Agenda Index City of Vancouver

POLICY REPORT
DEVELOPMENT AND BUILDING

TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: Director of Current Planning
SUBJECT: Entertainment Centres, including
Family Sports and Entertainment Centres
 

RECOMMENDATION

GENERAL MANAGER’S COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

On June 25, 1996, in considering a proposal for a Family Sports and Entertainment Centre at the Plaza of Nations, Council resolved:

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

This report evaluates the existing Family Sports and Entertainment Centre [“The Score”] at the Plaza of Nations and recommends to Council an approach for consideration of future similar proposals.

Permits and Licenses and Police indicate that there have been no operational problems with the venue at the Plaza of Nations. Police statistics indicate that “The Score” has been an emergency call point for fights and other activity not related to its own operation, and in this regard has been a positive addition to the Plaza.

On the basis of the existing operation, staff believe that this type of use could successfully occur on a limited basis elsewhere in the city even without a sports orientation. Therefore, staff are recommending that each proposal for an Entertainment Centre be evaluated on its merits on a case-by-case basis through the CD-1 rezoning process. Staff suggest that we identify this use as an Entertainment Centre noting that future centres may not solely have a sports orientation. It is also suggested that the same restrictions [e.g., age, prohibitions on games of chance] applicable to Family Sports and Entertainment Centres will apply to Entertainment Centres. Entertainment Centre industry representatives indicate that individual operators will wish to be strategically located throughout the region. The potential impacts in terms of parking and traffic suggest that they should not be opened to the whole city, particularly not in local or neighbourhood-serving shopping areas surrounded by residential areas.

BACKGROUND

In 1995, a proponent approached City staff about the feasibility of a Family Sports and Entertainment facility with 150 arcade-type machines at the Plaza of Nations. Existing Arcade regulations restrict access to individuals over the age of 18 if more than 3 machines are on the premises. The history of Arcades in the city left both Council and staff reluctant to change the existing Arcade rules, and consequently it was decided to create a new use term:

This use term has only been used in the Plaza of Nations CD-1. While the use is permanently approved on this site, Council asked that staff report back after a year of operation to determine whether the use should be permitted elsewhere in the city.

Council will recall that representatives of the anti-gambling groups spoke at length during the two Public Hearings on the related rezoning of the Plaza of Nations, expressing concern about a perceived relationship between this operation and gambling. On Council direction, the Licence By-law was amended to include regulations for Family Sports and Entertainment Centre with the following stipulations:

… specific prohibition of games or operations which involve the rewarding of successful play [otherwise known as redemption games] with prizes or cash, or includes an outcome which is determined in whole or in part by chance; and

… no allowance of an individual who is younger than 15 years on the premises during school hours, except under the direct supervision of a parent, legal guardian or school teacher.

In January, 1997 Council refused a proposal for a “Virtual Reality Entertainment Centre” in the former Public Library at 750 Burrard Street. The refusal was based on awaiting the evaluation of “The Score”.

In November, 1998 Toronto-based Playdium Entertainment, in conjunction with Famous Players, opened “Metropolis”, a 13 940 m¾ [150,000 sq. ft.] Entertainment Centre at Metrotown. In addition to a 10-screen, “Silver City” Famous Players multi-screen movie theatre, “Metropolis” includes a 3,716 m¾ [40,000 sq. ft.] family-oriented “Playdium” Entertainment Centre. All the attractions involve simulated inter-active video displays, some of which include cars, motorcycles and numerous other vehicles which roll side-to-side or back and forth, as well as arcade-like machines involving simulated guns, baseball, basketball and golf. All of the attractions involve skill to earn extra play and no redemption of points for prizes is presently involved. Similar centres exist in Coquitlam, Langley and Seattle, and one is planned for Richmond. Playdium representatives have indicated to Planning staff an interest in opening a similar centre in Vancouver.

Recent similar proposals for Vancouver include an entertainment complex at 900 Burrard Street, for which an application may be anticipated and for the International Village entertainment/shopping complex for which an application to amend the CD-1 has been submitted and is the subject of a companion report.

DISCUSSION

Operational Assessment of “The Score”: Permits and Licenses, Police and Planning staff have visited the operation on several occasions. The operation features inter-active sport challenges such as football and basketball skills, puck and soccer ball shooting, simulated golf and baseball stations, as well as an array of sports-related arcade-type games. Permits and Licenses believes that these games meet the criteria of the outcome being determined by the skill of the player and not by chance.

Corporations, school groups and after sports event crowds [from BC Place Stadium and GM Place] are the predominant attendees. A detailed police report is attached in Appendix B. In summary, Police indicate that “The Score” is relatively crime-free, and actually assists in reporting crime in the area.

Potential Operational Issues with Future Proposals: The Police Department offered the following comments regarding similar proposals:

Similarly, Planning staff are concerned about the potential impacts of Entertainment Centres in local and neighbourhood shopping areas, particularly as these uses are of a sufficient size to generate traffic from across the city which would impose traffic and parking on surrounding residential streets. Outside the downtown, probably the only existing commercial location that could absorb the expected parking demand would be Oakridge Shopping Centre. An official from one of the companies interested in locating such a use in Vancouver indicates that mall locations may be problematic because of issues such as mall closing hours, security and parking. Commercial districts such as C-1 and C-2 have residential neighbourhoods in close proximity and staff’s initial feeling is that the use may have negative impacts. Social Planning and Police are similarly worried about the juxtaposition of this use with SkyTrain Stations outside the downtown, high schools and community centres. SkyTrain station areas, particularly Broadway and Joyce, already suffer relatively higher crime patterns.

