Premier Eby expressed concerns about rising Development Cost Charges (DCCs) on new housing at a meeting of the BC Real Estate Association.
DCCs were originally intended to upgrade sewer and water, sidewalks, etc adjacent to new developments. The BC govt expanded DCCs to include new fire and police stations, highways and solid waste facilities. The City of Victoria recently boosted DCCs up to 258% for low density residential.
In February, the CRD Board added DCCs up to $9,044 per new home for a proposed water supply project.
A majority of the CRD board opposed reviewing an industry study regarding the impact on housing. The study was funded by the Urban Development Institute, Victoria Residential Builders Association, and West Shore Developers Association. All have expertise in housing supply and affordability.
According to the board minutes, Director Desjardins proposed a motion postponing the DCC bylaw “until analysis of the UDI report is presented to the CRD Board.”
This motion was opposed and defeated by the CRD board. (opposed and defeated by Brice, Brownoff, de Vries, Fawcett, Goodmanson, Little, McNeil-Smith, Murdock, Plant, Szpak, Tait, Tobias, Wickheim, Williams, Windsor.)
The second part of the motion was postponement until “a staff report on a DCC impact analysis on development viability is completed and reported to the CRD Board.”
This was also opposed and defeated by the board. (opposed and defeated by Brice, Brownoff, Caradonna, Coleman, de Vries, Fawcett, Goodmanson, Holman, Little, McNeil-Smith, Murdoch, Plant, Szpak, Tobias, Wickheim, Williams, Windsor.)
Subsequently, the DCC bylaw was adopted by the board for submission to the Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs for approval.
The BC govt’s DCC Best Practice Guide says: “…the Inspector of Municipalities (Ministry of Municipal Affairs) may refuse approval of a DCC bylaw…if the DCCs are excessive, deter development or discourage construction of reasonably priced housing. Evidence of public/stakeholder consultation may address some of these issues…The development of DCCs must provide adequate opportunities for meaningful and informed input from the public and other interested parties.”
Despite the Best Practice Guide, the CRD board declined to review an industry stakeholder study outlining the DCCs impact on housing supply and affordability.
It’s another local example of why BC’s housing industry has cost-of-delivery challenges and the highest home prices in Canada.
Premier Eby’s claim that local governments are responsible for rising DCCs and housing costs is only half of the story. The other half is costly DCCs discouraging “reasonably priced housing” are often approved by his government.
Premier Eby must enforce the due diligence required in his DCC Best Practices Guide and reject DCC increases contributing to unaffordable housing.
This column appears Wednesdays in the Times Colonist.
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