How the city charges developers for the new roads, water service and the other infrastructure demands subdivisions create is up for debate once more. Last week, developer Kathleen MacKenzie told council she cannot afford to legally zone her new Black Mountain subdivision for the mortgage-helper basement suites as the city’s development cost charges make it far too expensive. The plea struck a chord with city council, having just received its Affordable and Special Needs Housing Task Force review of the need for low to middle income homes in Kelowna in an attempt to find more low-end housing solutions. “I’m bitterly disappointed that our own policy is preventing this,” Coun. Carol Gran said Monday as she raised MacKenzie’s complaints with council once more. The provincial legislation for charging DCCs traditionally allowed cities to charge developers for any build-out with four or more units. As such, developers of a subdivision are charged DCCs on a per unit basis, while individual home owners trying to build a suite into an existing home do not pay any of the levies. The home owner will pay $500 to legalize their suites, but the cost is minimal when compared to the roughly $10,000 development cost charges can run (DCCs vary by neighbourhood) .
However, that provincial standard has also changed. In 2004, the province amended its legislation to ensure cities could create a bylaw to levy DCCs on properties with less than four units. “We’re kind of caught between the old legislation and how we charge,” city manager Ron Mattiussi admitted. The provincial change was an attempt to level the playing field for developers so a property owner could not choose to build threeplexes just to avoid the DCCs, financial planning manager Keith Grayston said. To the best of his knowledge, no municipality has made the bylaw changes.
But the development community argues there are other ways to make the adjustment, such as charging DCCs on a square-footage basis rather than per unit. Mayor Sharon Shepherd stated she has heard from two developers with similar concerns as MacKenzie’s. In places like Langley, a small Lower Mainland community, many developments have been blanket zoned for secondary suites and she had wondered why the same was not happening here, she said. The issue now sits with city staff who will bring a recommendation back to council on whether DCC charges should be included in a special meeting of council on secondary suites expected this spring, or whether the issue should wait until a full DCC review is conducted next year.
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