City to discuss potential changes to DCC program further

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Discussions still have to take place around the City’s current Development Cost Charges program, but proposed changes could require developers to pay for roads and parks, as well as water/sewer infrastructure.

John Dumbrell of Urban Systems presented a report that outlined potential changes for the new bylaw during Monday’s Committee of the Whole meeting.

Development Cost Charges are described as ‘a means of pooling funds from a number of developers to pay for off-site infrastructure capital projects which are needed to accommodate growth.’

DCCs have been applied in Fort St. John since January 2012. The City has collected $1,869,757 for water, and $2,069,061 for sewer since that time. After the bylaw was adopted in 2011, council adopted a phase-in period for these charges.

The assist factor was 40 per cent from January 2012 to December 2013, and 25 per cent from January 2014 to December 2015.

Now, the current assist factor is 15 per cent. Dawson Creek’s assist factor is 10 per cent, which are both compared to just one percent in other communities across B.C.

An administrative report to Council also suggested that an updated development cost charges bylaw, expanded to include roads, drainage and parks, will allow development to help pay for the projects related to these developments.

“With the current economic slow down, any additional charges may deter developers from completing any new developments,” the report notes.

“The time required to complete this process to implement a new DCC bylaw will help modify this concern, as well as any assist factor that Council decides to apply.”

Currently, a 20-year time frame is used for DCC programs. Dumbrell said the population of Fort St. John is projected to be about 35,000 people by 2036 — at a rate of two per cent per year.

With that in mind, the projected land use within those 20 years is expected to include 3,000 single family residential units, and 1,600 multi-family residential units. 245,000 square metres of development are expected to be from commercial land use, 100,000 from industrial use, and 17,500 from institutional use.

When the new bylaw gets three readings, the approval of the Inspector of Municipalities, facilitated through the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, is required. Then, council can adopt the bylaw.

The Ministry also recommends that opportunities for input be provided to the development community, other interested parties and the public — which can take many months to complete, and puts the earliest possible implementation for any new changes to be sometime in 2017.