Surrey to cut residential development fees by 50% near rapid transit

City of Surrey to reduce residential development fees by 50% near rapid transit

SkyTrain Expo Line near King George Station in Surrey City Centre. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

The City of Surrey is making a major move to financially incentivize builders and developers to accelerate their multi-family residential building projects in areas near rapid transit.

A very wide range of building development-related application fees will be slashed by 50% through a new rebate program for fees paid after December 4, 2023.

Through the rebates, the program will reduce application fees for planning (rezoning, development permit, development variance permit), engineering (servicing agreement processing, administration, ESC application), and building (building permit fees).

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To qualify, the projects must be within 1.5 km of an existing SkyTrain station (Scott Road, Gateway, Surrey Central, or King George) or an existing RapidBus route (R1 King George Boulevard or R6 Scott Road RapidBus). The 1.5 km area extending from rapid transit is nearly twice the distance of the 800 metres typically considered for transit-oriented development, which is based on the consideration of a close walking distance.

Such multi-family residential buildings must be at least four storeys, feature a floor area ratio density of a floor area that is at least 0.5 times the size of the lot for the building’s residential uses, and have a minimum total residential floor area of 21,528 sq ft (2,000 sq metres). Furthermore, in order to qualify for the rebate, the project must receive the full superstructure building permit issuance by August 31, 2026.

This rebate program, called the Rapid Transit Development Incentive, is expected to incentivize about 3,000 homes near frequent public transit services.

Another new separate incentive, called the Non-Market Rental Housing Incentive, targets the acceleration of non-market housing anywhere in Surrey by providing exemptions on municipal development cost charges and community amenity contributions (CACs) or rebates on permit application fees. However, this incentive is only expected to support 300 units of non-market rental housing over three years.

Both incentives combined will catalyze and expedite about 3,300 homes, which would fulfill about one-third of the City of Surrey’s target of speeding up the creation of 9,600 new homes by 2027 under the federal government’s Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) program.

In January 2024, the federal government announced the City of Surrey would receive $96 million from the HAF in exchange for overhauling and simplifying its policies to catalyze and expedite more housing. Both incentives are funded by the HAF.

“As Surrey continues to grow, it is vital that we are able to support our residents with a range of housing options to suit all needs,” said Mayor Brenda Locke in a statement.

“I am grateful for the grant we have received to be able to launch these important projects and boost much-needed housing development in our city.”

The City has also used a portion of the HAF to fund a new artificial intelligence-powered online tool for permitting queries.

Surrey Rapid Transit Development Incentive Eligible Areas

Rapid Transit Development Incentive Eligible Areas: Existing SkyTrain stations. (City of Surrey)

Rapid Transit Development Incentive Eligible Areas: R1 King George Boulevard RapidBus. (City of Surrey)

Rapid Transit Development Incentive Eligible Areas: R6 Scott Road RapidBus. (City of Surrey)

Rapid Transit Development Incentive Eligible Areas: R6 Scott Road RapidBus. (City of Surrey)

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