Metro Vancouver to consider rolling back 2026 DCC increases
Whoa!
MVRD Board Meeting Agenda Package - January 30, 2026. The “Metro Vancouver Development Cost Charge Program Update Progress and Next Steps” report begins on page 280.
MVRD Board Meeting Additional Items - January 30, 2026.
Video from the meeting, with transcript. Vimeo.
There was a lengthy debate at last Friday’s Metro Vancouver board meeting about whether to go ahead with planned DCC increases, which are pushing projects further underwater.
At the start of the meeting, Brad Jones of Wesgroup made a presentation. Direct link to video.
He pointed out that Wesgroup had agreed to build a community centre in Vancouver’s River District for $47M. After this was approved, Metro Vancouver’s DCC increase resulted in an additional cost of $65M, leaving no funding for amenities.
Similarly, Wesgroup’s Inlet Station project included $30.8M for amenities. After approval, Metro Vancouver’s DCC increase resulted in an additional cost of $30M, taking away that funding.
How taxing new housing like a gold mine pushes projects underwater. “Why would a rational landowner sell their site to a developer who can pay $41 million and for that project to proceed, then pay $206 million in government contributions, when your site’s worth $20 million more to do nothing.”
Links to the video from the meeting:
Motion by Pardeep Kooner to direct staff to report back with bylaw amendments to roll back DCC rates to 2025 levels. This was followed by a 90-minute debate. Many directors commented that the economic picture has changed drastically since the previous decision to shift the burden of infrastructure costs entirely to new housing. (Well, almost entirely - 99%, the legal maximum.) That said, there were also directors taking the other side, downplaying the impact of the DCC increases.
Motion passed, 92 to 54.
The next step in the decision-making process will presumably be the April budget workshop.
More:
Developers urge Metro Vancouver Regional District to reverse 2026 building fee hikes amid fragile housing market conditions. Kenneth Chan, Daily Hive, January 13, 2026.
‘An egregious joke:’ Metro Vancouver’s record on trial as developers balk at 200% fee hike. Dan Fumano, Vancouver Sun, January 16, 2026. “At a Metro meeting last November, Surrey Councillor Pardeep Kooner tried to introduce a motion to pause the fee increases, but was ruled out of order. She believes Metro should adjust the development charges after it moved last year to remove $1.1 billion from the five-year capital plan.”
Previously: