Delta council last week agreed with a recommendation to end the city’s practice of collecting cash-in-lieu of parkland contributions from new strata subdivisions.
A staff report notes that in response to housing needs and to provide an incentive for multi-unit residential developments throughout Delta, the city should cease the practice of collecting cash-in-lieu of parkland through the rezoning process for multi-unit residential developments.
Council last month had agreed to stop the practice with strata subdivisions in Ladner Village, as an incentive to development in that area.
“With new Provincial targets and a mandate to deliver 3,607 net new units in the next five years, this measure is now proposed to be applied on a city-wide basis. This measure would lower overall development costs and assist multi-unit residential developments to proceed within a broader context that includes challenges related to high interest rates and high inflation. This measure would also provide greater certainty to developers upfront given the unpredictable nature of cash-in-lieu of parkland contributions, which are based on a future appraisal of the property’s value,” the report notes.
Cash-in-lieu of parkland will also not be taken for any commercial, mixed-use, or industrial stratas.
Many municipalities use other tools such as development cost charges as the primary means to fund parkland acquisition, the report adds.
