Editor:
Our present Sechelt council is continuing a long-standing local tradition of dithering over raising the District's development cost charges (DCCs). We frequently hear the refrain that growth will lead the District to prosperity. Yet as recently as a year or two ago the mayor of Surrey complained that rapid growth had put a severe strain on that city's budget.
How can this be? The truth of the matter is that growing is a costly business. It puts significant pressure on all manner of infrastructure and someone has to pay. The purpose of the DCC is to ensure that existing taxpayers don't end up footing the bill for new development, and Sechelt's DCCs have been held down for far too long.
Councillor Hockley claims "we're DCCing [the developers] right out of business" but is that really true? The staff report recently submitted to council offered some comparisons. According to that document, Sechelt's present combined DCCs for a single family dwelling are almost 37 per cent lower than Gibsons; almost 32 per cent lower than Comox; almost 33 per cent lower than Nanaimo; and a whopping 58 per cent lower than Surrey, which has learned its lesson the hard way.
Councillor Chris Moore's response to the issue is to suggest we have even more studies. He thinks maybe we should cut back on spending and check out some other municipalities. And he said Surrey doesn't count because property is much more expensive there. But is it cheaper to build roads in Sechelt, or parks? It certainly doesn't seem to be cheaper to build sewage treatment plants.
If the new property owners don't pay the bill for development, then, fellow taxpayers, you and I surely will.
Val Morris, Sechelt
