Water levies on new North Okanagan developments are set to go up sharply, though local politicians have decided not to impose the full increase on developers overnight. 

The Greater Vernon Advisory Committee (GVAC) discussed making changes to its Greater Vernon Water Development Cost Charge bylaw at its meeting Wednesday, March 5. 

A development cost charge (DCC) is a levy local governments can use to help cover the cost of expanding infrastructure, in this case water infrastructure. 

Set in 2004, the existing DCC hasn't been changed in 20 years, which is why a large increase is proposed. GVAC is looking to roughly triple the DCC for single family residential units, from $2,180 per unit to $6,307. 

The DCC varies depending on the type of property. The breakdown of other DCC increases that was proposed at the meeting is as follows, comparing the 2004 rate to the proposed new rate:

• Multi-family residential, low density: $1,857 per unit to $4,171

• Multi-family residential, high density: $1,857 per unit to $3,053 

• Commercial: $7.27 per square metre to $15 

• Industrial: $3.63 per square metre to $15 

• Institutional: $8.88 per square metre to $15 

A public engagement hearing about these proposed increases was held Nov. 26, but staff noted no one from the public showed up, so there was no public input. 

A report outlining the DCC hikes proposed that they would come into effect one year after the bylaw adoption, which GVAC was to give second and third reading Wednesday. 

However, GVAC ultimately decided to go with a more gradual increase.

GVAC member and Vernon Mayor Victor Cumming said the rate increases were long overdue, having not happened for 20 years. That's supported by the province, as a B.C. government says updating DCC bylaws every five years is generally recommended to keep the estimates of new development and infrastructure costs current.

Cumming argued the DCC increase should be spread out over a number of years rather than hitting developers with the full increase right away. 

"My concern is we haven't touched this for 20 years, and suddenly we want to bring the whole thing in at once. When we did the allocation fees for agriculture, we spread it out over a number of years in terms of how fast we changed it," Cumming said. "It's good to recognize how far we are away in terms of covering the go-forward costs that are expected to be covered by these fees, and obviously we have created a bit of a hole because if we backed up a decade and looked at what the numbers should have been, we would have found ourselves in different positions."

Cumming added he thinks "the optics are poor" if the rates were to be tripled for single family residential units all at once when there was no meaningful public input. 

"I think we would get significant feedback by the development community and by those who are trying to create residential properties that are somewhat price sensitive," he said.

GVAC member Bob Fleming agreed with Cumming and added that "what's happening south of the border" with U.S. tariffs against Canada coming into force "is going to have some effect."

Stephen Banmen, RDNO general manager of finance, pointed out the increase would have to be reviewed and approved by the Inspector of Municpalities, and so developers wouldn't be facing the increase until about a year and a half from now if the original proposal was followed. However, he said a phased increase was looked at and included as an option in the DCC report, but added more administrative problems will arise the more phased the increase is.

GVAC ultimately decided to phase the DCC increases over two years instead of one, with all members agreeing to a motion put forward by Fleming. 

Under the phased approach, the DCC rates for a single family residential unit would go up to $4,264 for the first year after the bylaw passes, before going up to $6,307 after that year. 

Here are the other rates for that first year after bylaw adoption (the rates will then go up to the figures listed above one year later):

• Multi-family residential, low density: $2,820 per unit

• Multi-family residential, high density: $2,064 per unit

• Industrial: $10 per square metre

• Commercial: $10 per square metre

• Institutional: $10 per square metre