Monday, June 25, 2007

Taxpayers Could be paying for Legalizing of suites !

DCC's (Development Cost Charges) http://www.vernon.ca/bylaws/3769_development_cost_charges.pdf

RATE ONE (per dwelling) City Overall
ROADS – $ 6,734
STORM DRAINS$ 866
SANITARY SEWER - Collection$ 941
SANITARY SEWER - Treatment$ 998
SANITARY SEWER – Disposal$ 412
TOTAL PAYABLE$9,951.00
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Don Quixote Note: Under the present proposal the City intends to waive the DCC's ($10,000 roughly) for a period of 1 year for existing illegal suites in homes more than 5 years old while charging an additional 1/2 DCC's ($5,000) for new suites built in newer homes or future developments.
Until the City revises its DCC bylaw (which can take up to a year normally) the City would have to charge the DCC's but provide a grant back to the suite legalizer or new suite builder in the same amount. This grant has been done in the past ( Example: $130,000 Good Samaritan Society's project on 20th avenue which was paid from the affordable housing reserve fund.)
In essence this is a taxpayers funded reserve that gets moved to the the DCC reserve which is a developer paid reserve. Until the City changes its DCC's policy and is approved by Victoria it will continue to collect these DCC's from the taxpayer, probably from this Affordable Housing fund.
The Affordable Housing fund stands at $550,000. This will pay for 55 illegal suite conversions or 110 new suites and then the taxpayer will have to ante up some more tax money.
This quick summary of the monetary problem does not address the monies to be lost by NORD taxpayers for water DCC's foregone either. (Park DCC's will be charged)
Perhaps it would be prudent to get on the phone and ask our good friend Gordon Campbell if a 1 year moratorium on DCC's in exiting older houses and the new proposed 1/2 DCC's for new construction could be approved in a speedy fashion.
I like the looks of this policy and think it has considerable merit. It does not address the existing 5 year home owner that may want to built a suite but will be charged at new construction rates nor does it address a potential source of new affordable suites in the downtown core where the building of suites above existing businesses are not covered by this policy as they would not be owner occupied. That aside the staff has constructed a good policy that has been tightened up and vetted by the council's wisdom and should proceed as quickly as possible.
Just make that damm phonecall, please !

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