2006 - 2008 Capital Plan Priorities - Expo Deck / Trillium ... · ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT Report...

LATE DISTRIBUTION FOR COUNCIL – JUNE 26, 2007

A10

CITY OF VANCOUVER

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Report Date: June 20, 2007 Author: Brent MacGregor Phone No.: 604.873.7627 RTS No.: 06819 VanRIMS No.: 05-1400-20 Meeting Date: June 26, 2007 TO: Vancouver City Council

FROM: City Manager

SUBJECT: 2006 - 2008 Capital Plan Priorities Expo Deck / Trillium / Dog Care

RECOMMENDATION

A. THAT Council approve an allocation of City Wide Development Levies (Park

Development) in the amount of $4.5 million and authorize the Park Board to develop two all weather fields at the Trillium Parksite on the False Creek Flats.

B. THAT Council approve the use of a portion of the City owned land at 455

Industrial Avenue as a proposed site for a replacement Animal Shelter and instruct the General Manager of Community Services in consultation with the Director of Facilities Design and Management to develop a proposal for submission to the 2009 – 2011 Capital Plan process for the new facility; AND FURTHER THAT $500,000 be allocated for this work in advance of the 2008 Capital Plan, source of funding as determined by the Director of Finance.

C. THAT Council authorize the General Managers of Engineering Services and

Park Board to engage structural consultants to determine and cost the most appropriate options to secure long term access to the Expo Deck and consultants to prepare a park concept plan at a cost estimated at $650,000; source of funding to City Wide Development Cost Levies for Transportation purposes; AND THAT the City Manager be delegated authority to approve the necessary contracts.

2006 - 2008 Capital Plan Priorities 2

D. THAT Council approve a strategy of funding the Phase I replacement of the Expo Deck and replacement adjacent to Science World in False Creek, including redevelopment of the park space on and adjacent to the structure, at an estimated cost of $26 million; source of funding to be:

Proceeds from the Sale of Wylie Street lane $1.6 Million City Wide DCL - Streets $4.0 Million City Wide DCL – Park Development $7.0 Million SEFC Area Specific DCL – Park Development $2.4 Million Advance on the 2009 – 2011 Capital Plan $11.0 Million

COUNCIL POLICY

The Animal Control Strategic Plan calls for the replacement of the existing facility. Funding of Capital Projects must be approved by Council.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to provide Council with a strategy to move three major Capital Projects and their funding forward in a co-ordinated strategy.

BACKGROUND

On April 19, 2007, when considering the Park Board Capital Budget, Council considered the comments of the City Manager on a number of potentially inter-related capital projects which require funding and location decisions. These projects included the:

Expo Deck Replacement; Trillium Park Site All Weather Fields; and Animal Shelter and Dog Care Centre.

These projects were discussed as part of the development of the 2006 – 2008 Capital Plan but not fully funded. The review committee believed they all had merit but there was an extremely tight funding envelope due primarily to the significant investment in Park Board Community and Olympic Legacy Projects. The Capital Plan Staff Review Group recommends capital expenditure priorities based upon Council approved policies. The various City departments submitted funding requests exceeding $650 million to the 2006 – 2008 Capital Plan process. A staff team short listed the requests based on our existing long-term policies, Council and community priorities, departmental plans and future needs. Because of the importance of our buildings and infrastructure, Council has long-term policies related to their maintenance and renewal. The first priorities for the Capital Plan are to:

• ensure timely maintenance and renewal of existing infrastructure and facilities


• address safely and security issues • address mandated environment improvements.

Making sure our infrastructure and facilities are keeping up with our growing city is the second priority for capital expenditures supporting projects that:

• enhance infrastructure and facilities to meet existing service demands • address areas where service levels are deficient.

As a third priority, the draft Capital Plan reflects the current priorities of Council and the community, namely: sustainability, affordable housing, child care and improved pedestrian and bicycle facilities. Many of these allocations are directed at providing:

• increased service levels in existing program areas • new services or programs • enhanced environmental sustainability.

DISCUSSION

The current status of each of these projects is reviewed below and a strategy is put forward for Council consideration. Trillium Park Site The Trillium park site is a 3 hectare (approximately 7.5 acre) property located on industrial land in the False Creek flats between Malkin Avenue and National, immediately west of the City’s National Works Yard. The site was secured by the City in 1993 in part by dedication of land through subdivision and in part by amenity contribution from the CityGate development on Main Street, with the view of developing the site for playing fields.

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Until late 2006, the Park Board had not funded Trillium for redevelopment. However, in October 2006, Board approved a consultation and design process for the development of the site as a sport and active recreation park serving the needs of existing and emerging residential areas around the False Creek basin. The proposed concept includes two regulation synthetic turf playing fields and a fieldhouse. Approximately 1/3 of the park area (just over 2 acres) will be available for other park uses, such as a children’s playground, an internal path system and additional park elements to be confirmed through a public consultation process. Park development will be oriented to serve active living needs in the local area. The neighbourhoods around the False Creek basin have the highest population growth and the lowest per capita sport field provision in Vancouver. Other than the single field planned for South East False Creek, there are no other identified options for increasing playing field capacity in this area, either through the development of new sites or conversion of existing fields to synthetic turf. No other sites in the City feasible for the development of a double synthetic turf field were identified in the recent synthetic turf planning process. Park Board plans to achieve six new synthetic turf fields across the city by 2011. Two fields at Trillium, in addition to one at Point Grey Secondary School and one in development at Vancouver Technical School, means this goal would be two-thirds attained. Park Board staff are currently in discussions with locally-based community centres, sport groups (such as MoreSport – an organization dedicated to engaging inner-city youth and children in active lifestyles) and various east side field sport leagues, to assess unmet need and to ensure their priority access to the playing fields and other park facilities planned for Trillium. Development of Trillium Park will require the release of additional City-Wide DCL funds for new park development. The project cost is $6,000,000. It is proposed that $1,000,000 be allocated towards this project from the 2006 – 2008 Park Board Capital Plan (Synthetic Turf program), and that Council be asked to release a further $4,500,000 in Park DCL for a total phase one project budget of $5,500,000. The remaining $500,000 is for the park fieldhouse, which is not DCL eligible and will likely have to be addressed in the 2009 – 2011 Park Board Capital Plan. Approval of Recommendation A would enable Park Board to proceed with the phase 1 development of Trillium site – the all weather synthetic fields. A discussion on the availability of DCLs for this purpose is included in the section on the Expo Deck. City Animal Shelter Replacement (Dog Care Facility) The existing Dog Care Facility is located across from Strathcona Park at the corner of Raymur and Malkin Avenues. This facility is in need of replacement because it is too small and becoming increasingly costly to repair. Expansion of the facility is not possible as adjacent land is not for sale and even if it were, the price would be $5 million approximately. In 2006, Vancouver’s population grew to 600,000 people — about 260,870 households. Ipsos & Reid (2001) found that 54% of Canadian households own a pet; one-third of these households, nearly 46,500 Vancouver households, own at least one dog. Other North American pet


ownership research (Humane Society of the United States) suggests that 1 of every 10 people own a dog. By these estimates, Vancouver’s dog population is closer to 60,000. The reality is that there are between 60-80 thousand people in the City who are the guardians or co-guardians of at least one household dog and an equal number that have cats as pets. Thousands of people who are confronted on a daily basis with the community’s expectation that pets be managed and kept responsibly. Unfortunately, because many owners are poorly equipped to do so, there are many conflicts, particularly between dog owners and non-dog owners who must share very limited public spaces such as streets and parks. One of the mandates of Animal Control Services is to ensure that dogs do not compromise public safety; a task performed through the enforcement of animal control by-laws. While enforcement is one tool at our disposal and it requires staff resources to cover large areas of parks, streets and beaches. As noted in the Council Animal Control Strategic Plan, work is most effective if it is done in concert with educational programs that ensure people understand the importance and have the skills they need to be responsible dog owners. The construction of a new animal control facility presents an opportunity to move forward with a plan designed to achieve licensing and by-law compliance:

