SUPPORTS ITEM NO. 3
P&E COMMITTEE AGENDA
APRIL 4, 1996
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: March 19, 1996
Dept. File No. 2051
TO: Standing Committee on Planning and Environment
FROM: General Manager of Engineering Services
SUBJECT: Garden Drive Street Improvement - Ballot Results
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT the street beautification for North Garden Drive between
Dundas and Trinity proceed by way of Council initiative as a
local improvement to the June 11th, 1996, Court of Revision.
B. THAT the City's share of the project, $215,000, be funded from
Streets Basic Capital Unappropriated Account No.
13/32/9802/999 - Higher Zone Streets.
C. THAT if the initiative is approved, the Director of Legal
Services prepare the necessary by-law.
D. THAT the properties in the 300 block North Garden Drive be
deemed as not equally benefitted and that the assessment rate
structure for this improvement reflect a 50% rate reduction
for these properties.
COUNCIL POLICY
Policies governing the Local Improvement Process are set out in the
Vancouver Charter and Local Improvements Procedure By-law.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to recommend that the North Garden Drive
street beautification be initiated for the June 11th, 1996, Court of
Revision, based on the results of the recent community ballot.
BACKGROUND
In the spring of 1995 Council directed staff to find pilot projects to
test a five-point performance criteria (experiential, ecological,
community, functional and economic) for residential streets.
On February 8th, 1996, Council approved in principle a design concept
for seven blocks of Garden Drive, the first residential street pilot
proposal. The design concept was divided into two areas: a two block
project south of Dundas which has a newly installed (1994) standard
street improvement; and a five block project to the north between Dundas
and Trinity Streets which currently has four blocks of old strip
pavement with gravel shoulders.
The southern project concept included angled parking, trees in the
street and a one-way closure to southbound traffic.
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The northern design included trees in planters in the street, narrow
roadways, some curb and gutter with corner bulges, traffic circles, new
asphalt pavement and a half-block trial of angled parking.
Council directed staff to gauge property owners' support for the
beautification concepts and residents' support of the South Garden one-
way traffic proposal. Subsequently, pre-ballots were conducted in the
affected areas.
PRE-BALLOT RESULTS
Three pre-ballots were distributed to gauge support for the projects:
property owners in the 000 block and 100 block of South Garden Drive
received a ballot about the southern beautification; residents in the
area bounded by Nanaimo, Templeton, Pandora and Dundas Streets voted on
the one-way traffic proposal for South Garden Drive; and property
owners along North Garden between Dundas and Trinity received a ballot
about the northern beautification project.
South Garden Drive
The response rate for the beautification ballot was 40% (129 property
owners were contacted), of which 65% opposed the proposal. Reasons for
rejecting the project were fairly evenly split between cost (e.g. "...we
have no money to pay the cost," and "I am a pensioner and do not have
extra money for this.") and safety concerns (e.g.. "...making these
changes will just give privacy to any street sex traffic and provide a
place to hide while taking drugs...").
There were some pockets of enthusiasm for the project, and two
respondents suggested smaller, more localized improvements near Pandora
Park.
Only 15% of the 400 residents polled responded to the traffic survey.
Fifty-five percent of the respondents opposed the one-way traffic
concept. Some resident property owners objected to the associated cost,
while other residents opposed the inconvenience of one-way access and
potential safety concerns with the greening of the street.
Based on these results the citizens' committee agreed that the South
Garden Drive project should not proceed. People felt that the recent
paving of this street and its associated tax assessment would dampen
owners' enthusiasm for further improvements now. Although there was
some interest in the smaller localized improvements, they decided to
wait to see how successful the North Garden Drive beautification is.
North Garden Drive
Of the 123 property owners who received a northern beautification
ballot, 37% responded. Of these, 60% were in favour of the project.
Given this strong response rate and the positive support for the
project, staff and the citizens' committee recommend that the North
Garden Drive project be initiated for the June 11th, 1996, Court of
Revision.
Support was fairly evenly distributed along the project route, with the
exception of the 300 block North Garden. This block has existing curb
and gutter and a serviceable pavement which was installed many years
ago. Two of the four apartment block owners on this block responded to
the ballot, and both were opposed to the project. They objected to
paying the cost of improvements, and felt they did not even need new
pavement.
The citizen's committee considered the objections expressed in the 300
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block of North Garden and debated the merits of including this block in
the project. The design proposed for this block includes a half block
trial of angled parking, trees behind the sidewalk and in planters in
the street as well as a traffic circle at Eton Street. Most people at
the meeting felt that this block was integral to the success of the
project. However, since the 300 block would not need repaving, which is
one of the most expensive elements in the overall proposal, the
committee voted to recommend a reduction in the assessment rate for this
block by 50%, with the other assessable properties absorbing the
additional cost.
Since the original estimate assumed that all blocks would need repaving,
the preliminary estimate can be reduced by $30,000 to reflect that the
300 block will not be repaved. Therefore, the other assessable property
owners' costs would increase by only 2% above the original estimate to
accommodate this one-block rate reduction.
The committee also asked staff to hold an informational open house in
the neighbourhood prior to the initiative s deadline for objections, so
that property owners could better understand the details of the
beautification.
CAPITAL FUNDS
The estimated cost of the North Garden project is $420,000. The City's
share of this cost is $215,000, and funds for this are available from
Streets Basic Capital Unappropriated Account No. 13/32/9802/999 - Higher
Zone Streets. The Director of Finance confirms that financial
arrangements can be made to carry out this work.
PROPOSED BEAUTIFICATION BY-LAW
Each of the parcels on North Garden Drive between Dundas and Trinity
Streets shall be assessed proportionally to its length along the
project, except as described below.
Parcels in the 300 block North Garden Drive shall be assessed at a rate
50% that of all other properties in the project.
The City shall share in the cost of the project according to the City-
owned share of land along the project s assessable length. Flankage
relief (25% for higher zoned properties, and 75% for owner-occupied
residential-use properties) and exemptions will be transferred to the
City s share. The City will also provide an additional 75% relief for
residential-use properties to reflect their lower local need. These
residential reliefs will apply as long as the land remains owner-
occupied with residential-use.
Otherwise the Local Improvement Procedures By-law will apply.
SCHEDULE
The community would like to proceed with this project as soon as
possible. It is recommended that the project be advanced to the June
11, 1996, Court of Revision. Construction would commence in July, and
be completed in the fall of 1996. Residents are very interested in
being involved in tree planting, landscaping and other aspects of
construction, and the schedule will be planned to facilitate this.
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