Burnaby approves 2.95% property tax increase, $504 million recreation centre plan

The Burnaby Metrotown skyline from the lounge at Cineplex VIP Cinemas Brentwood at The Amazing Brentwood. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Burnaby City Council finalized its budget for 2022 earlier this week, with a 2.95% average property tax increase approved for this year.

This is the same rate as the 2021 property tax increase.

In addition to the 2.95% increase to the municipal portion of the 2022 property tax, there will also be a 2% increase to the waterworks utility fee and a separate 2% increase to the sewer fee. The waterworks and sewer fees were not increased in 2021.

However, the City of Burnaby states the increases for waterworks and sewer fees are mainly driven by Metro Vancouver Regional District.

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An average home in Burnaby valued at $1.23 million would result in about $1,895 for the municipal portion of the property tax in 2022, including an increase of about $54 over the previous year.

The municipal government’s property tax portion accounts for 53% of the total property tax, with the remaining 47% coming from the provincial government’s School Tax, TransLink, Metro Vancouver Regional District, BC Assessment, Municipal Finance Authority, Tourism Burnaby, and Business Improvement Area.

The 2022 property tax increase supports this year’s operating budget of $585 million, which has seen an increase over the previous year due to higher than anticipated RCMP collective agreement settlement, and other high inflation impacts that may go beyond this year.

As well, Burnaby continues to see steady population growth, which increases the demand on city services; it added about 13,000 residents since 2017, growing to 260,918 in 2021. This is also up from 258,145 in 2020.

Due to these various operating cost pressures, Burnaby is planning a higher property tax increase of about 4% annually from 2023 to 2026.

“These circumstances, along with supply chain disruptions and other cost escalations will need to be managed operationally and financially in the coming years to ensure their impacts are mitigated,” reads the budget.

“The anticipated growth in the Burnaby region will also put additional requirements on the City’s core services and programs. The multi-year economic challenges as noted above will require the City to be agile and forward-thinking.”

Additionally, City Council also approved a $1.72 billion capital plan for new building and infrastructure projects over five years from 2022 to 2026.

Conceptual artistic rendering of Burnaby Lake Aquatic and Arena Facility. (HCMA/City of Burnaby)

cameron community centre 9523 cameron street burnaby lougheed

Artistic rendering of the civic plaza at the new Cameron Community Centre. (Diamond Schmitt Architects/City of Burnaby)

This five-year capital plan begins with a capital budget of $293 million for 2022, with 44% coming from capital reserves, $81 million from developer-funded community amenity contributions (CACs), $28.6 million from the gaming reserve, $22.5 million from development cost charges and other sources, $18.5 million from utility reserves, and $14 million from equipment replacement reserves.

Over the five-year plan, nearly one-third or $504 million will go towards building five new major recreational facilities to serve the growing population.

This includes the new Burnaby Lake Sports Complex with an aquatic centre, multi-purpose spaces, and an NHL-sized arena, which replaces the aging CG Brown Pool and Burnaby Lake Arena.

Serving the growing Lougheed Town Centre population, there will also be a new replacement and expanded Cameron Recreation Centre and Library, featuring a leisure swimming pool, gymnasium, weight room, and a public plaza.

Additionally, for North Burnaby, the City is planning to redevelop Confederation Park Community Centre, and construct a new community centre to serve the emerging Brentwood Town Centre.

City staff previously suggested the Brentwood community centre could be a partnership with a developer for integration into a mixed-use development, which could potentially lower costs, and accelerate the project.

The City is also approaching the final stages of construction for two new NHL-sized ice rinks at Rosemary Brown Arena. The complex is expected to open in Summer 2022.

Construction progress on Burnaby’s Rosemary Brown Arena, as of September 2021. (City of Burnaby)

A significant portion of the construction costs for these five projects will be funded by the City’s cash community amenity contributions (CACs) collected from developers in exchange for added market density, with the City setting aside about $435 million from developers over the five-year capital plan towards the projects.

The municipal government projects $725 million of capital plan projects will be funded by CACs between 2022 and 2026. It has a policy that directs 80% of undesignated CACs towards community amenities, and 20% to the city-wide housing fund for affordable housing.

Other projects funded by CACs include new fire stations for the Simon Fraser University campus and Big Bend industrial area ($34.3 million), and a pedestrian overpass across Highway 1 linking Burnaby Lake Park, Deer Lake Park, and Robert Burnaby Park ($19.9 million), and the programmable LED lighting on the underside of the SkyTrain Expo Line elevated guideway between Patterson Station and Edmonds Station ($8 million).

Other major items in the five-year capital plan, not necessarily funded by CACs, include $52.25 million specifically for new pedestrian sidewalks, including $10 million in 2022 for 30 km of new sidewalks. Another $36 million over five years will go towards bike lanes. This follows 2021’s expenditures that led to over 20 km of new sidewalks and bike lanes. Another $36 million will specifically go towards bike lanes.

The municipality has also set aside $16.3 million to build its own organic waste green recycling facility, and $7.6 million to add electric-battery vehicle charging stations at four civic facilities.

highway 1 pedestrian overpass bridge burnaby lake

Artistic rendering of the proposed pedestrian and cyclist overpass bridge across Highway 1, linking the Burnaby Lake and Deer Lake areas. (City of Burnaby)

burnaby skytrain expo line metrotown accent lighting

New permanent programmable lighting installed on the SkyTrain Expo Line guideway near Metrotown Station. (City of Burnaby)

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