The policy that Christchurch City Council uses to help it recover some of the costs associated with providing the infrastructure needed to service new growth developments is being reviewed.
The current Development Contributions Policy was adopted in 2016.
The policy details the methodology the Council will use to recover a fair share of the cost of providing infrastructure to service growth development from those who benefit from the provision of that infrastructure, such as private developers.
Over the past 15 years the Council has invested on average about $50 million a year on infrastructure to service new growth development.
The revenue received from development contributions repays this over time, with about $32 million recovered in the 2019/20 financial year. Development contribution charges for a particular asset continues until the asset is fully paid for or it reaches full capacity.
“Staff will be bringing a report to the Council meeting next week which seeks approval for us to consult on a new development contributions policy at the same time as we consult on the Draft 2021-31 Long Term Plan,’’ said Council Acting General Manager, Finance and Commercial, Diane Brandish on Friday.
The Draft Development Contributions Policy 2021 includes some significant changes from the current policy.
For example, the draft policy introduces sub-district catchments to allocate infrastructure costs and development contribution charges for water supply, wastewater collection, wastewater treatment and disposal, public transport infrastructure and active travel infrastructure.
It also introduces development contribution charges for community infrastructure, such as swimming pools, libraries and cemeteries, for both new residential and business developments.
Overall, changes to the schedule of infrastructure that development contributions are charged for will result in less revenue for the Council over the next three years.
This is due to a large number of parks assets being fully funded and therefore not requiring development contributions funding, council said.
“We are keen to get the public’s feedback on the draft policy. Subject to the Council’s approval, we will be inviting people to make submissions from mid-March,” says Ms Brandish.
Read the Council report on the Draft Development Contributions Policy 2021.
Next steps
Property Council will be submitting on the Council’s Draft Development Contributions Policy 2021, with all feedback being collated by Senior Advocacy Advisor Liam Kernaghan. To participate in the development of our submission, please contact Liam directly here.