Entertainment Centres may be acceptable as an adjunct to existing entertainment areas of the City, such as the 700-900 blocks Granville Street, the Trade and Convention Centre District on the Central Waterfront and any regional-serving commercial district or shopping centre.

Recommended Approach: Staff from Planning, Social Planning and Police believe the following approach is needed in reviewing future proposals for family-oriented entertainment centres:

1. proposals should be assessed through privately-submitted applications to rezone to CD-1 or to amend existing CD-1s, with applicants required to provide traffic, parking and social impact assessments and to liaise with nearby residents; and
2. the use term will need to be reviewed in each case, as it is expected that the term will need to be broader to include more than a sports focus.

A general outline of operational and location criteria is outlined in Appendix A.

CONCLUSION

The Director of Current Planning concludes that Entertainment Centres should be considered through privately-submitted applications to rezone to CD-1 or amend existing CD-1s, rather than be permitted in standard zoning districts. This recognizes that very few sites will likely be found to be appropriate for this use, and the rezoning process would permit a thorough evaluation of proposals and a formal public process. Sites to be avoided in particular are those within commercial districts in close proximity to residential neighbourhoods, those close to SkyTrain Stations outside the downtown, and those close to high schools and community centres.

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sc991214.htm

Guidelines for the Consideration of Entertainment Centres, including
Family Sports and Entertainment Centres

General Location and Other Criteria:

Such uses shall only be considered in areas where traffic and parking generated by the centre will not adversely affect adjoining residents.

Entertainment Centres will not be considered in local or neighbourhood-serving commercial districts [e.g., C-1, C-2].

Entertainment Centres may be considered, subject to Council review, as an adjunct to existing entertainment areas of the City, such as the 700-900 blocks Granville Street, the Trade and Convention Centre District on the Central Waterfront and any regional-serving commercial district or shopping centre.

Generally, locations near schools and community centres, and other areas considered to be vulnerable or where such use may create a negative impact, will be discouraged.

As part of the review of each proposed Entertainment Centre, staff shall assess whether they are clearly distinguishable from arcades regarding activities, machines and other issues of concern.

Existing arcades are already changing the types of equipment they are using, so they may become more like entertainment centres, and broadening the definition of entertainment centres may result in them becoming more like arcades; therefore, one of the criteria for considering new entertainment centre proposals is that this changing relationship between the two uses be reviewed in each instance.

Process:

Proposals are to be considered through rezoning to CD-1 or amendment to existing CD-1s.

Applicants may be expected to provide traffic, parking and social-impact assessments as part of the rezoning submission and will be expected to liaise with nearby residents.

VANCOUVER POLICE DEPARTMENT CPTED OFFICE

The following comments have been provided by the Vancouver Police Department:

“The Score Virtual Sports World located at 770 Pacific Boulevard has had few problems in relation to crime on the premises. The Vancouver Police have attended this business on nine occasions since February of 1997. Three of these calls were alarms to The Score, all of which were found to be false when the police investigated. There have been no other alarm calls to the premise since early March, which indicates whatever problem was causing the false readings has since been rectified. Two calls were minor incidents, one involved the loss of a cell phone which may or may not have occurred at the premise. The other incident was a report by staff of a counterfeit twenty dollar bill found in the evening receipts.

Two calls were related to fights occurring in the parking lot directly behind the premise and the reportee’s were employees of The Score. Whether the combatants in these fights came from The Score or from one of the other businesses or nightclubs in the Plaza of Nations is not known. In both cases the matter resolved itself before police arrived and no serious physical injury was sustained by anyone involved.

The two final calls were assault and attempted assault reports. In one case, the assault victim called from The Score to report being beaten up by several males in the parking lot. It does not appear that the original confrontation occurred at The Score, but possibly in the Nightclub known as The Rage, also located in the Plaza of Nations. The assault actually occurred in the parking lot behind the Indy 500 office, which claims the same address as The Score. The victim simply used The Score as a refuge, and called 911 from there.

The attempted assault was virtually identical to the assault except the victim managed to elude his assailants. It is unclear in the report as to where any of the participants were prior to the 911 phone call; they may have been in The Score, they may have been elsewhere.

Police calls to The Plaza of Nations (750 Pacific Blvd.) and to 770 Pacific Blvd. are numerous. A combination of nightclubs and poor parking security are the biggest factors in the large number of police calls.

The pattern of police calls would indicate that The Score is relatively crime free, and actually assists in reporting crime in the area. The calls originating in the parking lot are but a few arising from the parking lots in the Plaza of Nations in general. Poor management of the parking lots has lead to a serious theft from and theft of auto problem in the area. This also allows for the progression to more serious problems such as fights and assaults to occur as a natural flow.

While The Score has proven to be a viable and legitimate business, and future ventures with the same venue would be welcome, it is vital that any similar development, be carefully studied with regard to location and the business uses in the immediate area. By the nature of their business, the large draw is to young males who have shown statistically to be more likely to be attracted to crime activity. While most of Vancouver can sustain such an influx, there are certain areas which must be recognized as vulnerable and such a development may create a negative impact on the area.”

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