City of Surrey moves to cut building development fees in push for more housing | Daily Hive

Towers under construction in the Surrey City Centre skyline. (Imagenet/Shutterstock)

The City of Surrey is proposing another reduction to development cost charges (DCCs) in an effort to encourage more housing construction while continuing to fund key infrastructure and community amenities.

Last week, Surrey City Council approved an updated DCC bylaw for submission to the Government of British Columbia. If approved by the provincial government, the new rates would lower residential development charges by about seven to nine per cent compared to 2024 levels.

You might also like:

Metro Vancouver’s housing development sector is facing mounting financial pressure as construction, labour, and financing costs continue to rise, while rents and home prices have flattened or declined due to lower immigration and economic challenges. The combination has made many housing projects difficult to finance, raising concerns that fewer projects will move ahead without policy changes to reduce costs and speed up approvals.

While there are currently more favourable conditions for renters and prospective homebuyers, there is a growing concern that a prolonged period of limited new housing construction activity could lead to a return of significant housing affordability challenges later this decade, when there is a resurgence in demand.

City officials say the changes to DCCs are aimed at making it less expensive to build homes in Surrey as the city continues to grow rapidly.

“If we want people to be able to live and buy a home in Surrey, we need to make housing more affordable to build,” said Surrey mayor Brenda Locke in a statement.

“By lowering DCCs, we are supporting the delivery of more homes for current and future residents while continuing to invest in the roads, utilities, parks, and community amenities a growing city needs.”

DCCs are fees collected from developers to help pay for infrastructure needed to support growth, such as roads, sewer systems, parks, and other public services.

According to the City, the proposed rates would remain comparable to — and in some cases lower than — those in nearby municipalities.

For example, DCCs for single and small-scale housing projects in Surrey would be $51,633, compared to $87,615 in Langley. Townhouse development charges in Surrey would range from $27.15 to $54.87 per square foot, while Burnaby charges about $38.54 per unit.

City Council also endorsed two new amenity cost charge (ACC) bylaws designed to help fund community and recreation centres, libraries, parks, and cultural facilities needed to support population growth.

Under the proposed framework, the City expects development contributions to generate approximately $350 million over the next 10 years for city-wide amenities.

An additional $147 million is projected over 30 years to support the future project of building the new Newton Community Centre, which is expected to be Surrey’s single most expensive community and recreational facility at a cost of over $300 million. It will feature an aquatic centre with a 50-metre pool, two gymnasiums, a major public library branch, and other community and recreational spaces.

When built, Newton Community Centre will anchor the future high-density, mixed-use residential neighbourhood planned by the municipal government and TransLink that will create the core of Newtown Town Centre.

The updated DCC and ACC frameworks are part of a broader strategy to balance growth, housing supply, and infrastructure investment.

The proposed DCC bylaw must receive provincial approval before returning to City Council for final adoption. The ACC bylaws will also go through additional City Council review alongside related planning and zoning updates.

You might also like: