This is a machine-generated transcript. It was auto-transcribed from the council video, so names and wording contain errors (e.g. spelling of speakers' names) and should be checked against the official video before being quoted. The City's minutes are authoritative for who spoke. The timestamp links (▶) jump to roughly the right spot in the official video and may be off by a few seconds.
[00:01:17] ▶Speaker 0: Hello, Fry. Can you turn on your video, please, so I have Chrome?
[00:01:22] ▶Perfect. Now I have Chrome. Thank you.
[00:01:25] ▶K. Let's get this started.
[00:01:27] ▶Good evening, everyone. I will call the public hearing of, Tuesday, April 5 fourteenth twenty twenty six to our order.
[00:01:34] ▶This meeting is held is being held in person and by electronic means.
[00:01:38] ▶Council members and the public may participate by either method.
[00:01:42] ▶Any council member joining electronically are reminded to enable their video to confirm quorum.
[00:01:47] ▶The meeting is being livestreamed on the city's website on YouTube.
[00:01:51] ▶The meeting progress will be updated regularly on ex advanced city clerk.
[00:01:57] ▶In case of an emergency
[00:01:59] ▶requiring,
[00:02:00] ▶evacuation,
[00:02:01] ▶there are two axes located beyond the glass doors and then to the left.
[00:02:06] ▶If the glass doors are blocked,
[00:02:08] ▶please use one of the four additional axes within the console chamber. Do not use the elevator.
[00:02:13] ▶Use the stairs instead.
[00:02:16] ▶If you need mobility
[00:02:17] ▶assistance,
[00:02:18] ▶remain where you are and the security staff will get you to a safe location.
[00:02:23] ▶A defibrillator is available at the end of the hallway outside of this console chamber.
[00:02:28] ▶We acknowledge that we are on the unceded homelands of Musqueam, Squamish, and the Siletz Watus people.
[00:02:34] ▶We thank them for having care of this land and look forward to working with with them in partnership as we continue to build this great city together.
[00:02:43] ▶I will also recognize the immense contributions of, City Of Vancouver's team members
[00:02:48] ▶who work hard every day
[00:02:49] ▶Speaker 1: to help make our city an incredible place to live, work, and play. Clerk, may we have the roll call, please? Yes. Mayor Sim has a leave of absence for civic business from 5PM onwards. Councilor Kirby Young has a leave of absence for personal reasons all day. Councilor Dominato?
[00:03:05] ▶Speaker 2: Present.
[00:03:06] ▶Speaker 1: Councilor Bly has a leave of absence for personal reasons all day. Councilor Frey?
[00:03:14] ▶Present.
[00:03:15] ▶Councilor Montague?
[00:03:16] ▶Present. Councilor Klassen?
[00:03:19] ▶Speaker 0: Present.
[00:03:20] ▶Speaker 1: Councilor Meissner? Present. Acting Mayor Joe is in the chair. Councilor Orr?
[00:03:26] ▶Councilor Maloney?
[00:03:28] ▶Speaker 0: You have quorum, acting Mayor Joe. K. Thanks, clerk. Before we begin, we have a few announcements.
[00:03:33] ▶The public may speak in person or by phone and may submit written comments to mayor and council.
[00:03:39] ▶Speakers may only speak once and will have up to five minutes to comment on the merits of the application.
[00:03:45] ▶Please state whether you are in support or in opposition of the application,
[00:03:49] ▶and if you are a Vancouver a Vancouver resident if it is not noted on the speaker's list.
[00:03:54] ▶Those representing four or more individuals or groups, including themselves,
[00:03:59] ▶may speak up to eight minutes.
[00:04:01] ▶Each person being represented must confirm their name and presence in person or by phone and may not speak separately.
[00:04:08] ▶Please follow the live stream or advance city clerk on x to track meeting progress
[00:04:15] ▶and know when your your turn to speak is approaching.
[00:04:18] ▶Please note the live stream might have a slight delay.
[00:04:22] ▶Written comments can be submitted through the mayor and the council public hearing feedback form, the form on the white city's website and the link on x.
[00:04:32] ▶If you preregistered
[00:04:33] ▶with a presentation in NEST,
[00:04:36] ▶you'll have clerk advance your slides.
[00:04:39] ▶A reminder,
[00:04:41] ▶at, public hearings, council acts as a quasi judicial body and may focus solely on the merits of the rezoning
[00:04:47] ▶or heritage application.
[00:04:50] ▶Members may ask clarifying question of staff or speakers,
[00:04:54] ▶including including the applicant,
[00:04:56] ▶but should reserve the bay until after the speaker's list has closed.
[00:05:01] ▶After speaking from the speakers hearing from the speakers, council may,
[00:05:07] ▶there are four options.
[00:05:09] ▶One, approve the application in principle.
[00:05:11] ▶Two, approve approve the application in principle with amendments.
[00:05:15] ▶Three, refuse the application.
[00:05:17] ▶Or four, refer the application to staff for further consideration.
[00:05:22] ▶Okay. So we have one item on agenda today. That is CD one
[00:05:26] ▶three six three tax amendment,
[00:05:29] ▶1055
[00:05:30] ▶to 1085,
[00:05:32] ▶Kenna Place,
[00:05:33] ▶and, 1001
[00:05:34] ▶To 1045
[00:05:36] ▶West Waterfront
[00:05:37] ▶Road.
[00:05:38] ▶Before we begin this, agenda item, if anyone believes they have a conflict of interest, now is the time to declare it. Does anyone have a conflict of interest to disclose?
[00:05:48] ▶Alright. Seeing none,
[00:05:50] ▶the clerk will now read the application and the summary of the correspondence
[00:05:54] ▶received.
[00:05:55] ▶Speaker 5: This is an application by Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre Limited to amend CD 1 District 363
[00:06:01] ▶For 10551085
[00:06:03] ▶Canada Place and 10011045
[00:06:07] ▶West Waterfront Road to increase the maximum floor area of sub area two from 98,122
[00:06:15] ▶square meters
[00:06:16] ▶to a 101,223
[00:06:19] ▶square meters
[00:06:20] ▶and increase the maximum height for structures between
[00:06:24] ▶the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre and the Harbour Headline from nine meters to 20 meters
[00:06:30] ▶to permit a 250
[00:06:32] ▶room floating hotel and a new dock at water level with a public walkway and commercial uses.
[00:06:39] ▶The general manager of planning, urban design, and sustainability
[00:06:42] ▶recommends approval subject to conditions set out in the summary and recommendation.
[00:06:46] ▶The following correspondence has been received since referral to public hearing.
[00:06:50] ▶32 pieces of correspondence in support and 37 pieces of correspondence in opposition.
[00:06:56] ▶This represents all correspondence
[00:06:58] ▶received up to 5PM today.
[00:07:00] ▶Speaker 0: K. Thank you, Terry.
[00:07:02] ▶Okay. So this is the first call for speakers. If you wish to speak to counsel about this item, please call toll free, +1 (833)
[00:07:09] ▶353-8610,
[00:07:11] ▶followed by the participant code 1061445Pound
[00:07:16] ▶before the close of the speaker's list. The phone number will be posted on our x and displayed during the recess.
[00:07:22] ▶There will be an opportunity for new speakers and missed speakers to be heard at the end of this registered speaker's list.
[00:07:30] ▶We have staff on planning, urban design, and sustainability
[00:07:33] ▶here to pre, to present the application.
[00:07:35] ▶Please go ahead.
[00:07:39] ▶Speaker 6: Thank you.
[00:07:40] ▶Good evening, chair and council and members of the public. My name is Chi Chien. I'm the rezoning planner for this tech text amendment
[00:07:47] ▶being considered under the Coal Harbour official development plan and and hotel development policy.
[00:07:57] ▶The site shown in the dotted white outline is currently zone c d 1363
[00:08:03] ▶and consists of land and water portions. It's located just west of the Central waterfront area
[00:08:08] ▶along Canada Place Road and between the between Burrard And Thurlow Streets.
[00:08:14] ▶The site is developed as the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre. I'll refer to it as the VCEC.
[00:08:20] ▶The Harbour Air floatplane terminal as well as the current more moorage for the Hello Ferry is located along the v VCEC's,
[00:08:27] ▶Northwestern edge.
[00:08:29] ▶The existing Canada Place Convention Centre is located just to the east, as well as access to Waterfront SkyTrain Station and the SeaBus Terminal.
[00:08:38] ▶This text amendment is limited to modifying the site's zoning to permit a floating hotel that will be located in the Northwest area of the VCEC site as shown in the yellow dotted outline.
[00:08:54] ▶The proposed land use is consistent with the destination venue district land use designation of the Vancouver official development plan.
[00:09:02] ▶This land use designation designates areas that serve a specialized purpose such as event centers, arenas, or exhibition grounds.
[00:09:10] ▶These areas function as a regional destination for arts, tourism, entertainment, or public events.
[00:09:20] ▶This application is being considered under the Coal Harbour official development plan. This ODP permits a diversity of water uses complementary to downtown and port activities,
[00:09:30] ▶including marina with public access, marine terminals,
[00:09:34] ▶moorage, seaplane, and seaplane facilities.
[00:09:38] ▶This proposal aligns with the general intent of the Coal Harbour ODP.
[00:09:43] ▶The proposal also aligns with the hotel development policy's goal to encourage new hotels across Vancouver.
[00:09:55] ▶This application is a text amendment to c d one three six three. The amendment is to permit the use, height, and density to accommodate a 250
[00:10:03] ▶room floating hotel and a West Side Dock.
[00:10:07] ▶The total floor area for the floating hotel and West Side Dock together is approximately 13,700
[00:10:13] ▶square meters.
[00:10:15] ▶While there is an ex while there is existing unbuilt area within C D 1363,
[00:10:20] ▶an additional 3,100
[00:10:22] ▶square meters of density is being created through this text amendment to support the floating hotel and West Side Dock.
[00:10:29] ▶The floating hotel is proposed to be 20 meters,
[00:10:33] ▶high above the waterline.
[00:10:35] ▶It also contains,
[00:10:37] ▶a restaurant, bar, and shops inside the floating structure.
[00:10:41] ▶On the West Side Dock, there are two buildings, one for cafe and one for spa.
[00:10:47] ▶There is a public access SRW which will be secured over the West Side Dock from 6AM to 10PM
[00:10:53] ▶and permit the public to access this dock area for views across the harbor and to the North Shore Mountains.
[00:11:00] ▶This West Side Dock would effectively act like an extension of the perimeter seawall along the convention center.
[00:11:12] ▶Under the Vancouver Building Bylaw, a floating hotel cannot be issued a building permit or occupancy
[00:11:19] ▶permit as it does not contain a foundation or footings.
[00:11:23] ▶It is essentially a barge.
[00:11:25] ▶These permits would ordinarily allow the city to ensure that buildings are built for life safety, structural integrity,
[00:11:32] ▶fire suppression, and evacuation,
[00:11:34] ▶among other things.
[00:11:36] ▶Instead, the applicant team proposes that the floating hotel will be subject to a certification by a third party international
[00:11:42] ▶ship classification
[00:11:44] ▶society,
[00:11:45] ▶Det Norske Veritas. I hope I pronounced that correctly.
[00:11:49] ▶DNV's
[00:11:50] ▶certification process is recognized by Transport Canada as well as the United Nations International Maritime Organization,
[00:11:58] ▶the agency responsible for creating global regulations and policies for safe and secure maritime operations.
[00:12:04] ▶Nonetheless,
[00:12:05] ▶to mitigate the City's risk of not being able to issue a building or occupancy permit, the applicant has agreed to provide a release and indemnity in favor of the City in the event of any injury, death, or damage
[00:12:17] ▶associated with the floating hotel,
[00:12:19] ▶hold a minimum amount of liability insurance, and report regularly to the city on its certification status
[00:12:26] ▶in the in the event of discovery of life safety and health related deficiencies.
[00:12:34] ▶During the public engagement period, comments were received in support of the additional hotel rooms, that the floating hotel would be a unique addition to activate the waterfront,
[00:12:43] ▶and its location would enhance tourism.
[00:12:46] ▶Concerns were expressed about the floating hotel obstructing views of the harbor and the North Shore from the seawall walkway,
[00:12:53] ▶environmental and marine impacts, and congestion both on land and in a busy marine area.
[00:13:00] ▶In response to the obstruction of views, as I previously mentioned, public access is gonna be secured would be secured from 6AM to 10PM
[00:13:08] ▶on the new West Side Dock to allow the public to see new views of the harbor and North Shore.
[00:13:14] ▶In terms of environmental concerns, the applicant will be required to obtain the necessary environmental permits from other regulatory agencies with jurisdiction over the maritime environment, the marine environment, such as the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
[00:13:28] ▶In terms of congestion, the site is highly accessible for pedestrians and cyclists given its location next to the seawall and proximity to the waterfront skytrain station.
[00:13:37] ▶The this the applicant will be responsible for resolving any potential conflicts with seaplanes and other marine operations
[00:13:44] ▶with other regulatory agencies with jurisdiction over navigation, such as Nav Canada and the Port Authority.
[00:13:55] ▶The public benefits anticipated from this project are approximately 220,000
[00:13:59] ▶from the West Side Dock in DCLs and a 290,000
[00:14:03] ▶for public art for a total of approximately half $1,000,000.
[00:14:06] ▶The public access SRW over the West Side Dock is also an on-site public benefit from this project.
[00:14:13] ▶As I mentioned earlier, the floating hotel is not subject to a building permit, and the city cannot collect DCLs on a floating hotel.
[00:14:21] ▶Staff requested a contribution from the applicant of approximately $3,600,000
[00:14:26] ▶of value similar to an equivalent DCL
[00:14:29] ▶for the hotel's floor area, but the applicant has declined to make a contribution.
[00:14:36] ▶Staff recommend approval of this text amendment subject to the conditions of appendix b in the report. Please note that there is also a yellow memo attached to this application.
[00:14:45] ▶Staff and the applicant team are available to answer any questions. Thank you very much.
[00:15:05] ▶Speaker 7: Acting mayor, members of council, thanks so much for this opportunity to appear before you.
[00:15:11] ▶My name is Graham Clark.
[00:15:14] ▶I represent the Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre,
[00:15:17] ▶which is a long standing tenant in the Harbour
[00:15:20] ▶and part of a group of companies that's been operating in these waters for over a century.
[00:15:26] ▶We come before you with a proposal
[00:15:28] ▶that we believe is uniquely suited to Vancouver,
[00:15:31] ▶a city that's globally recognized yet physically constrained
[00:15:35] ▶in how it can grow.
[00:15:37] ▶The question before you is not simply whether to approve another hotel.
[00:15:41] ▶It is whether Vancouver can continue to evolve its waterfront in a way that's economically meaningful,
[00:15:48] ▶environmentally
[00:15:49] ▶responsible,
[00:15:50] ▶and publicly accessible.
[00:15:52] ▶This project does exactly all of those things.
[00:15:55] ▶Floating hotel allows the city to add high quality accommodations capacity,
[00:16:00] ▶something that Vancouver consistently needs
[00:16:03] ▶without consuming scarce land and without displacing existing uses
[00:16:08] ▶and without creating a permanent footprint on the shoreline.
[00:16:11] ▶It is, in many respects, a reversible and adaptable form of development.
[00:16:17] ▶From a public benefit standpoint,
[00:16:20] ▶the project will generate significant economic activity,
[00:16:23] ▶construction jobs,
[00:16:25] ▶long term employment,
[00:16:27] ▶increased tourism spending, and ongoing tax revenues,
[00:16:31] ▶all while strengthening Vancouver's position as a premier destination for The Pacific.
[00:16:37] ▶Just as importantly,
[00:16:39] ▶this is not a speculative,
[00:16:42] ▶untested concept.
[00:16:44] ▶Our group has operated in Vancouver's waterfront for over a century.
[00:16:48] ▶I acquired the company fifty years ago.
[00:16:52] ▶And Sunborn, the proponent,
[00:16:54] ▶is an international leader in floating hotel developments with successful projects operating
[00:17:01] ▶in major cities.
[00:17:02] ▶This is a partnership that combines local stewardship
[00:17:06] ▶and global expertise.
[00:17:09] ▶We understand that the waterfront is a shared civic asset.
[00:17:13] ▶Our intention is not to privatize it, but to enhance it, to add animation activity
[00:17:19] ▶and economic vitality in a way that complements the convention center and the surrounding public realm.
[00:17:26] ▶With that, I'd like to introduce
[00:17:28] ▶our partner, mister Hans Nimi, CEO of Sunborn International,
[00:17:33] ▶who can speak directly
[00:17:34] ▶to their experience,
[00:17:36] ▶and I will be available to answer questions later if you wish. Thank you.
[00:17:42] ▶Speaker 0: Can I ask,
[00:17:43] ▶counselor online to turn on their video, please?
[00:17:51] ▶Okay. Perfect. Thank you. Please go ahead.
[00:18:06] ▶Speaker 1: Good evening,
[00:18:07] ▶mayor and councilors.
[00:18:10] ▶Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.
[00:18:13] ▶My name is Hans Nami,
[00:18:14] ▶and I'm the chief executive officer of Sunborn International.
[00:18:19] ▶We're headquartered in Finland
[00:18:21] ▶and,
[00:18:22] ▶come from a long background
[00:18:24] ▶of real estate hospitality maritime development.
[00:18:27] ▶Can we have the next slide, please?
[00:18:36] ▶The background
[00:18:37] ▶to this proposed development
[00:18:41] ▶is stemming back to the times of the Coal Harbor
[00:18:44] ▶Regional Plants.
[00:18:46] ▶And and, subsequently,
[00:18:48] ▶Vancouver Harbor Harbor Flight Center
[00:18:51] ▶developed a plan for a marina for this site,
[00:18:53] ▶a private marina that
[00:18:56] ▶Graham Clark always says that
[00:18:58] ▶was not in the heart of what he wanted to do as a legacy,
[00:19:02] ▶a private mega yacht marina that would not be publicly accessible.
[00:19:07] ▶This proposal
[00:19:08] ▶builds on that Trevis Marina
[00:19:10] ▶development idea,
[00:19:12] ▶and we're creating a public use,
[00:19:15] ▶hotel
[00:19:16] ▶ancillary services in this site.
[00:19:19] ▶The site is very suitable
[00:19:21] ▶because it already contains some of the infrastructure
[00:19:23] ▶that was originally intended
[00:19:25] ▶for the water uses in in this area, including the including the dolphin
[00:19:30] ▶and the connection points.
[00:19:32] ▶Can we have the next slide, please?
[00:19:37] ▶Sunborn's background
[00:19:38] ▶dates back almost fifty five years.
[00:19:42] ▶We have been developing
[00:19:44] ▶real estate, hospitality, maritime assets in multiple countries, like many hotel and hospitality companies do operate globally.
[00:19:52] ▶We tend to do landmark,
[00:19:54] ▶high quality,
[00:19:55] ▶long standing properties that we own and operate.
[00:19:59] ▶We're an opco, propco.
[00:20:00] ▶Our background is a family business,
[00:20:03] ▶owned and run by our family,
[00:20:06] ▶and the company in question doing this is our public listed company listed on Helsinki NASDAQ
[00:20:12] ▶stock exchange.
[00:20:13] ▶Next slide, please.
[00:20:17] ▶The other backstory
[00:20:18] ▶to the proposed development
[00:20:20] ▶is
[00:20:21] ▶our
[00:20:23] ▶very similar circumstances
[00:20:25] ▶hotel operation in London. We've been operating in London,
[00:20:29] ▶this particular hotel asset and one hotel ship before that,
[00:20:33] ▶for twenty three years successfully.
[00:20:37] ▶This is the best performing hotel
[00:20:39] ▶in the
[00:20:41] ▶London Convention Center Excel
[00:20:43] ▶campus
[00:20:44] ▶for the last ten years based on third party studies
[00:20:48] ▶with the best,
[00:20:50] ▶Rep Pars,
[00:20:51] ▶ADRs, and occupancies
[00:20:53] ▶in the concept.
[00:20:55] ▶And
[00:20:56] ▶this is very similar to the proposal what we're making for Vancouver in the sense that this hotel is connected to the exhibition center.
[00:21:05] ▶It provides a critical service for the conference market.
[00:21:10] ▶It is tied into the infrastructure
[00:21:12] ▶of the convention center in London, just like we're proposing to do here in Vancouver.
[00:21:17] ▶We're piping in, we're getting our power,
[00:21:20] ▶we're
[00:21:20] ▶putting our blackwater into their system,
[00:21:24] ▶and we're utilizing an otherwise unused water space
[00:21:28] ▶in this very critical location.
[00:21:30] ▶Next slide, please.
[00:21:33] ▶So the location for the proposal here
[00:21:37] ▶is
[00:21:37] ▶located between the cruise port
[00:21:40] ▶and between the Harbor Flight Center, G Plane Terminal,
[00:21:44] ▶and the recently,
[00:21:47] ▶built Hollow
[00:21:49] ▶Travel Hub for the,
[00:21:51] ▶the ferries.
[00:21:53] ▶And so it's a very appropriate location in our view for a maritime asset, which is temporary in nature.
[00:22:00] ▶And just like in London, connects to the convention center and benefits from the existing
[00:22:06] ▶facilities, infrastructure, parking,
[00:22:08] ▶and access points that have been built already.
[00:22:12] ▶Next slide, please.
[00:22:17] ▶What we're seeking is a text amendment
[00:22:20] ▶to allow the use of the hotel
[00:22:23] ▶in in this area.
[00:22:25] ▶The hotel would have 250
[00:22:27] ▶rooms.
[00:22:28] ▶It is a high quality hotel.
[00:22:30] ▶What we are running in London currently is a four star deluxe property. This would be a slightly higher standard.
[00:22:36] ▶This is not a super expensive,
[00:22:40] ▶very exclusive
[00:22:41] ▶unattainable product. We understand the market and the location, and we will work hand in hand with Avco,
[00:22:48] ▶providing services to their clients. So the pricing point and our access to the market
[00:22:53] ▶at the right
[00:22:54] ▶commercial levels is very important to us.
[00:22:58] ▶The connection to the VCC
[00:23:01] ▶is also critical as we have the parking, which is located in the in the VCC Building, and most of the infrastructure is going to be in the Undercroft,
[00:23:10] ▶that we're gonna be tapping into.
[00:23:12] ▶We expect
[00:23:14] ▶quite a large portion of our clientele to come directly from the convention center, but this is also a hotel for leisure clients
[00:23:21] ▶and corporate clients
[00:23:25] ▶alike. One point to make is that
[00:23:28] ▶even though it is fixed with our mooring system,
[00:23:32] ▶it is a temporary in nature proposal.
[00:23:35] ▶The benefit of that is
[00:23:38] ▶we are not taking away space from the land side or other critical uses that the city may have, affordable housing,
[00:23:45] ▶among other things.
[00:23:47] ▶As a temporary in nature proposal,
[00:23:50] ▶it means that we are gonna be operating here as long as we are wanted, and there's a demand for this product.
[00:23:56] ▶And and, it allows
[00:23:59] ▶for the future
[00:24:00] ▶development opportunities in this site
[00:24:03] ▶years ahead. We're not taking
[00:24:05] ▶opportunities away from the city.
[00:24:10] ▶The maritime
[00:24:11] ▶nature of this asset is also complementary to the city's hotel development plan. I remember reading specifically that
[00:24:20] ▶the hotel development plan is seeking variety
[00:24:23] ▶in accommodation
[00:24:24] ▶and hotels.
