City council: Cavers’ DCC plan panned by peers
A plan to let cities pay for fire protection, policing and other services through levies on new development didn’t get past the idea stage at Kamloops city council.
Coun. Donovan Cavers put forward a resolution this week, asking the Union of B.C. Municipalities to lobby the provincial government to give communities more flexibility in what they do with development-cost charges.
The charges, collected from new developments, can be used to fund sewer, water, road and other infrastructure improvements.
But, Cavers said, the city should also be able to collect and use those funds to pay for new fire halls and other community-safety demands developments at the edges of the city — such as the proposed Tranquille on the Lake, which Cavers name-checked — might have.
Other councillors said the motion would sour the city’s relationship with developers and would be unlikely to find support from other municipalities.
“I believe the perception would be that we were trying to stick it to the developers,” said Coun. Pat Wallace.
“I think our building statsitics would drop to zero. I don’t think anyone would drive another nail in this city.”
Coun. Nancy Bepple said she doesn’t want Kamloops to sprawl, but believes the city should address that in its Official Community Plan, not through fees.
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