a) by assisting the dog-owning population to become more knowledgeable and skilled as it relates to the management of urban dogs;

b) by creating in animal control services, a centre of excellence known for its expertise on urban animal management;

c) by changing the approach and the image of animal control from the punitive, dog-catcher, tax-grabbing image to one with a more positive and constructive model; and’

d) by providing the pet-owning community with a venue where their interest in pet animals can be satisfied in a safe, constructive and controlled way.

In addition to the “pound” function, the Dog Care facility will include indoor and outdoor areas for dog training and other related activities such as dog sports (eg agility, competitive obedience, flyball, musical freestyle). These areas will be made available to single interest community groups (cat fanciers, dog clubs, dog training groups) for organized events. As well, they will be made available to individual citizens on a drop-in basis (to use the dog training equipment or to train the dog, to promote the fitness of the pet and its guardian or just to socialize the pet with others). The Capital Plan Staff Review Group acknowledged that the replacement of the Animal Shelter (“Dog Care Facility”) was a priority project as it involved renewal of existing infrastructure and facilities in the City. There was concern about the status of the programming and the identification of a site when the project came forward to the Capital Plan process and more work needed to be done. The 2006 – 2008 Capital Plan includes $500,000 to complete this work for a more complete proposal submission to the 2009 – 2011 Capital Plan. The funding for this work was not scheduled for allocation until next year (2008), but this will be a little late for detailed consideration in the next Capital Plan. Therefore, this report recommends providing the funding in advance of 2008 Capital Plan to proceed with preliminary design on the site identified in Recommendation B.


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Choices for an appropriate site to relocate the Animal Shelter are limited because of the need to buffer residential premises from the noise from the facility. The area around the Shelter’s current location, adjacent to Strathcona Park and amongst industrial uses, was seen as an appropriate context in which to replace the facility. Two sites in this area were identified as meeting the requirements of the facility: the southeast corner of Strathcona Park and the Trillium park site. In subsequent discussions with the Park Board it was determined that, whereas the Trillium site is large enough to accommodate two fields and the animal shelter, both uses should be situated on the southern portion of the site, away from the residential area to the north. The Strathcona site would displace other established park uses, including a summer soccer field and hard surface walking track. Another City owned site in the False Creek Flats was considered and is now being recommended for development of the Dog Care Facility. The proposed site is at 455 Industrial Avenue, on the south side of the False Creek Flats east of Station Street. The site was purchased in 2001 and was designated by Council as the potential site for a future park, subject to identification of funding sources to purchase and develop the site. 455 Industrial is approximately 3.5 acres, with a large building on it. The False Creek Structure Plan shows a future road allowance north south, which will divide this property more or less in half. The park is to be located east of the road allowance, eventually including properties not yet acquired. The portion to the west of the road allowance is about 1.6 acres, and is not designated park. This site of 1.6 acres is sufficient for the replacement Animal Shelter and to develop a new “Dog Care Facility” as it is surrounded by primarily industrial uses. Recommendation B would designate this site as host to the new shelter by replacing the previous Council recommendation of January 10, 2001 and would allow the General Manager of Community Services and the Director of Facilities Design and Management

Proposed Site

Existing Site


to begin the planning process for the new facility such that a more definitive proposal can be submitted to the 2009 – 2011 Capital Plan. Expo Deck Replacement In 1985, the Expo deck, the decking just north of Science World and a smaller portion of deck just south (see attached drawing) was built as a temporary structure for EXPO 86.

