Sun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipality seeks public input on Development Cost Charges Bylaw update

The municipality is working on an update to the Development Cost Charges Bylaw, with the goal of supporting sustainable growth in Sun Peaks and maintaining reserves. 

The proposed changes include a roughly 18 per cent increase in development cost charge rates and adjust when they are collected. 

Development cost charges are paid to the municipality by land developers to support infrastructure expenditures necessary to service growth, with the revenue earmarked to increase reserves for infrastructure before it’s needed. 

There is $2.8 million currently in the municipality’s Development Cost Charges reserves, $1.75 million of which will pay loans for the Surface Water Reservoir and the PZ4 Reservoir over the next five years. After that, existing loan payments will need to come from municipal funding, about $350,000 per year, for the remaining life of the 20-year loan.

However, the development cost charges reserves are “likely to be depleted within the next few years, due to the above loan payments, and the current budget which is funding early feasibility and design work to advance key infrastructure projects to a stage where grant applications can be completed,” according to the report to council.

“The low reserves risk necessitating the use of tax dollars and/or utility rates to service debt for growth projects built to serve new developments,” municipal director of operations Clint Burton wrote to SPIN via email.

The municipality currently collects development cost charges when building permits are issued. The bylaw’s second reading proposed collecting charges earlier in the development cycle “to provide funds to the municipality as early as possible to alleviate current issues with cash flow and rapidly declining development fund reserves,” according to a municipal post. 

If this change had been implemented previously, the Development Cost Charges reserves would have an additional $1.276M of funding available, plus $180,000 in interest earned, the report states.

The municipality is seeking public engagement regarding the Development Cost Charges Bylaw, and any questions or comments on the proposed changes should be emailed to dcc@sunpeaksmunicipality.ca by Aug. 6. A public consultation session on the bylaw update is also expected, however details have not yet been finalized.