The Capital Regional District will hold a virtual public information session Wednesday on its proposed development cost charge program to pay for regional water-supply programs.
The program, which proposes sharing costs between existing users and developers adding new units that will use the system, would pay for the expansion of the region’s water infrastructure.
The CRD’s water supply master plan, approved by the board in 2022, is a 30-year road map for the region’s water supply that includes 22 water-infrastructure projects that come with a price tag of more than $2 billion.
The centrepiece of the plan is a $1.1-billion water filtration plant.
The plan includes a program to improve the supply and transmission system and address hazards and risks.
It dictates steps the CRD needs to take to handle population growth, the impact of climate change, water-treatment requirements resulting from changing raw-water quality and regulatory requirements.
Regional water supply chairman Gord Baird in a statement that the proposed development cost charge program is designed to ensure costs to service new developments are “equitably shared” and the water-supply system “continues to meet the needs of our growing population.”
A consultant’s report done for the Urban Development Institute raised concerns about the plan’s cost and impact to taxpayers and developers, and questioned the amount of consultation done.
The institute estimated the plan would add $9,044 in development cost charges for each new single-family home and $7,914 per townhouse and duplex, which would be passed on to the buyer.
The virtual public open house is set for June 19 between 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The meeting link is at: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_DmLGaTTKQX6CtfintE9HwA
The CRD will also be holding a virtual information session for the development community June 20.
The CRD has provided an online survey for the public to fill out by July 5.