[00:24:26] ▶Well, this truly is something
[00:24:28] ▶of of different variety to the the the rest of the normal land based hotels.
[00:24:33] ▶And it's a very fitting
[00:24:36] ▶asset class as a maritime
[00:24:38] ▶yacht and a and a vessel for the port.
[00:24:42] ▶And
[00:24:43] ▶suitable sites for these kinds of operations are very, very hard to come by.
[00:24:48] ▶And this is one of those locations where
[00:24:51] ▶these
[00:24:52] ▶requirements seem to fit really, really well
[00:24:56] ▶in in this location, specifically.
[00:25:00] ▶The new public dock that we're proposing to be built ancillary to the hotel
[00:25:05] ▶is going to be under building permit. It is a more permanent in nature structure as a concrete,
[00:25:12] ▶floating structure,
[00:25:14] ▶also attached with our our fixed mooring system. This is open to the public.
[00:25:18] ▶One of the aspirations here is that we will
[00:25:22] ▶increase the access to the waterfront and provide new type of access points to the water level
[00:25:28] ▶and adding almost a 100 meters of basically public
[00:25:32] ▶walkway
[00:25:33] ▶and and viewpoints.
[00:25:35] ▶Next slide, please.
[00:25:46] ▶The current situation in Vancouver as we understand it is there is a shortage of hotel rooms.
[00:25:51] ▶In the last
[00:25:53] ▶city,
[00:25:55] ▶investigation was around 6,000 bedrooms
[00:25:58] ▶in in shortage. New applications have been processed clearly,
[00:26:02] ▶but we will provide
[00:26:04] ▶our piece of of the missing hotel rooms
[00:26:08] ▶and doing so without taking those opportunities away from the land side.
[00:26:12] ▶We will be supporting Vancouver,
[00:26:15] ▶conferences by by providing these rooms to PABCO
[00:26:19] ▶and our visiting international conference clientele.
[00:26:23] ▶We will be employing around 200 full time employees plus the indirect employment opportunities that come from,
[00:26:30] ▶all the ancillary services.
[00:26:33] ▶Typically, we would use a ratio of 1.5
[00:26:36] ▶to the FTEs
[00:26:38] ▶to scout out the overall sort of staffing requirement.
[00:26:42] ▶Also importantly, this is a very environmentally
[00:26:47] ▶hearted development.
[00:26:49] ▶The
[00:26:52] ▶energy efficiency,
[00:26:54] ▶environmental,
[00:26:57] ▶targeting
[00:26:58] ▶for us is at the heart of the design of this product. This is a product that we're designing for Vancouver.
[00:27:04] ▶It will be be bespoke built for this site.
[00:27:07] ▶And in in the in the center of our design process is the fact that there's no discharge, there's no oil, there's no
[00:27:15] ▶permanent engines on board or anything that's gonna be dripping into the water. We're fully,
[00:27:21] ▶connected to the infrastructure of PAFCO.
[00:27:23] ▶And so the environmental impact has been assessed by the company,
[00:27:28] ▶and we've tried to identify any risk points.
[00:27:30] ▶And there are very little to to
[00:27:32] ▶report.
[00:27:35] ▶We're hoping that this destination
[00:27:38] ▶hotel
[00:27:39] ▶will become an experiential hotel that will add
[00:27:42] ▶to the invigoration of the waterfront.
[00:27:46] ▶This is a hot spot
[00:27:48] ▶in in Vancouver as I've spent some time here now.
[00:27:52] ▶It's a very,
[00:27:54] ▶fluid location with lots of pedestrians, bicycles,
[00:27:56] ▶activities, tourists,
[00:27:58] ▶crew line passengers.
[00:28:00] ▶And so
[00:28:02] ▶this will provide its part in providing ancillary space and spaces for the local Vancouverians
[00:28:08] ▶and the tourists to to,
[00:28:10] ▶enjoy this location.
[00:28:12] ▶And, importantly, this vessel will be built
[00:28:16] ▶off-site.
[00:28:17] ▶That means that this will minimize the disruption
[00:28:20] ▶that you would normally associate with building a 250
[00:28:23] ▶bedroom hotel.
[00:28:24] ▶Yes. Granted, there will be some filing works that we will have to coordinate with our authorities.
[00:28:31] ▶But for the most part, the disruption will happen elsewhere.
[00:28:36] ▶The floating dock, the public access spa and cafe, we're we're planning to build here in Vancouver
[00:28:42] ▶and and the vessel
[00:28:44] ▶abroad.
[00:28:45] ▶Next slide, please.
[00:28:50] ▶And we can flick through some of these viewpoints just to provide
[00:28:56] ▶a view on the access and and the visibility from the promenade.
[00:29:02] ▶The access to the hotel if we stop here for a second.
[00:29:06] ▶The access to the hotel clients and visitors like to the food and beverage offerings, the spa and cafe,
[00:29:12] ▶will be mostly coming from the promenade level. We will be having an access point in PAFCO,
[00:29:18] ▶where where there will be parking available, and there will be a concierge station so you can walk directly from the convention center
[00:29:25] ▶into the promenade and from there onwards with this
[00:29:30] ▶gangway system that we have. And then we're also building using the existing Dolphin that was built already years ago in anticipation of development on the site
[00:29:40] ▶will be used to build a very similar type of elevator and staircase
[00:29:45] ▶access point that we have for the Harbor Flight Center at the moment.
[00:29:49] ▶And this
[00:29:50] ▶additional access to the waterfront
[00:29:53] ▶and the dockway
[00:29:54] ▶or the the pier and the public walkway
[00:29:58] ▶is a contribution.
[00:29:59] ▶We do not need such a large,
[00:30:02] ▶dock, but we've designed it very much with the public,
[00:30:06] ▶use case in mind. And this will be a sizable investment for the company.
[00:30:11] ▶So in lieu of some of the normal building permitting,
[00:30:16] ▶related payments to the city, we hope that this will be considered as a contribution
[00:30:20] ▶on of of kind.
[00:30:22] ▶We're estimating
[00:30:23] ▶this dock and the access points to cost in around 15,000,000
[00:30:27] ▶Canadian
[00:30:28] ▶dollars alone.
[00:30:31] ▶Next slide.
[00:30:39] ▶Yes. Here. Thank you.
[00:30:43] ▶The,
[00:30:45] ▶public dock proposal,
[00:30:47] ▶we've taken inspiration from, in fact, the MoMA
[00:30:51] ▶in
[00:30:52] ▶in Lisbon where you have a public building and the rooftop of it is walkable. So it's become a bit of a destination for
[00:31:00] ▶visitors to walk over the the the rooftop of of of the building. That same principle we're trying to apply here to make as much of this,
[00:31:10] ▶and and different levels accessible to the to the public, and and they can enjoy the viewpoints, have a coffee,
[00:31:17] ▶enter the spa, enter the cafe, and so forth and so forth.
[00:31:22] ▶And, this is
[00:31:24] ▶a vantage point and an access point that currently does not exist. So
[00:31:29] ▶we're we're seeing this as a positive
[00:31:32] ▶addition to the site.
[00:31:36] ▶Next slide.
[00:31:40] ▶Just showing different perspectives of it.
[00:31:44] ▶This is one of those points where we are enhancing the views of of the
[00:31:49] ▶surrounding area,
[00:31:50] ▶and and, hopefully,
[00:31:52] ▶this will,
[00:31:54] ▶assist in in some of the viewpoint concerns
[00:31:58] ▶that from some vantage points from the promenade,
[00:32:01] ▶we may be taking away.
[00:32:04] ▶Next slide.
[00:32:08] ▶We can flick through slowly these
[00:32:10] ▶couple of vantage points. And this is from the
[00:32:14] ▶roof level of the
[00:32:16] ▶of the,
[00:32:18] ▶the spa building.
[00:32:20] ▶We'll have different levels and a bit of a garden feel to it,
[00:32:25] ▶with with really, really great viewpoints from there.
[00:32:28] ▶Next slide.
[00:32:32] ▶The
[00:32:33] ▶further on the environmental
[00:32:35] ▶and energy aspects of it. So
[00:32:37] ▶this vessel has been designed
[00:32:40] ▶with a target of reducing our energy consumption
[00:32:44] ▶compared to normal land side or similar,
[00:32:47] ▶structures and hotels by 70%.
[00:32:50] ▶A 70% reduction in energy consumption
[00:32:53] ▶fully using renewable energy sources,
[00:32:56] ▶and we are gonna be piloting some of our patented
[00:33:00] ▶title technology here to convert also use the title range that we're facing, which is a technical challenge in the site, but we're also turning that into
[00:33:10] ▶an interesting,
[00:33:12] ▶energy
[00:33:12] ▶converter system.
[00:33:14] ▶We are using thermal
[00:33:16] ▶energy systems. That means heat pumps.
[00:33:19] ▶These have come a long way over the last year, so we're expecting those to also keep on developing
[00:33:25] ▶as we're building this. So this will be
[00:33:28] ▶a low carbon hotel.
[00:33:29] ▶It will have no discharge to the water. We will hold no oil or fossil fuels on board whatsoever.
[00:33:35] ▶That will also mitigate and and derisk any environmental
[00:33:39] ▶concerns
[00:33:40] ▶of leakage or oil or things that normally would associate with,
[00:33:46] ▶vessels and maritime assets.
[00:33:48] ▶We're also located in the cruise port.
[00:33:50] ▶And so just to give you a flavor of the sizing of this vessel, this is not a large vessel
[00:33:56] ▶at the end of the day. If you compare it to the
[00:33:59] ▶Norwegian cruise lines or other passenger vessels that frequently visit this site,
[00:34:04] ▶they are around 150,000
[00:34:07] ▶gross tons,
[00:34:08] ▶up to 300 meters in size,
[00:34:10] ▶20 decks,
[00:34:12] ▶and and frequently in the port. Our vessel is 12 and a half thousand metric tons,
[00:34:17] ▶GT.
[00:34:19] ▶So it is a fraction of the sizing of these passenger vessels.
[00:34:23] ▶We will not have the engines, the propeller
[00:34:26] ▶systems, or any other mechanics
[00:34:28] ▶that would normally leak into the water. So we've made it a monohull,
[00:34:32] ▶meaning that there's no piercings in the hull, and there's nothing that would ever leak into the water from the ship.
[00:34:38] ▶We're not using generators
[00:34:40] ▶or engines.
[00:34:42] ▶We're completely tapped into renewable power sources
[00:34:45] ▶from shore
[00:34:46] ▶and and and in our own energy systems.
[00:34:50] ▶And
[00:34:51] ▶the whole vessel is also designed for
[00:34:54] ▶ultimately to be recycled.
[00:34:56] ▶There are no hazardous materials on board,
[00:34:59] ▶as you would normally associate with maritime vessels.
[00:35:02] ▶And the design of the vessel is hotel first,
[00:35:05] ▶maritime asset second, meaning that we're trying to not compromise on
[00:35:10] ▶the on the
[00:35:11] ▶the public
[00:35:13] ▶features of the hotel.
[00:35:15] ▶It needs to run as a hotel, but it also needs to be technically very durable
[00:35:19] ▶and safe, and that's where the DMV classification
[00:35:23] ▶and and the high maritime standards that are always applied to these vessels
[00:35:27] ▶comes in. So I would say that this is a
[00:35:30] ▶safer,
[00:35:31] ▶technically superior product to landside hotels
[00:35:34] ▶in terms of health and safety, fire safety,
[00:35:37] ▶and and and systems.
[00:35:40] ▶And we are also contributing
[00:35:42] ▶to the VCC
[00:35:44] ▶very advanced,
[00:35:46] ▶recycling systems, black water holding systems,
[00:35:49] ▶and and,
[00:35:51] ▶other other capacities that they have built with the frame of mind early that there will be further development on-site.
[00:35:57] ▶So there's capacity
[00:35:59] ▶in the in the PAFCO systems that we can tap into,
[00:36:03] ▶And that is a great thing. So we don't need to build much more,
[00:36:06] ▶and and the access points are already there.
[00:36:11] ▶Next slide, please.
[00:36:16] ▶So in
[00:36:17] ▶brief summary,
[00:36:19] ▶we are proposing a 250
[00:36:21] ▶bedroom hotel,
[00:36:22] ▶an experiential
[00:36:24] ▶maritime
[00:36:25] ▶themed hotel
[00:36:27] ▶in the Port District
[00:36:29] ▶with
[00:36:30] ▶including around 200 full time employees plus under indirect jobs,
[00:36:35] ▶off-site construction to mitigate,
[00:36:38] ▶any disruption to the site during the development phase of this.
[00:36:42] ▶We will be coordinating
[00:36:43] ▶with the local authorities
[00:36:46] ▶and planning permitting,
[00:36:48] ▶Nav Canada, Transport Canada
[00:36:51] ▶for all the
[00:36:52] ▶prerequisite
[00:36:53] ▶requirements
[00:36:54] ▶and and certifications
[00:36:56] ▶that we need.
[00:36:57] ▶So at this stage, we're just seeking text amendment
[00:37:00] ▶for the for the rezoning.
[00:37:03] ▶And this will be
[00:37:06] ▶the energy
[00:37:07] ▶efficient,
[00:37:07] ▶environmentally
[00:37:08] ▶friendly hotel
[00:37:10] ▶in Vancouver. If not the best,
[00:37:12] ▶among the very best in Canada,
[00:37:15] ▶in terms of of our energy
[00:37:17] ▶targets.
[00:37:19] ▶We will build a publicly accessible pier and structure
[00:37:23] ▶as a contribution,
[00:37:24] ▶and, of course, it will have some commercial uses as well. We hope that this will all become a destination
[00:37:30] ▶in its own right in this fantastic location.
[00:37:33] ▶We understand the sensitivity
[00:37:34] ▶of the site
[00:37:36] ▶and the viewpoints.
[00:37:37] ▶We have carefully studied
[00:37:39] ▶location
[00:37:40] ▶and the alignment of the vessel with multiple revolutions of designs
[00:37:45] ▶to accommodate the viewpoints of the port, of PAFCO,
[00:37:48] ▶of city staff,
[00:37:50] ▶and we feel that this particular alignment
[00:37:53] ▶and location
[00:37:54] ▶fulfills all of those concerns.
[00:37:58] ▶And, with that,
[00:38:01] ▶I thank you,
[00:38:03] ▶and
[00:38:05] ▶happy to answer more questions if there are any. Thank you so much. Thank you for the presentation.
[00:38:10] ▶Speaker 0: Are there any question from council to staff or the applicant noting this is the only opportunity for
[00:38:16] ▶counsel to ask questions of the applicant. I saw councilor Montague, please go ahead.
[00:38:21] ▶Speaker 8: Yeah. Thanks, Jerry. Excuse
[00:38:23] ▶me.
[00:38:24] ▶Thanks for the comprehensive,
[00:38:26] ▶presentation.
[00:38:27] ▶I think you answered almost all of my questions that I had.
[00:38:32] ▶Just one regarding the,
[00:38:34] ▶public,
[00:38:35] ▶dock.
[00:38:37] ▶What's the area of that? How big how big of an area we we talking about
[00:38:41] ▶square footage wise?
[00:38:43] ▶Speaker 0: Do you have an idea?
[00:38:46] ▶Speaker 1: 13,000
[00:38:47] ▶square feet. 13,000?
[00:38:49] ▶Speaker 8: K. Thank you.
[00:38:50] ▶And I don't know if this is for either city staff or applicant might know this as well, but
[00:38:56] ▶the,
[00:38:57] ▶height elevation from,
[00:38:59] ▶I guess, depending on tides, from water level to the current,
[00:39:03] ▶walkway along the convention center,
[00:39:07] ▶I don't know if anyone knows that.
[00:39:09] ▶Speaker 1: The the renderings that we've shown in the presentation, they're all of them at geodetic
[00:39:15] ▶tide.
[00:39:16] ▶And the the tide variance is around 15 feet
[00:39:20] ▶Yep. At at maximum.
[00:39:22] ▶That's not average, but but sort of maximum range.
[00:39:25] ▶And so it is a moving target,
[00:39:27] ▶in a sense. The entry point for the hotel
[00:39:30] ▶is on Deck 3,
[00:39:31] ▶and that's pretty much parallel to the pro mandate level.
[00:39:36] ▶And and the hotel has
[00:39:38] ▶six decks
[00:39:39] ▶altogether.
[00:39:40] ▶One of them is below water as well.
[00:39:44] ▶Oh, okay. If if that gives some some sense into the so if if you imagine on a normal day where the average tide is, where it's normally hitting, you're looking at sort of two stories above.
[00:39:55] ▶Speaker 8: Okay. Yes. That does answer my question. Thanks. And the
[00:39:58] ▶the public walkway along Canada Place is significantly higher than that. Do we know the elevation of the walkway along Canada Place?
[00:40:09] ▶Speaker 6: Thank you for the question. We're just gonna look up that information. We'll come back. Okay. Thanks. That's it for now, chair.
[00:40:14] ▶Speaker 0: Thanks.
[00:40:16] ▶Councilor
[00:40:16] ▶Maloney.
[00:40:18] ▶Speaker 9: Thanks. Now
[00:40:19] ▶Speaker 7: It's nine meters.
[00:40:23] ▶Speaker 10: Thanks. Thanks.
[00:40:26] ▶Speaker 9: I'd just like to address some of the the main concerns that I've heard from members of the public.
[00:40:33] ▶We've heard that the,
[00:40:36] ▶the applicant declined to contribute
[00:40:38] ▶the $3,600,000
[00:40:41] ▶requested.
[00:40:42] ▶However,
[00:40:43] ▶the dock
[00:40:44] ▶is worth,
[00:40:46] ▶would cost $50,000,000,
[00:40:49] ▶and it contains
[00:40:51] ▶some,
[00:40:52] ▶commercial spaces.
[00:40:54] ▶Perhaps this is a a question for staff. Are you satisfied
[00:40:59] ▶that the value the public contribution, the public value,
[00:41:04] ▶external to the the commercial spaces on the on the dock is worth in excess of the,
[00:41:11] ▶$3,600,000,
[00:41:14] ▶that was requested in amenities fees.
[00:41:20] ▶Speaker 6: Thank you for the question.
[00:41:22] ▶I don't have the full value of the dock itself.
[00:41:25] ▶However, we did evaluate,
[00:41:27] ▶we did look at it from a CEC perspective
[00:41:30] ▶and of what a hotel floor area of this size might contribute.
[00:41:34] ▶We equated that,
[00:41:36] ▶the applicant offered a public access right of way on the West Dock,
[00:41:40] ▶and we found that that was an adequate CEC contribution,
[00:41:45] ▶that would mitigate CECs.
[00:41:47] ▶A a DCL is is a slightly different
[00:41:51] ▶aspect, and,
[00:41:53] ▶so we we did not find an equivalency necessarily for the DCL.
[00:41:58] ▶Speaker 9: Perhaps the applicant might might want to, provide some extra explanation as to why why they declined to
[00:42:05] ▶Speaker 1: provide that requested money. It's it's a good question, and thank you for it.
[00:42:11] ▶The the nature of the proposal is a maritime asset
[00:42:16] ▶that is temporary in nature. It is not fixed, and it may actually be moved
[00:42:21] ▶depending on the demand situations
[00:42:23] ▶and what may happen. But as as in the nonpermanent
[00:42:26] ▶development,
[00:42:28] ▶it's hard to to align with the normal
[00:42:31] ▶permanent building structures that we would normally develop on the land side because you have, you know, the value appraisal of your asset going up and the land. And it makes sense to have these these sort of building permits related payments. But when you're talking about a ship in the port,
[00:42:47] ▶we don't know how long it's gonna be there. We hope that it's gonna be there for a long time, but that's the rationale for that. We tried to find something that we can contribute otherwise in kind,
[00:42:57] ▶and and we feel that that,
[00:43:00] ▶we'd made a reasonable attempt to do that with the public dock and the amenity and the destination.
[00:43:06] ▶Speaker 9: So do you consider that the contribution of the the public dock,
[00:43:11] ▶would be the reason why you declined to to
[00:43:14] ▶Speaker 1: That and and the temporary in nature asset itself. Okay. And as as far as we consider the the flow the the pier structure, the public amenity structure, and the cafe and the spa structure, we consider that to be more of a permanent, and that is subject to building permission as well.
[00:43:32] ▶Speaker 9: Okay.
[00:43:33] ▶Thank you.
[00:43:34] ▶I'd just like to ask a question about,
[00:43:38] ▶what what consultation,
[00:43:40] ▶and feedback has taken place with the Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services and ambulance services in terms of access
[00:43:48] ▶to emergency access to
[00:43:50] ▶this this the the proposed design of the vessel?
[00:43:55] ▶Speaker 6: Thank you for the question. So we did consult with Vancouver Fire, and,
[00:43:59] ▶there there there are they were the opinion that there are different options.
[00:44:03] ▶Sorry. I'm gonna back that up.
[00:44:06] ▶Because we cannot issue a building permit for this proposal,
[00:44:10] ▶they are unable we, and they are unable to regulate it. When we discuss this with the applicant, they have proposed this alternative that through this classification
[00:44:19] ▶agency and to be built to certain maritime standards,
[00:44:23] ▶they are taking on that risk and that those systems.
[00:44:27] ▶So for fire exits and fire evacuation, that will be entirely the applicant's responsibility.
[00:44:34] ▶Speaker 9: Yeah. I'm just wondering whether the Vancouver site fire and rescue services
[00:44:39] ▶and ambulance services will be called on. I mean I mean, I'm assuming that once this is,
[00:44:45] ▶in place,
[00:44:46] ▶that they would require
[00:44:49] ▶that. And and perhaps,
[00:44:51] ▶I'm I've only got thirty seconds left, but perhaps the applicant can can speak to that concern.
[00:44:57] ▶Speaker 1: I would maybe refer back to the example of London where we've been operating for twenty three years.
[00:45:04] ▶There, we have a similar situation with a classification,
[00:45:08] ▶maritime standards, regulations,
[00:45:10] ▶oversight, annual inspections,
[00:45:12] ▶but also very close cooperation with the local fire department,
[00:45:17] ▶in ensuring and there will be always, you know, incidents happening where you need to get an ambulance, you need to get the fire department to to come in. But what makes this very different as a maritime floating asset,
[00:45:28] ▶you have to imagine the situation with the passenger vessels that are in the cruise port.
[00:45:32] ▶Speaker 9: A tool will I I've run out of time, but perhaps the next person might like to hear the rest of that answer.
[00:45:38] ▶Speaker 1: But so just to conclude on that, we we we have a very good good sort of benchmark in the way we've done that in London. We've had no problems.
[00:45:46] ▶And it is really just cooperating with the local fire department and making sure that everybody is fully aware of what's going on and how we're gonna operate this. K. We are at the time. Yep. Thanks. Alright. So I'm gonna advance myself here. So I have some question to follow-up,
[00:46:02] ▶Speaker 0: previous counselor's question about the certification.
[00:46:05] ▶So, all your hotel in other places
[00:46:10] ▶around the world all having this, certification
[00:46:14] ▶with the applicants?
[00:46:16] ▶Speaker 1: So we have a similar situation where you have the the vessel is classified by the classification society,
[00:46:23] ▶which is regulated under IMO,
[00:46:25] ▶and flag states have have sort of delegated powers to the classification societies.
