SUPPORTS ITEM NO. 3
P&E COMMITTEE AGENDA
JUNE 22, 1995
POLICY REPORT
URBAN STRUCTURE
Date: May 10, 1995
Dept. File No.:PW/IS/LBB
TO: Standing Committee on Planning and Environment
FROM: Associate Directors of Planning (Central Area and City Plans
Divisions), in consultation with General Managers, Engineering
Services, Corporate Services, Human Resources and Board of
Parks and Recreation, Directors of Legal Services, Social
Planning and Economic Development and Manager of Housing
Centre
SUBJECT: Planning the False Creek Flats - Process and Staffing
CONSIDERATION
A. THAT the overview planning process for False Creek Flats be
approved to proceed when staff resources are available in mid-
1996, and following Council direction on transportation and
goods movement needs in False Creek Flats that will be part of
the City's overall transportation study.
OR
B. THAT the overview planning process for False Creek Flats be
approved to proceed in mid-1995, in conjunction with the
assessment of transportation and goods movement needs in False
Creek Flats that will be part of the City's overall
transportation study;
AND FURTHER THAT the following staff resources (positions
subject to evaluation by the General Manager of Human
Resources) and operating budget, totalling $90,000, to be
funded from Contingency Reserve, be approved to complete the
False Creek Flats overview:
- Senior Planner for 6 months at $ 36,300
- Civil Engineer for 6 months at $ 27,700
- Consultant budget of $ 20,000
- Overtime budget of $ 3,000
- Public Consultation budget of $ 3,000.
RECOMMENDATION
With Council's decision between A and B above, the following is also
recommended:
C. THAT the appropriateness of major rezonings in the False Creek
Flats be determined as a result of the planning and
transportation overviews; if the decision is to consider any
major rezonings, that work proceed when existing staff
resources are available (either mid-1996 or early 1997,
depending upon when all work commences), based on 50% cost
recovery through regular fees for large site rezonings;
FURTHER THAT for rezoning applications felt worthy by Council
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of further consideration, applicants be offered the option to
have their applications considered immediately following the
planning and transportation overviews (late 1995 or early
1996), contingent on voluntary contributions by the rezoning
applicants to provide full recovery of new City costs when
coupled with rezoning fees, and subject to a report back on
staff resources and operating budget to complete this work,
generally as outlined in Appendix B.
D. THAT the rezoning application for the Trillium site, (940-60
Station Street) be held until overview work is completed, and
that staff discuss appropriate land use allocations and
definitions with the applicant as part of the overviews, and
that the application's appropriateness to be considered be
reported back at that time.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of B,
C, and D.
COUNCIL POLICY
- On May 2, 1991, Council resolved that fees for large comprehensive
development district (CD-1) rezoning appli-cations be set according
to 50% cost recovery. This was based on the notion that such
rezonings are also exercises in planning the City.
- On February 4, 1992, Council instructed that any recommen-dations
for increased staff or enhanced programs be accompanied by
recommendations for related revenue increases.
- On March 14, 1995, Council approved the Industrial Lands Strategy
which supports retention of the False Creek Flats for mainly city-
serving industry, transport and service uses, and the development
of a plan for the area to deal with such issues as: subdivision,
roads, utilities, and compatible interface with adjacent
neighbourhoods.
- On March 28, 1995, Council approved changes to policies for artist
live/work studios in industrial zones to limit them to rentals in
existing buildings.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to recommend a planning process and
outline staffing and resources needed to move forward directly on the
Industrial Lands Strategy in the False Creek Flats (area shown in
Appendix A). Also, disposition of one rezoning application now in hand
is recommended.
SUMMARY
Three large site owners want to pursue rezonings, aspects of which may
not be consistent with the Industrial Lands Strategy. Trillium has
submitted a rezoning application for industrial live/work and Finning
and Canadian National (CN) are interested in broader general business
uses. They all worry about possible delays if a full concept plan
proceeds first. Adjacent communities stress the need for a Flats
concept plan and public consultation before redevelopment occurs.
However, clarity is first needed on overall transportation needs and how
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these may affect the timing and nature of development of the Flats. In
response, staff propose a planning program that will provide initial
overviews followed by detailed area-wide planning in tandem with
rezonings to the extent these are or can be made compatible with the
City's transportation and industrial objectives for the Flats.
The first activity focused on the Flats will involve an overview of
area-wide issues, framed around general industrial principles. This
initial work should be linked with the pending City-wide transportation
study, which will clarify broader transportation needs that affect the
False Creek Flats. From these general overviews, staff will report back
to Council for decisions on broad transportation and overall servicing
needs and general directions for land use, area roads and public
requirements. The appropriateness to consider pending rezoning
proposals or an alternative zoning strategy will also be recommended.
Detailed work programs will be presented for resolving area-wide issues
and compatible rezonings.
Depending on the outcome of the overviews, the second activity could
involve area rezonings. Applications for up to three large sites could
come forward or the City could settle on zoning for the entire area.
The process would be similar to other major downtown planning programs.
Individual rezonings will be programmed to the extent that area-wide
matters can be pursued concurrently. If the overviews start shortly,
this work should be completed by late 1997.
The third activity will detail area-wide solutions and resolve any
specific issues with results packaged into a Concept Plan for ongoing
reference. This and rezoning could be underway at the same time.
Staff have a full workload and it is impractical to defer current work
to free up existing resources. To undertake the planning overview in
conjunction with the already programmed transportation work, possibly
followed by rezonings, requires new temporary staff and operating
resources in Planning, Engineering, Law and Park Board, as summarized in
Appendix B.
Council could conclude there is no overriding public purpose served by
proceeding immediately with the planning overview and could defer this
work to staff's 1996 work program. Or should Council wish to link the
overview with the transportation review scheduled to begin about mid-
year, an estimated $90,000 for staff resources would need to come from
Contingency Reserve.
For any major rezonings that are further considered, Council could
proceed under the current 50% cost recovery mechanism when staff
resources become available in mid-1996 or early 1997. The balance would
be resources assigned from existing staff and departmental operating
budgets at that time, subject to the normal review process.
Or, should the proponents wish to proceed in late 1995 or early 1996,
following the overview but before existing staff are freed up, Council
could offer to allocate new resources provided there is full City cost
recovery from the proponents, on the basis that the work is of
insufficient priority to justify expending extra City funds. Staff
recommend this.
In any event, the Trillium rezoning application now in hand should be
put on hold until the overviews are completed. If pressed to deal with
it now, staff would recommend refusal based on the substance of what is
proposed and because Flats-wide concerns and amenity needs are not
resolved.
AREA DESCRIPTION
False Creek Flats is a 124.6 ha (308 ac.) area typified by large tracts,
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scattered development and under-utilized land. Its primary use is for
transportation and communications (including rail yards for the Port and
Via Rail) and city-serving industries such as food wholesalers,
manufacturing, and some wholesale/retailing along Terminal Avenue. The
area supports some 3,000 jobs.
As shown on the map in Appendix A, there are significant areas surplus
to the Flats' current uses, especially as follows:
- a 12.1 ha (30 acre) portion of the former Burlington Northern
Railway (BNR) lands has been purchased by the City for works
yards, park, and a potential Malkin by-pass route;
- BNR has also sold its remaining 6.9 ha (17 acres) in the
northwest Flats to the Trillium Corporation;
- CN has released 6.5 ha (16 acres) south of Terminal Avenue for
future redevelopment; and
- Finning Tractor owns 11.7 ha (29 acres) on Great Northern Way.
The Flats are surrounded by established and developing communities.
DEVELOPMENT INTERESTS AND ISSUES
Trillium, Finning and CN have expressed interest in pursuing
redevelopment now and in the longer term, described below. While staff
and these owners have met a number of times, only Trillium has submitted
a rezoning application.
Trillium
Trillium wants to proceed now and propose in their rezoning application
an 'artisan village' on their vacant site. The major use appears to be
760 industrial live/work units occupying approximately 62 000 m›
(660,000 sq.ft.). An additional 50 000 m› (420,000 sq.ft.) would be
commercial and traditional industrial space. Four- to eight-storey
buildings with commercial and industrial use on the lower floors and
live/work above would define a local marketing and display environment
with links easterly through the site from Station Street to the future
park.
Finning
Finning is making arrangements to relocate its heavy equipment
operations to a suburban site to better serve the Lower Mainland. They
want to then see their existing site more intensely developed. They
have talked about a broader general business use
and other activities compatible with the adjacent neighbourhood yet
suitable to the industrial environment of the Flats, such as high-tech
industrial office-type facilities. Finning would also like to consider
uses such as a value-oriented food outlet and a small component of
housing as part of its site redevelopment. Finning has been gearing up
to undertake planning for the past year.
Canadian National
Although the bulk of CN's 16 acres identified for redevelopment will
remain in rail use for the foreseeable future, CN has suggested it wants
to pursue rezoning for general business uses, permitting a greater mix
of office, retail and service activities. In particular, they have
talked about larger floorplate retail on one or more sites, with or
without other redevelopment.
