VANCOUVER -- With two months to go before the civic election, Mayor Gregor Robertson’s Vision Vancouver majority is putting forward a three-year capital plan heavy on many of the party’s election promises.
From a big boost in cycling and walking infrastructure to a new Downtown Eastside library to more parking meters and a cut in road maintenance, the proposed $702 million 2012-2014 capital plan has the earmarks of Vision’s focus on sustainable transportation, solving homelessness and providing affordable housing.
Nowhere is that imprint more visible than in its $60 million affordable housing plan, which would see the construction of 1,100 units, may of them in the Downtown Eastside. That would nearly double the number of units in the city’s stock of subsidized housing, and it marks a major shift in policy.
In the past, the city has provided city-owned land to non-profit housing operators, who build the units with funding from the provincial government. The city usually acquires land through density and development swaps with developers. But this plan calls for the city to invest $42 million over the next three years in land acquisition and grants of its own to build housing. The program would nearly double the number of units in city-owned facilities. The remaining $18 million will be used to repair some of the 22 existing city-owned apartment buildings.
The idea is being roundly condemned as misguided and wasteful by Coun. Suzanne Anton, the Non-Partisan Association mayoral candidate.
“The city already pulls well above its weight in providing something that is rightfully the responsibility of the provincial and federal governments,” she said. “I would not be carrying through with this under my administration. I will take the tens and hundreds of millions of dollars this council is spending on rental housing and put it into genuine public benefits.”
She noted the capital plan “doesn’t include opening a single community centre, pool or rink.” The city isn’t proceeding with a much-needed seniors centre on the southwest side and is only partly funding replacement of the 50-year-old Marpole Community Centre.
“This council seems to have taken its eyes off of what its job is, which is to look after the city.”
Vision Vancouver Coun. Geoff Meggs said the city’s ambitious housing plan isn’t a signal that it has given up hope of getting more support from the provincial and federal governments.
“This does not represent any decision by council to take on downloading [accepting the financial responsibility of senior governments]. What it represents is a much more transparent allocation of what we think is necessary. In fact there may be problems of achieving the housing goals if we don’t see movement on the senior governments’ part,” he said.
Meggs says the new plan strikes a balance of what the city needs over what it can afford. He’s still concerned, however, that there’s too much reliance on taxation sources to pay for services.
“This is nearly equivalent to the largest (capital plan) we’ve done, but it can’t get bigger and in my view it should be somewhat smaller to achieve some of the objectives staff think are prudent,” he said.
Like most long-range capital plans, a majority of programs relate to the regular repair, upgrade and installation of needed services such as water lines, sewers and roads. It also includes capital improvements to city parks and library systems. At $702 million, it is a pared-down version of a $1.2 billion wish list the city drew up last year of all the things it wanted to do if it had unlimited amounts of money.
Of the $702 million, $391 million would come from debenture borrowing and capital from revenue, including $181 million from plebiscites attached to the election. Those amounts are all funded through the city’s operating budget, which depends upon direct taxation.
The city’s finance bureaucrats have for years warned that such operating budget-based capital spending was rising too fast to sustain with current taxation levels. This new plan carves back the city’s expenditure to levels closer to the 2006 capital plan, including less reliance on tax-based funds. The balance of funding from the plan will come from a significant increase in special reserves, development cost levies and community amenity contributions and user fees.
Highlights
• Nearly $25 million for walking and cycling initiatives, including $13.1 million for “active transportation corridors”.
• Purchase of 1,650 new parking meters for $1.65 million for previously unmetered commercial areas.
• New Downtown Eastside-Strathcona library at $15.3 million.
• $10 million to start the Marpole Community Centre.
• Hastings Park greening for $8.4 million.
• $48 million for the city’s share of a new Powell Street overpass.
• $109 million for roads and bridges, including repairs to Granville and Burrard bridges.
• $11.4 million for child care, including 3 new daycares with 150 spaces.
• $139 million for sewers and pumping stations.
• $48 million for water services, including 31 km of water mains.
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