[00:46:30] ▶We always work with the local fire department.
[00:46:33] ▶We will go through the fire and evacuation plans, get their
[00:46:37] ▶viewpoints on that, make sure that they're happy with all the gear.
[00:46:40] ▶And and,
[00:46:41] ▶so so the certification comes from classification society.
[00:46:45] ▶To certain extent, there may be local certification
[00:46:49] ▶or operations or business licenses that we will alcohol licenses that we will have to apply just like any other hotel.
[00:46:56] ▶And so because it's a unique proposal. This is not
[00:46:59] ▶atypical. So we're always having to, in every jurisdiction,
[00:47:02] ▶find the right way of working with the local authorities
[00:47:06] ▶because it's it's quite unique wherever we go with this product.
[00:47:09] ▶And and, so far, we've had no problems. Okay. So if I understand this correctly, so
[00:47:15] ▶Speaker 0: this is a global recognized
[00:47:17] ▶certification,
[00:47:18] ▶but we accommodate all the local requirements.
[00:47:21] ▶Speaker 1: And and they they will, in all cases, surpass the landside regulations.
[00:47:26] ▶This is typical for aircraft and and maritime
[00:47:29] ▶assets that the the certification regulations are much more stringent
[00:47:33] ▶because of the nature of the operations on sea or in air.
[00:47:37] ▶And and so we will fulfill
[00:47:39] ▶the equivalent or surpass the local regulations.
[00:47:42] ▶Speaker 0: K. Thanks.
[00:47:44] ▶Another question. You mentioned there will be 200 new jobs created by these hotels. Are those all unionized
[00:47:50] ▶positions,
[00:47:51] ▶or most of them are unionized?
[00:47:54] ▶Speaker 1: We we will engage with the local unions and our staff. We we are planning to to 100100%
[00:48:00] ▶local local employed staffing.
[00:48:03] ▶The local arrangement with the unions are are, of course, very important wherever we go. We are not at that stage yet. We haven't reached out
[00:48:11] ▶to our our our sort of counterparts in the unions,
[00:48:14] ▶but we will get there at a later stage, and we will definitely consider that as well. K. And,
[00:48:20] ▶Speaker 0: for there is a a what a a floating plane,
[00:48:25] ▶airplane, airport over there. Would that create any noise for the hotel guest?
[00:48:30] ▶Speaker 1: Absolutely. Well, we we have a similar setup in both London and, for example, Gibraltar where we are located around a 100 meters from the airstrip of the airport.
[00:48:40] ▶And so one unique aspect of these maritime vessels is that they have very high
[00:48:44] ▶insulation
[00:48:46] ▶capabilities, u factors in terms of sound insulation
[00:48:49] ▶and environmental
[00:48:50] ▶insulation as well. And so we are taking that into account in our design specs,
[00:48:56] ▶and and we don't see that being an issue in our existing operations, and we don't see that being an issue with the seaplane terminal next to us. Thank you. So about, the public dock, will there be a public washroom?
[00:49:10] ▶I will have to come back to that. We
[00:49:12] ▶have not gone into the detailed design inside.
[00:49:17] ▶We can definitely consider that there will be washrooms there. And since these are public spaces,
[00:49:23] ▶Speaker 0: I would consider them to be public washrooms. Yes. K. Thank you. And who will be maintained our public dock? It will be the city or will be the hotel operator? We will maintain it. Okay. So there will be no additional cost for the city to maintain. K. Thank you.
[00:49:39] ▶K.
[00:49:41] ▶So okay. So you mentioned that the public dock is 13,000
[00:49:45] ▶square feet.
[00:49:47] ▶To put into that into perspective, how does that compare to, I don't know, Jackpot Plaza?
[00:49:53] ▶I'm not sure if that made the question for our staff. How big is that,
[00:49:57] ▶public,
[00:49:58] ▶stock? Just to put into perspective for people can understand
[00:50:04] ▶or some other comparable
[00:50:06] ▶public space.
[00:50:10] ▶Speaker 6: Thank you for your question. If you just give us a moment, we'll look that up. Okay. Thank you. That's all my question. Hey. Maybe I can help you with that. Not with the area, but the
[00:50:19] ▶Speaker 7: the length. There's 315
[00:50:22] ▶meters of space on the north side of the, convention center.
[00:50:26] ▶We're adding about a 130.
[00:50:29] ▶So we're the vessel is 18 meters in beam. So subtract eight feet 18 from 315
[00:50:36] ▶and then add a 150.
[00:50:39] ▶That not only extends the walking area,
[00:50:43] ▶but it means that you can look north, you can look south now, and see the city skyline, which you couldn't before. You could look east to the second narrows bridge
[00:50:53] ▶and west to the Lions, the Lions Gate Bridge in Stanley Park.
[00:50:57] ▶Speaker 0: Those are all new views. Yeah. Yeah. I just want people visualize how big it is, the public plaza, because 13,000 square feet, people may not be realized how big it is. Yeah. Please go ahead.
[00:51:06] ▶Speaker 6: Thank you. Jack Poole Plaza is approximately 46,000.
[00:51:09] ▶So the public this dock, 13,000, about a third of that. I do want to just clarify for council that,
[00:51:17] ▶we have we are securing an SRW, but we have not defined
[00:51:21] ▶the full scope of that SRW yet. That will be part of the DP process
[00:51:25] ▶because some of the space on that public dock will be for private spa and cafe. K. Thank you. Alright. So running out of time. Councilor Meisner.
[00:51:34] ▶Speaker 4: Yeah. Thanks. That actually is a good segue into my one of my questions.
[00:51:39] ▶On the,
[00:51:40] ▶the dock,
[00:51:42] ▶I I'm not sure if it's staff or applicant, but,
[00:51:45] ▶it may be staff.
[00:51:46] ▶Is the seating going to be publicly
[00:51:49] ▶accessible? So if somebody doesn't buy something from the cafe, they're not going to the spa, are they still able to sit on this new dock?
[00:51:56] ▶Speaker 6: Thank you for the question. So as I mentioned before to elaborate on the SRW, we are,
[00:52:01] ▶the the full scope of the SRW will be defined at the development permit process, but we have signaled to the applicant team that we are hoping for public seating,
[00:52:11] ▶public seating and access to public for to for public views as well. Mhmm. So that fine grain detail will be determined later. Okay. And there's no way to
[00:52:21] ▶determine that now? I mean, I feel like we're being asked to vote on something. Like, that's quite a key aspect of it. I think council could signal in its comments the intentions, but know that both staff and the applicant are listening for design development at the DP stage. Mhmm.
[00:52:35] ▶Speaker 1: If I may Yeah. Answer that, yes. We will have seating.
[00:52:38] ▶You are not obliged to buy anything,
[00:52:41] ▶especially on the roof levels and and other parts that will be seating for the public
[00:52:46] ▶Speaker 4: without any requirement to buy anything. Okay. Thank you. Another question around the dock.
[00:52:52] ▶I know it's mentioned about 13,000
[00:52:54] ▶square feet. Right? How many people, is there a capacity limit? Like, would there be,
[00:52:59] ▶a count on how many people are permitted on this dock?
[00:53:02] ▶How does that work?
[00:53:04] ▶Speaker 6: I'm sorry. I don't have that information.
[00:53:07] ▶K. I'd I might defer to the applicant if they have similar equivalents.
[00:53:11] ▶Speaker 4: Are you aware of any capacity limits in terms of the number of people that can be on the dock at the same time? There there will have to be not for stability
[00:53:18] ▶Speaker 1: or or technical reasons, but for health and safety reasons. So Okay. We will have to have a mechanism in place
[00:53:24] ▶to manage the the peak
[00:53:26] ▶periods because, hopefully, this will become quite an attraction. So we knew we'll need to manage that. Okay. Do you have any idea of what that number would be based on the size of the dock?
[00:53:36] ▶Yeah. We it would definitely fit
[00:53:40] ▶well above a hundred, hundred and fifty people at any given time. K.
[00:53:47] ▶Depends on on the final layout, and we will be developing these plans,
[00:53:51] ▶as we go forward. Okay. Thank you.
[00:53:55] ▶Speaker 4: So for the city, I believe,
[00:53:57] ▶given the temporary
[00:53:59] ▶somewhat temporary nature of this,
[00:54:03] ▶is there a term to this? I mean, is there a timeline? Can it be there for three hundred years? Is it limited?
[00:54:09] ▶I wanna get a sense of, you know, what if the operator decides to pull up shop?
[00:54:15] ▶Does the dock remain? Who owns the dock if the operator decides to, you know, leave with the vessel?
[00:54:22] ▶Speaker 6: Just some of those questions. Okay. Thank you for the question.
[00:54:26] ▶The text amendment is
[00:54:27] ▶permanent.
[00:54:28] ▶Once the density is allocated, it is it is there regardless of who decides to use it. The owner, the landowner,
[00:54:35] ▶future operators could use it.
[00:54:37] ▶I would address the temporary nature to the applicant.
[00:54:41] ▶However, my understanding is that the applicant will be, the, Sunborn will,
[00:54:46] ▶through the Vancouver high Harbour Flight Centre, will be signing a lease Mhmm. With the landowner, PAFCO. K. And through that, their lease terms will determine how long that might be the the proposal will be in that location. Okay. Are you able to share what lease term you're looking at? It is it is limited in time.
[00:55:03] ▶Speaker 1: I believe it's thirty
[00:55:06] ▶twenty
[00:55:07] ▶twenty sixty. 2060. Okay. Thank you. And and underneath it, you have the master lease that
[00:55:13] ▶Vancouver Harbor Flight Center has that has a lot of time limitation on it as well.
[00:55:17] ▶And so that that definitely sets the end limit to how long we can be there. Okay. Who would own the the dock?
[00:55:25] ▶It would be in the balance sheet of the Vancouver company that we're setting up for for this project. Okay.
[00:55:32] ▶Speaker 4: Okay. Thank you.
[00:55:34] ▶And then I wasn't clear on
[00:55:36] ▶the access. So
[00:55:38] ▶there was a mention about the elevator and the stairs.
[00:55:41] ▶The access to this public area, is that not going to be at the same level as the seawall? Like, you're gonna have to take an elevator or take stairs to go down to another
[00:55:51] ▶Speaker 6: dock, or how's that gonna work? That is correct. So at the seawall, the the upper perimeter seawall is about nine meters above sea level. Yeah. You have to like the harbor like the float planes for harbor air, you have to kinda go forward onto a dolphin platform, Yeah. An elevator down, and then you go right down to the water onto a floating dock in the water. Okay. Was was it looked at to have a more kind of seamless connection to the seawall?
[00:56:14] ▶Speaker 4: Is that possible,
[00:56:16] ▶like, from an engineering perspective?
[00:56:19] ▶Speaker 6: I would be speculating here, but it wasn't the proposal that was put forward, and I'm not certain that's something that's quite as seamless would exactly match with the the needs of this proposal.
[00:56:29] ▶Mhmm. But, really, the idea is that the the public gets access down to the water level as well. Yeah. I'm gonna run out of time, but maybe someone else can pick up on it. Yeah. Thanks. Alright. Thanks.
[00:56:41] ▶Speaker 2: Yeah. Thanks. Thanks for the presentations.
[00:56:43] ▶Couple of questions.
[00:56:45] ▶Just circling back,
[00:56:47] ▶with
[00:56:48] ▶the with the typical bricks and mortar,
[00:56:50] ▶development, we do,
[00:56:52] ▶pursue and and have, framework for DCLs because of,
[00:56:57] ▶pressures on sewer, water, all infrastructure in the city. Could staff just comment on,
[00:57:02] ▶what they see or foresee as any servicing,
[00:57:06] ▶needs or demands? It sounds like there may not be a lot, but, compared to traditional developments we see, but could you comment on that?
[00:57:15] ▶Speaker 6: This floating hotel will be serviced similarly to, a hotel of this size that, anywhere else in the city is gonna require sewers, it's gonna require water, it's gonna and electricity. There's no gas as I understand. So those are the three main services.
[00:57:28] ▶Transportation access as well on our streets,
[00:57:32] ▶will will serve this site.
[00:57:34] ▶Speaker 2: Yeah.
[00:57:35] ▶Any,
[00:57:36] ▶and and as I understood it, you did request a contribution towards DCLs. Any further comments on that in terms of,
[00:57:44] ▶impact or financial impact on the city of not having that?
[00:57:48] ▶Speaker 6: If I could ask my colleague, Chris, Clibben, he's online to speak about what is the purpose of DCLs in general. It's not just about servicing
[00:57:56] ▶the ex like, the the proposal in front of you. Sure. Yeah. Chris?
[00:58:00] ▶Speaker 14: Yep. Thank you, Chaney.
[00:58:02] ▶Good good evening, council.
[00:58:05] ▶Yeah. DCL this this had this been a land site,
[00:58:09] ▶subject to traditional development, it would be it would pay both the citywide and the utilities DCL,
[00:58:14] ▶which would add up to for commercial development, it would be 26 roughly $26 per square foot on the each floor square foot of Florida.
[00:58:23] ▶That those revenues would go to off-site infrastructure and amenities. So they would fund you tilt towards the citywide utility system,
[00:58:30] ▶transportation upgrades citywide,
[00:58:34] ▶child care facilities, affordable housing,
[00:58:38] ▶parks infrastructure.
[00:58:40] ▶So and and so those would be the types of things that would be funded from DCLs that we're not getting. So that there are no off-site,
[00:58:48] ▶improvements,
[00:58:49] ▶from this project because we're not collecting DCLs.
[00:58:53] ▶Speaker 2: Okay.
[00:58:54] ▶Speaker 6: Just wanna clarify that staff felt that we were justified in asking for for a contribution equivalent to DCLs because DCLs do serve a wider you know, it serves for growth across the city.
[00:59:05] ▶I would I would defer to the applicant as to why they do or or do not wish to make that contribution.
[00:59:11] ▶Speaker 2: Okay. Thank you for that.
[00:59:13] ▶Maybe I'm just gonna watch my time here because I have another question. Did the applicant wanna comment on that any further? I know we've talked about the the dock in the public publicly accessible space, adjacent to the hotel, which I think is fantastic. But any further comments on the DCLs?
[00:59:28] ▶Speaker 7: Perhaps I can answer your question as far as the utilities are concerned.
[00:59:33] ▶There are no extra
[00:59:35] ▶capacities required from the city, so there's no capital works to be paid for.
[00:59:40] ▶There is more than what we need
[00:59:43] ▶in the convention center already. So the gray water, the black water, the electricity,
[00:59:48] ▶the only thing that would go up ever so slightly,
[00:59:51] ▶possibly,
[00:59:52] ▶is fresh water, but there's a gauge on that and you pay for it by the cubic foot. So,
[00:59:58] ▶Speaker 2: there's no incremental cost. K. Thank you. That's helpful.
[01:00:03] ▶And then I I do wanna ask,
[01:00:05] ▶and this stems from, both so,
[01:00:09] ▶staff, as you know, we we are undertaking planning for the central downtown waterfront.
[01:00:14] ▶I've had a resident ask me about,
[01:00:16] ▶you know, whether,
[01:00:18] ▶this proposal,
[01:00:20] ▶they read somewhere that this was phase two and there's a phase three and, but
[01:00:24] ▶is there, will preclude further
[01:00:27] ▶planning and,
[01:00:30] ▶implementation
[01:00:30] ▶of other infrastructure,
[01:00:33] ▶in and around,
[01:00:34] ▶the convention centers for the future as we still do the long term planning?
[01:00:38] ▶And, again, recognizing there's a number of, property owners in that area. Could you comment on that in terms of
[01:00:45] ▶sort of future proofing,
[01:00:47] ▶and how we,
[01:00:48] ▶work with,
[01:00:51] ▶such proposal?
[01:00:52] ▶Speaker 6: Can can you clarify a question? My understanding is are you asking if there is further planning that is happening for this particular area? Sorry. I wasn't very clear. One, is there further planning around this particular application? And two,
[01:01:03] ▶Speaker 2: how do we,
[01:01:06] ▶align this with the central downtown waterfront planning that's underway for the city, which is a much longer term project? So, yes, two questions.
[01:01:14] ▶Speaker 6: There there is no further planning for this particular area, which is covered under the Coal Harbor ODP, and the Coal Harbor ODP is is largely built out.
[01:01:23] ▶There could be a future phase.
[01:01:25] ▶You may notice between this proposal and the floatplane terminal, there is a middle, but there's nothing currently
[01:01:31] ▶proposed there at this time. It would fall under the coal hardware ODP.
[01:01:34] ▶The Central Waterfront area plan work is underway.
[01:01:37] ▶They are aware of this proposal, but it's we're actually right at the boundary. We're not within the scope of the Central Waterfront, but they are fully aware of this.
[01:01:45] ▶Speaker 2: Okay. Super. Thanks for interpreting my questions for you. Thanks, counselor.
[01:01:49] ▶Speaker 15: Alright. Councilor Claussen. Thanks, very much, chair.
[01:01:53] ▶A lot of my questions have been asked and good discussion here on this project.
[01:01:57] ▶Just wanted to maybe
[01:02:00] ▶start with a question around,
[01:02:03] ▶sort of high level lessons that,
[01:02:06] ▶that the applicant will have learned from their experience in London and Gibraltar.
[01:02:11] ▶What are the sort of the takeaways from,
[01:02:14] ▶those installations, and and how do you apply some of those lessons here in Vancouver?
[01:02:20] ▶Speaker 1: You mean
[01:02:21] ▶technically or universally?
[01:02:23] ▶Speaker 15: Probably less technical because we are really kinda talking about access to public realm here. So maybe just the experience of Right. Well community around it. As as my background as a hotelier,
[01:02:36] ▶Speaker 1: I understand hotels and and, you know, the hotel market is very homo homogeneous.
[01:02:41] ▶Over a million hotels around the world, they're all very, very similar
[01:02:44] ▶in in style and standard these days.
[01:02:46] ▶And so what every hotelier is looking for is that
[01:02:50] ▶competitive advantage. How do you set yourself apart? And that's what we've learned
[01:02:54] ▶in our previous operations that that these tend to have that natural appeal,
[01:02:59] ▶a natural competitive advantage. It it is a unique proposal.
[01:03:04] ▶They complement the waterfronts,
[01:03:06] ▶and so we tend to get clients who are looking for
[01:03:09] ▶something out of the ordinary.
[01:03:12] ▶It's about experiential hospitality.
[01:03:15] ▶And and so that gives us more
[01:03:18] ▶leeway in terms of the segmentation. We're not reliant on any particular segment, but we
[01:03:24] ▶we we are able to get the leisure clients, the corporate clients, the exhibition market, the convention market.
[01:03:29] ▶And and so keeping our prices
[01:03:31] ▶yielding at the right levels to make sure that we're, you know, contributing to those segments and we're not pricing ourselves out of the market,
[01:03:39] ▶that's been a a lesson that we've we've sort of been learning k. And have mastered. That's one thing.
[01:03:45] ▶Speaker 15: Just a a practical question about,
[01:03:48] ▶entering and and exiting the hotel. Obviously, you're gonna have guests coming and going on a regular basis.
[01:03:54] ▶How how is that going to be managed? It looks like it would most likely it'd be managed
[01:03:58] ▶Speaker 1: through the parking level, but I'm not entirely sure. Is there an explanation to that? I think most of the clients are are going to just like I'm walking around the area, if I'm going to the hotels, I'm walking on the city street level. I think that's the main arrival point. People arriving by car, by by vehicles, by taxis
[01:04:15] ▶are arriving
[01:04:16] ▶at the designated areas,
[01:04:19] ▶in inside PABCO and then accessing the waterfront through that.
[01:04:22] ▶It is a very busy area.
[01:04:25] ▶We're carefully
[01:04:26] ▶managing that,
[01:04:28] ▶that, you know, bicycle
[01:04:30] ▶traffic and and and foot foot traffic, and it's very, very busy. I've been there a couple of times in the summer,
[01:04:35] ▶and it's it's amazing how many people you can fit into that area.
[01:04:40] ▶But that's the main access point. All the servicing,
[01:04:43] ▶all of our deliveries are gonna be in the Undercroft or or the loading bay area underneath the the VCC.
[01:04:50] ▶So that takes a a lot of the pressure away from from the promenade. So only the client access is gonna be from there.
[01:04:57] ▶Okay. And and so we're gonna manage that.
[01:05:01] ▶Speaker 15: Do we have any guarantee that the the waterfront access that is a part of this,
[01:05:06] ▶won't someday become privatized?
[01:05:09] ▶Speaker 1: Yes. You can have our guarantee. Okay.
[01:05:14] ▶Speaker 15: The,
[01:05:17] ▶PAFCO,
[01:05:18] ▶and, the convention center is is well known for its, environmental measures that is done,
[01:05:24] ▶in terms of wastewater treatment or what have you.
[01:05:27] ▶I presume that,
[01:05:29] ▶a project like, the Sunburst Hotel with this high efficiency standards would be trying to tap into some of those,
[01:05:37] ▶same,
[01:05:38] ▶standards in terms of wastewater and and and what have you.
[01:05:42] ▶Speaker 1: Absolutely. I I think it's
[01:05:44] ▶a compelling story that
[01:05:46] ▶probably the world's most sustainable convention center
[01:05:49] ▶is coupled with a low carbon energy efficient hotel.
[01:05:53] ▶And then where in fact, the way we've investigated
[01:05:56] ▶connecting to the PAFCO systems because they they are lacking volume
[01:06:00] ▶for some of their thermal systems, for example, taking the heat exchangers from the wastewater. So we're gonna be contributing to those systems because they were built for much larger capacity
[01:06:10] ▶that is currently being being used.
[01:06:12] ▶So
[01:06:13] ▶they they work hand in hand, and there's a there's a great sort of synergy between the two
[01:06:18] ▶operations,
[01:06:19] ▶Speaker 15: technically. Thanks. And do you envision with the with that,
[01:06:23] ▶that waterfront access,
[01:06:25] ▶activating it in different ways potentially,
[01:06:28] ▶either
[01:06:29] ▶music or,
[01:06:31] ▶other attractions that might,
[01:06:33] ▶might be very appealing to people that are wanting to visit it? I think, we haven't considered any live music.
[01:06:40] ▶Speaker 1: We're very conscious about the disturbance in noise
[01:06:43] ▶and and otherwise.
[01:06:46] ▶We think that the spa and cafe and the public dock and the hotel will become
[01:06:50] ▶a destination and attraction point on its own,
[01:06:53] ▶without having to have a circus inside it. So,
[01:06:57] ▶we will consider those if those are acceptable to the city, and and they are demanded.
[01:07:01] ▶Speaker 15: But at this time, we haven't sort of really planned for my time there. Thank you very much. Appreciate that.
[01:07:10] ▶Speaker 12: Thank you.
[01:07:19] ▶Speaker 0: Sorry. Alright. So this is second call for speakers. If you wish to speak to counsel
[01:07:23] ▶about this item, please call toll free. +1 (833)
[01:07:26] ▶353-8610
[01:07:28] ▶followed by the participant code 1061445Pound
[01:07:32] ▶before the close of the speaker's list.
[01:07:34] ▶The phone number will be posted on x and, displayed during the recess.
[01:07:39] ▶We will now hear from the public speakers. Any speakers in the council chamber, please come forward to the public speaker podiums on the left when it is your turn.
[01:07:48] ▶The podium height can be adjusted using the controls on the right hand side.
[01:07:53] ▶Only speakers will be unmuted
[01:07:55] ▶when it is your turn to speak.
[01:07:58] ▶Speakers,
[01:07:59] ▶will have up to five minutes to make their comments
[01:08:02] ▶and should limit their comments to the merits of the application being considered.
[01:08:07] ▶Our first ready speaker is speaker number one, Gavin Whelan.
[01:08:12] ▶Person,
[01:08:15] ▶Speaker 12: Gavin?
[01:08:17] ▶Speaker 1: Okay. We can come back.
[01:08:20] ▶Speaker number two is, Royce Troin.
[01:08:24] ▶Royce?
[01:08:26] ▶Speaker 16: Thank you. Good evening, Acting Mayor Zhao and council. Royce Chwin, president and CEO of Destination Vancouver and Vancouver resident.
[01:08:33] ▶I'd like to begin with, a few concerns.
[01:08:37] ▶Too big,
[01:08:38] ▶block views would feel like a wall along the shoreline,
[01:08:41] ▶hacking the out of place structure, and it'll disrupt the character of Coal Harbour and limit public access.
[01:08:48] ▶Those comments are not about the pro proposal before before you today.
[01:08:52] ▶Those were the comments and more about the Vancouver Convention Center West, the world's first double lead platinum certified convention center.
[01:08:59] ▶Today, that building is an architectural icon. It's a globally recognized facility
[01:09:04] ▶and a cornerstone of our visitor economy.
[01:09:07] ▶And in fact, it did not diminish the waterfront. It elevated it. It didn't reduce access. It expanded it. So we've been here before.
[01:09:14] ▶A Sunborn 250 room floating hotel proposal is another one of those moments. Yes. There are concerns. You've heard them, environmental impact, views fit with the waterfront. They're very valid, and they deserve careful
[01:09:27] ▶consideration.
[01:09:28] ▶But this is not a careless project. If it was, destination Vancouver would not support.
[01:09:33] ▶This, we believe, is a very thoughtfully designed, publicly accessible, low carbon structure, as you saw in the presentation, that reflects Vancouver's values and needs,
[01:09:42] ▶designed to integrate with the public realm and public access,
[01:09:45] ▶supporting urgently needed hotel capacity,
[01:09:48] ▶environmentally focused and grounded, and it complements, does not compete with, the convention center.
[01:09:54] ▶The existing sun born floating hotels demonstrate that this can be done to an incredibly high standard
[01:10:00] ▶architecturally,
[01:10:01] ▶environmentally,
[01:10:02] ▶and operationally.
[01:10:04] ▶So this isn't theory. It works.
[01:10:06] ▶This is also about a very real constraint as we know. We are short hotel rooms. That is a fact. And the Sunborn project would be a unique addition to our hotel accommodations
[01:10:16] ▶and would bolster our global destination competitiveness.
[01:10:19] ▶Vancouver's reputation
[01:10:21] ▶was not built on always playing it safe, it was built on thoughtful risk,
[01:10:25] ▶strong design, and a willingness to do things a bit differently, especially on our waterfront.
[01:10:31] ▶The convention center reminds us that early skepticism
[01:10:34] ▶does not always predict the final outcomes,
[01:10:36] ▶but the right design and oversight projects with the Sunburn Hotel can become assets we're proud of for years to come. And it also supports a 9,000,000,000
[01:10:45] ▶annual and growing visitor economy and would add to the 70,000 plus jobs that have been created.
[01:10:51] ▶So in closing,
[01:10:52] ▶I would encourage counsel to view this proposal,
[01:10:56] ▶not just through the lens of risk, but through the lens of opportunity,
[01:10:59] ▶an opportunity to strengthen our visitor economy,
[01:11:02] ▶enhance our waterfront, demonstrate leadership and sustainable design, increase our destination competitiveness, and once again choose thoughtful progress over hesitation.
[01:11:12] ▶Let's be a leader. We've seen what happens when Vancouver gets it right, and this is another chance to do exactly that. Thank you for your time.
[01:11:20] ▶Speaker 0: K. Thanks, Royce.
[01:11:22] ▶K. Speaker number three has reached Orange. Speaker number four is Michelle Travis.
[01:11:28] ▶In person? Oh, there we go.
[01:11:35] ▶Michelle?
[01:11:40] ▶Is it Michelle?
[01:11:41] ▶Okay. Please go ahead.
[01:11:46] ▶Speaker 17: Good evening.
[01:11:47] ▶Mayor and council, my name is Michelle Travis. I'm here on behalf of Unite Here Local four d and am a resident of Vancouver.
[01:11:54] ▶We urge you to reject this proposal.
[01:11:57] ▶As proposed, the structure would be roughly six stories high and as long as two NHL hockey rinks, permanently moored or semi permanently moored along one of Vancouver's most iconic waterfronts.
[01:12:06] ▶It would wall off public views, dominate the shoreline, and effectively privatize a portion of our shared harbor for the harbor front for the benefit of a a single developer.
[01:12:15] ▶This is not a a small or,
[01:12:18] ▶short term addition.
[01:12:20] ▶It it's a large semi permanent intrusion into a landmark public space.
[01:12:25] ▶Its height is more than double what is currently permitted at the nearby marina. It would obstruct key sight lines along the side seawall from the end of Burrard Street and from major public spaces like the convention center in Canada Place. These aren't incidental views. They're central to Vancouver's identity for residents and visitors alike.
[01:12:42] ▶Cruise ships come and go, but this is long term. And it shifts public views from street level to dock level views away from everyday pedestrian flow.
[01:12:51] ▶Second, the proposal raises safety and environmental concerns.
[01:12:54] ▶Other unlike other hotels, this hotel would not be subject to a building permit or an occupancy permit, which means the city would have less oversight over critical issues related to fire safety, structural integrity, and evacuation procedures.
[01:13:08] ▶We're being asked to trust a third party inspector based overseas to monitor these standards.
[01:13:13] ▶We're concerned how the city would stay on top of monitoring this this third party.
[01:13:17] ▶We're also taking, we're also
[01:13:20] ▶talking about putting a large structure in a sensitive marine environment with unresolved questions about sewage management and environmental impact.
[01:13:27] ▶Having looked at the application materials, there are many mocked up aerial views of how the flotel will look. None of them really illustrate just how much of the public views will be obstructed from public public popular gathering spots along the parts of the seawall that will be affected.
[01:13:42] ▶There are a few photos of viewpoints that would be affected, but,
[01:13:46] ▶doesn't really give you a sense of the blocking of the public view. One could glance at, the postcard that was notifying the public and area residents about the the hotel and assume it would have very little impact. We don't think the public has really been properly informed about, what the impact is gonna be on those views.
[01:14:02] ▶Third, the public benefits offered are inadequate.
[01:14:05] ▶In exchange for taking over public waterfront space, the developer is offering little more than the dock excess
[01:14:12] ▶primarily to serve their spa and cafe. That is not a meaningful public benefit. It's a convenience for their business.
[01:14:18] ▶Even more concerning, the developer has refused to provide the $3,600,000
[01:14:22] ▶in contributions requested by the city.
[01:14:25] ▶They avoid the standard development cost levies that other projects must pay. In effect, we're giving away public space public
[01:14:32] ▶space without securing fair value in return.
[01:14:35] ▶This proposal does not align with existing planning policy. The Coal Harbor official development plan did not
[01:14:41] ▶anticipate a permanent or semi permanent floating hotel,
[01:14:45] ▶in the water. Finally, I ask you to consider priorities.
[01:14:47] ▶We're told this is necessary to address a hotel room shortage, but Vancouver has the city of Vancouver has already approved
[01:14:54] ▶about 3,000
[01:14:55] ▶hotel rooms.
[01:14:57] ▶Meanwhile, we are in the midst of a real affordability crisis. Many Vancouver residents, especially hospitality workers, are being squeezed and struggle to afford to live here. So our question is, what's the rush?
[01:15:07] ▶The city's hotel policy aims for 10,000 rooms by 2050,
[01:15:11] ▶not 2026.
[01:15:13] ▶Yet 3,000 rooms, as I mentioned, have been approved and another 3,700 are in the pipeline, and it's a very rapid influx of hotel rooms.
[01:15:20] ▶We've questioned if this is really what the council should be prioritizing right now given some of the concerns that have been that we've raised.
[01:15:26] ▶We feel that this is a giveaway to a private developer with very little in return.
[01:15:31] ▶We think there are not enough, in terms of meaningful public benefits, and, we are concerned about
[01:15:38] ▶this proposal. I think it's a bad deal for the city, and we urge you to reject the proposal.
[01:15:43] ▶Speaker 0: Thank you.
[01:15:44] ▶Alright. Speaker number five is Abraham Rodriguez.
[01:15:49] ▶Online?
[01:15:52] ▶Speaker 18: Hi.
[01:15:52] ▶Speaker 0: Yeah. Please go ahead. Hello?
[01:15:54] ▶Speaker 19: Yeah.
[01:15:56] ▶Speaker 18: I'm gonna say this in Spanish. So
[01:17:16] ▶Speaker 0: Okay. Thank you.
[01:17:18] ▶Speaker number six.
[01:17:20] ▶Speaker 1: Yeah. Speaker number six, Bert Haig.
[01:17:24] ▶Bert?
[01:17:27] ▶Speaker 0: Hello? Yep. We can hear you, Bert. Please go ahead.
[01:17:31] ▶Speaker 19: Can you hear me? Yes. We can.
[01:17:34] ▶Speaker 20: Okay. Thank you. I own a company called Rising Tide Consultants. It comes from the phrase,
[01:17:40] ▶the historic phrase of on a rising tide lifts all boats. Well, in this case, rising tide is gonna lift a hotel,
[01:17:47] ▶a floating hotel, and I support this application
[01:17:50] ▶100%.
[01:17:52] ▶I live and work in Vancouver,
[01:17:55] ▶and, I think this is a very innovative, creative
[01:17:59] ▶application. I'm in Nanaimo attending the British Columbia Hotel Association convention,
[01:18:04] ▶and we had a session today where they were talking about the shortage of hotel rooms in in Vancouver,
[01:18:10] ▶and we still need more hotels. And I think this is a very,
[01:18:16] ▶interesting innovative solution to it. If approved, they will be
[01:18:21] ▶the first of its kind in Canada.
[01:18:23] ▶And to me, it will help support the tourism
[01:18:26] ▶convention,
[01:18:27] ▶industry and the unique attraction for visitors.
[01:18:31] ▶I think it'll activate what I consider a dead area in the harbor and provide a new,
[01:18:37] ▶interesting dining lounge and hotel experience.
[01:18:40] ▶To me, this proposal increases,
[01:18:43] ▶not decreases the public access to the walkway
[01:18:46] ▶because of the creation and and the waterfront, because the creation of the
[01:18:52] ▶outdoor
[01:18:54] ▶dock area space will be open to the public. But furthermore, more importantly, it will further activate the Vancouver Waterfront
[01:19:01] ▶and evolve the waterfront that has not had any sig significant development since 2010
[01:19:06] ▶when the Vancouver training conventions center
[01:19:09] ▶was expanded during the twenty ten Winter Olympics.
[01:19:13] ▶And I think that this will be
[01:19:15] ▶this is very creative forward thinking, and I don't think it will,
[01:19:20] ▶be detrimental to the city whatsoever. I love how the ship has been or the hotels been positioned in the water so that does not impede the views and will provide even a better sight line from the,
[01:19:32] ▶cafe and the spa area back to the city. So I would encourage the city to support this. I think it's creative, and we have to take bold steps to move forward because we're competing on a world stage. And I think this would be a wonderful asset for the city. And my hats off to Graham Clark for his creativity.
[01:19:52] ▶Speaker 0: Thank you. K. Thanks, Bert.
[01:19:55] ▶Speaker number seven is Naya Holders.
[01:20:01] ▶Speaker 11: Good evening, mayor and council. My name is Naya Holders, and I live in Vancouver.
[01:20:06] ▶I oppose this plan.
[01:20:08] ▶We're being asked to give up part of our public waterfront in Coal Harbour for a huge private floating hotel.
[01:20:14] ▶So what does the public get in return?
[01:20:17] ▶From what I can see, very little.
[01:20:19] ▶The main benefit being offered is a dock walkway to the hotel,
[01:20:23] ▶but the walkway is needed to access the development itself.
[01:20:27] ▶It serves the spa and restaurant uses and limits hours to the public from 6AM to 10PM.
[01:20:34] ▶That's not a meaningful public benefit.
[01:20:36] ▶That's infrastructure for the project.
[01:20:39] ▶At the same time, the developer is avoiding contributions that other projects would normally make.
[01:20:45] ▶There's no standard development cost levy because there's no building permit.
[01:20:49] ▶They've refused the city's request for a six for a $3,600,000
[01:20:53] ▶contribution.
[01:20:55] ▶So they're asking for policy changes,
[01:20:58] ▶taking up public space, and contributing less than expected.
[01:21:02] ▶That's not a fair deal.
[01:21:04] ▶The the public is giving up views, space, and access and getting a walkway to the flotel
[01:21:10] ▶that that the flotel needs for their businesses in return.
[01:21:15] ▶The council should be protecting public assets,
[01:21:18] ▶not giving them away.
[01:21:20] ▶The good news is you don't lose anything by saying no. You simply keep what already belongs to the public.
[01:21:27] ▶This proposal does not serve the public interest.
[01:21:30] ▶Please reject it. Thank you.
[01:21:33] ▶Speaker 0: Thank you. Speaker number eight is Robert Safrata.
[01:21:40] ▶Speaker 20: Good afternoon. Thanks for your time. I,
[01:21:43] ▶appreciated the previous speaker's
[01:21:46] ▶viewpoint.
[01:21:47] ▶I'm a Vancouver resident in opposition to this proposal. I sincerely wish I could be in Vancouver
[01:21:53] ▶as the former owner of West Coast Sightseeing. I know that this location, Ben,
[01:21:58] ▶truly define
[01:22:00] ▶the future of Vancouver.
[01:22:02] ▶Imagine Sydney before the opera house.
[01:22:07] ▶Imagine Bilbao Spain
[01:22:09] ▶before the Guggenheim Museum,
[01:22:12] ▶and Chicago
[01:22:14] ▶now with Millennium Park.
[01:22:16] ▶Putting this hotel in the space
[01:22:19] ▶does not achieve anything like that.
[01:22:22] ▶I did submit a number of visuals, which I hope are being displayed at the moment.
[01:22:27] ▶I see them now. Yes, Robert.
[01:22:30] ▶This is an thank you. This is an overhead view
[01:22:33] ▶of a proposal that was
[01:22:36] ▶submitted
[01:22:37] ▶at the invitation of the Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre in 2018 and 2019.
[01:22:43] ▶And,
[01:22:44] ▶using world class,
[01:22:46] ▶advisors and resources,
[01:22:48] ▶including Ken Hite Creative,
[01:22:51] ▶PGAV
[01:22:52] ▶Destinations,
[01:22:53] ▶and, Dialogue, who I see sitting there today. Hello.
[01:22:59] ▶The moniker
[01:23:00] ▶was that we had was, if you build it for tourists,
[01:23:04] ▶the locals will hate it.
[01:23:06] ▶If you build it for locals, the tourists will love it, and I'd appreciate if you'd still show it. From above,
[01:23:13] ▶that's a public park.
[01:23:15] ▶That's the roof.
[01:23:17] ▶It's a public park. It's a tremendous public,
[01:23:20] ▶amenity.
[01:23:23] ▶Outdoor activations can happen. People can do yoga there. They can sit there during lunch. They can increase their view, and it can hold hundreds, if not thousands, of people.
[01:23:35] ▶Underneath it, and we don't have a we don't you don't have the visual for that, but, underneath it is actually
[01:23:43] ▶a hotel with about a 180
[01:23:45] ▶very small rooms
[01:23:46] ▶because the amenities include a couple of restaurants
[01:23:50] ▶looking out over the water,
[01:23:52] ▶a, Scandinavian
[01:23:53] ▶spa type thing,
[01:23:55] ▶jumping plunging into the water there.
[01:23:59] ▶If you go to the next slide, you think you can see that there's a space for,
[01:24:04] ▶water taxis. I think in the future, you could imagine
[01:24:09] ▶transportation to West Vancouver. I see we announced now,
[01:24:14] ▶water taxis to Gibsons and Bowen Island.
[01:24:18] ▶So many, many public amenities
[01:24:20] ▶and attractions
[01:24:21] ▶underneath that.
[01:24:25] ▶The things that made
[01:24:27] ▶places like the Guggenheim and the Opera House and the Millennium
[01:24:31] ▶that brought them together was they led with
[01:24:33] ▶aspiration, not mitigation.
[01:24:36] ▶We have lots of hotel
[01:24:38] ▶rooms coming online,
[01:24:41] ▶and they use a single catalytic project to reset global perception.
[01:24:47] ▶That's the opportunity we would be giving up right now.
[01:24:51] ▶It all they also delivered places
[01:24:54] ▶locals embraced first because tourism followed.
[01:24:58] ▶To the counselors there, I urge you to Google look at your Google Maps to look from above at the Sunborn hotels
[01:25:04] ▶in Gibraltar and Sunborn London.
[01:25:07] ▶It's not pretty. They're jammed into marinas
[01:25:10] ▶as, just another hotel. I think we can do much we need to do much better than this in this iconic location.
[01:25:18] ▶I'll finish with a few,
[01:25:21] ▶questions that I hope you will answer
[01:25:24] ▶in your hearts and we're in tonight.
[01:25:26] ▶I noticed that this is called Phase three and Phase two in between is left blank.
[01:25:32] ▶You could go to the third slide. The the height of the this our
[01:25:36] ▶our former proposal, which I am no longer involved in, I want to be clear about this, I am no longer involved in this. This is now open to the public and there's others to achieve,
[01:25:48] ▶is is at the nine meter height, so it does not block any views.
[01:25:53] ▶But,
[01:25:55] ▶I see in my
[01:25:58] ▶in my look at this that there's only an 850
[01:26:01] ▶square foot cafe
[01:26:03] ▶for public use.
[01:26:04] ▶My reading is that there's only 3,000
[01:26:07] ▶square feet
[01:26:08] ▶at about half the width of the Seawall walkway above.
[01:26:12] ▶When I heard earlier that a 150
[01:26:14] ▶people could use the public space, that would equal about,
[01:26:19] ▶wrote it down here,
[01:26:20] ▶a 152,000
[01:26:24] ▶square feet. And
[01:26:25] ▶my my, view is that there's 3,000 square feet of public space, not 13,000 square feet, which would accommodate
[01:26:33] ▶up to 1,800
[01:26:35] ▶people standing.
[01:26:37] ▶Why would the city allow minimal public benefit and block view lines and give up this iconic opportunity to define the city
[01:26:45] ▶and its future
[01:26:46] ▶Speaker 0: as others great cities have. Thank you, Robert. That's your time.
[01:26:51] ▶Thank you. Thank you. K. Speaker number nine is Robert Demand.
[01:26:58] ▶Speaker 21: Hi. My name is, Robert Demand. I'm a resident of Vancouver and the secretary treasurer of Unite Here Local forty.
[01:27:05] ▶I wanted to speak about safety and accountability concerns.
[01:27:10] ▶Others have raised
[01:27:11] ▶concerns about the scale and the impact of the of this project
[01:27:15] ▶and the limited public benefits that would come with it.
[01:27:19] ▶Another concerning part of the proposal is
[01:27:22] ▶if approved, the city will not be issuing
[01:27:25] ▶building permits or occupancy permits for this floating hotel.
[01:27:30] ▶Permits that every other hotel in Vancouver
[01:27:33] ▶must have to operate in this city.
[01:27:36] ▶Normally, those permits
[01:27:37] ▶are how the city ensures that buildings meet standards for life safety,
[01:27:42] ▶things like fire protection, structural integrity,
[01:27:45] ▶and evacuation plan.
[01:27:48] ▶In this case,
[01:27:49] ▶the direct oversight isn't there.
[01:27:53] ▶Instead, the applicant is proposing to use a third party
[01:27:57] ▶inspector based overseas,
[01:27:59] ▶and we've heard
[01:28:02] ▶all kinds of references to the classification
[01:28:05] ▶society and why we should accept that.
[01:28:07] ▶But I would say that that's not good enough
[01:28:10] ▶because
[01:28:11] ▶it simply raises the question,
[01:28:14] ▶why would the city
[01:28:18] ▶give this up and take it to a distant third party
[01:28:21] ▶to do the job that the city normally does.
[01:28:24] ▶The staff is reported.
[01:28:26] ▶Report says that the third party would notify the city if they discover safety issues, but that means that the city could be reacting too late,
[01:28:34] ▶not actively ensuring safety from the start.
[01:28:38] ▶We just don't think this is good enough.
[01:28:40] ▶If something goes wrong, it's the people here in Vancouver.
[01:28:44] ▶Guests,
[01:28:45] ▶workers, first responders,
[01:28:47] ▶we're gonna deal with the consequences.
[01:28:51] ▶And with municipal budget cuts and layoffs, I'm concerned that the city staff
[01:28:55] ▶will be too overburdened to adequately monitor
[01:28:58] ▶whether a third party has done their due diligence on
[01:29:02] ▶safety concerns here in Vancouver.
[01:29:05] ▶We shouldn't outsource this basic building and safety standard for a project like this.
[01:29:14] ▶City Hall seems hell hell bent on pushing through every hope hotel project that comes along
[01:29:20] ▶regardless of the cost.
[01:29:22] ▶We don't need this project.
[01:29:24] ▶The del developer will be taking more from the public than they were offering in return,
[01:29:29] ▶and it raises basic safety concerns.
[01:29:34] ▶I would urge you to reject this proposal
[01:29:38] ▶due to the lack of accountability to the city.
[01:29:41] ▶The safety risks that are inherent in this,
[01:29:45] ▶floetel
[01:29:46] ▶without direct city
[01:29:48] ▶monitoring.
[01:29:51] ▶And I I can't help but come back to the lack of DCL payments.
[01:29:56] ▶That $3,600,000
[01:29:58] ▶is something absolutely tangible,
[01:30:01] ▶and it should be going towards
[01:30:03] ▶child care, affordable housing,
[01:30:05] ▶parks, things that
[01:30:08] ▶residents all around the city
[01:30:10] ▶feel we need more of, and we need it now.
[01:30:14] ▶And last, I would just say there's
[01:30:17] ▶a public dock is not a meaningful community amenity contribution.
[01:30:22] ▶We can do much better than this.
[01:30:26] ▶We would urge you to, again,
[01:30:28] ▶Speaker 0: project this full stop. Thank you. Thank you. Speaker number 10 is Elphina
[01:30:34] ▶Lambertus
[01:30:37] ▶Lambertus.
[01:30:49] ▶Return on online.
[01:30:51] ▶Okay. Speaker number turns sorry. I may mispronounce your name. Elvina Lambertus.
[01:30:57] ▶Oh, okay. Yeah. Please go ahead.
[01:31:02] ▶Speaker 22: Good evening, council. My name is Alfina.
[01:31:05] ▶I'm also a long time Vancouver resident,
[01:31:09] ▶and I work in a downtown hotel.
[01:31:12] ▶I don't support this project.
[01:31:14] ▶I know how important the waterfront is,
[01:31:18] ▶not just for a visitor,
[01:31:20] ▶but for all of us who live and work here.
[01:31:26] ▶I can walk around the corner
[01:31:28] ▶and
[01:31:29] ▶take in a waterfront
[01:31:31] ▶view down Burad Street.
[01:31:33] ▶I like,
[01:31:34] ▶like many others who enjoy it now,
[01:31:37] ▶there's something we shouldn't take for granted.
[01:31:41] ▶This proposal
[01:31:42] ▶will,
[01:31:44] ▶put a large
[01:31:46] ▶permanent structure right in that space.
[01:31:50] ▶It will block view and change
[01:31:53] ▶the feeling of the area.
[01:31:56] ▶And for what?
[01:31:58] ▶We already have hotels.
[01:32:01] ▶We already have place for people to stay.
[01:32:05] ▶What we don't have is,
[01:32:08] ▶endless supplies of public waterfront.
[01:32:12] ▶Once we give that up, we don't get it back.
[01:32:16] ▶What did the developer
[01:32:18] ▶is offering
[01:32:20] ▶in the return is
[01:32:21] ▶basically a public
[01:32:23] ▶walkaway and,
[01:32:25] ▶spa and cafe.
[01:32:28] ▶I understand the developer
[01:32:30] ▶doesn't want to pay the 3,600,000
[01:32:34] ▶community
[01:32:35] ▶contribution the city asked for.
[01:32:38] ▶The city shouldn't allow this project to move forward,
[01:32:42] ▶especially
[01:32:44] ▶if they won't pay the fair share.
[01:32:47] ▶We need the city to focus on the how to make our city more
[01:32:53] ▶affordable
[01:32:54] ▶and not for project like this that give away
[01:32:58] ▶what we
[01:33:00] ▶love about our city.
[01:33:03] ▶This project give away too much,
[01:33:07] ▶two developer,
[01:33:10] ▶with two leader in return
[01:33:13] ▶for
[01:33:14] ▶the rest of us.
[01:33:16] ▶Please reject it. Thank you.
[01:33:20] ▶Speaker 0: Number 11 is Matthew DiMarche.
[01:33:25] ▶Hello? Yeah. We can hear you. Please go ahead.
[01:33:29] ▶Speaker 23: Great. I'm,
[01:33:30] ▶opposed,
[01:33:31] ▶to this proposal.
[01:33:33] ▶I fear this is another path to quasi privatization,
[01:33:39] ▶but that really is just the first problem here.
[01:33:42] ▶There's very little contribution,
[01:33:44] ▶to the city.
[01:33:46] ▶And as we know, our city has crumbling community centers and old playgrounds.
[01:33:51] ▶You know, and council is considering a plan here that allows for no or very little contribution for those kinds of things.
[01:33:58] ▶You know, for example, the gym at Killarney Center is like a closet.
[01:34:02] ▶The gym at Renfrew Center smells like asbestos to me, and the gym at Riley Park is half the size it should be for the amount of demand it sees.
[01:34:11] ▶All of this needs to be improved on, and there's no money for it. And we're not asking for any money for any of these developers for it.
[01:34:17] ▶And quite frankly, the city needs more money for these kinds of developments,
[01:34:20] ▶and the city's finances are a complete mess,
[01:34:23] ▶because we've given away these kinds of deals for two developers for decades,
[01:34:28] ▶through housing booms, through hotel building booms, through any kind of booms. We have all these sorts of giveaways, and the finances take a hit every single time.
[01:34:37] ▶And so the question is, what about the residents? The proponent talks about his competitive advantage. What about our competitive advantage in the city?
[01:34:45] ▶Why can't we not level our levy our competitive advantage? The ocean, the views,
[01:34:50] ▶the mountains,
[01:34:51] ▶the Seawall, these are our competitive advantages.
[01:34:54] ▶The hoteliers,
[01:34:55] ▶the developers, they want a piece of that action.
[01:34:58] ▶Why can we not demand
[01:35:00] ▶money for our competitive advantage? The mountains, the views, they want a piece of it, pay for it. We need new community centers. We need infrastructure.
[01:35:09] ▶Pay for this kind of stuff.
[01:35:11] ▶I'm opposed to this project, and I ask you to please oppose the project.
[01:35:15] ▶And if people wanna come and build these kinds of projects, then they need to help build the city. They need to help build the city, and the city is not hotels. The city is playgrounds
[01:35:24] ▶and parks and community centers
[01:35:27] ▶and things for the workers and people of the city. Thank you very much for your time. Have a great day. Thank you, Matthew. You have one question from a counselor. Counselor Klassen?
[01:35:36] ▶Speaker 15: Hi, Matthew. Are you still there?
[01:35:39] ▶Yes. Hi there. I I see that you identify as a a an organizer with
[01:35:45] ▶Unite Here. Is that correct?
[01:35:48] ▶Speaker 25: That's right. Yes. Okay.
[01:35:50] ▶Speaker 15: I I've just been, had shared with me a
[01:35:53] ▶solicitation
[01:35:55] ▶for people to be paid $30 an hour to,
[01:35:59] ▶Canvas and do
[01:36:01] ▶and speak at, at at council. Are are you involved in in organizing that campaign?
[01:36:08] ▶Speaker 23: No. No. Not at all. And I I don't believe we'd pay anybody to speak at council.
[01:36:14] ▶Speaker 15: So,
[01:36:15] ▶to to your knowledge,
[01:36:17] ▶there is nobody being, paid to come to speak tonight?
[01:36:22] ▶Speaker 23: No. No. Not that I'm aware of. No. Absolutely not. Thanks very much.
[01:36:27] ▶Speaker 0: K. Thanks, counselor. Yep.
[01:36:29] ▶Alright. Thanks, Matthew. Speaker number 12 is Pamela Fitzpatrick.
[01:36:38] ▶That one. Yeah.
[01:36:39] ▶Speaker 26: Thank you.
[01:36:42] ▶Speaker 10: My name is Pamela Fitzpatrick, and I live in Vancouver. I oppose this motion.
[01:36:48] ▶Sunborn's
[01:36:48] ▶proposed floating hotel is a new territory for Vancouver and as such requires extraordinary
[01:36:54] ▶examination.
[01:36:56] ▶Reading the posted documents raises many issues for me.
[01:37:00] ▶I'll start with emergencies.
[01:37:02] ▶Emergency and service vehicles have no direct access to the building,
[01:37:06] ▶but must enter the basement
[01:37:08] ▶of the adjacent convention center, which could be congested with people and vehicles.
[01:37:14] ▶The personnel must walk from there via an elevator and a very long walkway.
[01:37:19] ▶Did you know that not all elevators can accommodate a stretcher?
[01:37:24] ▶Has anyone asked emergency or delivery personnel
[01:37:27] ▶to review those logistics?
[01:37:30] ▶Practicalities
[01:37:31] ▶must be anticipated and addressed at this stage, not in afterthought.
[01:37:36] ▶For emergency evacuations,
[01:37:38] ▶there are only two outside exits,
[01:37:41] ▶both on the east side and two interior stairwells.
[01:37:45] ▶Additional stairwells and exits are essential to accommodate the potential chaos of a thousand people scrambling frantically to exit a long and narrow building.
[01:37:56] ▶What effect do daily tides have on the horizontal angle of the walkways?
[01:38:00] ▶Do they become tipped, impacting the public, the emergency access, or evacuations,
[01:38:06] ▶the daily fresh deliveries or waste removal,
[01:38:09] ▶and any repairs or renovations.
[01:38:12] ▶Again, operational impracticalities
[01:38:14] ▶must be identified and addressed.
[01:38:17] ▶The referral report makes no mention of how the building is assessed for taxes.
[01:38:21] ▶Is this a lease situation? Does it have time limits? What about a review or renegotiations?
[01:38:28] ▶It all leads me to wonder, does this building comply with the BC building code?
[01:38:33] ▶Sunborn is to us an unknown foreign open owned corporation, and we'll construct the building elsewhere
[01:38:40] ▶then tow it into place.
[01:38:42] ▶The designs and inspections are to be provided
[01:38:45] ▶by a foreign third party.
[01:38:47] ▶Therefore, the city will not have the authority over design,
[01:38:51] ▶oversight, or control for safety,
[01:38:54] ▶fire protection,
[01:38:55] ▶structural integrity,
[01:38:57] ▶or evacuation
[01:38:58] ▶procedures.
[01:38:59] ▶During an infection outbreak, for example, our own health inspectors
[01:39:03] ▶will have no authority,
[01:39:05] ▶access, or control.
[01:39:07] ▶It is imperative for the city to retain that power or it will become vulnerable.
[01:39:13] ▶In the event of a health or safety issue that is not rectified
[01:39:18] ▶promptly, the city may who may be unaware of the issue
[01:39:22] ▶proactively requires immediate
[01:39:25] ▶removal of the building from the dock.
[01:39:27] ▶How could that happen?
[01:39:29] ▶This is not a ship fastened with mooring ropes.
[01:39:32] ▶It's a building with at least six fixed attachments to the convention center and land, so promptly
[01:39:39] ▶won't occur.
[01:39:40] ▶Where are the far off inspectors?
[01:39:43] ▶What authority orders removal, and what company or who is obligated to respond?
[01:39:49] ▶What happens to the people on board?
[01:39:52] ▶What about the suspended walkways?
[01:39:55] ▶Where would the building be taken to?
[01:39:57] ▶Will it wander aimlessly around the harbor?
[01:40:00] ▶What if Sunborn doesn't or can't remove it?
[01:40:04] ▶This requirement is weak, vague, and impractical,
[01:40:07] ▶and, again, leaves the city vulnerable.
[01:40:11] ▶Sunborn's intention is for proprietary
[01:40:14] ▶fire suppression.
[01:40:15] ▶If that becomes insufficient
[01:40:17] ▶or fails, will our city fire boats
[01:40:20] ▶be expected to come to the rescue?
[01:40:23] ▶Again, vulnerability.
[01:40:26] ▶Public benefits are almost nonexistent from Sunborn.
[01:40:29] ▶A minor fee of 225,000
[01:40:32] ▶for the West Dock.
[01:40:33] ▶No community amenity contributions in spite of a city requested donation of $3,600,000.
[01:40:40] ▶Just a West Side Dock addition with two for profit businesses taking up half the space.
[01:40:47] ▶What's a spa doing there anyway? Not only is there another spa within the building,
[01:40:52] ▶but their clients lie down. They close their eyes, and they have no need for or gain from a private view of the North Shore Mountains.
[01:41:01] ▶So where's the good corporate citizenship
[01:41:04] ▶of a company
[01:41:05] ▶asking for special permission
[01:41:06] ▶to occupy our sacred public space?
[01:41:10] ▶What does that say about future cooperation from Sunborn?
[01:41:14] ▶Is the city being taken for a ride?
[01:41:16] ▶What do you know about Sunborn apart from what they tell you?
[01:41:20] ▶And what is the experience of London's similar project, and how were any unexpected problems handled? How has the stated new technology
[01:41:27] ▶been tested?
[01:41:29] ▶This project prioritizes an invaluable and sacred public amenity, which belongs to the public. To me, significant issues
[01:41:36] ▶mean that the, project has not been sufficiently scrutinized, leaving the city at risk, and therefore needs further attention before a decision is made. Thank you. Thank you, Pamela.
[01:41:47] ▶Speaker 0: Okay. Speaker number 13 is, Felicia Perry.
[01:41:52] ▶Speaker 13: Good evening.
[01:41:53] ▶Speaker 0: Can you hear me? Yes. We can. Please go ahead.
[01:41:56] ▶Speaker 13: Perfect.
[01:41:58] ▶Good evening. I work in Downtown Vancouver, and I am against this proposal.
[01:42:03] ▶Right now, affordability
[01:42:05] ▶is the the defining issue in the city. Many of us are struggling to pay rent, to stay in our communities,
[01:42:12] ▶and to build a future here.
[01:42:14] ▶Against that backdrop, this proposal feels completely
[01:42:17] ▶disconnected from reality.
[01:42:19] ▶This hotel is far too large. It exceeds the intended height of the marina by more than double and introduces a permanent oversized structure into a space that was never intended for hotel use. The Coal Harbor plan didn't even,
[01:42:35] ▶contemplate hotels in this area and are certainly not something of the scale.
[01:42:40] ▶But beyond policy, there's the impact on everyday life. This project will block key public views
[01:42:48] ▶along the Seawall towards the North Shore Mountains and at the end of the Burrard Street.
[01:42:53] ▶These are views that everyone enjoys
[01:42:56] ▶regardless of income. They are part of what makes Vancouver feels like it belongs to all of us.
[01:43:03] ▶And what are we getting in exchange?
[01:43:05] ▶A dock that mainly serves the floetel?
[01:43:08] ▶That's not enough. Meanwhile, the developers has refused to provide
[01:43:12] ▶3,600,000
[01:43:14] ▶in contribution requested by the city.
[01:43:17] ▶At the same time, thousands of hotel rooms have already been approved
[01:43:21] ▶with thousands more on the way. Yet people who live and work here are struggling to find housing they can afford.
[01:43:28] ▶So I have to ask, why is this the priority?
[01:43:32] ▶Why are we bending policy, giving the public space giving a public space and accepting minimal benefits for a project that does not
[01:43:41] ▶doesn't do anything to address affordability?
[01:43:44] ▶This feels like a giveaway to a private developer at a time when we should be focusing on housing,
[01:43:51] ▶community, and the live and,
[01:43:54] ▶livability
[01:43:55] ▶so that more young people and working families can live here. I urge you
[01:44:01] ▶to oppose this
[01:44:02] ▶proposal.
[01:44:03] ▶Speaker 0: Thank you. Thank you. K. Speaker number 14 is Pritsanga.
[01:44:11] ▶Prits, before you start, as a procedural question, can I ask you if you are residents of Vancouver? I'm not. No. Okay. Please go ahead.
[01:44:19] ▶Speaker 28: Good evening, mayor and council. My name is Preet Sanga.
[01:44:22] ▶I work in Vancouver. I actually went to elementary school in Vancouver as well. I've since moved
[01:44:27] ▶out. This proposal asks you to approve a large permanent structure in one of the most iconic
[01:44:34] ▶parts of our city, Coal Harbour.
[01:44:36] ▶It doesn't align with existing city policy. It exceeds intended height limits. It won't go through normal permitting,
[01:44:43] ▶it offers limited public benefit, and it risks taking away something that people deeply value.
[01:44:50] ▶That's a lot to overlook.
[01:44:52] ▶People come to Vancouver for the views.
[01:44:54] ▶For places like the Seawall, where you can see the mountains and the water together in a way that feels open.
[01:45:02] ▶This project
[01:45:03] ▶would put a wall into the into that experience.
[01:45:06] ▶Shifting access from the existing pedestrian
[01:45:09] ▶promenade
[01:45:10] ▶to a more distant dock level entry point will reduce accessibility
[01:45:15] ▶and everyday use.
[01:45:16] ▶The public dock the developer is offering serves their business interests more than the rest of us.
[01:45:23] ▶We don't need this flotel.
[01:45:25] ▶There are already thousands of hotel rooms approved. This isn't about meeting demand. It's about accommodating a specific private developer's proposal.
[01:45:35] ▶What we need is for the council to stop rushing these projects through and to focus instead on making our city more affordable for regular
[01:45:44] ▶working class people.
[01:45:45] ▶This is a bad deal for Vancouver.
[01:45:47] ▶I urge you to vote no on this proposal. Thank you. Thank you. Alright. Speaker number 15 is Robert Bader.
[01:45:58] ▶Speaker 0: Robert?
[01:46:05] ▶Okay. Robert Bather, are you there?
[01:46:15] ▶Speaker 15, Robert Bader.
[01:46:17] ▶Are you online?
[01:46:24] ▶K. I'm gonna call one more time, and then I'm gonna
[01:46:28] ▶go move forward.
[01:46:29] ▶Is speaker Robert Bader? Are you online?
[01:46:34] ▶Okay.
[01:46:35] ▶Speaker 16 is Steve Cashmore.
[01:46:40] ▶Speaker 3: Yes. I'm here. Yeah. Please go ahead.
[01:46:43] ▶Speaker 25: Hi. My name is Steve Cashmore. I'm a Vancouver resident, and I work in our hospitality industry. I oppose this project.
[01:46:49] ▶This project is the flotel is too big. It will block important sight lines along the seawall at the end of the Burrard Bridge, Burrard Street, and towards north towards the North Shore Mountains. There are some of the most photographed and experienced views in the city. If we start chipping away at these views, we undermine the very thing that makes Vancouver special.
[01:47:07] ▶It's also important to know that the city has already approved thousands of hotel rooms. Meanwhile, the people who work in tourism, servers, cooks, room attendants, and others, myself included, are struggling to find affordable
[01:47:19] ▶housing.
[01:47:20] ▶Many of us can't afford to live close to where we work. We're we are we asked to accept an oversized development that takes up public waterfront space, blocks key views, and offers minimal public benefit.
[01:47:31] ▶The developers even refused to provide the financial contributions requested by the city.
[01:47:37] ▶On top of that, the pro the project won't be won't be subject to the same city inspections as other hotels.
[01:47:42] ▶No building permit, no occupancy permit, and less oversight on safety.
[01:47:47] ▶That should concern everyone, especially in the industry where guest safety is critical.
[01:47:51] ▶The proposal is wrong for a city. It does nothing to address affordability for the people who actually keep the city running. I urge you to regret it. Thank you very much.
[01:47:59] ▶Speaker 0: Thank
[01:48:00] ▶you. Speaker 17 is Christina
[01:48:03] ▶Figueroa.
[01:48:11] ▶Please call her Christina.
[01:48:16] ▶Speaker 29: Good evening, council.
[01:48:17] ▶My name is Christina Figueroa. I live in Vancouver. I'm a resident.
[01:48:21] ▶I'm here to speak in opposition to this plan.
[01:48:25] ▶I'm concerned about questions related to safety
[01:48:28] ▶and, city oversight and public benefits being offered. If this floating hotel moves forward, it will not be subject to the same rules as other hotels in Vancouver.
[01:48:37] ▶That means no building permit, no occupancy permit, and less direct oversight from the city. Instead, a third party will be responsible for overseeing the basic safety measures.
[01:48:48] ▶To me, that is a huge red flag.
[01:48:50] ▶We're talking about a huge structure that will be used by guests, staff, and visitors.
[01:48:55] ▶Normally, the city ensures that buildings meet standard,
[01:48:58] ▶strict standards for safety with, fire safety, structural integrity,
[01:49:03] ▶and evacuation
[01:49:04] ▶processes.
[01:49:06] ▶That's how we keep people safe. But in this case, the applicant is proposing to rely on a third party invest inspector
[01:49:12] ▶based outside of Canada.
[01:49:14] ▶That raises serious concerns.
[01:49:16] ▶Who are they accountable to? What standards are they using? And how can residents here feel
[01:49:23] ▶confident that safety is being properly enforced?
[01:49:27] ▶If something goes wrong, who will face the consequences?
[01:49:30] ▶The staff report says that the third party will notify the city if they discover safety issues, but who will ensure this? Will the city be left to react after the fact?
[01:49:41] ▶The the the city should not outsource inspections,
[01:49:46] ▶especially for a massive floating hotel.
[01:49:49] ▶Public safety should never be outsourced or treated as an afterthought.
[01:49:53] ▶I'm also concerned that city hall seems,
[01:49:56] ▶willing to trade away our public waterfront to a private floetel developer
[01:50:01] ▶and receive so little in return.
[01:50:04] ▶How much would a comparable hotel project on land have to provide in development cost levies and community amenity contributions?
[01:50:12] ▶The owner is refusing to pay 3,600,000
[01:50:15] ▶that the city asked for. If this project is approved, our city will be shortchanged.
[01:50:21] ▶Further,
[01:50:23] ▶Vancouver is an amazing city. It's also an expensive one. A lot of people I know are struggling to afford rent,
[01:50:30] ▶groceries, and basic living costs. So when I hear about a proposal like this one, a floating hotel for visitors, I have to ask, is this really what we should be focusing on right now?
[01:50:42] ▶Council has already approved around 3,000 hotels with about 3,500
[01:50:47] ▶more on the way. That tells me that we're not exactly short on hotels,
[01:50:53] ▶but we are short on affordable housing. We're short on options for working people, families, and young people like myself trying to stay in this city.
[01:51:01] ▶This project doesn't help with that. It doesn't help make life more affordable. It doesn't create housing, and it doesn't deliver real public benefits.
[01:51:10] ▶Instead, it looks like a win for the private overseas developer while the rest of us are left wondering how we're supposed to keep up.
[01:51:18] ▶And right now, we need housing, affordability,
[01:51:21] ▶and investments that support people who live here, like myself.
[01:51:25] ▶Please reject this proposal and focus on what matters most to Vancouver residents.
[01:51:30] ▶Speaker 0: Thank you. Thank you, Christina.
[01:51:32] ▶Speaker number 18 is Tory Cooper.
[01:51:44] ▶Please go ahead.
[01:51:46] ▶Speaker 30: Good evening, mayor and council. Sorry. Not mayor. My name is Tori Cooper, and I am a Vancouver resident. And I have some concerns about this proposal.
[01:51:54] ▶It raises a fundamental question. Who is the city being built for?
[01:51:58] ▶The flotel is simply too big. It exceeds the intended height for the marina by more than double and introduces a structure that will block public views and privatize a portion of our waterfront.
[01:52:08] ▶To allow this, council would need to amend some existing policies,
[01:52:12] ▶policies that never anticipated a floating hotel right in the view line of the North Shore, and that should not be taken lightly.
[01:52:18] ▶And what are we getting in return? Not enough. A public dock that primarily serves the development itself is being presented as a public benefit.
[01:52:26] ▶Meanwhile, the developer has refused to provide the $3,600,000
[01:52:29] ▶in contributions requested by the city. That is not a fair exchange. It's a giveaway.
[01:52:34] ▶They're also being asked to accept reduced oversight. No building permit, no occupancy permit, and reliance on a third party inspector overseas.
[01:52:42] ▶For a project of this size, that is simply not acceptable.
[01:52:45] ▶Then there's the broader context. Council has already approved thousands of hotels. At the same time, affordability remains one of the biggest challenges facing Vancouver residents.
[01:52:54] ▶So again, we have to ask, is this council's priority
[01:52:58] ▶an oversized hotel that takes public space, blocks public views, avoids standard oversight, and contributes very little back to the community?
[01:53:05] ▶Or should we be focusing on policies that support affordability,
[01:53:08] ▶livability, and fairness?
[01:53:10] ▶Unfortunately, this proposal fails that test, and so I urge you to reject this and protect Vancouver's existing waterfront for the public, not private gain. Thank you so much, and have a good evening.
[01:53:19] ▶Speaker 0: Thank you. Alright. Speaker number 19 is Sean LaVotte.
[01:53:24] ▶On.
[01:53:35] ▶Speaker 26: Speaker 19 is not on the line. K.
[01:53:37] ▶Speaker 0: Speaker 20 is Joshua Davidson.
[01:53:42] ▶Good evening, counsel. Can you hear me? Yes. We can. Please go ahead, Josh.
[01:53:46] ▶Speaker 24: Good evening. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. My name is Joshua Davidson. I'm speaking on behalf of the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, commonly known as Downtown Van. We represent 8,000 businesses across the downtown core. I'm also a resident of Vancouver.
[01:53:59] ▶Downtown Van is supportive of the proposed Sunborn floating hotel. At its core, this is about strengthening the visitor economy and supporting small businesses that rely on it.
[01:54:09] ▶Tourism is a major driver downtown, but right now, we are constrained by limited hotel supply, and that limits our ability to fully benefit from the visitor demand.
[01:54:17] ▶More hotel capacity means more overnight visitors, and that's essential.
[01:54:21] ▶Overnight visitors stay longer, spend more, and support restaurants, retailers, and the entertainment venues across our district.
[01:54:28] ▶To put it in context, last year, our main retail corridors didn't see growth. They just saw stabilization.
[01:54:34] ▶So this isn't about adding excess. It's about unlocking
[01:54:37] ▶economic activity that we're currently missing.
[01:54:40] ▶There are also the broader benefits. More people downtown helps create a more active animators environment,
[01:54:46] ▶supporting vibrancy, encouraging people to stay longer, and importantly contributing to the improved perceptions of safety.
[01:54:52] ▶Now I do wanna acknowledge that there's been concerns around the waterfront, particularly around the views and the public access.
[01:54:57] ▶While they're valid concerns and considerations,
[01:55:00] ▶from our perspective, this proposal is not about taking something away. It's about adding to it. It introduces new public viewpoints, strengthens the connection to the water, and creates a more engaging, activated waterfront experience.
[01:55:13] ▶And more broadly, this is about evolution.
[01:55:15] ▶Cities like Vancouver cannot stand still, especially in key areas like our waterfront.
[01:55:20] ▶Thoughtful, well executed investments are what keep downtowns dynamic,
[01:55:25] ▶competitive, and resilient.
[01:55:27] ▶From our perspective, this is exactly what that kind this is that kind of investment. Thank you for your time. Thank you, Joshua.
[01:55:33] ▶Speaker 0: Speaker number 21
[01:55:35] ▶is Pascal
[01:55:36] ▶Browningman.
[01:55:41] ▶Yes. Can you hear me? Yes. We can. Please go ahead.
[01:55:47] ▶Speaker 32: Believe in council. My name is Pascal Broniman. I live here in Vancouver.
[01:55:51] ▶I'm calling to express my opposition to this project.
[01:55:54] ▶This project
[01:55:55] ▶is too large. It more than doubles the permanent height and introduces a permanent structure that was never intended for the hotel use. It was never envisioned by any city plan to build a hotel at its unlikely location.
[01:56:07] ▶Oversized as it is, it would block public views along the seawall.
[01:56:12] ▶The view is iconic, it defines Vancouver, and it cannot be replaced.
[01:56:16] ▶A public access accessible dock should compensate for the lost access and is presented as a public benefit.
[01:56:23] ▶In fact, it requires people to go out of their way to try to regain a limited version of those iconic views
[01:56:30] ▶currently available to anyone.
[01:56:33] ▶Everyone,
[01:56:34] ▶unlike cruise ships, the structure is permanent. Cruise ships come and go. They don't block the view permanently. The hotel will be there all the time creating a permanent visual barrier.
[01:56:44] ▶While having a huge housing crisis and more general an affordability
[01:56:48] ▶crisis, this project will generate giant revenues for a private company that is not willing to provide the financial contributions requested by the city. The council should focus on making the city more affordable for working people. Instead, council is considering an oversized luxury hotel.
[01:57:05] ▶The question here is not just about this project, it's about what kind of city we are building and who we are building it for.
[01:57:12] ▶Therefore, I urge to vote against this proposal.
[01:57:14] ▶Thank you.
[01:57:15] ▶Speaker 0: Thank you.
[01:57:16] ▶Speaker number 22 is Gervaisin.
[01:57:20] ▶Speaker 21: Yes.
[01:57:21] ▶Speaker 0: Yep. Please go ahead. We can hear you.
[01:57:24] ▶Speaker 21: Okay. Good evening, mayor and council. My name is Gervir, and I'm a proud resident of Vancouver. I'm here tonight to speak in support of this proposal.
[01:57:33] ▶We all know that our waterfront and our views are incredible assets, but I wanna be honest with you. Views don't make a city, a view isn't inactivity,
[01:57:41] ▶a view doesn't pay the bills, and a view and I can't live in a view.
[01:57:46] ▶Right now, most of our seawall isn't lit, it isn't activated, and the only things you can do there are walk, bike, or sit on a bench. For a world class city with a world class waterfront, I think we can do better than that. If you look at great waterfront cities around the world, what makes them special isn't just the scenery, it's the destinations.
[01:58:04] ▶Spas, public pools, restaurants, shopping districts,
[01:58:07] ▶Those are the things that draw people in and create vibrant living places.
[01:58:11] ▶That's what we should want for Vancouver.
[01:58:13] ▶More foot traffic is good for our local small businesses. As a destination, this project supports tourism and our hospitality sector. And as a hotel, it brings
[01:58:22] ▶economic activity to the area year round.
[01:58:25] ▶And I wanna point out, this proposal actually includes a public dock with seating and views, just like the seawall that people already love. So we're not losing anything. We're adding to it. I'd encourage the council to support this proposal. Thank you very much for your time.
[01:58:38] ▶Speaker 0: Thank you. Speaker number three is Rahul Sansoya.
[01:58:44] ▶Speaker 19: Hi there. Can you hear me? Yes. We can. Please go ahead.
[01:58:48] ▶Hi. Thank you. Good evening,
[01:58:49] ▶mayor
[01:58:50] ▶and council. My name is Raul Sansoya.
[01:58:53] ▶I work at the,
[01:58:55] ▶front office at the Vancouver in a in a hotel in Old Harbour.
[01:58:59] ▶So I'm aware about situation because we deal with our guests that go through that, promenade all the time. And I'm a resident of Vancouver as well, literally a few blocks down.
[01:59:08] ▶I do not support this project, and I reject this project.
[01:59:12] ▶I meet visitors every day unlike the speakers that came just before me. We work there. We meet every we meet with her every day. I help them check and give directions and answer questions about the city. One of the first things that always I recommend is a seawall
[01:59:26] ▶because of the incredible views of the North Shore and mountains. So it doesn't make sense,
[01:59:32] ▶to me
[01:59:33] ▶that we would allow a massive project that blocks those views to benefit a private developer.
[01:59:38] ▶And what we are really getting in public benefit in return, the developer is offering a dock to their restaurant and spa. And as far as I know, I don't know if the speakers have worked in the hotel before. Restaurant and spa, it's not a public space. You have to be their resident
[01:59:55] ▶or you're using their facility. So I think that's kinda, like, ambiguous too. That seems that does not seem good enough. There are also safety concerns since the developer will not be subject to same city inspections at the hotel I work in.
[02:00:08] ▶I, I'm actually shocked how come they were even allowed to get far this ahead.
[02:00:14] ▶The the developer says he will use an outside third party, and how will the city ensure they live up to standards,
[02:00:22] ▶wide of this project. There are already thousands of hotel rooms in the city and thousands of more hotel rooms that have already been approved. So it's not that we are running low. We have already approved. City's already progressing with hotel rooms. This proposal takes away for something that public already has for little back in return. I would rather see the city prioritize other issues like affordability
[02:00:44] ▶instead of approving projects like that. And, also, the safety concern, if there's a heard a speaker saying,
[02:00:50] ▶that objected, if there is a fire situation in that congested area, people that don't work in, I want to record that. I worked in there for last ten years. If there's a fire situation
[02:00:59] ▶in that area,
[02:01:00] ▶it is gonna have a huge impact on people, and we will not be able to get our emergency services on time. And a lot of people, k royalties may come occur. So I firmly reject it, and I I value your time. Thank you. Thank you. Speaker number 24 is, Prathamesh
[02:01:18] ▶Speaker 0: Pure.
[02:01:21] ▶Speaker 31: Hi. My name is Prathamesh. Can you able to hear me? Yeah. We can hear you. But before you start,
[02:01:27] ▶Speaker 0: speaker, can I ask you if you are a resident of Vancouver? That's a procedure question. I work in Vancouver.
[02:01:32] ▶You you are?
[02:01:35] ▶I I work in Vancouver. Oh, you was, but you are not
[02:01:38] ▶resident of Vancouver right now.
[02:01:40] ▶No. Okay. That's okay. Yeah. Just a procedure question. Please go ahead.
[02:01:45] ▶Speaker 31: Okay. So I do agree with the previous,
[02:01:48] ▶speaker, Rahul.
[02:01:50] ▶I almost,
[02:01:51] ▶agree with, a lot of his point that he point pinpointed,
[02:01:55] ▶and I also do not support this plan.
[02:01:58] ▶It will block the view of the harbor and the mountains along the side walls, and it impacts the public viewpoints
[02:02:05] ▶like the end of Bullard Street.
[02:02:08] ▶These are shared experience
[02:02:10] ▶that belong to all of us. And yet,
[02:02:13] ▶what is being offered in Newton? A dock that mainly serves access to the floater itself.
[02:02:19] ▶This is not a meaningful public benefit. And, also, on top of that, the developer has also refused to provide the financial contribution
[02:02:27] ▶requested by the city.
[02:02:29] ▶So we are being asked to give up a public space and the public views in exchange for very little.
[02:02:36] ▶I am also concerned about the safety.
[02:02:38] ▶This project will not require a building permit
[02:02:41] ▶or an occupancy permit, meaning less city oversight.
[02:02:46] ▶Instead, a third party overseas
[02:02:49] ▶will be responsible for inspection.
[02:02:51] ▶And then there is a bigger picture that we cannot avoid. The families in the Vancouver are struggling with affordability.
[02:02:59] ▶Many are being pushed out of the city along altogether, and some of the people are living in Surrey, and they come all the way to the Vancouver.
[02:03:09] ▶So
[02:03:10] ▶why are we prioritizing an oversized luxury hotel that does nothing to address these challenges?
[02:03:17] ▶We should be investing in housing,
[02:03:20] ▶in community spaces,
[02:03:22] ▶and in a city that works for families,
[02:03:25] ▶not giving away our waterfront.
[02:03:27] ▶I urge you to vote no on this proposal.
[02:03:31] ▶Speaker 0: Thank you. Thank you. Speaker number 25 is, Keith Jeros.
[02:03:37] ▶Yeah. Hello? Yes. We can hear you. Please go ahead.
[02:03:40] ▶Speaker 18: Perfect. Good evening, mayor and council. My name is Keith Jeros, and I'm a resident of Vancouver. I oppose the proposed flotilla. It more than doubles the permitted height of the nearby marina, and its sheer scale will alter the experience of our waterfront that so many enjoy today.
[02:03:55] ▶This isn't another cruise ship coming to town. It's permanent.
[02:03:59] ▶What concerns me most is what we stand to lose. This project will partially obstruct views of the harbor in the North Shore Mountains along part of the seawall, used to define Vancouver.
[02:04:09] ▶It will intrude on the panoramic sight lines at the end of Burrard Street and impact views of the convention center and Canada Place.
[02:04:16] ▶These are not a private amenities. They are shared public assets that belong to all of us. And yet, what is being offered in return?
[02:04:23] ▶Dock access that primarily services access to the flotilla itself that is partially restricted to the public.
[02:04:30] ▶That's an unequal exchange, I think.
[02:04:33] ▶Selecting a private developer will be taking from the public while giving less back in return.
[02:04:38] ▶I'm also troubled by the lack of proper oversight. This flotilla would not require a building permit or an occupancy permit. That means the city cannot ensure basic safety measures like fire protection,
[02:04:48] ▶structural integrity, or evacuation procedures.
[02:04:52] ▶Instead, we're being asked to trust a third party inspector
[02:04:55] ▶based overseas.
[02:04:56] ▶Finally,
[02:04:57] ▶I wanna speak to priorities. Vancouver is in an affordability crisis. People are struggling to stay in the city,
[02:05:04] ▶and yet council is being asked to approve an oversized luxury flotilla that takes up public waterfront space, while the developer refuses to provide meaningful financial contributions
[02:05:14] ▶to the community.
[02:05:16] ▶This is not the kind of development we need. I urge you to reject this proposal, please, and thank you for your time. Thank you. Speaker number 26
[02:05:24] ▶Speaker 0: is, Hamander Singh Kaley.
[02:05:32] ▶Hi, Hamander. Again, as a procedure question, can I ask you if you are a resident of Vancouver?
[02:05:38] ▶Speaker 3: Yes. Since 1988.
[02:05:39] ▶Speaker 0: Thank you. Please go ahead.
[02:05:43] ▶Speaker 3: I wanna apologize. At first, I had a allergic reaction, so my eyes are a little blurry.
[02:05:48] ▶Luckily, I used size 20 font on my
[02:05:51] ▶speaking notes.
[02:05:52] ▶Good evening, counsel.
[02:05:54] ▶My name is Herminder Singh Kaley,
[02:05:56] ▶and I live here in Vancouver.
[02:05:58] ▶Like I stated, since 1988,
[02:06:01] ▶I'm also the secretary treasurer of the BC Federation of Labor
[02:06:06] ▶representing working people across this province.
[02:06:09] ▶And I'm here tonight to urge you to reject this flotel proposal.
[02:06:14] ▶Our waterfront is one of the most important shared spaces that we have as a city,
[02:06:20] ▶and it belongs to all of us,
[02:06:22] ▶families,
[02:06:23] ▶workers,
[02:06:25] ▶people who walk the seawall
[02:06:27] ▶and take in the views.
[02:06:29] ▶This proposal takes that shared public space
[02:06:32] ▶and gives it to private luxury to a private luxury floating hotel.
[02:06:38] ▶Many speakers have already talked about the size of the hotel
[02:06:42] ▶and,
[02:06:43] ▶how it would tower over the adjacent marina. I won't go in there. I won't speak to that just to move things along.
[02:06:50] ▶But once we give up that space,
[02:06:53] ▶we don't get it back, apparently, till 2060.
[02:06:57] ▶The waterfront has also been a place for working people.
[02:07:01] ▶It's where this city was built.
[02:07:03] ▶It's where people still make a living.
[02:07:06] ▶And now we're being asked to put a luxury hotel
[02:07:09] ▶right in front of that space.
[02:07:11] ▶And who is it really for?
[02:07:14] ▶Because it's not for the workers who built this city,
[02:07:16] ▶and it's not for the residents who rely on that space every day for leisure
[02:07:22] ▶and for work.
[02:07:24] ▶Numerous speakers have talked about the safety concerns.
[02:07:28] ▶This flotel would not be subjected to the same city inspections
[02:07:32] ▶as other hotels and buildings.
[02:07:35] ▶Many have talked about no building permit, no occupancy permit.
[02:07:39] ▶It wasn't until I was sitting here today that I was alarmed to hear that
[02:07:44] ▶Vancouver Fire Department and the Paramedic Service
[02:07:47] ▶do not have jurisdiction on this space.
[02:07:50] ▶That means no direct city oversight on fire safety,
[02:07:54] ▶structural integrity,
[02:07:56] ▶or evacuation.
[02:07:58] ▶Instead, this proposal relies on a third party based overseas.
[02:08:04] ▶Along with this job, I've also been a dockworker working on the waterfront for twenty years.
[02:08:09] ▶Many of the ships that come in have
[02:08:13] ▶have certifications from overseas. That does not mean
[02:08:16] ▶that they
[02:08:18] ▶don't have any safety concerns.
[02:08:22] ▶We're also being asked to give up public waterfront space
[02:08:26] ▶for very little in return.
[02:08:28] ▶The so called public benefit is access to a dock
[02:08:32] ▶that leads to a private spa and cafe,
[02:08:36] ▶and the developer has refused to provide
[02:08:39] ▶the $3,600,000
[02:08:40] ▶the city has asked for.
[02:08:43] ▶When you build in Vancouver,
[02:08:45] ▶you have the DCLs,
[02:08:46] ▶you have the community amen
[02:08:48] ▶amenity contributions.
[02:08:50] ▶I was sitting in the back just doing some rough calculations on a 250
[02:08:55] ▶seat hotel
[02:08:56] ▶based in Downtown Vancouver, a luxury hotel
[02:08:59] ▶at a very modest occupancy rate of 78.
[02:09:04] ▶I will be there
[02:09:06] ▶till 2060.
[02:09:09] ▶Hundreds of millions
[02:09:10] ▶in profit
[02:09:12] ▶will go to this proponent.
[02:09:14] ▶And yet,
[02:09:15] ▶in a slap to the face of the residents of the city, they refuse a measly $3,600,000
[02:09:21] ▶for amenities
[02:09:22] ▶and infrastructure
[02:09:24] ▶that this city is lacking in. We've heard it from,
[02:09:27] ▶previous speakers,
[02:09:28] ▶our community centers. We need childcare space. We need affordable housing.
[02:09:33] ▶We are laying off frontline service city workers,
[02:09:37] ▶which means that the residents of this city aren't getting the same level of service or quality.
[02:09:43] ▶So we give up our public space,
[02:09:46] ▶we lower our standards, and we get less in return.
[02:09:50] ▶To me, that is not a fair deal.
[02:09:52] ▶People in this city are struggling.
[02:09:55] ▶Housing is unaffordable.
[02:09:56] ▶The cost of living is high, and working people are being pushed out.
[02:10:01] ▶This is the moment to focus on affordability
[02:10:04] ▶and livability,
[02:10:06] ▶not fast tracking projects that benefit developers.
[02:10:09] ▶At the end of the day, this is about priorities and choices.
[02:10:13] ▶We all have a choice.
[02:10:15] ▶This council has a choice.
[02:10:17] ▶Do you choose the residents of Vancouver or do you choose private developers?
[02:10:23] ▶Do we protect our shared waterfront?
[02:10:26] ▶Do we stand with working people and residents?
[02:10:29] ▶Or do we give more ground to private development for very little in return?
[02:10:33] ▶And I'm asking all the counselors here in the chambers today
[02:10:37] ▶to stand with the people of Vancouver
[02:10:39] ▶and reject this proposal.
[02:10:41] ▶Thank you. Thank you.
[02:10:44] ▶Speaker 0: Alright. So this is the end of our our our speakers list. If there are additional speakers in the chamber,
[02:10:50] ▶please come forward to the podium
[02:10:52] ▶and click, are there any additional speakers online?
[02:11:01] ▶There are not. Okay. Thank you. Alright. So this is the third and the final call for speakers. If you wish to speak to council about this item, please call toll free, +1 (833)
[02:11:10] ▶353-8610
[02:11:12] ▶followed by the participant code 1061445Pound
[02:11:17] ▶before the close of the speaker's list. The phone number will be posted on x and displayed during the recess.
[02:11:24] ▶We will now here, take two minutes recess for any additional speakers to call in or come forward to the podium.
[02:11:30] ▶We're gonna be back at,
[02:11:32] ▶08:14.
[02:14:42] ▶Alright.
[02:14:48] ▶I need one more for the coral.
[02:14:56] ▶K. We have coral. Okay. Perfect. Alright. Thank you. Alright, Kirk. Do we have any speakers,
[02:15:02] ▶in the chamber or on the line?
[02:15:06] ▶Speaker 19. Okay.
[02:15:09] ▶Alright. So I'm calling off speaker 19, Sean Labrode.
[02:15:19] ▶Speaker 19 out of there. Sean.
[02:15:23] ▶Speaker 33: So
[02:15:24] ▶the developer is asking the city to give a valuable public waterfront space for a private development.
[02:15:30] ▶This is a big ask, and when something like this happens, the public
[02:15:35] ▶should receive meaningful benefits in return, but that's not what we're seeing here. The the developer is offering walkway access to floating hotel as the main public benefit.
[02:15:45] ▶For a project of this size of impact that feels completely out of proportion.
[02:15:50] ▶Even more concerning,
[02:15:51] ▶the applicant refused to provide the 3,600,000
[02:15:55] ▶in community contributions
[02:15:56] ▶that the city requested.
[02:15:58] ▶So let's be clear.
[02:16:01] ▶We're being asked to give up a part of our shared waterfront, accept the impacts on views, public spaces, and in return, we get very little. That doesn't feel like a fair deal. Feels like a giveaway.
[02:16:13] ▶At at a time when so many of us are trying to afford the cost of living here, the project doesn't make sense. Why should the city give more to the developer than we get in return?
[02:16:24] ▶Too many people can't afford to live here. The city needs to be addressing that affordability crisis instead of giving so much to another developer.
[02:16:33] ▶If a project can't deliver meaningful public value, it shouldn't move forward. I urge you to reject the proposal and to stand up for what we
[02:16:42] ▶Speaker 0: need. Thank you. Thank you, Sean. Sorry. So I forgot to ask you if you are residents of Vancouver. Just a procedure question.
[02:16:49] ▶Yes. Okay. Thank you.
[02:16:51] ▶Thank you. K. So we have a dish another speaker on the line with last four digit, 4201.
[02:16:58] ▶Are you there?
[02:17:00] ▶Yes. I am. Yeah. Can we ask your name on and if you're a resident of Vancouver?
[02:17:05] ▶Speaker 12: Absolutely. My name is Devin Hassick, and I am a resident of Vancouver.
[02:17:10] ▶Speaker 0: K. Thank you. Please go ahead.
[02:17:12] ▶Speaker 12: Alright. I'm sorry. I wasn't planning on speaking tonight. I didn't think I'd have time. I was up till seven in the morning looking after my little girl.
[02:17:19] ▶So I'm a little unprepared here. But as I've noted, my name is Devin Hasik.
[02:17:24] ▶And I have to say, I am the son of a proud woman who was a, like, a member of a union who fought for her brothers and sisters in solidarity.
[02:17:34] ▶And I support,
[02:17:35] ▶and I too support, the workers movement. Uh-huh.
[02:17:40] ▶But my mom,
[02:17:42] ▶when she was alive,
[02:17:43] ▶she
[02:17:44] ▶didn't
[02:17:45] ▶she never celebrated
[02:17:47] ▶when another plant in in town closed down. It was a dark day. It meant their jobs were at risk. That's another blow to the union.
[02:17:53] ▶So I'm a little confused by this the opposition tonight because I support unions. I support more workers.
[02:18:01] ▶I think our economy should grow, and we should do it in a way that uplifts us all. I think this project helped that to do that.
[02:18:08] ▶You know, when I last spoke to council last year, it was to support more homes. I believe in more housing in our city. We need it. It's depressing to hear so many people call in tonight and say, they're not residents of Vancouver who work here. Something's broken in our city when that happens.
[02:18:23] ▶But I don't see
[02:18:25] ▶you know, if this was a strata building, a rental building on the water, that's not gonna be very affordable either. This will give more people a chance to visit Vancouver, to work in Vancouver
[02:18:35] ▶as opposed to, you know,
[02:18:37] ▶being the newest place for a a pete a terre for, somebody coming in for a convention.
[02:18:43] ▶And it is important to know, this is right next to the convention center. It's a great place for more hotels.
[02:18:49] ▶You know, I was you some of you may remember, I was at Children's Hospital last year. I spent
[02:18:55] ▶two two months at Children's Hospital. It was a very tough time for me.
[02:19:00] ▶It was tougher for other parents. Parents that had to commute to Children's Hospital. People came in from other cities. In the North Coast, children's hospital.
[02:19:10] ▶And on the first day that we were given a piece of paper,
[02:19:13] ▶it laid out where are the where are other hotels in Vancouver.
[02:19:17] ▶There weren't that many.
[02:19:20] ▶Those hotels
[02:19:21] ▶are where other parents would have to compete when there's a convention, when there's FIFA in town, when there's another sporting event.
