Development finance

New housing supply creates demand for new and expanded infrastructure, amenities, and services, such as sewers, transportation network improvements, community centres and daycares.

To enable greater housing supply, local governments need the right tools to raise revenues to assist in paying for the infrastructure and amenities to support that growth.  

Changes to local government legislation provide new and updated development finance tools that local governments can use to help fund the costs of infrastructure and amenities needed to support complete and livable communities.

Development Cost Charges and Development Cost Levies

Local governments can collect Development Cost Charges (DCCs) on new development to help pay for specific infrastructure needed to adequately service the demands of that new development, including water, sewer, drainage, and roads. In the City of Vancouver, these charges are known as Development Cost Levies (DCLs). 

Changes to the DCC and DCL frameworks update the scope of infrastructure eligible to be funded through DCCs and DCLs to include fire protection facilities (e.g., fire halls), police facilities, and solid waste facilities.  

The DCC and DCL frameworks have been updated to include cost-shared provincial highway projects, like interchanges and highway exits. Municipalities will be able to collect and use DCCs and DCLs to finance their portion of highway facilities that are cost-shared between the province and the municipality.

Amenity Cost Charges

Amenity Cost Charges (ACCs) are a new development finance tool that allow local governments to collect funds for amenities like community centres, recreation centres, daycares, and libraries from new development that results in increased population. These amenities support livable and complete communities in areas of growth.

The new ACC tool contains mechanisms that ensure transparency and cost certainty for developers, local governments, and the public. To implement an amenity cost charge, local governments will need to: 

• Identify areas where more housing supply is planned (based on Official Community Plans and other planning documents) and what amenities are needed to support that supply. ACCs would apply to new development in those areas
• Determine the ACC amounts following the rules set out in legislation (for example, the capital costs must be allocated between existing users and new users)
• Consult during the development of the ACC bylaw and charge rates
• Pass a bylaw that implements the charges

Read the Development Finance Tools Update – Interim Guidance (PDF, 466KB).

Timeline

• Late Fall 2023: Local governments can start planning processes to use the new ACC tool and DCC/DCL categories