Wayne Moore - Castanet Sep 17, 2010 / 6:00 amNo cash, no property. No property, no new schools. That's the position School District 23 finds itself in as it tries to convince local governments to apply a new cost charge on all residential development within the school district boundaries. This would include the cities of Lake Country, Kelowna, West Kelowna and Peachland as well as the Regional District of Central Okanagan.
The new levy, similar to Development Cost Charges (DDC's) already collected by municipalities, would slap an additional fee for each development unit from apartments to single family dwellings.
The average charge of $605 per unit would be collected by local government and turned over to the school district who would apply those funds to future land purchases.
The province is prepared to contribute 65% towards land purchase, however, SD23 Secretary Treasurer, Larry Paul says if the district does not have the remaining 35%, the province will not even listen. "We need property, maybe not to build on tomorrow, but we need to get it in place for the future," says Paul. "The provincial government, every time I talk to the people there, they ask the status of our School Site Acquisition. I tell them it's not in place and they say 'fine, let us know when it is.'" Paul says a form of School Site Acquisition Charge was in place several years ago. He says the previous incarnation of the SSAC allowed the district to acquire land in what is now West Kelowna back in the late 1990s. Paul says enrollment will increase over the next 10 years within the district according to a study commissioned by the district. Some of the areas identified include a new Westlake Road elementary school, replacement of Rutland Middle School, new Upper Mission elementary school, new Upper Mission middle school, new southwest Winfield elementary school new Glenmore secondary school, new university area elementary, new Upper Glenrosa elementary and new Westside secondary school.
Paul and representatives of the district and the firm which conducted the study have been speaking with local governments over the past few weeks to mixed reviews. Kelowna Council is expected to debate a draft resolution as early as this coming Monday. West Kelowna Council will not look at the matter until the school district speaks with officials of Westbank First Nation. The new policy does not include development on First Nation land because, according to Paul, this is a provincial initiative while First Nation land is a federal matter.
He adds one common complaint he is hearing is that they do not see why developers in their municipality should have to pay to have a school built in another municipality. Paul says over time, every area will need new or upgraded schools. He adds the new levy has to go through in order for the district to begin looking at acquiring land for future school development and he hopes to have it in place before the end of the current calender year. There is an arbitration process in place should talks between the district and local governments stall. "We're convinced we've done this right and there were two other cases that went to arbitration and in both cases it was basically a slam dunk for the school district. The factors of those school districts are no different than ours." Paul says this new measure will come in in one form or another.
He says the sooner the better because other districts in the province are already lining up at the trough to get their 65% share. "There is only so much money in the envelope at the government level to buy land and there's Surrey, Coquitlam, Burnaby, Sooke, they all have it in place so they are all lining up to get their property. The province is picking up 65% of this so those cities are lining up to get their 65% and we're out in the cold here right now."
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School Site Acquisition Charge Regulation[PDF] School Site Acquisition Charges - Bulletin Form (2007)
- [PDF] IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE:
Bulletin 1 Dec 2009 ... acquisition charges on behalf of School District No. 38 (Richmond).
