Contents
Latest News
Rocky View County is proposing updates to its Regional Off-Site Levy Bylaws, which include:
Background
In May 2022, Council identified an off-site, soft services levy framework as a priority project for the County. Administration began to explore the options for the implementation of updates to these current levy bylaws.
These levy bylaws establish a framework that aligns with Council’s Strategic Plan of thoughtfully managing growth. Growth also affects the costs of operating and maintaining the County’s Infrastructure. Balancing the benefits and costs of growth is a key focus of the County’s Strategic Plan and the levy structure is a critical tool to help achieve that. It ensures that new development pays a proportionate share of the costs needed for the addition, expansion, and long-term sustainability of the County’s regional water, wastewater, stormwater, transportation, and community recreation infrastructure resulting from that growth.
An Off-site Soft Services Levy is a fee charged by a municipality to developers to help fund the future costs of “soft services” the community will need. The Off-site Soft Services Levy won’t be charged to existing homeowners or developments. Residents would only be impacted if they decide to subdivide and develop their land.
Key updates to the levy schedules in the bylaws include the consideration of:
- Costs to current year,
- Costs based on levies collected,
- A comprehensive review of the financials,
- Outstanding debt,
- Projects completed, and
- Infrastructure upgrades and expansion costs.
The proposed changes and updates are required to continue to help fund the County’s transportation network, water and wastewater facilities, stormwater infrastructure, and support future infrastructure needs, such as recreational facilities.
The Levy Bylaws provide for the fair and equitable collection of off-site levies related to regional infrastructure in accordance with the Municipal Government Act. An Off-Site Levy is imposed as a condition of subdivision approval or the issuance of Development Permits.
Off-Site Levy Bylaws
Regional Water and Wastewater Off-Site Levy Bylaw
Since the adoption of the Regional Water and Wastewater Off-Site Levy Bylaw, updates have considered the collection of the levy and expenditures on various upgrades for the system. The updates to the bylaw include an adjustment of the capacity committed to date and a recalculation of the rates for the water and wastewater system. The update was prepared following a comprehensive review of the County’s Water and Wastewater systems. Key updates to the Bylaw include:
- A Langdon Wastewater Treatment Plant Levy to include a provision to update the treatment technology from the mechanical Sequential Batch Reactor (SBR) to a moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) technology, and
- The addition of a Schedule to capture the recent expansion of the water and wastewater system to the West Balzac area.
More information about the Regional Water and Wastewater Off-Site Levy Bylaw Updates is available here.
Regional Transportation Off-Site Levy Bylaw
The Regional Transportation Off-Site Levy (TOL) Bylaw updates include an adjustment of costs and a recalculation of the rates for the long-range transportation network, including the various Special Areas. Key updates to the Bylaw include:
- Updated traffic modeling for the Long-Range Transportation Network to aim for an efficient and sustainable transportation network for growing communities.
- Utilizing the Levy to upgrade existing Bridge Files on Long Range Network Roads.
- The concept of rural and urban rate structure being introduced to provide a distinction between residential lots less than 1.99 acres in size with piped water and sewer servicing that would pay for a different fee structure (associated with the intensity of the development) in comparison to a rural property within the County.
More information about the Regional Transportation Off-Site Levy Bylaw Updates is available here.
Regional Stormwater Off-Site Levy Bylaw
This levy structure provides a mechanism to collect adequate funding to construct the necessary Regional Stormwater Management Infrastructure to support the growth of key development areas in East Rocky View County. Each municipality tailors its levy structure based on unique factors such as local infrastructure needs, anticipated rate of development, and the characteristics of each jurisdiction for consideration. Key updates to the Regional Stormwater Off-Site Levy Bylaw include:
- Addition of Schedules to capture the internal infrastructure to support the Janet and Conrich areas.
For more information about the Regional Stormwater Off-Site Levy Bylaw Updates is available here.
The newly proposed Community Recreation Off-Site Levy Bylaw framework is a priority for the County that accounts for the costs of recreation services to be paid through future growth and development. This proposed Bylaw is in alignment with the 2021 Recreation Master Plan, the provisions of the Municipal Government Act, and provides a framework that includes a county-wide base levy in addition to targeting specific benefiting areas. The proposed Community Recreation Off-Site Levy Bylaw aligns with the current format of County off-site levies and identifies levy rates for recreation service infrastructure within the identified servicing catchment areas.
More information about the Community Recreation Off-Site Levy Bylaw is available here.
Project Timeline
An Off-site Soft Services Levy is a fee charged by a municipality to developers to help fund the future costs of “soft services” the community will need. Once final edits are prepared and feedback is consolidated, the amended Bylaws will be proposed to council by Q4 of 2024, seeking approval of all the proposed changes. These Bylaw changes would then apply to development after the date of adoption and are anticipated to be effective January 31, 2025.
Previous Information
Get Involved
Should you have any questions or require additional information about the Regional Off-Site Levy Bylaw updates, please contact Capital & Engineering Services at 403-230-1401, or engineering@rockyview.ca.