[02:19:29] ▶If this hotel goes in, it might not be that affordable, but it's gonna be where you see other people come in. When you see The Rock between Johnson and Vancouver, he's not gonna be broadcasting from Shangri La. Perhaps he's broadcasting from this hotel,
[02:19:43] ▶but he's not gonna be at the Sandman Hotel.
[02:19:45] ▶That's gonna be a family
[02:19:47] ▶that I met at Saint Paul's Hospital that are up from the up north. They're gonna be there and have a bit cheaper rate because they don't have to compete with a movie star now.
[02:19:56] ▶That's worth approving for me.
[02:19:58] ▶But it's for my daughter also that I'm speaking tonight
[02:20:01] ▶because, you know, I've been with them. I'm a Vancouver resident. Right? I've been at The Seawall numerous times.
[02:20:09] ▶You know, when you walk along Sofaust Street,
[02:20:11] ▶it's private feeling. Yes.
[02:20:13] ▶It's a public pathway to Seawall, but it's a whole bunch of pat patios that back onto it. That doesn't feel very public. If you're loathing around there, somebody's gonna come and say, can you move along? It's kinda late at night.
[02:20:26] ▶Obviously, the Seagull downtown, the convention center is a little different. It's commercialized already. I mean, when the convention center was approved, we could have argued, why are we building the convention center? Why are we building counterplaces? It's privatizing the sea and the water.
[02:20:41] ▶The convention center is amazing. I don't think any of us would disagree with that now. It doesn't have the best view sometimes
[02:20:47] ▶when you're standing there. My cousins, when they came to town, they made us wait for half an hour to watch the Disney carnival cruise ship sail out. And I tell you, I cannot stand that horn. No. It haunts me.
[02:20:59] ▶But those views get blocked.
[02:21:01] ▶Doesn't really have a good connection to the water either.
[02:21:04] ▶This proposal will build a public dock, and it will be a public dock. The SRW will secure that. And if the developer ever violates that as a hotel owner, well, it's easy enough to revoke a business license.
[02:21:16] ▶That means that one day I can stand with my little girl right next to the water, right next to Coal Harbour, and she'll dip her hands in it. And we can look at Stanley Park. We can look at the mountains, and we can see the waterfront of Vancouver, how it was meant to be experienced. Not from, you know, 20 or 30 feet up, right at the water's edge.
[02:21:34] ▶I like to think for a better Vancouver,
[02:21:36] ▶and I think this proposal will help achieve that. So for those reasons, I'm asking you to support it tonight. Thank you very much.
[02:21:43] ▶Speaker 0: Thank you. Alright. Thanks, Devin.
[02:21:46] ▶Alright, Cliff. Do we have any other speakers in the chamber or on the line?
[02:21:58] ▶Speaker 8: Just checking the line share.
[02:22:00] ▶Speaker 0: None in chamber or on the line. Okay. Thank you. Alright. Seeing no further speakers, the speakers list is now closed.
[02:22:07] ▶Clerk, has there been a large volume of, public comments received on this item since 5PM? There has not been. K. Thank you. Alright. Seeing there are few or no public comments received after 5PM, I'm now closing the receipt of, public comments as well.
[02:22:22] ▶Does the applicant have any closing comments?
[02:22:26] ▶Yeah. Please go ahead.
[02:22:30] ▶Speaker 1: I will try to keep this as short as possible.
[02:22:34] ▶And I thank the speakers for their contribution and comments.
[02:22:39] ▶Couple of things I'd like to,
[02:22:41] ▶just address in the comments that I've heard.
[02:22:44] ▶I would like to address the
[02:22:47] ▶declined 3,600,000
[02:22:48] ▶contribution.
[02:22:50] ▶The issue at heart is that this is not a permanent
[02:22:53] ▶plant based structure that we're building,
[02:22:56] ▶and and the normal way these things are done, it's it's related to development permits. It's related to building permits.
[02:23:03] ▶This is a temporary nature maritime asset, which is classified. It's under a flag. It's regulated heavily,
[02:23:10] ▶and and it is movable. There is no certainty that this asset will be here in one year's time or five years' time.
[02:23:18] ▶And and so the contributions that we're normally expecting to see in the land based developments
[02:23:23] ▶are in perpetuity.
[02:23:26] ▶These these carry land value appraisals and increases, and the and the real estate goes up in value. This is not the case with a maritime asset.
[02:23:34] ▶It is depreciated in a very different manner similar to mobile assets, aircraft, vehicles,
[02:23:40] ▶and that is at the heart of it. It. There are examples in multiple jurisdictions, including Vancouver,
[02:23:45] ▶where you have a similar setup where we pay for the mooring. So we've set up a mooring lease.
[02:23:51] ▶We pay for that mooring. We pay for the connections to the PAVCO
[02:23:54] ▶and to tapping into that infrastructure.
[02:23:57] ▶And so that contribution,
[02:23:59] ▶it is there, but it is in a different separate manner, which is appropriate for a maritime asset.
[02:24:08] ▶I would point out that the
[02:24:10] ▶multiple speakers spoke of a delegated authority to a
[02:24:15] ▶a foreign entity in terms of regulation and control. That is not the case.
[02:24:20] ▶DNV, the nor Norske Veritas, is one of the global leading classification societies,
[02:24:25] ▶and it is a delegated authority of Transport Canada. It represents flag states as well. It's regulated by IMO.
[02:24:33] ▶These guys
[02:24:34] ▶and their office is in Vancouver.
[02:24:37] ▶These are local guys, local classification
[02:24:40] ▶surveyors,
[02:24:41] ▶and this is not a foreign entity. This is a global
[02:24:45] ▶classification society with a local representation office that does all the work here locally.
[02:24:51] ▶I think that's important to point out.
[02:24:56] ▶The insurance point and and the
[02:25:00] ▶removal of a wreckage type of,
[02:25:04] ▶commentation. I would say that,
[02:25:06] ▶yes, these are highly regulated. They're very high-tech,
[02:25:10] ▶high quality builds
[02:25:12] ▶for very rough conditions.
[02:25:15] ▶We have a standard insurance policy on all vessels that starts from a half 1,000,000,000
[02:25:20] ▶US dollars in cover
[02:25:22] ▶for every single ship.
[02:25:24] ▶And so that that is definitely not a a a an issue to be worried about.
[02:25:29] ▶The
[02:25:30] ▶the nature of the operations
[02:25:33] ▶like we have in London
[02:25:35] ▶is a cooperation between the local authorities, fire department,
[02:25:39] ▶and and health and safety wise. This will be the case for this development as well. We have permanent
[02:25:45] ▶structures,
[02:25:46] ▶the the cafe and spa and and public dock, the access ways. They will be under,
[02:25:53] ▶normal building permissions. We will have to adhere to the local conditions or regulations to that effect.
[02:25:59] ▶We will have
[02:26:01] ▶close cooperation between the classification society and the local fire department
[02:26:05] ▶like we have in all the other jurisdictions as well.
[02:26:08] ▶So it's just a different way
[02:26:10] ▶of administering something like this. If we start saying that, no, everything has to be built by
[02:26:17] ▶that local building code standards, those cannot be applied
[02:26:21] ▶to a maritime asset because the the construction
[02:26:24] ▶and the hull and the way these are are built and designed is completely different. It's it's the same as saying that we're gonna apply local building code to an aircraft. It's not possible.
[02:26:34] ▶So, yes, it's a unique proposal in a sense that it steps outside of the norm. I think that's one of the strong points of this proposition that we're taking
[02:26:43] ▶a space that is otherwise
[02:26:45] ▶not developable.
[02:26:47] ▶Well, there is no housing opportunity on this site. We're not taking away these opportunities. I hear the
[02:26:54] ▶objections
[02:26:55] ▶in terms of focus on affordable housing.
[02:26:58] ▶We are contributing to that. We're not taking anything away from those opportunities. I I'd like to point that out.
[02:27:05] ▶In terms of the viewpoints, this seems to be a a major issue that there are certain viewpoints on the promenade,
[02:27:11] ▶on the
[02:27:12] ▶seawall where where there will be a loss of
[02:27:15] ▶a a viewpoint from a particular angle. We are creating additional viewpoint angles
[02:27:21] ▶of almost a 130 meters in terms of the public public space that we're creating.
[02:27:25] ▶And
[02:27:26] ▶and and let's keep in mind that this asset will be moving with the tide. It's a moving target,
[02:27:32] ▶and it is a ship in the port.
[02:27:35] ▶If we object to having ships in the port in the cruise port area,
[02:27:40] ▶I'm not I'm not sure what is,
[02:27:43] ▶a legitimate use of that water space. If that is not,
[02:27:46] ▶I would point that out.
[02:27:49] ▶And the
[02:27:59] ▶I rest my case.
[02:28:01] ▶Speaker 0: Mhmm. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Alright.
[02:28:06] ▶Oh, please go ahead.
[02:28:07] ▶Speaker 7: Just like to put an exclamation mark on this because I don't think I focused on this enough at the beginning.
[02:28:15] ▶But we had a development permit here because there's been a lot of,
[02:28:21] ▶discussion about the you know, a private developer.
[02:28:25] ▶We have the rights to that
[02:28:27] ▶waterlogged.
[02:28:29] ▶I had a development permit in 2010
[02:28:33] ▶to make it a mega yacht marina,
[02:28:36] ▶which had no access for the public whatsoever. And some of the
[02:28:41] ▶people that own those mega yachts,
[02:28:44] ▶those yachts might actually be bigger
[02:28:47] ▶than this hotel,
[02:28:49] ▶but you couldn't go there. It would be behind
[02:28:52] ▶a gate.
[02:28:54] ▶And at my age,
[02:28:57] ▶this point in my life,
[02:29:00] ▶the legacy that I have for Vancouver is important for me. I've been on the waterfront for fifty years.
[02:29:08] ▶Jack Poole
[02:29:09] ▶was a friend.
[02:29:11] ▶Jack Poole Plaza is the town square,
[02:29:15] ▶and this use adjacent to the town square
[02:29:20] ▶is a perfect complimentary
[02:29:22] ▶fit.
[02:29:23] ▶Whereas a private mega yacht marina, which I have the permission to do,
[02:29:28] ▶I can I could still I could resurrect that?
[02:29:31] ▶I could sell memberships
[02:29:33] ▶to billionaires
[02:29:34] ▶and clip coupons.
[02:29:36] ▶That's what private use is.
[02:29:39] ▶And I'll also tell you
[02:29:41] ▶that I've been involved with the port master plan since 1978.
[02:29:48] ▶We have 29 kilometers
[02:29:50] ▶of waterfront seawall.
[02:29:53] ▶This is this ship is 18 meters wide.
[02:29:57] ▶If you wanna see the sails and there isn't a 6,000 passenger
[02:30:02] ▶mega ship there,
[02:30:05] ▶go 20 paces east
[02:30:07] ▶to where the raindrop is, and you can look at it.
[02:30:10] ▶Or if you want, you can go out to the bow of this ship
[02:30:14] ▶on a community amenity
[02:30:17] ▶and look at it from there.
[02:30:19] ▶So what I'm saying is that this is the arguments that have been
[02:30:23] ▶made today
[02:30:25] ▶don't sit well with me because,
[02:30:29] ▶it flies in the face of the legacy that I wish to leave to Vancouver.
[02:30:34] ▶So I rest my case.
[02:30:36] ▶Speaker 0: Thank you.
[02:30:38] ▶Alright. Does our staff have any closing comments?
[02:30:44] ▶Speaker 6: Good evening, councilors. Yes. Staff wanted to clarify some of the comments that we'd heard through the course of speakers this evening and also to address some of the questions that, were at points that were raised earlier by council.
[02:30:56] ▶With respect to fire,
[02:30:58] ▶I wanted to clarify that the Vancouver
[02:31:01] ▶Fire Rescue Services would support,
[02:31:04] ▶a call out to this facility.
[02:31:06] ▶There is access from the,
[02:31:09] ▶lower level walkway along Waterfront Road,
[02:31:12] ▶where the servicing and loading could happen, and that's where fire and ambulances could access the site.
[02:31:19] ▶But, again, we're stressing that, because we can't issue a building permit, it is the applicant and and their certification system that would be primarily responsible for, say, putting out a fire. But our fire services would respond and assist where possible.
[02:31:33] ▶This include this would be the same kind of response that they would entail for a cruise ship dock. They would bring fire boats. They would bring land,
[02:31:40] ▶land equipment where possible, but not be fully responsible for putting out a fire.
[02:31:46] ▶Recognizing that we are able
[02:31:48] ▶to issue a building permit and all the checks that that entails, as I mentioned in my presentation, we do have a condition that requires
[02:31:54] ▶that the applicant report to the city in the event of life safety and health issues.
[02:31:59] ▶We would seek to understand at that point how the applicant would address those, and we do have, as a control,
[02:32:06] ▶the ability to withdraw a business license for the operation of of the hotel.
[02:32:12] ▶Views have been brought up repeatedly this evening, and the proposal's height is 11 to 13 meters above the perimeter walkway,
[02:32:19] ▶depending on low to high tide. This is the equivalent of a three to four story building.
[02:32:24] ▶We recognize this, and so we recognize how this could obstruct views.
[02:32:28] ▶Therefore, a new public viewing area is provided as part of this proposal, and that will be secured by a, statutory right of way that is secured on title,
[02:32:39] ▶for in perpetuity. So it's it it will not become privatized. That's SRW is,
[02:32:45] ▶a,
[02:32:46] ▶a public access in perpetuity.
[02:32:50] ▶Planning tracks,
[02:32:52] ▶new rooms to Hotels Vancouver Supply has been tracking new rooms to Hotels Vancouver Supply since 2022,
[02:32:58] ▶which is when council's original hotel motion was approved. Since 2022,
[02:33:03] ▶we have we've had 350
[02:33:05] ▶hotel rooms completed
[02:33:07] ▶with another 850
[02:33:08] ▶under construction.
[02:33:10] ▶This would provide the city with 1,160
[02:33:12] ▶rooms that would,
[02:33:14] ▶definitely be added to the hotel room supply.
[02:33:17] ▶There are 5,780
[02:33:20] ▶rooms at the various stages of development review or in the pipeline.
[02:33:26] ▶There is a yellow memo just as a reminder attached to this application.
[02:33:29] ▶And so finally, should, should council have questions about this proposal or the conditions attached included in the staff report, staff are available to respond to your questions. Thank you. K. Thank you. Alright. So does council have any, final question for staff? No, noting no additional questions to the applicant are permitted.
[02:33:48] ▶Speaker 0: Councilor Maloney?
[02:33:50] ▶Speaker 9: Thank you.
[02:33:52] ▶I just wanted to I'm I didn't get time before to ask,
[02:33:57] ▶about the environmental impact from,
[02:34:01] ▶installing the pilings.
[02:34:03] ▶Could you elaborate on on that? I know that it's a different agency that'll be,
[02:34:09] ▶governing and,
[02:34:10] ▶regulating
[02:34:11] ▶that process, but can you give me an idea of of how that,
[02:34:16] ▶impact is
[02:34:19] ▶mitigated in general?
[02:34:21] ▶Speaker 6: Thank you for the question. Unfortunately, I'm not we are staff are not able to answer that question because the that environmental review is outside of our regulatory purview. That is the purview of, Department of Fisheries and Oceans. We did reach out to DFO as part of this review process,
[02:34:37] ▶and they said those reviews happen at the development permit stage.
[02:34:42] ▶Speaker 9: Also, I I did appreciate the the comparison
[02:34:45] ▶with cruise ships in terms of,
[02:34:49] ▶fire safety.
[02:34:51] ▶I just am interested to know,
[02:34:54] ▶in terms of a normal building, a normal hotel, you would have,
[02:34:59] ▶annual inspections for sprinklers and and that kind of thing. And I'm assuming that that's
[02:35:05] ▶would would be
[02:35:09] ▶I don't know whether that would still be done or I mean, I'm assuming there would be some pro I'm seeing nods from the the applicant, but,
[02:35:16] ▶so that's just would be the the normal thing because it's sort of different from a cruise ship,
[02:35:22] ▶even though there are there are sim similarities
[02:35:25] ▶that a cruise ship comes and goes.
[02:35:28] ▶Speaker 6: We understand from the applicant team, and they
[02:35:31] ▶told us about the systems. It's a maritime system. They will, through this classification agency
[02:35:37] ▶and engineering,
[02:35:38] ▶ensure that it's built to those standards. Fortunately, it's not something that we can regulate, but we understand things like sprinklers and fire extinguishers will be on board. But it is entirely up to the applicant's responsibility to do so. Okay.
[02:35:51] ▶Speaker 9: Alright.
[02:35:52] ▶Thanks. Alright. Then hear my questions.
[02:35:54] ▶Speaker 0: K. Thanks, counselor.
[02:35:56] ▶Counselor Kerbillon.
[02:35:58] ▶Speaker 27: I don't have questions. There's no one else in the queue. I'm prepared to move the recommendations to the al memo chair and speak to it. Okay.
[02:36:07] ▶Speaker 0: Okay. So sorry, councilor Kirbillon. Councilor Frey has questions. So I'll
[02:36:11] ▶move you back, and then councilor Frey, please go ahead first. Yeah. I just, in in, some of the the applicant's comments,
[02:36:20] ▶Speaker 26: around the DCL, the the not paying the DCL in lieu of the, mooring lease. I'm wonder if you could just give us a little bit more color on what does the mooring lease entail, who's it payable to, and
[02:36:32] ▶and and and what what's accrued by the city.
[02:36:36] ▶Speaker 6: Thank you for the question. I'm not privy we're not privy to that would have been a oh, we're not privy to the lease. That That would have been a question better asked of the applicants. We're unaware of what financial arrangements they have made.
[02:36:47] ▶But there is we understand that that lease is gonna be between the applicant
[02:36:52] ▶and the landowner, which is PAFCO,
[02:36:54] ▶Speaker 26: and they have to work out the terms of their the finances. The public benefits that, what of what is coming to us has already been described. Okay. Alright. Yeah. Just because the the morning lease did come up, and it's not in the application. But okay. I appreciate that that's not within your realm.
[02:37:09] ▶Speaker 0: Thank
[02:37:11] ▶you, councilor Frey. Councilor Maloney?
[02:37:13] ▶Speaker 9: Yeah. Thanks. So we had,
[02:37:16] ▶in terms of the DCLs again,
[02:37:19] ▶we had mentioned of this this development,
[02:37:23] ▶needing access to water, sewer, electricity, and and potentially,
[02:37:28] ▶having some impact on
[02:37:31] ▶the need for transport infrastructure.
[02:37:35] ▶Can you give me a bit of a picture of how much impact this this hotel will have on like, is it going to cost the city more in infrastructure
[02:37:52] ▶Speaker 6: significantly.
[02:37:56] ▶Speaker 34: Maybe I can help out, counselor.
[02:37:58] ▶And and just to,
[02:38:00] ▶speak to the purpose and kind of what a DCL is, it's usually not
[02:38:06] ▶tied to any particular impact or acute impact.
[02:38:09] ▶Usually, those types of more acute impacts are, like, condition upgrades that might be required associated with the development.
[02:38:16] ▶A DCL has to do with the overall infrastructure
[02:38:20] ▶impact of
[02:38:21] ▶intensifying use over time. So it's like a type of generic impact fee. So it's all the infrastructure we require to help service growth of various categories that are eligible under the DCL, and we use those funds pooled
[02:38:37] ▶to input. And and
[02:38:39] ▶the reason why we asked for that is because we we believe the impacts
[02:38:45] ▶of this are like and similar to if this was filled land with a permanent structure.
[02:38:50] ▶I understand the the applicant is suggesting that this may or may not be a long term use for the site, but
[02:38:57] ▶anticipating that this could be, recognizing that they have a long term lease,
[02:39:01] ▶we believe that some of those impacts of transportation and utilities
[02:39:06] ▶justify
[02:39:06] ▶asking for that in lieu of our ability to impose that fee like we would if this were a bricks and mortar project
[02:39:14] ▶on land or fill.
[02:39:17] ▶Speaker 9: And,
[02:39:21] ▶no. I I I'll I'll go off for now. K. Thanks. Councilor Corbillon,
[02:39:26] ▶Speaker 0: you have question or you wanna
[02:39:30] ▶Speaker 27: we can't hear you. Sorry, sir. Just taking myself off mute. Yeah. No. I'm prepared to move the recommendation in the yellow of my mouth. I can't. Okay. So sorry. There's councilor Claussen. You have question?
[02:39:41] ▶Speaker 0: It's no question. Right?
[02:39:43] ▶Okay. Great. Okay. So I have to read something before you guys, move it. Okay. Clark, did we receive any additional public comments since the close of the speaker of the public comments?
[02:39:57] ▶Speaker 8: Just checking, chair.
[02:40:07] ▶Speaker 0: No. We did not. Yeah. Thank you. Okay. So I will remind council that we need to move the recommendations for item one together with the yellow memo dated 04/07/2026
[02:40:19] ▶entitled city one,
[02:40:21] ▶three six three tax amendment,
[02:40:23] ▶1055
[02:40:25] ▶To 1085
[02:40:26] ▶Canada Place and, 1001
[02:40:28] ▶To 1045
[02:40:30] ▶West, Waterfront Road
[02:40:32] ▶amend report report text.
[02:40:35] ▶So council will not make decision on this application, so I think it's moved by councilor and,
[02:40:40] ▶and second by the, councilor Klassen with the yellow memo.
[02:40:44] ▶Alright. Council, is there any discussion? Councilor Kirby on Pizzo
[02:40:49] ▶Speaker 27: had. Yeah. Thanks, chair.
[02:40:51] ▶I I will start by saying this is not a an ordinary,
[02:40:54] ▶rezoning proposal, not a typical one that council has received and been in front of us. I had the opportunity to engage early on with the proponents, and the question that they had was,
[02:41:04] ▶how did they need to engage with the city and what appropriately,
[02:41:07] ▶was the city's role and what did they need to do? And,
[02:41:11] ▶I think that, I can say confidently that this has been a thoughtful process,
[02:41:16] ▶with respects to defining that. And as we've heard from city staff, the the city's role really was around the text amendment with respects to the Convention Centre and its ancillary uses on the water lot.
[02:41:28] ▶I also think that the questions with respect to
[02:41:31] ▶the City doing its due diligence even though it doesn't have the governing authority
[02:41:35] ▶with respects
[02:41:36] ▶to the safety components,
[02:41:38] ▶have been appropriately covered.
[02:41:40] ▶So all of that said, if council approves this proposal tonight, Vancouver will be getting its first ever floating hotel or floetel as it has been coined on the waterfront next to the Vancouver Convention Center Westside.
[02:41:52] ▶It would deliver 250
[02:41:54] ▶rooms and be new to Vancouver,
[02:41:56] ▶but it is not a new concept. It's a proven one.
[02:41:59] ▶It is coming from a proponent called Sunborn as we heard, but they are working in partnership with a local longstanding,
[02:42:06] ▶Vancouver Marine operator, the Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre.
[02:42:09] ▶It should be noted that, again, Vancouver is not,
[02:42:12] ▶taking a first on this one.
[02:42:15] ▶Similar hotels have been operated in London, successfully for about twenty three years and also in Gibraltar. So I think that that provides some,
[02:42:23] ▶perspective that, these are both valued,
[02:42:26] ▶by the public,
[02:42:27] ▶and also operationally,
[02:42:29] ▶have been sort of endured and stood stood the test of time.
