Over the weekend, I spoke with a resident. He asked if developers pay for infrastructure upgrades when building new projects. He was surprised when I said that developers do indeed pay for upgrading infrastructure.
At the most basic level, the City requires developers to upgrade the sidewalk, streetlights, hydro, roadway, and lane directly around a project site. In some cases, the City will collect money from developers in an area with a lot of development activity to make improvements in one go. This “banking” is why 198th Street in the Brydon area isn’t fully paved yet, as an example.
In BC, the provincial government allows municipalities, regional districts, school boards, and TransLink to require developers to contribute funding for specific infrastructure projects to accommodate growth due to development projects. The following table outlines the current charges for projects in Langley City.
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| Development Cost Charges in Langley City. Select table to enlarge. |
Munipcailities must have these infrastructure projects vetted by the provincial government. As I’ve posted previously, the province’s Development Cost Charge qualification requirements sometimes border on the absurd. For example, Langley City could fund a baseball diamond with Development Cost Charge funds, but not a tennis court.
This is why the City also asks developers to voluntarily contribute $2,000 per townhouse or apartment unit into Langley City’s Community Amenity Contributions fund. The City uses this fund for infrastructure projects that would not qualify under the provincially regulated Developer Cost Charges program, but are still required due to population growth caused by development projects.
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