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While the timing and nature of interests differ, these owners want
consideration of redevelopment opportunities which in part are probably
not consistent with the Industrial Lands Strategy. Their initiatives
first need to be assessed against the city's broader transportation and
goods movement needs. Also, the area is poorly serviced and needs a
comprehensive infrastructure concept.
From a land-use perspective, CN's and Finning's interests need to be
reconciled with retaining the Flats for city-serving industry and
limited non-industrial use. If CN and Finning support the predominant
city-serving industrial role for their sites, this will be relatively
easy. If they want large scale office or residential uses or frequent-
consumer retail uses like a mega food store, then reconciliation with
the Industrial Lands Strategy will be more difficult. For Trillium, the
issue is whether the live/work use as proposed is truly an industry-
enhancing concept or just another form of housing that will displace
genuine industrial activity and jobs, and increase land values.
These owners are also concerned that development of a comprehensive,
detailed concept plan for the Flats prior to individual rezonings could
take a long time, thus forestalling their initiatives.
ADJACENT NEIGHBOURHOOD CONCERNS
Most comments from residents in adjacent communities support the
Industrial Lands Strategy policies for the Flats. Residents have
particularly stressed the need for a concept plan and a full public
consultation process before any large scale redevelopment occurs.
Grandview-Woodlands residents have expressed concerns about big box
retailing in the Flats. Residents from surrounding communities are
meeting on May 13 and are expected to further frame their views at that
time.
RECOMMENDED PROCESS
Staff understand the concerns of both the large site owners and
community people. Deferring initiatives to await completion of a full
concept plan creates delay and uncertainty. However, proceeding with
major rezonings in an ad-hoc fashion would preclude co-ordination of
area-wide issues, especially transportation and infrastructure planning.
In response, staff recommend a process designed to meet the demands for
timely and comprehensive planning that will enable area-wide
considerations and major rezonings (to the extent they are compatible
with overall public objectives) to be coordinated. This process would
be divided into three activities.
First Activity - Transportation Planning and Overview of
Area-Wide Issues
The process to achieve a City-wide transportation plan will be
recommended to Council by mid-year. This will look at overall patterns
and needs for movement of people and goods. It will also clarify how
these needs affect the lands and development potential in the False
Creek Flats, among all other areas of the City. The process can be
designed to bring the False Creek Flats issues forward early.
As this larger transportation planning unfolds, an overview of the False
Creek Flats can also commence. This intensive 6-month process with
Flats property owners, businesses and adjacent residents would focus
transportation and goods movement solutions as they affect the Flats and
address general concerns needed to accommodate further development.
Appropriate uses of adjacent properties (e.g., the east side of Main
Street) may also be considered. At the end of this phase, staff would
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report back with:
- patterns and policies related to broad transportation
contingencies and an area-wide access system;
- a concept for an area-wide utility system, including sewer and
water requirements;
- updated industrial zoning use definitions for city-serving
industry;
- general directions on land use allocations and zoning, as well
as specific recommendations on which, if any, rezonings should
be further considered and on what basis;
- a strategy for other public requirements;
- an assessment of other area-wide or major issues to be
resolved as the process unfolds (such as soil stability and
contamination); and
- detailed work programs and recommendations for staffing and
other resources to complete any rezonings.
If the process does not achieve consensus on general directions, the
various points of view will be reported and Council will have the
opportunity to hear representations. Also, a full status report will be
submitted in 6 months if the work is not complete. The second activity,
below, will not commence until both the area overview and overall
transportation decisions for the Flats are both concluded.
In any event, rezoning applications in the Flats area received prior to
the overview planning should be put on hold to be considered when
overview planning is complete. Rezoning proponents should be invited to
take part in the overview planning, especially work related to defining
appropriate uses compatible with industrial employment objectives.
If initiated soon, staff do not feel overview planning should
unnecessarily delay compatible major rezonings since any review of a
specific proposal would involve consideration of area-wide contextual
issues.
Second Activity - Compatible Rezoning
Once Council decides on general directions and a zoning strategy,
determines which rezonings may be considered and proponents choose to
proceed, the process for large sites would be similar to the downtown
mega-project rezonings in terms of cooperative planning, public
consultation and securing of public requirements. It may be that
overall zoning changes, such as revised industrial zoning schedules,
will be adequate to deal with public concerns. However, a key
consideration, especially for the Trillium and Finning sites, will be
ensuring that built form deals sensitively with the interface with
adjacent communities. Also, acceptable uses for these sites may not be
appropriate in other industrial districts. Tailored zoning will likely
be necessary. Each rezoning can be expected to take about eight months
to reach Public Hearing, with enactment following completion of legal
requirements and other conditions set at Public Hearing.
Actual rezoning work is based on applications in hand. Thus, up to
three processes could be underway at one time. However, the start time
for each would have to be staggered by several months. With the
applicants' cooperation and overlapping of the various work items,
compatible rezonings could be in a position to be enacted by late 1997.
Resolving area-wide issues and zoning will continue in tandem with
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rezoning reviews. If all three rezonings happen at the same time, the
timeline for this activity (described below), will be adjusted so that
issues tied to the rezonings or of general urgency such as reserving
transportation corridors, completing a servicing plan, and replotting
will be given priority while issues with less urgency will be programmed
later. If only one rezoning starts immediately, more of the area-wide
concerns will be resolved earlier.
Third Activity - Detail Area-Wide Solutions, Resolve Specific
Issues and Publish the Flats Concept Plan
This work program will be set after the overview is completed. It will
benefit from the detailed work on compatible rezonings and will include
other individual private initiatives that may emerge. Work will involve
detailing of the appropriate final street system, subdivision pattern,
traffic management, servicing, delivery of basic public amenities and
detailed land use allocations, all based on the agreed upon early
concepts. Specific issues such as zoning for Terminal Avenue and
smaller holdings will also be addressed. The public will be fully
consulted as these issues are brought forward to Council in a series of
reports. Results will be packaged into an overall Concept Plan for
future reference.
All this work could be completed by late-1997 or earlier, depending upon
when work starts and upon staff commitments on individual rezonings.
DEALING WITH THE TRILLIUM REZONING
Trillium's current rezoning application raises a variety of concerns,
from our initial review:
- The genuineness of the proposed uses and the spaces assigned
to them are questioned. This raises the fundamental concern
of this as essentially housing instead of an industrial/
commercial/live-work scheme.
- The form of zoning proposed (amendment to and application of
current district schedules) will make it hard to target uses
for this site which are not suitable on all sites, resolve
adjacency concerns and deal with various aspects of built
form.
- Necessary amenities are not secured.
- Transportation contingencies are not resolved. Even with
street alignment reservations, the effective options for goods
movement and access would be restricted.
Accordingly, if pressed at this time, staff would recommend refusal of
the application.
However, the proposal suggests interesting possibilities if the above
issues can be resolved. To this end, there are two options to further
consider the application:
1. We could acknowledge the site as more separable from the rest of
the Flats than other sites and therefore process its rezoning
separately now on its own merits. The criteria would be:
- it is isolated from major industrial development sites by
long-term railyards and City land;
- it is a corner of the overall Flats acreage that is not
necessarily essential to industrial capacity;
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- it is isolated from neighbourhoods by a band of well-
established industry; and
- transportation contingencies can be managed with alignment
reservations.
2. Alternatively, we could confirm the site is integral to the Flats
and hold the rezoning until completion of the overview planning
when all other rezoning proposals are considered. The logic for
this is:
- even with its isolation, it may have transportation
implications not yet understood;
- if transportation alignment reservations are confirmed,
adjacent uses may have to be carefully limited to be
compatible;
- the site is large enough to affect industrial capacity unless
industrial and non-industrial objectives are reconciled;
- a decision on this site will be seen as a precedent for other
sites in the Flats; and
- community people want answers on overall concerns before
particular decisions are made.
Staff recommend the second approach as most strategic and equitable.
Staff would invite Trillium to participate in the overview planning and
to shape a revised application as consistent as possible with the land
use, transportation and
other findings from the overviews. Of course, built form, amenities,
utilities, adjacencies and other issues would be dealt with as part of
the normal rezoning review process.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES TO GUIDE UPCOMING PLANNING
Planning the Flats should be done within the framework of general
principles that reinforce the Industrial Lands Strategy while taking
into consideration the objectives of large site owners. A key
consideration is that new uses in the Flats should be compatible with
other industrial uses and should not unduly increase land values. While
these principles will be reviewed
and refined through the process, the suggested themes which should
initially guide our attitude about future land uses in the Flats are:
City-serving Industry
- Capacity should be maintained for city-serving industry and
industrial services. This could be achieved by including an
industrial component, an equivalent number of industrial jobs as is
typically yielded through city-serving industrial use, or a
combination of these.
Industrial Live/Work
- Live/work may be considered provided the predominate use and space
is genuinely industrial and accommodates artisans, generating a
similar number of jobs typically yielded through city-serving
industrial use.
