The coming weeks and months will be decisive for the Squamish Oceanfront development.
Municipal hall will be dealing with details of the deal in an effort to make the March 31 deadline of the purchase and sale agreement.
In the New Year, several key bylaws, policies and legal agreements to do with the development will come before council, including the amendment of the Development Cost Charges (DCC) bylaw. DCCs are charges municipalities collect from developers to compensate for the increased demand for such things as sewer, water, drainage, parks and roads the new development will create.
The DCC funded projects needed to support the Squamish Oceanfront Development Corporation project are expected to be about $30-million below what they were originally projected to be. Originally estimated to be $81 million, now those charges are expected to be closer to $50 million, according to the district.
“As we put our development cost charges bylaw together, we have been able to fine-tune the costs that are projected,” said Corien Becker, District of Squamish chief administrative officer.
The district will also be finalizing two front-ender agreements. These agreements basically state that the developer will pay for some projects related to the development that are the district’s responsibility and the district will later pay the developer back. The Community Amenities Contribution Policy, the revitalization tax exemption bylaw (amended to include Squamish Oceanfront Development Corporation), the zoning bylaw, the subdivision development and control bylaw and the Phased Development Agreement will also need to be finalized by the deadline.
Before any of these documents come before council, the public will have an opportunity to learn about them Jan. 13.
“We are planning on taking the entire day to walk through each document to basically explain what it is, what it means and how it works piece by piece,” said Becker. “Council and the public can take a step back after that day and re-read things with a better understanding of what it might mean.”
