FAQs

Development Cost Charges (DCC’s) are fees set by the City to recover the financial costs of development. DCC’s are paid by developers and builders back to the City of Abbotsford at the Building Permit or Subdivision stage. 

The DCC bylaw was last updated in 2010.

DCC’s recovered from developers are used to pay for large, off-site infrastructure projects such as water supply & treatment, sewage collection & treatment, drainage facilities, major road upgrades and new Park acquisitions and improvements.

The review will enable the City to implement the recommendations outlined in the 2016 Official Community Plan and Master Plans for Water, Sewer, Drainage, Transportation and Parks.

As part of this update and review, information will be gathered by the City of Abbotsford, key stakeholders, engineering consultants and land developers and will include public stakeholder meetings and other opportunities for input. Urban Systems Ltd., has been retained to undertake this bylaw update. 

DCC rates are established in the Development Cost Charge Bylaw as approved by City Council and  by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. A key priority in Council’s 2019-2022 Strategic Plan is to update this bylaw by early 2020.

The different land uses for which DCC's are applied to include residential, industrial, commercial, institutional and agricultural.

o  For commercial and institutional buildings, the DCC rates are applied by square meters of the gross floor area of the building.  For industrial buildings (the subject is under review), the DCC rates are applied by the gross area of land (HA).  Additional information can be found in the current DCC bylaws – Bylaw No.1812-2008 and Bylaw No. 1983-2010.