By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Lacombe consulting public on offsite levy increases

Sep 28, 2022 | 4:51 PM

The City of Lacombe is launching consultations on offsite levy rates.

According to a release, the consultation plan aims inform the public and consult with landowners and developers before council’s first reading of the updated Offsite Levy Bylaw.

“Lacombe city council continues to ensure our residents, businesses and developers are receiving equitable treatment in terms of taxation,” Mayor Grant Creasey said. “This consultation process is a transparent means to ensure that Lacombe is fairly allocating the cost of core infrastructure our citizens expect and deserve.”

Offsite levies are a legal mechanism, The City explains, for a municipality to recover some of the costs from eligible public facilities, as well as water, sanitary, storm and arterial roadway infrastructure from developers who benefit from that infrastructure.

Since the current Offsite Levy Bylaw 387 was adopted in 2013, The City says, there have been material changes to the City’s built environment, and construction costs. Infrastructure projects have been completed, developments that were planned now house Lacombe citizens, and levy funds have been collected.

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The City explains that this combined with the updated Master Plans, and council’s adopted 10-Year Capital Plan has resulted in the need to revisit Lacombe’s offsite levy rates.

Proposed in the 2023 Offsite Levy Update are increases between 10 and nearly 350 per cent from the 2013 costs. The average increase is 46 per cent.

“These rate increases are attributed to construction cost increases over the last ten years, the addition of a new class of infrastructure (facilities), new projects, and rate increases in benefitting areas that had not previously contributed to major infrastructure projects,” The City says.

“Lacombe’s proposed average offsite levy increase is 14 percent lower than the average offsite levy of Central Albertan comparator municipalities.”

Lacombe’s citizens and other stakeholders will be consulted through:

• Social media posts
• Linking to a map on lacombe.ca
• Notices published in City Pages and on the back of the City’s utility bill
• Direct letters/invitations for landowners and developers to meet with City officials

Results are scheduled to be brought back to Council in early 2023.

by Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Lacombe consulting public on offsite levy increases

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