January 16th, 2024

As mentioned in previous UDI updates, on November 28th, 2023 Council adopted proposed changes to the 2024 Fees Bylaw that would come into effect on January 1st, 2024. Most fees were adjusted to reflect a 5% inflationary increase.

New fees established for 2024 included:

• Building Permit – Property Information Research Fee
• Tree Removal Permitting - Re-inspection Fees
• Engineering – Street Light Glare Shields Fees

Council also directed staff to explore options to simplify the tree removal and replacement process including reducing bureaucratic procedures and costs to multi-family strata properties where possible.

More information can be found in the full report by City staff and the draft bylaw.

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November 28th, 2023

On November 14^th, Council gave First, Second, and Third Readings to proposed changes to the 2024 Fees Bylaw that would come into effect on January 1^st, 2024. Most fees were adjusted to reflect a 5% inflationary increase. New fees established for 2024 are reflected as follows:

Community Development:

For building permits, a new fee was added for property information research that could involve staff time in excess of 15 minutes. The charge was intended to cover the staff time for researching historical property information for Realtors. The first hour has a fee of $93.65, with each additional 15 minutes costing $23.85.

Regarding Tree Removal Permitting, two new fees were added:

• Re-inspection of tree protection fencing - $142
  • Trees protected under the tree protection bylaw at development and building permit sites require tree protection fencing. The city arborist will inspect the fencing, confirming that it has been installed per the requirements of the bylaw.
• Re-inspection of replacement tree - $142
  • The City holds securities for replacement trees planted under the tree protection bylaw. When trees do not survive or the planting is not following the approved tree replacement plan, the applicant is required to correct the deficiencies and schedule a follow-up inspection. In these cases, a one-time re-inspection fee will be applied for the additional site visits.

Engineering:

Three new fees were added relating to Street Light Glare Shields. On occasion, the City receives requests for street light glare shields to be installed on City-owned street lights due to the light on residential properties. The fees are:

• Street Light Glare Site Visit - $250
• Street Light Glare Installation - $500
• Street Light Glare Removal - $50

The Engineering Off-Site Review and Inspection, and On-Site Engineering Review Fees were updated for 2024. The fees, as a percentage of estimated construction costs, were increased from 4.4% to 5.0% and 2.2% to 2.5% respectively. The proposed rate change will balance the costs and fees to ensure development continues to pay for the necessary staffing to support the active development projects.

Operations:

Water rates will decrease by 0.83% and Sewer rates will increase by 12.33% in 2024.

More information can be found in the full report by City staff and the draft bylaw.