ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: December 18, 1998
Author/Local: P. Vaisbord/6304
RTS No. 00349
CC File No. 8303

TO:	Standing Committee on Planning and Environment
FROM:	Director of City Plans
SUBJECT:	Approval of Council Initiative - Proposed South Granville BIA

RECOMMENDATION

A. THAT Council approve the South Granville Business Association as sponsor for the proposed South Granville BIA.

B. THAT Council approve the commencement of a Council Initiative to establish the proposed South Granville BIA; and

THAT Council forward the application of the South Granville Business Association to a hearing of the Court of Revision.

C. THAT the City notify the property owners and tenants in the area (outlined in Appendix A) of the proposed BIA and BIA levy.

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

The General Manager of Community Services recommends APPROVAL of A, B and C.

COUNCIL POLICY

Section 456 of the Vancouver Charter gives Council the authority to create a Business Improvement Area (BIA). Council may grant money to a BIA for planning andimplementation of business promotion schemes provided that the money is recovered through a special property tax.

Council policies with respect to the establishment of a BIA include:

· October 14, 1997: A BIA may be established by Council Initiative; property owners and commercial tenants receive notification of the Initiative, and the BIA will not proceed if one-third or more of the tenants or owners, counted separately, are in opposition.

PURPOSE

The South Granville Business Association (SGBA) has completed the first step in the process of establishing a new Business Improvement Area (BIA). The purpose of this report is to approve the SGBA as sponsor of, and to commence a Council Initiative for, the proposed South Granville BIA.

BACKGROUND

The South Granville Business Association (SGBA) began in late September 1996 as a group of local businesses which were concerned that South Granville was not realizing its full commercial potential. The group was approached by the marketing firm, Harfield and Associates, to develop a business promotion plan for the area and help coordinate a BIA initiative. In November 1996, the group held its first meeting, resolving to begin work toward a BIA for the area.

In October 1997, Council approved a streamlined process which eliminates the Petition requirement, and proceeds entirely by way of Council Initiative, i.e. the BIA initiative will not succeed if one-third of the property owners or tenants (counted separately) are in opposition. The present BIA application is one of several to attempt to establish a BIA under the revised process.

DISCUSSION

Outreach Activities

In December 1997, the SGBA held a public information meeting attended by over fifty people. While there was strong support to apply for BIA status at that time, the SGBA was busy with transit issues, and the timeline to be operational for the 1998-99 fiscal year was too short. Since September of this year, the SGBA has been actively canvassing property owners and businesses within the proposed BIA, which comprises the eleven blocks ofGranville Street between 5th Avenue and 16th Avenue (see boundary map attached as Appendix A). The SGBA proposes a Year 1 budget of $450,000.00, representing a levy rate of $2.43 per $1,000 of assessed property value. A copy of the proposed budget is attached as Appendix B.

The SGBA has conducted its outreach activities through hand-delivery, fax and mail-out of meeting notices and survey forms, two public information meetings, and direct contact. The meeting notice and survey form, distributed to 100 property owners and 400 businesses, requested recipients to indicate whether or not they supported the proposed BIA. Of the responses received, fifteen property owners ( 94%) indicated support, with one (6%) opposed; Twenty-nine businesses (96.5%) indicated support, with one (3.5%) opposed. Based on these responses and their general outreach, the SGBA believes the BIA proposal is generally supported.

The SGBA formally applied to the City for consideration of a BIA on October 22. A copy of their application letter and documentation of their outreach activities is attached as Appendix C (distributed to Council members; on file in the City Clerk's Office).

The SGBA is presently incorporating as a non-profit society under the Societies Act, for the purpose of administering the BIA.

Staff Comments

Staff are satisfied that the SGBA has notified all property owners and tenants within the proposed BIA boundaries. Staff attended one public information meeting (the other public meeting was December, 1997). The meeting was held at Holy Trinity Church, at which approximately 20 people were in attendance. Participants seemed generally supportive, although there were concerns raised regarding costs and benefits. In an informal show of hands at the end of the meeting none of the attendees indicated opposition to the BIA.
At the meeting, some businesses requested staff to consider BIA levy assessments based on commercial floor area, rather than assessed property value. Rather than complicate the approval process with additional issues, staff will report back on this and other matters related to BIA funding and the new legislation.

The SGBA received 46 survey responses: There are approximately 100 properties and 400 businesses within the survey area. As the SGBA received survey responses from 16 property owners and 30 business tenants (a response rate of 16% and 7.5% respectively) the survey is only a fair indication of level of support / opposition.

At the instruction of staff, the SGBA notices contained the name and telephone number of the City's BIA Coordinator. The coordinator received two calls opposing the BIA: one each from a local business and from a property owner. The business owner felt that a BIA was not necessary and an unjustified expense. The property owner was concerned about passing the levy on to their tenants, which they felt was too high compared to other BIAs in the city.

Staff have some concerns regarding the scale of the SGBA's proposed budget and the levy rate. The budget, at $450,000.00, would be the second-largest in the city. Based on this, the levy-rate would be $2.43 per $1,000 of assessed value. The rates for the City's existing BIAs range from approximately 15c (Downtown Vancouver, 1998) to $1.26 for Gastown(1998). The SGBA believes the proposed budget is necessary to achieve its objectives for the BIA. Staff's concern is that cost can be a key factor in support of, or opposition to, a new BIA. SGBA mail-outs gave contact information, but did not specifically indicate each property owners annual levy, although the information was made available on request. Very few owners called; therefore, there is a risk that some owners may be surprised when they receive their official City notification (with specific levy indicated) prior to the Court of Revision.

CONCLUSION

The South Granville Business Association is requesting that Council consider approval of the proposed South Granville BIA, and has asked that their application be forwarded by way of Council Initiative, to a Court of Revision. The SGBA's intention is that the BIA commence operations in April, 1999. Although the proposed budget is relatively high for a new BIA, the results of SGBA outreach activities indicate only minimal opposition at this stage. However, as cost can be a key factor for support/opposition, there is a risk that some owners may be surprised when they are formally notified of the proposed BIA and the annual levy for their property.

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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver