SUPPORTS ITEM NO. 1

P&E COMMITTEE AGENDA

OCTOBER 9, 1997

POLICY REPORT

URBAN STRUCTURE

Date: September 24, 1997

Dept. File No. RJ

TO: Standing Committee on Planning & Environment

FROM: The Vancouver Water Opportunities Advisory Group in consultation with the Directors of Planning, the General Manager Engineering Services, and the Director of Planning of Parks and Recreation

SUBJECT: Water Opportunities Advisory Group - Draft Blueways Document

and Recommendations for Further Work

RECOMMENDATION

A.THAT Council receive the draft Blueways Document; THAT it be distributed to interested members of the public; and THAT it be referred to a future Council meeting (in approximately 6 months) to hear delegations on the Blueways Document and related work;

B.THAT the draft Blueways Document be referred to staff (in consultation with the Water Opportunities Advisory Group) for a report back, prior to Council hearing Blueways delegations, on options for implementing a Blueways Program with consideration for other City work programs and priorities. The report back would include options for:

-management arrangement for Blueways in the civic organization;

-a proposed work program outlining priority Blueways work items and associated timelines;

- a staffing proposal for the work program;

-a proposal for funding options to pursue the Blueways work program; and

C.THAT Council approve funding for staff support in the Planning Department to undertake the work outlined in recommendations A and B over a 6-month period, in consultation with the Water Opportunities Advisory Group, at a cost of $45,000 as set out in Appendix A. These costs are to be funded from Contingency Reserve.

CITY MANAGER’S COMMENTS

The City Manager notes that many discussions related to Blueways funding took place during the development of the report. Some of these discussions anticipated funding from the City’s marinas or the Property Endowment Fund.

The City Manager believes the only appropriate source of City funding is the revenue budget, and RECOMMENDS that Council circulate this report with the following statement.

"In considering the recommendations of this report, members of the public and interested parties should assume that any Blueways work will be funded within the normal budget from tax revenues."

COUNCIL POLICY

A number of land use policies relate to the water (see Appendix B). In addition, waterbody policies have been adopted including:

-encourage a diversity of marine uses; remove boat sheds; and provide for floating homes, seaplanes and charter boats (Coal Harbour ODP, 1990)

-limit marina size and location to maintain a substantial water basin (FCCDD, 1974, False Creek North ODP, 1990)

-design shoreline treatments to enhance fish habitat and improve water quality (Shoreline Treatment Concepts, 1991)

-reclaim an estuary habitat in the Fraser Lands (Fraser Lands Rezoning, 1988)

On February 4, 1992 Council instructed that any recommendations for increased staff or enhanced programs be accompanied by recommendations for related revenue increases or offsetting expenditure reductions.

SUMMARY AND PURPOSE

The Water Opportunities Advisory Group, together with the public, has developed a Blueways Document (distributed separately) which includes recommendations on the future use and preservation of Vancouver’s waterfront and waterways.

It is recommended that Council receive the Blueways Document for information and approve further work leading to a report back on the staffing and financial implications of implementing a Blueways program within the City. This work would include exploring options for organizational structures and funding sources for Blueways, as well as initial action on four important work items raised through Blueways.

Funding for Planning staff support to undertake this work over a six month period is requested as outlined in Appendix A.

BACKGROUND

The Water Opportunities Advisory Group is made up of volunteers from the public and private sectors authorized by Council to look at water related issues and opportunities for the City of Vancouver (see Appendix C for a list of Advisory Group members).

In June of 1996, Council approved a public consultation process to assist the Water Opportunities Advisory Group to develop a set of recommendations that could form the basis of City policy for current and future planning of our waterfront.

During the summer of 1996, four public meetings were held, each focussing on one of the four main waterbodies surrounding Vancouver - Burrard Inlet, English Bay, False Creek, and the Fraser River. The meetings were well attended, generated lively discussion, and resulted in significant feedback and media interest.

As a follow-up to the meetings and inquiries, a Blueways newsletter highlighting some of the key issues and ideas was distributed to over 250 participants.

Based on issues and ideas raised, the Water Opportunities Advisory Group developed a draft of the "Blueways Document". This document was made available to the public in February 1997. The current draft Blueways Document (July 1997) has evolved from the many comments received.

