Report to/Rapport au:

Planning and Development Committee/

Comité de l’urbanisme et de l’aménagement

and Council/et au Conseil

17 June 2002/ le 17 juin 2002

Submitted by/Soumis par: Ned Lathrop, General Manager/Directeur général

Development Services Department / Services d’aménagement

Contact/Personne-ressource: Grant Lindsay, Manager, Development Approvals/ Gestionnaire, Approbation des demandes d’aménagement

580-2424, ext./poste 13242; grant.lindsay@ottawa.ca

Ref N°: ACS2002-DEV-APR-0134

SUBJECT: WALLER STREET MALL STREETSCAPING PROJECT CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE AGREEMENTS

OBJET: PROJET DU PAYSAGE DE RUE DU MAIL DE LA RUE WALLER – ENTENTES SUR LA CONSTRUCTION ET L’ENTRETIEN

REPORT RECOMMENDATION

That the Planning and Development Committee recommend Council authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute the two agreements, attached as Documents 2 and 3, between the City and Carleton Condominium Corporation No. 375 (Place Saint George), respecting the refurbishment, maintenance and long-term security of Waller Street Mall.

RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT

Que le Comité de l’urbanisme et de l’aménagement recommande au Conseil d’autoriser le maire et le secrétaire municipal à signer deux ententes ci-annexées (documents 2 et 3) conclues entre la Ville d’Ottawa et Carleton Condominium Corporation N^o 375 (Place Saint George), concernant la remise en état, l’entretien et la sécurité à long terme du mail de la rue Waller.

BACKGROUND

The Waller Street Mall is a City-owned right-of-way, located mid-block between Dalhousie and Cumberland Streets, and functions as a pedestrian walkway linking George and Rideau Streets. It was constructed during the mid-1980s as part of the Rideau Area Project by the developer of the Place Saint George condominium apartment building (PSG). In April 2001, the Planning and Development Committee approved a proposed concept plan for the refurbishment of the mall, and subsequently approved a more detailed development plan for the mall in March of this year.

The mall will function solely as a pedestrian corridor linking Rideau Street with the ByWard Market (see Document 1). It will be closed to the public during the late night and early morning hours. This will be made possible by enclosing the mall entirely with a 2.0 metre high continuous durable fence and gated entrance features at the north and south limits of the corridor. The gates will be closed and opened on a daily basis at prescribed times. A third gate will be installed mid-block within the sunken plaza adjacent to PSG. This gate is needed to eliminate a potential entrapment area within the sunken plaza when all gates are closed.

Other design features of the approved development plan include poured-in-place planters (about curb height) along the east side of the corridor. These planters will contain low-level deciduous shrubbery and a single, continuous row of deciduous trees, which will ensure unobstructed sightlines for users of the mall. Another planting bed along the west side of the corridor, adjacent to the flanking building walls, will contain perennial groundcover and ivy vines that will climb the fence and screen the otherwise featureless building walls. The surface treatment of the entire corridor will consist of poured concrete with textured paving stone edges. The mall will be illuminated during the night to provide a heightened sense of security, to permit surveillance of the space, and to discourage trespassing.

When PSG was constructed during the mid-1980s, the City entered into an agreement with the condominium corporation. The agreement described the parties’ responsibilities respecting the design and maintenance of the present mall, and PSG’s encroachments on City property. However, that agreement expired in September 2001 and continues only on a month-to-month basis. In approving the concept plan for the refurbishment of the Waller Street Mall, the Planning and Development Committee also authorized staff to begin negotiations with the Board of Directors of PSG (Board) and return with a draft of a new bi-party agreement for the Committee’s approval. The Board had previously indicated their willingness to assume increased responsibilities with respect to their involvement in the refurbishment, long-term surveillance and maintenance of the future fenced and gated mall.

Staff have now finalized the terms of the agreements in discussion with the Board. Therefore, this report seeks the authorization for the Mayor and City Clerk to execute the agreements on behalf of the City, so that reconstruction of the mall may proceed in September of this year.

DISCUSSION

As stated above, the previous agreement between the Place Saint George Condominium Corporation and the City, dated July 1985, outlined the parties’ responsibilities respecting the construction and maintenance of the present mall. As directed by Council, staff met on several occasions with members of the Board of Directors of PSG to discuss the terms of a new agreement respecting the refurbishment, maintenance and long-term security of the future gated mall.

On the advise of Legal Services staff, it was necessary to draft two separate agreements, copies of which are attached as Documents 2 and 3. The first agreement confirms the acceptance by both parties of the Council-approved development plan that is to be implemented, outlines the site works to be performed, and establishes the upset costs that are to be borne by PSG. The second agreement deals with the legal responsibilities to be assumed by PSG relating to the daily temporary closure of the mall. The following, therefore, is a summary of the key clauses of both agreements.

Construction and Maintenance Agreement

· Required Site Works. The agreement details the site works that are to be performed by each party in accordance with the Council-approved development plan. The agreement requires that a pre-construction inspection be performed by the City to establish the existing condition of PSG property, including the waterproof membrane applied to the roof of the condominium corporation’s underground parking structure that extends under Waller Street Mall. The City will be responsible for repairing any damages to the corporation’s property, if any, which may occur as a result of construction.

· Cost Sharing. The agreement spells out the cost of removals and construction that are to be shared by both parties, and establishes an upset limit of costs that will be incurred by PSG. Specifically, PSG is responsible for the cost of removing their five large existing concrete planter boxes and replacing it with a new planting bed, while the City is responsible for all other works.

· Maintenance. The agreement outlines that the City will be responsible for the provision and general maintenance of the planted material and all street furnishings within the mall, including the planters, light standards, garbage receptacles, fencing, and gates, and for cleaning, sweeping, garbage removal, and snow removal operations. PSG will be responsible for the same standard of general maintenance of the adjacent sunken plaza.

· Encroachments. The agreement acknowledges that some of the new installations on City property are to be owned by PSG, and that PSG shall remove such encroachments at its expense upon expiration of the agreement.

· Insurance and Indemnification. PSG is to provide appropriate commercial and general liability insurance coverage for both parties against any legal action that may arise from occurrences of bodily injury, death, damage to property, or loss of use. The City is to provide reciprocal insurance coverage for both parties. Also, PSG agrees to indemnify the City from all claims, actions or damages that the City may incur or be liable for resulting from the performance and obligations described in the agreement.

· Term of Agreement. The term of the agreement is to be for five years, with the opportunity for both parties to extend and/or renegotiate the terms of the agreement every five years thereafter. The five-year interval will allow both parties to address any changes, desired or otherwise, to the use of the mall.

Security Arrangements Agreement

· Controlled Access. The agreement acknowledges that PSG agrees to be responsible to the City to open and close all three mall gates at the specified times each day and night (5:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m.).

· Surveillance. The agreement stipulates that PSG will be responsible for reporting to the City any unauthorized entry by the public to the mall during the hours when it is closed to the public.

· Term of Agreement. The term of the agreement is for one year, renewable on an annual basis.

· Registration on Titles. Prior to entering into the agreement, PSG will be required to provide the City with a resolution of the Board indicating that the Board has been authorized by the individual owners of the condominium corporation to negotiate and finalize the agreement.

CONSULTATION

City staff met initially with the Board of Directors of PSG in October 2001 to review the plan of development and to discuss the Board’s willingness to share in the refurbishment and the long-term security surveillance of the mall. The Board endorsed the plan of development and agreed to share responsibilities.

City staff met again in May 2002 with the Board to review the attached draft agreements. The Board concurs with the terms of both agreements and is prepared to execute them.

The draft agreements were prepared with the involvement of the Legal Services Branch of Corporate Services. Real Property and Asset Management Branch staff were also consulted during the drafting of the agreements.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

There are no budget implications resulting from the execution of the two agreements.

ATTACHMENTS

Document 1 - Waller Street Mall Approved Plan of Development, dated November 2001, by Corush Sunderland Wright Limited and Spencer & Company.

Document 2 - Draft Agreement between the City and C.C.C. No. 375 (Place Saint George), respecting the construction and maintenance of Waller Street Mall (To be distributed separately).

Document 3 - Draft Agreement between the City and C.C.C. No. 375 (Place Saint George), respecting the security arrangements for Waller Street Mall (To be distributed separately).

DISPOSITION

Corporate Services Department, Legal Services – Execution and registration of the agreements between the City and the Board of Directors of C.C.C. No. 375, respecting the refurbishment, maintenance and security of Waller Street Mall.

Document 1

Waller Street Mall Proposed Plan of Development, dated November 2001,

by Corush Sunderland Wright Limited and Spencer & Company