July 4th, 2024

As mentioned in previous updates, on June 24th, Council adopted the final recommended Development Cost Charge (DCC) and Amenity Cost Charge (ACC) rates. In response to the feedback provided to the City during the March 6th engagement session, UDI submitted a letter summarizing industry comments. The proposed New DCC Bylaw and ACC Bylaw will come into force on July 1st, 2024.  

More information can be found in the full report by City staff, new DCC Bylaw, and ACC Bylaw.  

April 9th, 2024

As mentioned in previous updates, on March 25th, Council gave three readings to the final recommended DCC and ACC rates. In response to the feedback provided to the City during the March 6th engagement session, UDI submitted a letter summarizing industry comments.  

While the DCC Bylaw has been forwarded to the Provincial Inspector of Municipalities for approval, Inspector Approval is not required for the ACC Bylaw. Once approved, the DCC Bylaw and ACC Bylaw will be advanced for final adoption. The proposed New DCC Bylaw and ACC Bylaw will come into force on July 1st, 2024, or the date of final adoption, whichever is later. 

More information can be found in the full report by City staff, new DCC Bylaw, and ACC Bylaw. 

March 12th, 2024

At a Special Council meeting on February 26th, City staff brought forward a report which provides preliminary information regarding proposed DCCs and ACCs. Council approved of the draft DCC and ACC rates, and a proposed DCC and ACC communications plan. There was an additional Council resolution directing City staff to explore the application of ACCs to institutional and industrial projects as part of public engagement.

The resulting programs presented to Council were established by the growth model, data, and assumptions to arrive at the project lists. City staff are recommending a rate based on a 25-year program as this will parallel and complement the work being done for the new OCP that will be completed in 2025. Utilizing information from Metro Vancouver and City of Burnaby records, the expectation for population growth in the City is estimated to be approximately 30% over the next 25 years. It is noted that there is a fundamental difference between growth and capacity. The OCP and Neighbourhood Plan land use designations create the capacity (total developable area) for future growth, but that capacity may have a long term (50-100 year) time horizon to be built out. Growth is related to demand, such as how many people are anticipated to move to Burnaby over a fixed period, who need access to housing and employment. Although overall growth of 30% is anticipated, the exact form of development and its location is not certain given the broad measures allowable under the new legislation. Higher density development within Transit Oriented Areas (TOA), Town Centres and Urban Villages is anticipated. However, the number of single-family, two-family, multiplex, and rowhomes permitted under SSMUH is unknown. These units and types of developments will determine both growth centralization and fee collection over the term of the newly established programs.

For each listed project for the relative DCC and ACC program, a percentage is applied to determine which portion of the project is related to growth. Collectively, the cost of works that benefit growth (DCC Recoverable Costs) are then divided by the projected growth. A contingency is included in the costs to ensure appropriate collection of funds for the growth portion only. The replacement portion due to the age of existing infrastructure, not related to growth, is a cost that will be paid for from other municipal revenues such as property taxes and utilities rates/fees. This is an important and major shift in development funding at the City, especially for the amenities program. While Community Benefit Bonus charges will still apply in the new zoning framework, the amount of these contributions and the extent to which the City will be able to use those funds is unknown at this time.

City staff will be bringing forward a future report with the final recommended DCC and ACC rates for First, Second, and Third Reading at the March 25th Council meeting. City staff will then forward the DCC Bylaw to the Provincial Inspector of Municipalities for approval. Approval of the Inspector is required for the DCC Bylaw but is not required for the ACC bylaw. The Inspector’s office has indicated that their DCC review process currently takes between 8 to 10 weeks. Once the City receives Inspector approval of the DCC Bylaw, the DCC Bylaw and ACC Bylaw will be advanced for Final Adoption. The goal is for both the new DCC bylaw and ACC bylaw to be in place before June 30th, 2024, with the intent that the DCC and ACC rates will be refined and adjusted within 2 years to coincide with the approval of the new OCP and Zoning Bylaw.

The UDI Burnaby Liaison Committee participated in a virtual information session with City staff on March 6th to learn more about the proposals. The presentation slides from the session are available to review. The City has also updated its webpage for Development and Amenity Cost Charges with some additional information regarding the provincial legislation.

If there are any questions about the proposals, please reach out to the UDI Policy Team at policy@udi.org.

More information can also be found in the full report by City staff.