At their meeting on June 9th, Council directed staff to bring forward amending bylaws necessary to implement a Surety Bond pilot program for Works and Service Agreements and payment of Development and Amenity Cost Charges for Council‘s consideration. The current forms of Security, Cash, Letters of Credit and Letters of Assurance, will remain available with Surety Bonds being an alternate form of security for qualified developers. 

Staff are proposing the Surety Bond Pilot Program with the following requirements: 

1. Under Works and Services Agreement  

• 100% of the estimate as Surety Bonds  

b. Minimum 20% as a Letter of Credit  

• Set the minimum bond amount to use Surety Bonds to be $3.0M  

2. DCC’s and ACC’s  

• Pay over 3 years (current practice)  
• Pay year 1 in cash, years 2 and 3 in Surety Bonds  

3. Surety Bonds are only accepted from an Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) regulated insurer that is registered with the British Columbia Financial Services Authority (BCFSA), is licensed with the Insurance Council of British Columbia (ICoBC), and has a minimum credit rating as detailed below: 

The City uses Letters of Credit to secure other items including on-site landscaping and provision of on-site amenities (e.g. plazas, open space, car-share, transportation demand management measures, tree maintenance obligations, etc.). These would not be included in the pilot program and would not be secured by surety bonds at this time. 

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