City increasing development fees amid need for affordable housing

Victoria councillors have approved higher development application fees despite pushback from builders’ organizations who say the additional costs will increase the cost of housing.

The approval by councillors comes even as the city netted a $500,000 surplus in revenue from development fees last year, grossing $4.046 million in fees against expenses of $3.540 million.

That fee surplus is bound to be even bigger this year. In the first quarter, the city took in $168,000 in development application fees. Had the new fee structure been in place, that take would have been $240,000.

The city’s overall operating surplus for 2016 was $4 million.

“The issue here is they’ve got burgeoning surpluses combined with an inefficient administration,” said Casey Edge, executive director of the Victoria Residential Home Builders Association.

“On the one hand, they talk about housing affordability. On the other hand, they have no problem ratcheting up fees by 100 per cent or more.”

Some of the fee increases include: • The official community plan amendment fee increasing from to $2,500 from $1,400. • Base rezoning fee to $2,000 from $1,400 for a single family dwelling, $3,000 for a duplex and $4,000 for a duplex (large projects will pay a $6,000 fee plus square footage fee) • Development variance permits increase from $500 plus $250 for each additional variance to $750 plus $250 for each additional variance • Pre-application fees for community meetings go from $400 for occupants within 100 metres and $800 for occupants within 200 metres to $750 and $1,250 respectively • Public-hearing fees go to $1,800 from $1,200 • A new $500 fee will cover the city’s legal costs.

The fee increases mean development application costs are going up by as much as 45 per cent for large projects, said Kathy Hogan, executive director of the Urban Development Institute.

“UDI questions why there is an expectation that the planning/approvals department operate on a break-even basis strictly on account of application fees,” Hogan said in a letter to city council.

City staff said the fee increases are justified because there haven’t been increases in some cases for 20 years. And, they say, just because the city saw a surplus in fees last year, it hasn’t always been the case. In fact, expenses outstripped fee revenue in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.