The City of Burnaby is seeking Council approval on draft Development Cost Charge (DCC) and Amenity Cost Charge (“ACC”) rates, the latter of which is a new charge being developed by each municipality in Metro Vancouver as a result of new Provincial legislation.

Through Bill 46 – Housing Statutes (Development Financing) Amendment Act, 2023, the Province introduced a new tool, ACCs, to help local governments finance services and amenities through development.

Concurrent with updating their OCP, Burnaby will be re-writing their zoning bylaws to comply with and respond to the recent changes in Provincial legislation, including interim updates to meet the June 30, 2024 deadline for the City to: (1) amend the Zoning Bylaw to permit Small Scale Multi-Unit Housing (SSMUH) on lots currently zoned for single and two family housing; and (2) designate all Transit Oriented Areas (TOAs) within Burnaby that are subject to the minimum TOA density and height requirements prescribed by the Province.

ACCs can be used to collect funds for growth-related facilities or features that provide social, cultural, heritage, recreational or environmental benefits to a community. These include, but are not limited to, recreation and community centres, libraries, and childcare facilities.

If Council agrees with the proposed DCC and ACC rates as outlined above, then staff will move forward accordingly; bringing forward a future report with the final recommended DCC and ACC rates for approval at the March 25 Council meeting.

Staff will then forward the DCC Bylaw to the Provincial Inspector of Municipalities for approval. Approval of the Inspector is required for the DCC Bylaw but is not required for the ACC bylaw. The Inspector’s office has indicated that their DCC review process currently takes between 8 to 10 weeks.

Once the City receives Inspector approval of the DCC Bylaw, the DCC Bylaw and ACC Bylaw will be advanced for Final Adoption. The goal is for both the new DCC bylaw and ACC bylaw to be in place before the June 30, 2024 deadline.

If you’re an owner of a property within a Transit Oriented Area (TOA) and are interested in learning more about the ACC rates and their attendant impact on property values, please reach out to us.

Thind Properties has submitted a rezoning application to convert the office component of their newly constructed ‘Highline’ project from office space to hotel.

Highline’s construction was completed in late 2023 and includes a 48-storey, 336-unit condo building with 10 floors of office space at the base of the tower.

The proposal is to convert the 10-storeys of office space to a hotel with 159 hotel units, and a ground-level hotel lobby. To achieve a generously sized hotel lobby, two of the three existing ground-level retail units are proposed to be consolidated with the existing commercial lobby with a hotel lounge, concierge, business centre, and liquor primary lobby bar establishment. The remaining commercial retail unit, at the corner of Beresford and the lane, is proposed to be a liquor primary pub or food primary restaurant which can work in partnership with the hotel operator to provide food and liquor services to hotel guests and patrons.

An amendment to the Metrotown Downtown Plan is proposed to facilitate the hotel uses under the C2 zoning.

Gracorp has submitted a rezoning application for a site on West 7th in Kits for a new rental tower under the Broadway Plan.

The proposal for the site at 1960 West 7th Avenue is to allow for the development of a 20-storey rental building that includes:

• 183 rental units;
• 20% below market units (approximately 35 units);
• 38 studios, 82 one-bedrooms, 45 two-bedrooms & 18 three-bedrooms;
• a density of 6.50 FSR;
• A building height of 212 ft.

This application is being considered under the Broadway Plan.

The architect for the project is MCMP Architects.