WHEREAS Section 941 of the Local Government Act requires owners of land being subdivided, at their option, to dedicate parkland not exceeding 5 or cash-in-lieu of land; AND WHEREAS the demands for public park space are increasing and municipalities abilities to acquire parkland are diminished by the impacts of failing infrastructure, future transfer of provincial services and increasing land values: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities support a change to the legislation contained within the Local Government Act to allow local governments the option of either requiring cash-in-lieu for parks or the dedication of land; AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the park dedication be increased to an amount not exceeding 10 of the land being subdivided or cash-in-lieu for parkland.
Ministry of Community Services Changing the parkland dedication requirement to 10 would be a significant consideration for local government, the Province of British Columbia Province and the development community. Proposed amendments to legislation are considered in consultation with the Development Finance Review Committee DFRC. DFRC is an advisory committee chaired by the Ministry of Community Services Ministry with members from local government, the Province and the development community. The Ministry will consult with the DFRC regarding increasing parkland dedication to 10. However, local government has a number of other financial tools available to acquire parkland that can also be considered. Development Cost Charges DCCs can be used to acquire parkland or parkland improvements. Density bonusing can be used to secure natural areas, environmentally sensitive areas or other forms of public open space. Local government has the ability to determine when an owner must provide parkland dedication or cash. Under s. 9412 of the Local Government Act, if the official community plan contains policies and designations respecting the location and type of future parks, local government determines whether the owner will provide land or cash. The Ministrys Parkland Acquisition Best Practices document available online includes considerations for collecting parkland through dedication and DCCs, and information on land versus cash-in-lieu.