College (VCC) in Vancouver. Phase 1 is under construction, scheduled to be complete in spring 2002.

In Vancouver, the SkyTrain guideway runs from Boundary Road, west along the Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railway corridor to Slocan Street, where it enters the Grandview Cut. The guideway continues west on the north bank of the Grandview Cut, under the Lakewood and Nanaimo Bridges, to the new station at Broadway and Commercial Drive. The new Commercial Drive station is located on the north side of the Grandview Cut, just east of the Commercial Drive bridge.

From the Commercial Drive bridge, the guideway follows either:

· the South Alignment: entering a tunnel portal on the south bank of the Cut, just west of the bridge, continuing in a tunnel under Broadway to an underground station at VCC; or
· the North Alignment (shown as a dashed line on Appendix A): continuing west in the Grandview Cut, under the Clark Drive bridge, to an elevated station on the north side of VCC, and continuing below finished grade to a below grade station on the Finning lands, returning to Main and Broadway in a tunnel in the vicinity of Prince Edward Street.

The South Alignment was approved by the Provincial government in 1998 as the base alignment for Phase 1. Any change in the alignment requires the approval of the Province.

Council has expressed its preference for the North Alignment. The preliminary engineering work is largely complete and negotiations are under way between RTPO and Finning. As far as staff understand, the Province has not yet formally decided to alter the base alignment of the SkyTrain Phase 1 project to the North Alignment.

The Grandview Cut

The Grandview Cut is a man made ravine that runs parallel to Grandview Highway North from Slocan Street to the Clark Drive bridge. The Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railway runs in the bottom of the ravine. The railway will continue to operate in the bottom of the ravine, while SkyTrain will operate on the north bank of the ravine, "above" the railway.

In 1990, the City purchased the north and south banks of the Grandview Cut from Burlington Northern Railway. Burlington Northern (now Burlington Northern Sante Fe) retains ownership of the land in the bottom of the ravine. Following the purchase, the City leased the north and south banks of the Cut to Burlington Northern for 99 years. Burlington Northern pays rent of $1.00 per year, and is responsible for repairing and maintaining the banks. In addition, the City assumed ownership of and liability for maintenance and replacement of the bridges over the Grandview Cut, for which Burlington Northern compensated the City.

SkyTrain Phase 1 and City Lands

The portion of the SkyTrain guideway from Slocan Street to Clark Drive is located on the land the City purchased from Burlington Northern. The Lakewood and Nanaimo Bridges over the Grandview Cut will have to be demolished and rebuilt. In addition, during construction, RTPO will require access to City streets.

Negotiator's Agreement between TransLink and RTPO

In June 1998, TransLink and the Province negotiated a memorandum of agreement (the "Negotiator's Agreement") which sets out the basis on which TransLink and the Provincewill share the cost of construction of SkyTrain. The negotiator's agreement provides as follows:

· TransLink will make best efforts to ensure that RTPO will gain access to municipal lands at no cost to RTPO

· RTPO will provide to Vancouver, as part of the project budget, an amenity package

· TransLink and the Province will establish a fund called the "Municipal Integration Fund" (called MIF) to pay for items outside the project budget, to be built along the line from New Westminster to Vancouver, and from Lougheed Mall to Coquitlam Centre. This fund is described in detail in the section in this report called "MUNICIPAL INTEGRATION FUND".

Under the terms of the Negotiator's Agreement, Vancouver's amenity package is part of the project budget. Other amenities, such as the Foreshore Park in New Westminster, were to be paid out of the MIF. City staff agreed that the City's amenity package should come out of the project budget because:

· there were competing priorities for MIF funds
· the City would be contributing the Grandview Cut lands, which RTPO would otherwise have had to purchase from Burlington Northern, so it was reasonable to assume the RTPO would or should have a budget for Vancouver which included certain amenities
· the new station at Broadway and Commercial will be the busiest on the new line
· the neighbourhoods at Broadway and Commercial and along Grandview Highway North will be at the intersection of two regional SkyTrain lines, and bear the brunt of the impact of SkyTrain infrastructure.

The amenity package described in this report is part of the project budget. Other items not within the project budget in Vancouver are funded from the MIF, and are described separately.

Any final arrangement between the City and RTPO for access to the Grandview Cut would be conditional on an amendment to the lease between the City and Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railway on terms acceptable to the City and the Railway.

AMENITY PACKAGE

Staff have negotiated, for Council's approval, the following amenities:

· a greenway/bikeway along Grandview Highway North from Commercial Drive to Renfrew Street, to be constructed by RTPO, including:

- significant traffic calming measures along Grandview Highway North
- a plaza at the west end of Renfrew station
- greenway amenities including street furniture, signage, paving treatment, lighting etc. to the City's greenway/bikeway standard
- $100,000 cash allowance toward public art

The greenway/bikeway is the subject of a public consultation process similar to the process typically followed in City greenway planning. The traffic calming plan, including a neighbourhood survey, is nearing completion. The traffic calming plan and greenway will be the subject of separate reports.

· a plaza at the east end of Rupert Station, to be constructed by RTPO in conjunction with the station construction

· a cash contribution for the bikeway/greenway from Renfrew Station to Boundary Road

The route for this portion of the greenway has yet to be finalized; therefore, subject to Council's approval, staff have suggested that RTPO's contribution for this portion be in cash; if the City can finalize a route within the next 18 months, RTPO will construct the greenway based on this budget amount; in the latter case the City benefits from the economies that flow from constructing the bikeway/greenway at the same time as RTPO is finalizing construction of the guideway and landscaping areas disturbed by construction.

· significant renovations to the existing Broadway station, including glass panels on the pedestrian bridge; a glass sided elevator and increased lighting

· a reserve for additional renovations to the existing station in the event that the adjacent CIBC site is not redeveloped, or contribution to this redevelopment, if appropriate

· a contribution toward a new location for the community policing office closer to the intersection of Broadway and Commercial

· a contribution toward additional improvements to the existing greenway on Grandview Highway north between Commercial Drive and the Clark Drive bridge or further improvements under the existing guideway between 10th and 12th Avenue in keeping with the community's aspirations

If this package is acceptable to Council as fulfilment of the negotiator's agreement provisions, the City would provide access to City lands and streets, including the Grandview Cut. This report recommends that Council approve the amenity package.

Staff note that the above amenity package assumes that the Province will approve the Northern Alignment, such that SkyTrain guideway will run the length of the Grandview Cut,from Slocan to Clark Drive Bridge. If RTPO does not use the full length of the Cut, and the alignment enters a tunnel portal at Commercial Drive, the contribution will be reduced accordingly. As a term of the Memorandum of Understanding any reduction would come out of the reserve for renovations to the existing Broadway station, and the City would look to TransLink to make up the difference.

In addition to the above contribution, the City will realize the following indirect benefits:

· new Lakewood and Nanaimo Bridges over the Grandview Cut

The existing bridges are old, wooden structures; they require considerable maintenance and would need to be replaced within the next 15-20 years; the new bridges were designed with significant input from the City's engineering and planning departments. In addition to being constructed to City standards, the bridges include design elements such as aesthetically pleasing railings, pedestrian lighting, furniture and stamped asphalt to the City's greenway standards. The value of the bridge construction is approximately $3 million.

· associated development on the north east corner of Broadway and Commercial

RTPO has purchased the site at the north east corner of Broadway and Commercial, commonly referred to as the "triangle site". The triangle site will house the ticket concourse for the new station. RTPO have committed to develop the triangle site beyond the ticket concourse, to provide for a high quality, landscaped public open space with special paving, seating, and a bosque of street trees; in addition, RTPO have committed to build, likely through a private sector developer, a multi use development adjacent to the ticket concourse, with active retail use at street level. This commitment is subject to City approval of the development, which would be subject to the City's usual development review process. However, the City has indicated its agreement to provide sufficient staff resources such that following formal application, the review process can occur in a timely way, with the hope that the development can be completed concurrently with the adjacent ticket concourse. Amendments to the existing CD-1 zoning for the triangle site, including design guidelines to reflect the plans developed by RTPO's architects, will form the subject of a separate rezoning report.

