A new Metro Vancouver charge to developers could result in a little less of an annual hit to the wallets of Delta taxpayers.
The regional district's Water Committee last week received a staff report on a proposed water development cost charge (DCC). It's aimed at ensuring new development in the region fund or partially fund the cost of water infrastructure expansion required to service that development.
The concept of Metro Vancouver funding the growth portion of its regional water infrastructure through DCCs has been encouraged by most board members for several years, Metro staff noted in their report.
While the regional district has operated a liquid waste DCC program of the Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District since 1997, there has never been a water DCC program in place, as the Greater Vancouver Water District (GVWD) Act does not allow for the collection of DCCs.
However, provincial staff recently reviewed historical interpretations and found that a different approach to legislative authority is possible through the Local Government Act.
As part of the plan to implement a water DCC, a program review was initiated in 2020. A set of proposed DCC rates in principle was brought forward in July 2021 for consideration.
At that time, the water committee did not endorse the rates proposed, so staff were instructed to reconsider the proposed rates.
Staff subsequently reported back in April with additional rate options and an engagement plan.
The report notes that, according to the feedback during consultations, there is general support of a water DCC based on the concept that growth should pay for growth.
“Many in the development industry and member jurisdictions expressed concern about the cumulative impact of rate increases of the various DCCs. The development industry indicated that there have been increases to municipal, TransLink, and Metro Vancouver DCCs, as well as increases in community amenity charges and additional building code requirements. The development industry expressed that although each rate increase in itself may not be significant, the cumulative financial burden on developers is substantial,” the report said.
“A few member jurisdictions expressed concerns about how Metro Vancouver’s proposed water DCCs would impact their ability to raise their own DCCs sufficiently to have growth pay for growth.”
The report added that, anticipating the concerns, Metro Vancouver staff commissioned an industry capacity analysis in 2021 to assess the impact of proposed DCC rates on the development industry and concluded the capacity to absorb more DCCs existed but varied by sub-region.
Should the DCC’s not be sufficient, water rates will have to be increased to pay for growth infrastructure.
The report also noted there was strong support for both not-for-profit rental housing and private development of not-for-profit rental housing projects receiving a waiver or reduction in DCCs.