After EXPO 86 the Province offered the structure to the City. Prior to accepting the structure the City had an engineering review done that indicated that the structure would need to have load limitations (no fire truck access) imposed and due to the temporary nature of its construction would have a remaining life of approximately 15 years. The Expo deck is constructed of precast concrete deck panels supported on timber pile caps and timber piles. It was designed as a temporary facility as evidenced by the construction material selected. The concrete panels lack adequate crack control measures and are typical for interior exposures where moisture and temperature effects are controlled. The timber substructure lacks a proper creosote treatment (not pressure treated) for the marine environment.


Inspection results on the structure conducted in 1988, 1997 and 2003 indicate increasing levels of deterioration:

• The precast concrete deck panels have areas of localized spalling and delamination with areas of exposed reinforcing steel. The 1997 inspection results recorded that 50% of the panels exhibited cracking. The 2003 inspection results recorded significant increases in signs of deterioration. 95% of the concrete panels exhibited full length cracks of which approximately 66% of the affected panels have multiple full length cracks. Panels are in need of repair and/or replacement.

• The timber substructure displayed evidence of deterioration due to mechanical damage, weathering, fungal decay and marine borer infestation. The deterioration is characterized by areas of localized rotting and splitting in the wood members. It is expected that the deterioration of the wood substructure will accelerate due to the lack of proper preservative treatment. Wood piles need to be jacketed and wrapped and pile caps will need to be realigned and shimmed.

Once the developments on both the north (Concord Lands) and south side (Southeast False Creek and Olympic Village (SEFC OV)) of the False Creek inlet are occupied, there will be an increased demand for the Expo deck area from both a recreational and transportation perspective. The opportunity for the replacement or ongoing repairs/upgrades (required every 3-5 years) of the Expo Deck will become increasingly challenging. Furthermore, the Expo decking area is a transportation hub. It facilitates a vital link to the existing and proposed City Greenway and Bikeway networks. A total of four Greenway & Bikeway connections are made in the Expo deck area. Included in these are the three busiest bikeways in the City; the Ontario Bikeway/Greenway connects from the south, the Adanac bikeway connects from the east, and the Seaside Bikeway/Greenway, a sea level route that serves over half of the City in providing a convenient link to the downtown core with minimal grade changes connects from both the north and south side of False Creek. The forth connection (currently under development) is the Central Valley Greenway, which forms part of the Federal Infrastructure Showcase Program. The Central Valley Greenway will be a total of 25km and will link New Westminster to downtown Vancouver. Consideration was given to the removal of the deck, an area of approximately 140,000 square feet but this is not considered possible because the area is so vital to serve pedestrian, bike, and park uses in this key location. During the Olympics in 2010, the east end of the False Creek inlet will be on the international stage and will likely be a significant gathering spot for the public. The Expo Deck will need to be repaired or replaced prior to the Games or it may have to be closed to the public. There are essentially two options:

The only long term option is to replace the entire deck structure. This could be done by a combination of filling and structural replacement; and perhaps the removal of small areas of deck to the north of Science World. The replacement option includes an allowance for replacement of the Park surface treatment on the deck, as well as the structural components. Total cost of this option is estimated at $36 million (2007) with disruption of about 12 months. The total cost for the replacement of the deck area south of Science World (approx. 70% of the total deck area) is estimated at $26 million (2007).


There is a shorter term option of making significant repairs every 3 – 5 years so that the structure is “Made Safe”. This option would still require complete replacement in 25 years or less. The cost for this option is estimated at $3 Million (2007) with the access to the deck disrupted for about 6 months every 5 years.

The cost of these options in Present Value Terms is about the same but the disruption to users is much more significant in the “Make Safe” option. In order to establish an accurate estimate for replacement there is a significant amount of design work necessary and consultants must be engaged soon to prepare the necessary reports. Recommendation C proposes that consultants be hired for the structural and park concept design and that a budget of $650,000 be establish for this phase of the work. The funding for this portion of the work is recommended to come from City’s development cost levies for Street works and Parks on a 50-50 basis. Staff will report back to Council after the completion of this phase of work with more accurate construction cost estimates, construction timelines and the replacement deck concept/preliminary design to obtain Council approval to complete the design of the replacement deck structure. The “Make Safe” option, although viable, is not the appropriate solution as it creates frequent disruption to users as repairs are undertaken and still requires complete replacement within 25 years. The City Manager and General Manager of Engineering believe the most appropriate solution is to replace the desk structure now, before the population in the area increases, in order to minimize disruption during construction. Should Council agree with the recommended option, the work must be completed before the 2010 Games. In order to fund this work, Recommendation D recommends the following funding strategy to cover costs up to $26 million:

Proceeds from the Sale of Wylie Street lane $1.6 million

In May 2007 Council approved the sale of a surplus lane to an abutting developer for $1.6 million and allocated these funds to the public amenity package in the SEFC ODP area. As this project enhances that public realm, it is recommended that these funds be made available to fund the deck replacement.

City Wide DCL - Streets $4.0 million City Wide DCL – Park Development $7.0 million

The Expo Deck is both a public works (structure) and a parks (surface treatments) amenity and both of these are eligible development cost levies (DCL) expenditures. At the time the financial limit for the 2006 – 2008 Capital Plan was developed, it was estimated that there would be approximately $60 million available from city wide DCLs during the period. It is Council policy that a portion of these be allocated as part of the planning process and the balance be available for allocation during the plan period or be carried over to the next plan. This conservative approach ensures that funding is available during the plan and if the flow of DCLs does not match expectations over the plan, it is not necessary to defer projects. As a result, $36 million was identified as being available during the planning stage of the capital plan leaving approximately $24 million for emergent needs or for the next plan.


This report proposes to draw additional funding from Parks and Transportation DCL categories. The following table summarizes the expectation for DCL revenues in these categories during the 2006 – 2008 Capital Plan period, the approvals to date and the balance that are expected to be available by the end of 2008.

Estimated Available Allocated Balance to

Allocate

Parks $30.8 million $15.0 million $15.8 million

Transportation $16.5 million $7.7 million $8.2 million Recommendation A proposes to allocate $4.5 million of Park Development DCLs to the development at Trillium Park and Recommendations C and D propose to allocate a further $8.0 million to the park component of the Expo Deck Replacement. Based on current projections, this will leave approximately $3.3 million of anticipated DCL revenues for Park Development to the end of 2008. Recommendation C and D also propose to allocate $4.65 million of Transportation related DCLs to the Expo Deck replacement. This will leave a balance of approximately $3.5 million to the end of 2008.

SEFC Area Specific DCL – Park Development $2.4 million

The SEFC Development will invest over $15 million in foreshore work to continue the public waterfront access provided by development around the rest of False Creek, a portion of work is funded by the area specific DCL in SEFC. Ensuring the long term continuity of this access, including the park treatments located on the deck, is of significant benefit to the City generally as well as to the SEFC neighbourhood. As a portion of this decking is within the SEFC ODP area, it is appropriate that these funds be allocated to complete this replacement.

2009 – 2011 Capital Plan – Public works $11.0 million

Had the priority for completing the Olympic Venues and associated capital projects not been as high, the 2006 – 2008 Capital Plan would have included funding for a portion of the deck replacement. However, as the replacement contemplated in this report must commence in advance of the next capital plan, it is recommended that Council provide interim financing (from the Capital Financing Fund) for the balance of the project and that this funding be repaid from the 2009 – 2011 Capital Plan. This would be a general allocation under the plan and not department specific.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

The approval process for the deck maintenance will include all required Environmental Approval agencies and therefore any implications will be resolved.


CONCLUSION

The Capital projects outlined in this report include two which are first priority as they replace aging infrastructure. The Trillium synthetic turf fields provide an increase in service in a way that maximize the potential usage for sport groups, and keeps up with growing demands and therefore is a solid second priority. The strategy and timing outlined is not optimal but is considered appropriate as closure of the Expo Deck area is just not an option particularly in key public use area along False Creek.

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2006 - 2008 Capital Plan Priorities - Expo Deck / Trillium ... · ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT Report...

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