DISCUSSION

The well-being of our communities, city, and region is linked to the health of the natural and built environments. For the City of Vancouver, the waterways and waterfront are the setting for some of the most defining, treasured, and expansive of those environments. With their increasing use and development, it is important that appropriate actions be taken to ensure that environmental, recreational, cultural, industrial, and economic opportunities are preserved and enhanced in ways that contribute to the quality of life in this City, as well as mitigate future costs and impacts.

The Draft Blueways Document is an important step in this process. It begins by establishing two principles to guide decisions on waterfront use and preservation:

-ensure public input guides waterfront planning and decision-making processes; and

-ensure water considerations are included in planning of adjacent lands.

It also sets out four goals:

-encourage and support a diversity of waterfront uses, activities, and structures that recognize a variety of users;

-assess, protect, and enhance waterfront habitat;

- protect water-based industry; and

- increase public access to and along the water.

Based on these principles and goals, a comprehensive set of targets and recommendations are put forward which fall under seven topic areas:

- access and transportation

- marine related commercial/retail activity

- marine related industry

- moorage

- recreation, tourism, and culture

- safety and marine regulations

- water quality and shoreline environment

The recommendations are also listed geographically for each waterbody (Burrard Inlet, English Bay, False Creek, Fraser River). To aid in implementation, each recommendation includes a list of lead agencies or organizations which could be involved.

Implementation

A lot of time and effort has been invested in the Blueways Program and Document over the past year. This has been comprised of volunteer time from ten city staff employees in five departments, three private citizens, seven representatives from outside agencies, and a paid research assistant (all noted in Appendix C).

While the recommendations in the Blueways Document are a starting point, if Blueways is to have a lasting and meaningful impact we must look at various options for implementation.

We are recommending that the draft Blueways Document be referred to staff for a report back, in consultation with the Water Opportunities Advisory Group, on options for implementing a Blueways Program for the City. Options would be reviewed and presented to Council with consideration for other city programs and priorities. The report back would include options for:

-a management arrangement for Blueways in the civic organization;

-a proposed work program outlining priority work items and associated timelines;

- a staffing proposal for the work program; and

-a proposal for funding options to pursue the Blueways work program.

Establishing a Blueways Program within the City of Vancouver

As Blueways reflects longstanding City concerns and interests, the Water Opportunities Advisory Group foresee a number of ways of establishing a Blueways program within the City of Vancouver. Blueways could be modelled after other multi-departmental city initiatives, with links to outside agencies that also have jurisdictions over various aspects of the waterways. A Blueways program could also be part of a multi departmental team created for dealing with the public realm.

Work Items for Immediate Attention

There were a number of work items identified through the Blueways process that should be acted upon in the short-term. As part of the six month work program identified in this report, City staff would work on these items:

1.Confirming jurisdictional responsibilities over the waterways and suggesting better methods of coordinating the monitoring and enforcement of regulations.

-By addressing this issue, the City will be able to address other important issues such as illegal dumping of sewage, illegal anchoring, noise disturbances, and safety issues.

2.Initiating discussions with the Vancouver Health Board to change regulations to distinguish between liveaboard moorage and short term visitors moorage.

-The current regulations are a deterrent to visitors moorage, which in turn negatively impacts local and regional access to the City, as well as potential revenues through tourism. The lack of visitors moorage also contributes to illegal anchoring in Vancouver.

3.Finalizing design guidelines for public docks and initiating discussions on a water transportation system that takes land uses, water uses, and public transit into account.

-Several new public docks are anticipated in the near future. This is an opportunity to demonstrate improved accessibility and utility. In addition, opportunities exist to improve transportation on the water by planning it in conjunction with public transit and the ongoing waterfront developments.

4.Bringing forward the Fraser River Estuary Management Plan to Council for endorsement.

-A draft of the plan was generally supported by Council in June of 1994 subject to revisions to the Water Quality section (which have since been made), and a number of provisos related to implementation and timing which would still apply. The Estuary Management Plan has been formally endorsed by all other municipalities bordering the Fraser River estuary.

5.Advising on plans and development proposals as they apply to city policy and objectives in regard to the waterways using information generated through Blueways.

