Whereas the requirements set out by Province of British Columbia in its Bill 17 2014 regarding Land Use Contract Terminations create significant workload burden for municipalities; Therefore be it resolved that the Province of British Columbia be requested to provide funding to municipalities to cover additional Planning Department workload associated with executing the requirements of Bill 17 2014.
Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing In response to local governments requests, in 2014 the Provincial Government approved legislation requiring the termination of remaining land use contracts by 2024. In developing Bill 17 2014, the Ministry undertook significant policy analysis and engagement with local governments regarding the most effective and efficient process for the termination of land use contracts. The resulting legislative framework includes a 10-year timeframe for termination, intended to provide local governments that had multiple land use contracts with sufficient time to undertake the necessary rezonings. This sunset termination option does not require the agreement of the land owner, reducing the associated workload. The legislation also provides an early termination option for local governments interested in terminating land use contracts before the 10-year sunset. Unfortunately, there is currently no provincial funding available to support local governments in terminating land use contracts. Ministry staff are available to support local government planning and land use questions and can be reached at PLUMgov.bc.ca.