WHEREAS pursuant to Section 941 of the Local Government Act, municipalities are given the authority to accept cash-in-lieu of parkland when processing subdivision applications; AND WHEREAS Section 9416a states the following: the average market value of all the land in the proposed subdivision calculated as that value would be on either i the date of preliminary approval of the subdivision, or ii if no preliminary approval is given, a date within 90 days before the final approval of the subdivision, as though iii the land is zoned to permit the proposed use, and iv any works and services necessary to the subdivision have not been installed; AND WHEREAS the cash-in-lieu value is based on undeveloped land, in order to purchase parkland the municipality could be paying full market value of developed land; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of British Columbia Municipalities request that the provincial government review Section 941 of the Local Government Act in order to provide a more favourable way for local governments to determine the value of land for cash-in-lieu purposes.
Ministry of Community Services Section 941 of the Local Government Act, regarding the provision of parkland, is intended to provide a balance between ensuring that subdivided land has an adequate supply of parkland while accounting for circumstances where this is not practical or desirable. Changing the legislation so that a land owner is responsible for the cost of serviced, developed, or other forms of off-site land that local government intends to purchase would create considerable equity concerns between subdivisions that provide land versus those that provide cash. Local government can collect parkland Development Cost Charges DCCs which can assist with the purchase of parkland and can also mitigate the risk of having to accept cash-in-lieu by having an Official Community Plan that contains polices and designations respecting the location and type of future parkland. The Ministry of Community Services has published online the Parkland Acquisition Best Practices document, which includes considerations for collecting parkland through dedication and DCCs, and information on land versus cash-in-lieu.