-A number of important planning initiatives for lands bordering along the waterways (for example, Southeast False Creek) are underway or forthcoming, and it is important that the feedback received to date through Blueways be considered.

Recommended Staffing and Resources

Staff from various City departments and agencies will continue to be actively involved in a Blueways program. Generally, existing staff resources will be utilized. However, there are no unallocated staff resources in Planning. In order to coordinate the efforts of all departments and agencies, it is essential to have adequate planning staff available. It is expected that the initial work recommended will require a temporary planning assistant for five months, and a temporary planner for four months. Existing staff can cover the work program in the first two months, as it is intended that the majority of work described in the report would happen in the latter part of this six month period. This would allow other Planning work items such as Victory Square to be completed in the near future.

If Council chooses to adopt Recommendations A and B but not C, ongoing work would need to be delayed in order to provide Planning staff resources for Blueways. In that case, the Directors of Planning would recommend delaying Blueways until a discussion of the 1998 work program can take place, since existing planning work programs are fully committed for the foreseeable future. In the context of city-wide demands for departmental time, there are a variety of future potential initiatives competing for acceptance. The Directors of Planning feel that, although the potential Blueways work is timely and important, a fuller discussion of all potential work items within the city-wide context would be helpful. Some of this could be accomplished through the suggested six month work program outlined in this report which would enable City staff to assess staffing requirements and timelines for a longer term Blueways program.

The Planning staff costs as well as program resources amount to a total of $45,000 as outlined in Appendix A.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

It is recommended that the required resources of $45,000 be funded by Contingency Reserve.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

Implementation of a Blueways program is expected to benefit waterways and shoreline environments by:

-increasing actions that will reduce contaminant discharges into the waterways;

-increasing City actions, community education, and community stewardship initiatives that will enhance natural habitats around the City; and

-ensuring that environmental considerations for the waterways are integrated into City of Vancouver decisions regarding planning, growth, service delivery, finance, and operations.

CityPlan Implications

Implementation of a Blueways program could have a beneficial impact on CityPlan directions including:

-protecting existing marine related jobs and contributing to the diversity of jobs within the City;

-promoting safety and access for all, regardless of age or ability, in public places along the waterfront;

-enhancing the character and diversity of public places along the waterfront, as well as promoting public art and cultural activity; and

-extending the greenways/public ways themes.

CONCLUSION

It is recommended that Council receive the Blueways Document and approve the work program and resources to develop a proposal for implementation of a longer term Blueways Planning program for the City of Vancouver, as outlined in this report.

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Appendix ‘A’

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Projected Budget

From Contingency Reserve

Temporary Planning Assistant		$16,500
Temporary Planner		$19,500
Public Meetings/Workshops Graphics Advertising		$1,000 $1,000 $2,000
Contingency (15%)		$5,000
Total		$45,000

Appendix ‘C’

page 1 of 1

VANCOUVER WATER OPPORTUNITIES ADVISORY GROUP

Council Representative:

Councillor Sam Sullivan

Vancouver City Council

Blueways Members:

Captain Chris Badger	Vancouver Harbour Master (VPC)
Lindsay Colin	Vancouver Port Corporation
Nancy Gehlen	Fraser River Estuary Management Program / Burrard Inlet Environmental Action Program
Wayne Hartrick(Chair)	Vancouver City Planning Commission
Doug Sutherland	Marine Trades Association
Patrick Warren	Vancouver Park Board Commissioner
Max Whitcomb	Ambassador, Shrine Yacht Clubs, Boaters’ Day Founder
Don Brynildsen	City of Vancouver Engineering
Peter Bremner	City of Vancouver Engineering (Greenways/Blueway s)
Coralys Cuthbert	City of Vancouver Social Planning
Alan Duncan	City of Vancouver Planning (Greenways)
Corporal Bob Hunter	Vancouver Police Marine Squad
Richard Johnson	City of Vancouver Planning (Major Projects)
Jim Lowden	Vancouver Park Board
Leanne Sexsmith	City of Vancouver Planning (Blueways)
Ian Smith	City of Vancouver Planning (Major Projects)

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(c) 1997 City of Vancouver