[02:42:33] ▶I believe that this will bring an exciting new innovation to Vancouver's waterfront. The Flotel will be an economic contributor, creating new jobs and supporting both our local and our tourism economy.
[02:42:42] ▶It is environmentally friendly with a low carbon footprint.
[02:42:46] ▶It's publicly accessible with a new public dock which is now at sea level, that will provide seating and different views that people can enjoy and spend time on.
[02:42:55] ▶It's important to note that this will be fully connected to PABCO's existing infrastructure that has the capacity to, fulfill its needs. The environmental performance and the care that has been taken for a marine environment was inspiring to me in learning about this project.
[02:43:10] ▶And, I will note that there's that includes components like thermal energy systems and no discharge.
[02:43:15] ▶I also think that this is a good pivot from the original plan for this part of the Harbour that, enabled a private,
[02:43:23] ▶yacht,
[02:43:24] ▶type of marina scenario.
[02:43:26] ▶If council did not approve this project tonight, that would be a fallback,
[02:43:30] ▶and an existing
[02:43:32] ▶right that the operator would have. I prefer this project in terms of the fact that,
[02:43:37] ▶it will deliver
[02:43:38] ▶needed new hotel rooms. I think by welcoming this project, it will not only address the hotel shortage, it will add a whole new innovative and unique experience for a tourism sector in our city. It's an exciting and a fresh addition to Vancouver's waterfront, provides a new way of experiencing it for locals and for visitors,
[02:43:54] ▶and I think that,
[02:43:57] ▶it is,
[02:43:58] ▶been fully debated.
[02:44:00] ▶I think it it,
[02:44:03] ▶delivers economically. I think it delivers environmentally.
[02:44:07] ▶I think it delivers from a experiential
[02:44:09] ▶point of view, and a city building point of view, and I'm proud to support it. Thank you. Thank you, councilor. Councilor Claussen.
[02:44:16] ▶Speaker 15: Thanks,
[02:44:17] ▶chair.
[02:44:19] ▶Back in, I think it was December 2022, I was a fresh faced new city councilor sworn in just mere weeks before, and one of the very first meetings I had with the stakeholder group was with Sunborn and, the applicant.
[02:44:33] ▶And so I've been,
[02:44:35] ▶been involved
[02:44:37] ▶and engaged with,
[02:44:38] ▶this project,
[02:44:40] ▶since its first one of its first times that it came to
[02:44:44] ▶the city, and that's, you know, that's going on,
[02:44:48] ▶three and a half years ago. So it has been a very fulsome process
[02:44:52] ▶to to make happen.
[02:44:54] ▶I was immediately attracted by,
[02:44:57] ▶the the
[02:44:59] ▶the the different use for that waterfront,
[02:45:03] ▶space that, Graham Clark,
[02:45:05] ▶holds the, I guess, the rights to on the on the north side of the convention center.
[02:45:11] ▶It,
[02:45:12] ▶also
[02:45:13] ▶is a,
[02:45:15] ▶obviously, very environmentally expensive. A bespoke actually designed
[02:45:19] ▶for the the location it's in.
[02:45:22] ▶It'll be,
[02:45:24] ▶no no greenhouse gases
[02:45:26] ▶that will come from the operation of it. It, it will be,
[02:45:31] ▶electrified and running off the electrical grid and,
[02:45:35] ▶and secure.
[02:45:37] ▶And,
[02:45:38] ▶and then the the fact that
[02:45:41] ▶it brings a potential animation to a part of the of the seawall on the North Side. And we know that the north end of the convention center, if you've been down there, is generally a quieter kind of shaded
[02:45:54] ▶and less active part of the overall seawall network.
[02:45:57] ▶And this proposal
[02:45:59] ▶could actually bring some energy and some foot traffic and animation to that space and certainly
[02:46:04] ▶having close access to the waterfront,
[02:46:07] ▶is a real attraction that I think that it will be very pleasing for for both locals and visitors.
[02:46:14] ▶I recall,
[02:46:16] ▶when I went to Stockholm as a,
[02:46:19] ▶a backpacker after university,
[02:46:22] ▶And I got to stay at the aft Chapman, which is a boat that's situated right in the Stockholm Harbor. It's a hostel, very modest. You know, probably didn't it didn't cost that much to stay the night couple of nights there, But it was a remarkable feeling of being right on the water, and I can imagine
[02:46:38] ▶that guests at this at this hotel
[02:46:41] ▶will, similarly be it find the experience of being right there in one of the most beautiful vistas in the world, being able to kind of, to be able to stay and enjoy our city in that way.
[02:46:52] ▶I think a lot of things have been sort of thought through in this proposal, but, obviously, there's a lot more to come in terms of the actual,
[02:47:00] ▶design construction and implementation of this.
[02:47:03] ▶The the concerns about,
[02:47:05] ▶safety,
[02:47:07] ▶well, I think are noteworthy.
[02:47:08] ▶I do believe that, you know, we've seen that Vancouver Fire Rescue Services
[02:47:12] ▶have been, you know, boldly,
[02:47:15] ▶taking on,
[02:47:17] ▶measures to protect our waterfront. In fact,
[02:47:20] ▶one of their emergency craft was recently deployed at the Surrey Docks. So we know that they're ready and willing at all times to make sure that our the safety,
[02:47:29] ▶of, on our on our waterfront is is is paramount.
[02:47:34] ▶This project is gonna create important jobs. I think it's gonna be great for workers. I think it's gonna be, we we owe a great debt of gratitude to our hospitality sector and the people who are,
[02:47:46] ▶working in in hotels and restaurants that,
[02:47:49] ▶greet people from here, from, from abroad to come here,
[02:47:54] ▶for
[02:47:55] ▶for, tourism and for,
[02:47:58] ▶conventions. I mean, they are a huge driver of our economy.
[02:48:02] ▶We recognize them with the Vancouver tourism awards every year. And so I think that this would be a a fantastic place to work and a fantastic
[02:48:11] ▶opportunity
[02:48:12] ▶for us to really shine and showcase our city.
[02:48:16] ▶And,
[02:48:17] ▶I just, again, I'm
[02:48:19] ▶really supportive of of,
[02:48:21] ▶what we,
[02:48:22] ▶this this,
[02:48:24] ▶innovative approach to looking at our waterfront.
[02:48:27] ▶I note that the,
[02:48:29] ▶the sloped,
[02:48:30] ▶bow of this of this,
[02:48:32] ▶craft
[02:48:33] ▶will,
[02:48:35] ▶mean that, if you're looking northbound, I heard one, speaker talk about
[02:48:40] ▶views in the in the VR the Burrard Street Street View. But, from what I can tell, they will not be impacted.
[02:48:47] ▶It looks like that that has been sort of taken into account in this application. So,
[02:48:52] ▶very much looking forward to
[02:48:54] ▶seeing this finally realized and,
[02:48:57] ▶and installed on, in this location. And I think it'll be a huge attraction and and a huge benefit to,
[02:49:04] ▶our, our hotels and hospitality scene here. Thanks.
[02:49:08] ▶Speaker 0: Alright. Thanks, councilor. So I'm gonna pass the chair to UT counselor Meisner so I can make some final remarks. K. Thanks. Alright. So, also, I like like to, strongly support, this this project.
[02:49:21] ▶This proposal represents something rare but very innovative in our city. It's a project that challenge convention while advancing our broader economic
[02:49:31] ▶and the public space goals.
[02:49:33] ▶Vancouver is a global city as we all know, but we cannot
[02:49:36] ▶continue real relying on yesterday's idea to solve today's challenges.
[02:49:42] ▶A floating hotel is not just a development, application.
[02:49:45] ▶It's an example of innovation
[02:49:48] ▶in how we think about land use, tourism,
[02:49:51] ▶and our relationship with the waterfront.
[02:49:54] ▶In a city where land is very limited,
[02:49:56] ▶demand continues to grow, whether it is housing or hotel room.
[02:50:00] ▶This project explores explores a new frontier,
[02:50:03] ▶activating our marine space in a thoughtful and a purpose way.
[02:50:08] ▶From an economic perspective, the needs need is very clear. Vancouver continues to face shortage of hotel rooms,
[02:50:16] ▶which directly impacts our ability to host major events,
[02:50:19] ▶attract visitors, and support our local businesses, which is really important to our city right now.
[02:50:26] ▶The project delivers 250 new rooms in one of the most strategic location in the region
[02:50:32] ▶without displacing any existing land use. It's a very innovative,
[02:50:37] ▶idea.
[02:50:38] ▶But just as important as,
[02:50:41] ▶just as important is also the, public benefit.
[02:50:44] ▶This is not a private gated development.
[02:50:47] ▶It introduce
[02:50:48] ▶a new publicly accessible waterfront experience,
[02:50:52] ▶including an extended floating walkway,
[02:50:55] ▶new viewing areas, and amenities that Chang residents and visitors can enjoy.
[02:51:00] ▶The commitment in Chang to public access from early morning to late evening ensure that Chang'e space
[02:51:07] ▶becomes an extension to our seawall,
[02:51:10] ▶not a replacement of it.
[02:51:12] ▶Also, there are two two hundred jobs created because of this hotel.
[02:51:16] ▶It's not only 200 jobs.
[02:51:19] ▶Those are 200 families.
[02:51:20] ▶I mean, think about young kids, seniors living in these families. We created a very good, job opportunity for the whole families.
[02:51:28] ▶Yes. There are valid concerns around the views, environment, and access,
[02:51:32] ▶and those concern are exactly why this product is before us is with condition,
[02:51:37] ▶design refinements,
[02:51:39] ▶further regulation over oversight,
[02:51:42] ▶and, also the the business license requirements,
[02:51:45] ▶which Citi has fully control over.
[02:51:48] ▶Innovation does not mean absence of responsibility.
[02:51:51] ▶It means we shape the new ideas carefully and deliberately.
[02:51:56] ▶In my view, this, project strike a very good balance.
[02:52:00] ▶It supports our local economy,
[02:52:02] ▶expand public space,
[02:52:04] ▶demonstrate that Vancouver is willing to lead, not follow,
[02:52:08] ▶well, when it comes to innovation, urban solutions. For those reasons, I wholeheartedly support this project. Thank you. Also, I wanna thanks, staff, and thanks for the applicant.
[02:52:18] ▶So, councilor Meisel, I'm take I'm gonna take the chair back. Thank you. Alright. So I'm gonna advance councilor Maloney.
[02:52:24] ▶Speaker 9: Thank you very much. I,
[02:52:28] ▶I really appreciate the public speakers coming tonight to to share their views.
[02:52:35] ▶this
[02:52:36] ▶this,
[02:52:37] ▶development,
[02:52:40] ▶I've listened very carefully
[02:52:43] ▶to the the applicant, to staff. I've asked a lot of questions. I have listened very carefully to the the issues raised by the public,
[02:52:53] ▶and I've reflected
[02:52:54] ▶very,
[02:52:56] ▶very deeply on this this development,
[02:52:59] ▶both in my pre reading and
[02:53:02] ▶with everything I've heard about it.
[02:53:04] ▶I've I do support this development.
[02:53:08] ▶I've reflected on the fact that the view that will be partially
[02:53:13] ▶obscured by this this
[02:53:16] ▶hotel, which I actually very much like the look of,
[02:53:20] ▶was created by the construction of the convention center itself.
[02:53:26] ▶I think that this is gonna make an important contribution to the operation and effectiveness of the convention center.
[02:53:33] ▶And, even just from the public dock point of view,
[02:53:37] ▶I know that spa facilities are hugely popular in in the city Of Vancouver.
[02:53:44] ▶I'm I'm satisfied that the emergency services access is a similar situation to that of the cruise ships that dock close by. I'm comforted that we can issue a business license, and I'm I'm also comforted that there's a statutory right of way in perpetuity to the dock and that
[02:53:56] ▶this
[02:54:04] ▶and
[02:54:06] ▶and access to the the waterfront in this location that it didn't otherwise have unless you were lucky enough to go out on a
[02:54:11] ▶it didn't otherwise have unless you were lucky enough to go out on a boat.
[02:54:18] ▶So I think that is something new and different that does contribute to to the public.
[02:54:24] ▶I think it is it is unfortunate that the applicant hasn't offered to pay at least some of the the requested contribution in lieu of DCLs.
[02:54:33] ▶Just given how strongly that the public feels about the deficit in in public amenities,
[02:54:38] ▶I I think it would have been a a a nice gesture.
[02:54:42] ▶I do think that this,
[02:54:46] ▶this this project will make other contributions to our city that
[02:54:53] ▶make that acceptable to me
[02:54:55] ▶even though I don't
[02:54:57] ▶really like it.
[02:54:59] ▶I do accept that this development is a maritime asset and is therefore different,
[02:55:04] ▶but
[02:55:05] ▶I very much hope that this applicant will take opportunities
[02:55:09] ▶in future if the business case works out and that this development is in Vancouver for decades
[02:55:16] ▶to make financial and other contributions to support the community
[02:55:23] ▶and,
[02:55:24] ▶that that will,
[02:55:27] ▶perhaps make up for this
[02:55:29] ▶declining to, pay the
[02:55:32] ▶the the requested fee. Anyway, look. I'm generally in support of this. It's been a difficult decision for me, but I'll I'll be voting in favor.
[02:55:41] ▶Speaker 0: Thank you. Alright. Councilor Dominardo.
[02:55:44] ▶Speaker 2: Thank you, chair. And, thank you to staff. Thank you to the applicant, for the presentations this evening.
[02:55:51] ▶My comments,
[02:55:52] ▶my colleagues have been very articulate in in expressing,
[02:55:56] ▶their reasons for supporting this application.
[02:55:59] ▶I'll anchor my comments in in a couple of perspectives. One,
[02:56:03] ▶the central downtown waterfront planning.
[02:56:06] ▶As,
[02:56:07] ▶as we look to the future,
[02:56:11] ▶this area of the city is already an active hub,
[02:56:15] ▶for transportation,
[02:56:17] ▶for tourism,
[02:56:19] ▶for,
[02:56:20] ▶economic vitality with the convention centers, for visitors,
[02:56:24] ▶for residents,
[02:56:25] ▶to enjoy the vistas and the viewpoints and the mountains
[02:56:29] ▶and the water.
[02:56:31] ▶And so what I see in this is that this application is complementary to some of that long medium to long term planning that we're undertaking right now. One of the,
[02:56:43] ▶pieces of work that we've identified is that we want to create
[02:56:46] ▶more,
[02:56:47] ▶pedestrian cyclist access to the waterfront that we have some disconnects right now in that, planning.
[02:56:54] ▶So I think that the,
[02:56:56] ▶in addition to the hotel component, the West Side Dock and and public space is actually a actually a a positive in terms of creating more access to the water, not less,
[02:57:07] ▶in terms of what we have now.
[02:57:10] ▶And then when you start to situate this in the other priorities of the city,
[02:57:16] ▶we want to drive a strong economy, and so we want visitors to come here and spend their money. We want them to come and stay in hotels. And oftentimes,
[02:57:25] ▶there's we've talked about the lack of hotel spaces in the city and affordability around hotels.
[02:57:32] ▶We want to attract conferences to the city,
[02:57:35] ▶who are gonna host, be hosted in one of the two convention centers. And so this is the perfect location to have another place, to stay and lay your head.
[02:57:45] ▶We also,
[02:57:46] ▶want something that's environmentally sustainable and aligns with our,
[02:57:51] ▶our, I think, core values as a city of being a sustainable city and particularly in where we're situated
[02:57:57] ▶with with the Pacific Ocean and the mountains.
[02:58:01] ▶And,
[02:58:03] ▶finally, I think as we're looking back to the economic aspect of this,
[02:58:07] ▶it also will create jobs,
[02:58:10] ▶for local residents. So when we talk about opportunities here in the city, that's another part of this is job creation.
[02:58:17] ▶But my, my colleagues have spoken to all of the other elements, and I think that many of the other concerns that were raised for speakers have been mitigated by responses we heard from the applicant and from staff. And so we'll I'll leave my comments there, but I I think it is going to be a fantastic addition to our waterfront.
[02:58:33] ▶And, I'm sure we will see an evolution of this waterfront as we have, in years past, and I think there's more to come as we work on the central downtown waterfront planning. Thank you. Thanks, councilor.
[02:58:43] ▶Speaker 0: Councilor Frey.
[02:58:45] ▶Speaker 26: Yeah. Thanks, chair.
[02:58:47] ▶Thanks for everybody who came and spoke to this and, to the applicants for presenting and for staff,
[02:58:52] ▶for stick handling this.
[02:58:54] ▶Like, counselor class, and I've been familiar with this for some time. This proposal has been floating around for some time. Oh, my
[02:59:03] ▶god. Somebody had to do it.
[02:59:05] ▶But but, you know, it is an opportunity,
[02:59:08] ▶I think, to, what what what I like about this is, you know, first and foremost, I recognize that this is a luxury hotel, and it won't be necessarily affordable to a lot of folks and that there are sort of disconnects there from issues around affordability. But
[02:59:22] ▶hotel development is about economic development.
[02:59:26] ▶And and and when I look at the need for new hotel rooms, I also consider the strain that short term rentals put on our existing rental stock. So
[02:59:34] ▶even if this is a luxury hotel, I know that it will contribute on the whole to more hotel rooms,
[02:59:40] ▶that will open up and and and and take away from that short term rental stock, which I do think is is a problem for our city and is a problem for long term tenants in our city. So So I support it on that. On on the notion that that this is, removing the view,
[02:59:55] ▶you know, I'm I'm I'm pretty familiar with that area. I I cycle through there all the time. I I like hanging out around there, and it's it's totally shady. So I like the fact that this Western
[03:00:05] ▶Dock that is gonna be accessible to the public with spa and a cafe and all that, it's actually gonna have sunshine as well. That hasn't really been talked about much. But right now, if you wanna look at the view from that spot, it's almost always in the shade as far as I can tell.
[03:00:18] ▶But this new dock will add a new sunny vista for folks to really enjoy and get closer to the water. And I think that closeness to the water, that accessibility,
[03:00:27] ▶councilor Domino touched on on the work that we've been doing since last term on Central Waterfront and opening up that access because we don't celebrate our water access enough. And
[03:00:37] ▶and I think this hotel,
[03:00:39] ▶will introduce an opportunity to celebrate
[03:00:42] ▶what we are as a waterfront city,
[03:00:45] ▶but also open up access for the public as well as for guests.
[03:00:49] ▶Lastly, I am a little disappointed, like councilor Maloney, that the,
[03:00:53] ▶DCL conversation didn't kind of extract a little bit more of a of a of a
[03:00:59] ▶tangible
[03:01:00] ▶cash public benefit that we could rely on. But I do think that that this this dock and the public access and the cafe and the the Sunny Vista does does indeed provide some kind of a public access and public benefit at the same time, so I will be supporting this application.
[03:01:16] ▶Speaker 0: Thank you, councilor Frey. Councilor Meisner.
[03:01:19] ▶Speaker 4: Yeah. Thank you. Thanks to everyone who spoke to council. Thank you to the applicant,
[03:01:24] ▶and to staff,
[03:01:26] ▶for, fielding all our questions tonight.
[03:01:29] ▶There was just, there's been some commentary about,
[03:01:33] ▶the hotel.
[03:01:35] ▶I know we just heard from councilor Frey about, the hotel being a luxury hotel.
[03:01:40] ▶We heard from the applicant that they're looking to do something a little bit more modest.
[03:01:45] ▶And while I was listening to that,
[03:01:48] ▶I did actually go and look at the prices for the hotel that they operate in London, which is a floating hotel.
[03:01:55] ▶And, actually, it was, quite a bit more reasonable than I thought.
[03:01:59] ▶It is currently about $230
[03:02:02] ▶a night,
[03:02:03] ▶to book a night in a couple weeks from now. I'm not aware of too many hotel rooms in Downtown Vancouver that are $232
[03:02:10] ▶a night.
[03:02:11] ▶So that is, giving me, some optimism that we're going to see something that's a bit more moderately priced,
[03:02:18] ▶while understanding that it is on the waterfront,
[03:02:20] ▶as well. But, I think there's really two main benefits to this proposal. And like my colleagues, I've been following this for quite a while. And the applicant,
[03:02:29] ▶engaged counsel early in the process. I know they've been working on it for several years.
[03:02:34] ▶The first being the significant number of new hotel rooms,
[03:02:37] ▶in in a downtown core that really needs, hotel rooms. And, yes, we have, several 100, hotel rooms currently under construction, but we have a we have a huge deficit.
[03:02:46] ▶We have to we need to build thousands of new hotel rooms by 2050.
[03:02:50] ▶So this will go,
[03:02:52] ▶a fair way towards addressing that shortage.
[03:02:55] ▶It will also offer,
[03:02:57] ▶a unique experience.
[03:02:59] ▶So it was mentioned, I think, by the applicant around how many hotel rooms and hotels around the world are the same, and that's very true.
[03:03:07] ▶This is going to be a unique experience for people who are coming coming to Vancouver.
[03:03:11] ▶They'll be able to stay in a a floating hotel on our waterfront.
[03:03:15] ▶They're going to have, you know, spectacular views of the city.
[03:03:18] ▶It will animate this area of the Seawall, which has some of my colleagues have mentioned is is quite dark. I remember the retail units down there really struggled when they first opened. I used to go to the gym there, and there was not much else there. Thankfully, those retail units have, they have tenants now, and it's it's more vibrant.
[03:03:35] ▶But I think this will add, life and energy to that space that needs it still.
[03:03:41] ▶And the other benefit is obviously the public space. So,
[03:03:45] ▶to have this,
[03:03:46] ▶at grade with the water,
[03:03:49] ▶public space that people can use during the day,
[03:03:51] ▶that they can go there, they can sit in the sun, they can go to the cafe, they can enjoy the view, they can get a new perspective,
[03:03:58] ▶of Coal Harbour and the different views that are available, I think will be a big asset. And I think that makes it worthwhile to pursue this. So with both those things,
[03:04:07] ▶I am, strongly in support of it, and I look forward to, seeing it
[03:04:11] ▶set sail.
[03:04:12] ▶I guess that's not as good of a pun as councilor Frey, but,
[03:04:16] ▶looking forward to seeing it, come to fruition. Thanks.
[03:04:20] ▶Speaker 0: Thanks, Thanks, counselor.
[03:04:21] ▶Alright. So seeing no one else on the queue, I'm going to call the vote. Clerk, please take take us to the voting screen, and council, please register your vote on the voting panel.
[03:04:34] ▶Councilor Corbillon, can you turn on your video, please?
[03:04:41] ▶Councilor Corbillon?
[03:04:49] ▶Speaker 27: Sorry, chair. Is it on now? Okay. There we go.
[03:04:52] ▶Speaker 0: So council, please register your vote.
[03:04:55] ▶Speaker 20: Chair, can I get a vote assist opposed?
[03:05:01] ▶Speaker 0: Okay. Alright. So the application has,
[03:05:04] ▶passed with,
[03:05:05] ▶counselor Orr in opposition.
[03:05:09] ▶K. Thank you. Congratulations.
[03:05:12] ▶Alright. So we need a motion to adjourn.
[03:05:14] ▶Moved by counselor Claussen, seconded by counselor Montague. All those in favor say yeah? Opposed in nay? K. The meeting is now adjourned. Thanks, everyone.
[03:05:27] ▶Yeah. Thanks.