ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: September 7, 1999
Author/Local: Rick Gates/6036
RTS No. 966
CC File No. 3703

Council: September 21, 1999

TO:	Vancouver City Council
FROM:	Director of Community Services, Social Planning Department
SUBJECT:	Collingwood Neighbourhood Safety Office - Payment from CAC for Completion of Construction

RECOMMENDATION

THAT City Council approve payment of $10,000 to Concert Properties Ltd. (formerly Greystone Properties) from the Community Amenity Contribution collected for the rezoning of 5104-56 Joyce Street to help pay for the costs of completing the construction of the Collingwood Neighbourhood Safety Office.

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of the foregoing.

COUNCIL POLICY

The rezoning of 5104-56 Joyce Street, approved in October 1996 was conditional on the developer (Greystone Properties) agreeing to turn over to the City, free of charge, 1500 square feet of finished office space to be used for a community Safety Office.

The zoning was amended on February 20, 1997 to reduce the required parking for the project. One of the conditions on this amendment was that the developer make a Community Amenity Contribution of $5,000 per parking space for each parking space reduction in excess of 30.

PURPOSE

This report seeks Council approval for the final payment, from the CAC funds, for completion of the Collingwood Neighbourhood Safety Office.

DISCUSSION

As noted above, one of the conditions for approval of the rezoning of 5104-56 Joyce Street was that the developer (Greystone Properties) turn over to the City, free of charge, 1,500 square feet of finished office space to be used for a community Safety Office. Prior to the rezoning being enacted, an agreement was reached between the developer and the City that Greystone would provide up to $40,000 of tenant improvements to the space, and that any costs incurred beyond that amount, to meet the City's requirements for the space, would be borne by the City.

When the zoning was amended in February, 1997 Greystone was required to contribute a Community Amenity Contribution (CAC) of $5,000 for each parking space reduction in excess of 30. A total of $10,000 was contributed.

The construction of the Collingwood Neighbourhood Safety Office was completed late in 1998. The actual costs were $48,177 more than had been required from Greystone. Subsequently, City Council approved a Capital Grant of $38,177 with the understanding that the remaining $10,000 would come from the CAC contribution that had come from this project. However, specific Council approval for the expenditure of the CAC funding was inadvertently not sought at the time the Capital Grant was approved.

The rezoning condition which established the CAC for parking reduction did not specify how the CAC was to be spent. The interim city-wide CAC policy, approved in 1998 notes that Council can choose to allocate CAC's to any purpose, anywhere in the city.

The general practice has to been to spend non-targeted CAC funds on projects that are logically related to the rezoning from which they are collected. As the CAC's collected in this instance were not specifically targeted, staff recommend using these funds to help pay for the completion of the Neighbourhood Safety Office.

CONCLUSION

Construction of the Collingwood Neighbourhood Safety Office was completed by Greystone Properties on the understanding that the City would provide the additional funding that was needed. A Capital Grant was approved and paid out, but payment of $10,000 from the CAC funds cannot be made until Council approves it specifically - therefore the recommendation is that Council give such approval.

* * * * *

(c) 1998 City of Vancouver