BCBC Supports Rollback of Metro Vancouver Development Cost Charges

The Business Council of British Columbia (BCBC) supports Metro Vancouver’s decision to roll back 2026 Development Cost Charge (DCC) rates to 2025 levels, reduce the 2027 rate increase, and slow the shift toward a 1% assist factor over the next two years. 

Regional DCCs are meant to help fund growth-related capital infrastructure, but the scale of Metro Vancouver’s planned increases was difficult to justify. BCBC’s analysis found that Metro’s planned DCC increases over 2024-27 were around 250%, far outpacing inflation and population growth. Our research also shows that, prior to 2019, Metro Vancouver’s capital spending generally ranged between roughly $300 million and $510 million per year. Since then, it has risen to around $700 million to $1 billion annually. Over the same period, DCC revenues have also climbed significantly and now account for a much larger share of capital spending than they did in earlier years. 

DCCs are ultimately embedded in the cost of building new homes and reduce affordability for new home buyers.  They also add to costs for renters and commercial and industrial space. Reconsidering these increases is a sensible step and reinforces the need for B.C. to work with Ottawa on a deal that delivers meaningful development charge relief similar to Ontario’s.