Development Cost Charge Update
Revelstoke is growing, and with growth comes the demand for infrastructure that serves our community.
Costs to service areas with roads, sanitary sewer, water and parkland can be partly funded through Development Cost Charges (DCCs). This provides a mechanism to support infrastructure projects and reduce the taxation burden. We are undertaking a comprehensive update of the Development Cost Charges bylaw.
Draft DCC rates and calculations were presented to the September 12, 2024, Committee of the Whole as set out in this report. And the information was placed on this TalkRevelstoke site, along with the opportunity to provide input.
Community meetings
City staff and consultants met with the community on the Draft Development Cost Charges on Thursday, January 23, at the Revelstoke Community Centre:
- 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.: Public session with display boards - consultants and staff onsite to answer questions.
- 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.: Information session for Developers and Builders.
- 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.: Information session for the community; presentation at 6:30 p.m.
The results of the engagement are set out in this memo and a recording of the public session can be found here.
Some key directions that can be taken from the engagement are as follows:
- The community recognizes that the City needs to build infrastructure to serve growth, and some feel we have fallen behind in keeping up with the needs of growth.
- The development and builder community is definitely concerned with the magnitude of the increase in DCCs, and the community in general is concerned about the impact higher DCCs will have on the cost of housing.
- Most of the survey respondents are not in favour of seeing their property taxes or water and sewer rates go up in order to reduce the DCCs paid by developers / builders and the final buyers.
- Members of the development/builder community and the general public suggested that the DCCs could be more closely aligned to have charges based on the floor area of dwellings. There were also some suggestions that the very large homes should pay significantly more to account for their impact on infrastructure.
Shift in Approach
As a result of the community feedback and discussions with staff we examined a shift in the approach to charging Residential DCCs that is based more on the floor area of the dwelling. We created ranges of floor areas for dwellings, and homes in the higher ranges would pay more. The proposed ranges were as follows:
- Below 29 m2 (312 ft2) is exempt from paying DCCs by provincial legislation;
- 29 m2 to 50 m2 (312 ft2 to 540 ft2);
- 50 m2 to 120 m2 (540ft2 to 1290 ft2);
- 120 m2 to 300 m2 (1290 ft2 to 3230 ft2);
- 300 m2 to 500m2 (3230 ft2 to 5380 ft2);
- 500 m2 (5380 ft2) and above.
We also proposed to charge a DCC at a subdivision equivalent to a modest home up to 120 m2 (1290 ft2).
We calculated the results of using this approach in this memo and presented this information to:
- Public Infrastructure Committee – February 27, 2025 meeting
- Finance Committee – March 5, 2025 meeting
Based on the committee discussions and additional discussions with staff and consultants, we further revised the approach to eliminate the floor area ranges for residential dwellings and simplify the charge to a straight charge per square metre of floor area charged at building permit. The rationale and results of this revision are set out in this memo and the information was presented to:
Draft Proposed Development Cost Charges
The resulting proposed Development Cost Charges, with a straight charge per square metre for residential, are set out in this Table:
DCC Rates Table - Proposed |
| Transportation | Water | Sanitary Sewer | Parks | Total |
Land Use | Unit |
|
|
|
|
|
Residential by floor area | per m2 floor area | $43.77 | $57.64 | $55.58 | $5.35 | $162.34 |
Commercial | per m2 floor area | $81.95 | $32.42 | $45.16 | $5.35 | $164.88 |
Industrial | per m2 floor area | $37.60 | $32.42 | $44.67 | $0.00 | $114.69 |
Institutional | per m2 floor area | $97.02 | $39.62 | $38.21 | $0.00 | $174.85 |
The Residential DCC of about $162 per square metre works out to about $15 per square foot. This allows builders to calculate the Development Cost Charges on their residential units at a rate of about $15 per square foot regardless of unit type, category, or size range.
Examples of Residential DCCs at various floor area are set out in the table below:
Example Floor Areas | Example Floor Areas | Charge per m2 | Total Proposed Charge |
m2 | ft2 | $ | $ |
60 | 646 | $162.34 | $9,740 |
85 | 915 | $162.34 | $13,799 |
120 | 1,292 | $162.34 | $19,481 |
170 | 1,830 | $162.34 | $27,598 |
250 | 2,691 | $162.34 | $40,585 |
350 | 3,767 | $162.34 | $56,818 |
450 | 4,844 | $162.34 | $73,052 |
The charge per square metre will be the same regardless of the type of residential unit and will simplify that application of Development Cost Charges.
Please share your feedback on the revised Development Cost Charges using the survey form below.
What are Development Cost Charges?
Development Cost Charges (DCCs) are collected from land developers by a municipality to compensate for some of the infrastructure expenditures required to service the needs of new development. New development often requires the expansion of existing infrastructure or the installation of new infrastructure systems to support increased demand for utilities and services – this poses high costs to the public sector.
When a developer builds a new subdivision, they pay for the roads, sewer systems, water systems and other services inside the subdivision. But the City needs to use other tools to pay for things like expansions to the sewage treatment plant, putting traffic signals at an intersection a kilometre away, increasing primary water supply line sizes, and providing park expansions for the whole community. That is where DCCs come into play. Developers who build subdivisions and apartment buildings, business owners who pay to expand their buildings, and homeowners who build a secondary suite pay a Development Cost Charge to pay for the infrastructure needed to keep up with growth. DCCs are intended to assist local governments and facilitate development by providing a method to finance capital projects related to roads, sewers, water, and parkland.
DCCs can recover the cost of infrastructure including:
- Water
- Sanitary sewer
- Storm drainage
- Transportation
- Parkland and limited park development
- Solid waste and recycling facilities
- Fire halls and police stations
- Option in a Resort Region: DCCs for Employee housing to service the operation of resort activities.
A Background to DCCs in Revelstoke
The City’s existing DCC bylaw was originally adopted in 2005, with charges updated in 2008. The City attempted a major update in 2018, which did not proceed, and then completed a minor adjustment in 2021 which resulted in about a 4% increase in DCCs. The City currently has DCCs for Water, Roads, and Sanitary Sewer. This update will address these services and will add Parks.
More Information
If you're interested in this project watch the above video from Revelstoke's consultant, Joel Short (Joel Short Consulting Ltd.), that answers:
- What are DCCs?
- Why do we have to pay them?
- What can DCCs pay for in return?
- Who pays out that money?
- How are DCCs calculated?
Joel also breaks down the DCC process and timeline, the growth projects, projects and associated costs, the draft DCC rates and more.
