Campbell River developers will be facing a big jump in the cost of home construction.
City council endorsed proposed development cost charges (DCCs) at its Thursday (June 26) meeting.
For a single family home, the cost to build would go from roughly $5,600 to $24,000 per lot.
There are also increases proposed for town homes (nearly $14,000 per unit) and apartment complexes ($117 per square meter of ground floor area).
The fees are calculated based on future infrastructure needs and Councillor Susan Sinnott wonders if some of the plans are realistic like protected bike lanes on Rockland Road.
“It’s $52 million in transportation so I definitely want some time for council to be more clear about the actual transportation plan and what’s realistic and beneficial to the community,” Sinnott said.
While the city will consult with stakeholders next month after endorsing the plan, Councillor Ron Kerr believes consultation should have happened first.
“It feels kind of ass backwards. I mean, I’ve already got comment from the development community. Especially when you look at low density housing, the price, I mean we’re trying to encourage more housing and we’re going to be throwing $20,000 on to the price of the house,” Kerr said.
The Local Government Act allows the city to waive or reduce DCCs for non-profit affordable housing, for-profit rental housing and environmentally friendly housing.
Mayor Kermit Dahl said he was “pretty happy” with the draft rates, which would leave Campbell River as “one of the lowest (cost) communities to do development in.”
“Somebody has to fund the infrastructure upgrades and maintenance and that money has to come from somewhere,” Dahl said.
The mayor said developers have been “grossly undercharged” in the past.
The last time development charges were updated was 15 years ago. They are supposed to be updated every three to five years.
After consultation, council is expected to give first three readings to the bylaw in September and submit the DCCs to the province for approval. The bylaw can be adopted once the ministry gives its okay.
