Bill 46: Housing Statutes (Development Financing) Amendment Act provides a new regime for development finance in British Columbia. To better understand the legislation and its implications for financing community development, UBCM is convening a panel of local government leaders at our 2024 Housing Summit. The panelists will explore how the new framework will shape development in their communities, and share their thoughts on the legislation’s potential to fund sustainable growth, and on where we go from here.
"Over the last few decades, local governments have developed sophisticated financing growth tools to try to address the funding gap, recognizing that 'growth needs to pay for growth,'" said Lisa Spitale, the Chief Administrative Officer for New Westminister. "Financing growth refers to funding the infrastructure, services and amenities needed by a growing community. Bill 46 provides new tools for local government; however, questions remain about how these tools help advance the provision of affordable housing."
Panelists will include:
- Lisa Spitale, Chief Administrative Officer, City of New Westminster
- Johannes Schumann, Director, Neighbourhood Planning and Urban Design, City of Burnaby
- Templar Tsang-Trinaistich, Issues Manager, Planning, Urban Design and Sustainability, City of Vancouver
- Michael Epp, Director, Regional Planning and Housing Development, Metro Vancouver Regional District
UBCM’s preliminary analysis of the legislation highlighted how the new framework responds to member requests for expanded Development Cost Charges (DCCs), as well as providing legislative authority for just some of the amenities linked to growing populations through Amenity Contribution Charges (ACCs).
Affordable housing was not included as one of the amenity categories, impacting the ability of local governments to continue funding affordable and social housing initiatives. The legislation also mandates that members will not be allowed to charge ACCs on affordable housing developments so local governments will need to fund the services directly.
As local governments await interim guidelines and a policy manual from the Province on how the legislation can be applied, this session will offer members an opportunity to share experiences with financing development; considerations when incorporating recent legislative changes into current practices; and the legislation’s potential impacts for housing affordability and local government finances.