Alternative Approval Process (AAP) - SLRD Administrative Building Renovation Loan Authorization Bylaw No. 1519-2017

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The SLRD's Administrative office on Aster Street, above the Fire Hall in Pemberton, has reached capacity.

26 SLRD staff members currently work in the Administrative Building, including the busy public-facing Building Department. The office also serves as the SLRD's civic hall with a Boardroom which hosts public meetings and approximately four Board or Committee meetings a month. In the event of an emergency in the region, the building also serves as the Emergency Operations Centre.

The building, constructed in 1968 and originally known as The Municipal Building, has previously housed the Pemberton courthouse and the Village of Pemberton administrative offices. The SLRD moved into a portion of the upper floor when the building was expanded in 1983 at which point the SLRD acquired a 28% interest in the property from the Village of Pemberton. The building was expanded again in 1994 with the addition of the southern annex (1,310 ft.²) to the second floor, and a new fire truck bay was added at the east end of the main floor in the late nineties. Around this time, the Village of Pemberton moved its office out of the upper floor of the building and the SLRD took over most of the upper floor. 

Starting in 2013, the SLRD began to explore various options to secure a larger office space or improve its current space in an effort to improve operations, Board and Committee meeting experience and customer service for constituents. 

The proposed path forward 

In March 2017, the SLRD Board decided to proceed with the Aster Street administration building renovation project. The project was approved to be financed via a 15-year term Municipal Finance Authority loan of up to $1,000,000 so as to spread the annual debt servicing costs over a longer period of time. To borrow the required funds over a 15 year term, elector approval is required.  

The proposed renovation will add approximately 1,800  ft.² of space (to the 5,100  ft.² second floor), at a total cost of about $1,000,000, to be borrowed over 15 years.

The renovation and extension will add a wing out the back of the building and reconfigure existing space to create 9 new individual offices, 3 new workstations, an Information Technology (IT) room, new storage space and a new meeting room. In addition, a new lobby area will be added at the entrance of the second floor. The design and reconfiguration of the offices was developed with the assistance of an architectural design firm with particular expertise in renovating civic projects.

Proposed floor plan:

Loan Impact:

  • $1.76 a year per $500,000 of property value for properties located within the member municipalities (District of Lillooet, Village of Pemberton, Resort Municipality of Whistler, and District of Squamish); and
  • $1.85 a year per $500,000 of property value for properties located within SLRD Electoral Areas A, B, C and D - the higher rate is due to the imposition of a mandatory provincial fee of 5.25%.  

Borrowing this money over longer than 5 years triggers an alternative approval process (AAP). 

Alternative Approval Process (AAP) 

Local governments can use an Alternative Approval Process as a way to obtain elector approval in regard to certain types of proposed bylaws, including long-term borrowing bylaws. 

AAP - Background

An AAP is less expensive than undertaking a referendum. Prior to undertaking an AAP, the Inspector of Municipalities (Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development) must first approve the request. The SLRD received approval from the Inspector of Municipalities to undertake an AAP for Loan Authorization Bylaw No. 1519-2017 (a bylaw to authorize the borrowing of up to $1,000,000 over 15 years for the purpose of renovating the SLRD administrative building) on March 31, 2017. 

AAP - What's Required

A local government must publish a Notice of Alternative Approval Process for two consecutive weeks in a local newspaper. In the case of this AAP, the SLRD is placing the Notice in the Bridge River Lillooet News, Pique Newsmagazine, Squamish Chief and Vancouver Sun newspapers. The Notice will run the weeks of June 5 and June 12, 2017.  

After the second of two notices is advertised, eligible electors will have 30 days in which to register their formal opposition to the borrowing. The deadline for elector responses for this AAP is 4:30 p.m. on July 18, 2017.

The method by which eligible electors express their opposition to the 15 year term loan is by signing and submitting an Electoral Response form to the SLRD (before 4:30 p.m. on July 18, 2017). Eligible electors must provide their full name and residential address. Eligible non-resident property electors must also provide the address of the property that they own within the SLRD and they are only entitled to sign and submit one elector response form, regardless of how many properties they may own within the SLRD.  

If 10% of eligible electors in the SLRD—3,612 people—oppose the SLRD Board's intention to adopt the proposed borrowing bylaw (No. 1519-2017), the SLRD Board cannot proceed with this 15 year loan without first holding a referendum. 

If the 10% threshold mentioned in the preceeding paragraph is not attained, then the SLRD Board may proceed with adopting SLRD Administrative Building Renovation Loan Authorization Bylaw No. 1519-2017. 

The SLRD will use this page to provide regular updates on this project.

Background Information

Important Forms & Documents

Questions?

Please contact Kristen Clark, Director of Legislative and Corporate Services.