- The 'live' component should be securely tied to the 'work'
component and be compatible with other industrial uses. It may be
supportable in some situations in the Flats to go beyond the limits
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recently set for artist live/work studios in industrial areas
throughout the rest of the city.
- Unit and population counts from the 'live' component should be
projected to calculate public amenity requirements.
Residential
- Residential as a separate use should not be considered.
General Business
- General business means all uses now approvable in industrial zones,
plus increased allowance for retailing or office types serving the
needs of city-serving industries, without setting off major
increases in land values in the area.
- Retail uses which do not impact the industrial viability of the
area, and would not fit into neighbourhood commercial zones may be
considered.
- Stand alone "big box" retailing would continue to require a site
specific rezoning, until the Concept Plan provides direction on
this.
There is concern among staff that some non-industrial or quasi-
industrial uses could compromise, and may be incompatible with, the
Industrial Lands Strategy. The strategy attempts to preserve
opportunities for city-serving industry by restricting uses that would
drive up the price of land and as a result drive out industry that could
not compete. Residential and general business in and of themselves
usually generate higher land values than industry, and they could have a
negative impact on industry. These questions will be carefully
evaluated as part of the initial overview.
STAFF AND RESOURCE PROVISIONS
Completing the overall planning for the Flats and up to three major
rezonings will require significant resources from the Planning,
Engineering, and Law Departments and the Park Board. If the work is
pursued as a priority, new resources would be needed as summarized in
Appendix B. This would facilitate a start on the work about mid-year
and its completion in 1998.
The first activity in the work, the planning overview, is of immediate
concern because it will provide vital input into the transportation plan
and because development pressures are real, as evidenced by proposals in
hand or pending. If this work is pursued now, it will require $90,000
in new resources. Staff from all the involved departments are carrying
a full workload from long-standing commitments to neighbourhoods,
residents and developers throughout the downtown and commitments to
other rezoning applicants now in line. It is impractical to defer this
current work in order to free up existing resources to begin work on the
Flats immediately. Council could hold work in False Creek Flats until
existing staff are available in mid-1996 or start now by allocating the
initial resources from Contingency Reserve.
For the balance of the work, involving individual rezonings and
packaging all the results in a coherent way, there are two options if
work proceeds.
Proceed when Staff are Available with 50% Cost Recovery
If rezoning applications proceed following overview planning and key
transportation decisions, and if no other overriding City planning
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priorities emerge, staff should be in a position to start dealing with
the rezonings and related work as early as mid-1996 (if planning work
starts now) or by the beginning of 1997. The required rezoning fees
will provide about 50% cost recovery, consistent with current policy.
The first half is payable when an application is submitted and the
remainder is due following Public Hearing, if the rezoning is approved.
Assuming one to three rezonings, fees could range from about $146,000 to
$553,000.
The City's 50% share is provided by assigning existing staff when
available, so no new resources would be needed, though other work would
be put off.
Proceed as a Priority with Full Cost Recovery
If transportation work and overview planning for the Flats gets underway
this year, results should be in hand by late-1995. Theoretically,
rezonings felt to be appropriate by Council could commence immediately
thereafter, at the beginning of 1996. However, doing this would require
putting off other work or bringing new City resources to the task,
neither of which are felt to be appropriate by staff. Therefore, to
start at least a half-year earlier in response to developer timelines,
it seems sensible for the City to offer to proceed directly, provided
the development proponents agree to cover the extra costs associated
with this earlier start. It is estimated that these extra costs for
staff fully dedicated to the work would be about $93,000 to $127,000,
according to how many rezonings proceed (the balance of City costs
accrue for existing staff who participate in rezonings as a matter of
course). This would provide full cost recovery for the City for all
this work.
This option is only put forward in order to be responsive to the timing
needs of key developers in the Flats. The normal 50% cost recovery
acknowledges that, in major rezonings, not only is development review
happening, but we are also effectively planning part of the City. Staff
caution, however, that rezoning applicants elsewhere in the City may see
it as inequitable if a similar option is not offered to them, which
would be impractical. Nonetheless, staff feel the offer should be made
to facilitate Flats planning.
CONCLUSION
Planning the False Creek Flats to implement the Industrial Lands
Strategy, provide for key overall transportation needs, settle on
streets, infrastructure and zoning schemes and consider one or more
large-site rezonings will reconcile the city's industrial and other
public objectives with those of Flats property owners and adjacent
communities. A program and commitment of staff resources is recommended
that will see the necessary planning work completed in a timely and
comprehensive manner.
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