· Environmental Mitigation

In keeping with its obligations under the Environmental Assessment Act (Canada), RTPO must mitigate for the environmental impact of SkyTrain on the Grandview Cut. At the City's request RTPO completed a tree survey of the north bank of the Cut to identify existing trees, and those that will be lost during construction of the guideway and station. RTPO and its landscape architects, Durante Kruek, are working with the City's environmental consultant, Enkon Environmental Ltd., City staff and the community to develop a planted "green" retaining wall above between the guidewayand the top of the bank, and a vegetation plan to replace lost vegetation and trees that meets both the requirements of the Environmental Assessment Act and the City's Private Property Tree By-law. Staff have planned the greenway/bikeway described above concurrently with the early work on the revegetation plan so that the revegetation plan can augment the bikeway/greenway.

MUNICIPAL INTEGRATION FUND

Under the terms of the Negotiator's Agreement between TransLink and the Province described above RTPO and TransLink have identified a fund of $60 million, referred to as the "Municipal Integration Fund" or "MIF". The Province and TransLink contribute equally to the fund. The agreement provides that MIF is to be spent on certain specific items, including selected street improvements on the Lougheed Highway in Burnaby, the Lake City station in Burnaby and mitigation in the form of a foreshore park along the Fraser River in New Westminster. The balance of MIF is to be spent on bus loops, station enhancements, and park and ride facilities associated with the SkyTrain extension from New Westminster to VCC and from Lougheed Mall to Coquitlam. $25 million of the balance of the fund has been reserved for the Coquitlam extension.

After the specific items and the Coquitlam reserve, the remainder of MIF is insufficient to pay for all of the bus loops and station enhancements required to effectively integrate the stations into the adjacent neighbourhoods. Negotiations are under way between the municipalities, TransLink and the Province as to the priorities for the balance of the fund.
As set out in the section entitled "Completion of TransLink Legal Agreement on Cost Sharing". TransLink has proposed that MIF funding and agreements with each municipality be executed concurrently, at which point TransLink will conclude the legal agreements to implement the Negotiator's Agreement.

Vancouver's submission to the MIF consisted of certain station precinct enhancements at the Renfrew, Rupert and Commercial stations. While the final allocation of MIF is still under discussion, staff understand that an agreement in principle has been reached to fund all of the key items put forward by Vancouver in connection with Renfrew, Rupert and Commercial stations, with a small reserve for VCC station. These items are outlined in detail in the station reports to the Standing Committee on Transportation and Traffic. The reports for Renfrew and Rupert stations are going forward with this report. The Commercial station is the subject of a separate report. However, for the purposes of this report it is important to note that the station enhancements funded by MIF are separate from, and in addition to, the amenity package described above.

LEGAL ARRANGEMENTS

Lease with Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railway

As described above, the north bank of the Grandview Cut is leased to Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railway. The City has expressly informed RTPO that any access to the landswhich are the subject of the lease to Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railway is subject to an amendment of the lease on terms acceptable to the City and Burlington Northern Railway. These negotiations are under way now. The lease amendment will form the basis of a separate report.

Memorandum of Understanding between the City and RTPO

The amenity package outlined in this report will be incorporated into a Memorandum of Understanding with RTPO, as outlined in Recommendation C. The Memorandum and legal agreements will also provide RTPO with access to Vancouver streets and the Grandview Cut.

Completion of TransLink Legal Agreement on Cost Sharing

City staff have been advised that the legal agreement on cost sharing is complete and is subject only to resolution of MIF funding and provisions in Burnaby. A report is to be presented to the TransLink Board on Wednesday of this week.

TransLink has proposed that the various parties enter into the required agreements as they are finalized and that the agreements be placed in escrow until all the required agreements are complete. City staff support that position, which is reflected in the requirement set out in Recommendation D that Council's approval be subject to finalization of the legal agreement on cost sharing between TransLink and the Province. TransLink is approaching resolution of issues in Burnaby in a similar manner, so that all issues will be resolved simultaneously.

SUMMARY

City staff have negotiated an amenity package to be provided by RTPO in Vancouver. This amenity package is in addition to certain items which will be funded out of the Municipal Integration Fund. This report describes the amenity package and recommends that Council approve it as the basis for a Memorandum of Understanding between RTPO and the City which will provide RTPO with access to City lands and streets for the purpose of constructing SkyTrain Phase 1. The Memorandum of Understanding will be subject to TransLink and the Province finalizing the overall cost sharing agreement for the construction of SkyTrain Phase 1.

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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver