Riverside Drive upgrades to be funded through service taxes of property owners, says council

Upgrades in an area of Riverside Drive that’s poised for redevelopment will be funded through taxes on property owners there — should they approve the process.

City council voted Tuesday to create a local service area for Burnaby Avenue, Wylie Street and Riverside Drive for a full range of improvements, including road and sidewalk repair, storm water upgrades to address localized flooding and electrical upgrades.

The work would be paid for by the property owners through a local service tax. A range of improvements would be paid for up front by the city, with the property owners paying back the funds through taxes over a 20-year period.

The total cost of $826,000 would be shared by property owners based on their road frontage. Property owners will have the opportunity to reject the local service if a majority of owners dissents.

The aim is to have the project designed and completed by the end of 2019.

The Days Inn has already provided funds as part of an earlier development permit application for improvements in the area.

Coun. Helena Konanz asked why the project was under a different funding model than the downtown revitalization, with downtown businesses putting in less costs.

“There’s not a lot of wider community benefit that would justify the city providing a huge amount of these funds,” answered Michael Hodges, development infrastructure manager for the city.

The developer could take on the upgrades, a previously proposed option, Hodges said, but it would not be completed to the extent the city would like to see.

Council voted unanimously to establish a bylaw to create the tax, giving the bylaw first and second reading and sending it to landowners for approval.