North Cowichan’s council wants new developments in the community to pay for themselves, and not have the financial burden fall to existing taxpayers.
Council unanimously voted at its meeting on Aug. 20 for the municipality to keep property taxes as low as possible by ensuring that the cost of any new or upgraded infrastructure needed to support growth is paid for by development cost charges and other community amenity contributions.
Coun. Christopher Justice, who put forward the motion, said existing taxpayers should not be unfairly burdened with the cost of growth-related infrastructure, and pointed to the construction of the new $1.6-million Kingsview/Maple Bay roundabout as an example of where this has occurred.
He said DCCs were supposed to pay for the roundabout because the only reason for its construction is to handle increased traffic from the new Kingsview housing development.
“Otherwise, there was no need whatsoever to build this new infrastructure, and I think most people would have been very happy not to have it there,” Justice said.
“The Kingsview development should have paid for this infrastructure as it is a true cost of development because it’s needed to support the increased population with zero advantage to existing residents and taxpayers. I think most people think that that’s exactly what happened, however, in the end, because of the way the DCCs were negotiated, staff have now confirmed that 80 per cent cost of the roundabout, about $1.3 million, was paid for by existing residents.”
Justice said that’s equivalent to just under a four per cent tax increase, and that’s not fair or sustainable for North Cowichan taxpayers.
He said staff had indicated that future growth has servicing challenges, and the municipality needs approximately $350 million in infrastructure upgrades that are also supposed to be paid for by DCCs for new development
“I don’t want to see the same thing [as the Kingsview/Maple Bay roundabout] happen again,” Justice said “I think these capital costs should be fully covered by developments and higher levels of government, and certainly not subsidized by residents who are already paying high taxes.”
Council voted for Justice’s motion with no further discussion.
