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1. What is a development cost charge (DCC)?

Development Cost Charges are levied on new development to pay for the costs of expanding and upgrading the community’s transportation, utility and park infrastructure to meet the needs of growth. Most municipalities use DCCs because they are the best way to fairly distribute growth-related costs across developers.

2. Who pays DCCs?

DCCs are paid by applicants for:

• Subdivision approval to create single family lots
• Building permits to construct multi-family, commercial, industrial, and institutional development

Note: developments are exempt from DCCs when the value of work authorized at building permit does not exceed $150,000 as per the DCC Bylaw. The Local Government Act specifies additional provisions for DCC exemptions. See front counter staff for full details.

3. What kind of projects are DCCs used to fund?

DCCs are used to meet growth-related infrastructure needs through funding:

• Transportation:
  • Bridge Replacement
  • Capacity Improvements
  • New Roads and Bridges
  • Pedestrian/Bike Overpasses
  • Road Widening
  • Sidewalk and Street Improvements
  • Turning Bays and Signalization
• Water: New and Upgraded Water Mains, New Water Pump Stations and New Reservoirs
• Sewer: New Trunk Sewer Mains, New Sanitary Pump Stations and Sewer Upgrades
• Drainage: 
  • Culvert Upgrades
  • New Storm Pump Stations
  • Storm Sewer Upgrades
  • Stream Erosion Control Works
  • Water Quality Ponds
• Parks: 
  • Acquiring Parkland for Neighbourhood Parks
  • City Parks
  • Community Parks
  • Linear Parks
  • Trails and Greenways Throughout the City and Completing Park Improvements

4. What are DCCs not used for?

DCCs do not fund infrastructure that services existing residents and businesses, nor do they fund operation and maintenance costs for roads, water, sanitary and storm infrastructure, and parks. DCCs cannot be used to fund libraries, fire halls, police stations, community recreation centres and other City buildings. Some types of park improvements, such as artificial sports fields are not eligible.

5. Why are DCCs proposed to be changed?

In Coquitlam the last major DCC review was in 2018. Since then a number of changes have occurred:

• Land values and construction costs have risen
• Projects have been completed
• New information on capital projects is available
• New information on development trends is available

6. How are DCC projects and growth projections determined?

Using the following tools:

• Growth statistics and projections for the City of Coquitlam
• Capital projects from existing technical infrastructure plans and studies such as the Strategic Transportation Plan and the Parks, Recreation and Culture Master Plan
• Capital costs from existing studies and costs from recent capital project tenders
• The portion of the capital cost related to servicing growth is used in the DCC calculation

7. How are DCCs calculated?

The following steps outline the basic DCC calculation:

• Land use and growth projections are established by the City planning documents; growth statistics and various growth rates are reviewed
• Capital infrastructure plans are costed
• The cost of works that benefit growth (DCC Recoverable Costs) are then divided by the projected growth

8. What are the proposed DCC rates?

The proposed DCC rates are shown in the following:

Type	Proposed Rates
Single Family	$63,141/dwelling unit
Duplex/Triplex/Fourplex/Multiplex	$41,448/dwelling unit
Townhouse	$37,418/dwelling unit
Apartment	$23,715/dwelling unit
Commercial	$105/m2 of Gross Floor Area
Industrial	$61/m2 of Gross Floor Area
Institutional	$105/m2 of Gross Floor Area

New DCC rates will be effective at bylaw adoption; however, legislation provides in-stream protection for building permit, subdivision and precursor (re-zoning and development permit) applications that are complete and received prior to adoption of the new bylaw. See front counter staff for full details.