Port Alberni’s city staff have drafted a bylaw to reduce development cost charges for certain developments in the community.
Development cost charges are collected from developers by a municipality to help pay for the cost of off-site infrastructure services that are needed to accommodate future growth. They can be used to fund road work, sewer and drainage projects and water and park upgrades.
The bylaw was drafted after the Westcoast Native Health Care Society asked the city of Port Alberni to waive or reduce the development cost charges regarding their Rainbow Gardens expansion.
READ: Port Alberni will grant development cost reduction
Director of development services Scott Smith confirmed that there is a section in the Local Government Act that does allow council to waive or reduce DCC charges for eligible developments in accordance with a bylaw. These eligible developments include not-for-profit rental housing, including supportive living housing; for-profit, affordable rental housing; a subdivision of small lots designed to result in low greenhouse gas emissions; and a development that is designed to have a low environmental impact.
“There are some criteria that go along with that,” said Smith on Monday, Oct. 10, when presenting the new draft.
Council had asked for a clear definition of “supportive housing” and for some sort of criteria around what affordable housing would mean for the city of Port Alberni.
Supportive housing will be defined in the bylaw as “housing that provides on-site supports and services to residents who cannot live independently.”
“A common example would be intensive care,” said Smith.
Affordable housing is defined in the bylaw as dwelling units occupied by tenants with a gross household income at or below the BC Housing Income Limits. There is a requirement that 50 percent of the rental units be affordable in order to qualify for the bylaw.
The BC Housing Income Limits, Smith explained, determines the income level required to pay for the average market rent for an appropriately sized unit in the private market. “They do them for most cities throughout the province, including Port Alberni,” said Smith. “That’s what we are choosing to use as a point.”
The new bylaw will provide a 50 percent reduction in the development cost charges for eligible developments.
The bylaw was read three times on Monday, and must be read one more time to be finally adopted.