ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: January 13, 2000
Author/Local: Ian Smith/7846
RTS No. 00711
CC File No. 8206 Council: March 14, 2000

TO:	Vancouver City Council
FROM:	The Director of Current Planning and the Manager of Real Estate Services, in consultation with the General Managers of Engineering Services and the Park Board, the Directors of Social Planning and Legal Services and the Manager of the Housing Centre.
SUBJECT:	Southeast False Creek: Schedule, Staffing and Budget for the Official Development Plan

RECOMMENDATION

A. THAT the Director of Current Planning be instructed to proceed with the planning process outlined in Appendix A, to create an Official Development Plan for Southeast False Creek.

B. THAT a budget for the planning process for an Official Development Plan for Southeast False Creek, as outlined in Appendix B, be approved at a cost of $385,000 to be covered by the Property Endowment Fund; that this supersede previous approved budgets for this work; and that this amount be credited against future rezoning fees incurred by the Property Endowment Fund for the site.

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of A and B.

COUNCIL POLICY

· In October, 1995, Council approved a generalized work program, budget and staff resources for the policy development, official development plan and rezoning stages.
· In June, 1997, following the submission of a study on the economic implications of the redevelopment of Southeast False Creek, Council approved the commencement of the planning process, including an updated budget to cover the policy development phase.
· In October, 1999, Council approved the Policy Statement for Southeast False Creek to guide all future planning for the site.

PURPOSE

This report proposes a planning process, time line, work program, budget and staff resources to create an Official Development Plan for Southeast False Creek (SEFC).

BACKGROUND

In SEFC, the adoption of the Policy Statement completes the policy development stage. The next step is the submission, review, analysis and approval of the Official Development Plan (ODP). It is the ODP which, in a by-law, confirms and secures the intentions put forward in the Policy Statement. Land use is defined and density is allocated. Public requirements are set, such as park space, community facilities, childcare and public art. All of this is done in the context of an Illustrative Plan which, sets up a structure that defines sites, sets height and massing limits, and locates amenities.

DISCUSSION

Original Budget

The approved 1995 budget estimated a total of $801,700 to complete the planning work. This was based on annual recurring costs of $243,900 and non-recurring expenses of $313,900, extended over a three-year period. The source of these funds is the Property Endowment Fund.

Completion of the policy development phase cost approximately $380,000. This was only slightly more than budgeted, even though more time was required to complete a process more complex than originally envisioned. In addition to the technical and public review, new elements included: a consultancy on sustainable urban development, extensive consultation with an advisory group, a design charrette and finally, a financial analysis to ensure that the policies were commercially feasible. This additional work, will provide detailed andefficient direction to City consultants and City staff for the preparation of the ODP submission.

Work Program and Time Line

Staff believe that a full analysis, public review and enactment of an ODP can be completed in one year, as set out in Appendix A. This work program and budget supersedes earlier approved projections based on today's circumstances. The work would be expected to commence in March, beginning with a series of workshops between staff from all involved departments and the development consultants, which would lead to the submission of the initial application for the ODP. After a comprehensive staff review, a public process would commence which would include the creation of a stewardship group. Revisions from the internal and public review plus input from consultants would lead to a final submission in the Fall, which once again would be taken to the public, prior to consideration at Public Hearing.

While the completion of an ODP would usually lead to a sub-area rezoning process, this work has not been put forward at this time. After the approval of the ODP, staff will report back with a work program and budget, to allow Council to make a decision to proceed or not, at that time, based on an up to date assessment of market conditions.

Staffing Requirements

As we already have experienced people working on SEFC, it is expected that the temporary staff in the Planning, Engineering, and Social Planning Departments as well as the Park Board, will continue through the ODP phase. However, as there is now much more clarity around the issues of sustainability, slight adjustments have been made to reflect the complexity of follow-up work on this aspect. In the Planning Department, the Planning Assistant III position has been upgraded to a Planning Analyst, and in the Engineering and Social Planning Departments, consultant budgets have been added. This will allow us to make the best use of both private consultants and internal City resources in preparing the required studies and plans, to address energy, water, waste and urban agriculture. In addition, further staff resources are indicated for the Law Department to work on the enactment of the ODP. A detailed breakdown of staff requirements is included in Appendix B.

Revised Budget

The cost of the ODP phase for SEFC has been reassessed, based on the revised work program. The new budget includes recurring costs such as staffing and public consultation. Non-recurring costs are also included which at this point consist mostly of consultancies.

Table 1 - ODP Budget

RESOURCES	ODP EXPENSES
STAFF · Planning · Engineering · Social Planning/Housing · Law · Parks	$135,007 63,618 50,000 23,375 20,000
OTHER EXPENSES · Overtime · Public Consultation · Computers · Consultancies · Office Space · Public Hearing(s)	20,000 15,000 5,000 50,000 26,400 3,000
TOTAL	385,000

Budget and Cost Recovery

As recommended in the 1995 report, funding for this stage will be provided by the Property Endowment Fund with the cost credited against future rezoning fees.

At this point, staff are confident that the amount spent for the policy statement, the budget proposed for the ODP, and the amount anticipated to process sub-area rezonings, will be within the required rezoning fees. These normal fees would be in the order of $1.5 million, which will ultimately be paid by the Property Endowment Fund. As such, the planning process will have full cost recovery, within normal fee parameters.

If rezoning applications do not ensue, further City resources will not be used and unspent funds would be reimbursed to the Property Endowment Fund.

CONCLUSION

The completion and approval of the Policy Statement represented the conclusion of the first phase of the SEFC planning process. The next step is the approval and enactment of theODP for the site. A revised work program and budget for this phase is recommended for Council's approval.

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APPENDIX A on file in City Clerk's Office

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APPENDIX B

DEVELOPMENT OF ODP -
ESTIMATED COSTS TO ENACTMENT

(Months) Cost $

Planning
Planner III 12 84,090
Planning Analyst 12 50,917
Sub-Total 135,007

Engineering
Civil Engineer I 12 63,618
Sub-Total 63,618

Social Planning/Housing
Staff 50,000
Sub-Total 50,000

Law
Solicitor I 3 23,375
Sub-Total 23,375

Parks
Staff 20,000
Sub-Total 20,000

Total Staff Costs 292,000

Other Expenses
Overtime 20,000
Public Consultation 15,000
Computers 5,000
Consultancies/Travel 50,000
Public Hearing 3,000
Sub-Total 93,000

Total Costs 385,000

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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver