Peachland is updating its development and business licence fees for the first time in nearly 10 years.
The goal is to make sure fees better reflect the real cost of staff time and services, and to bring them more in line with other communities.
Council is being asked to approve the first three readings at its July 8 meeting, with adoption expected on August 26.
The fee review was supported by a provincial grant and included comparisons with eight other B.C. municipalities. Staff looked at how long applications take, and what it costs to process them. They decided to use regional benchmarks rather than doing detailed time-tracking, which would have taken too many resources.
Most existing fees are going up, and new fees are being introduced. A two per cent annual increase will be added to certain fees to keep up with inflation.
Council had previously asked staff to review and update the fees in March 2022, and again this June. Staff also reached out to local stakeholders to give them a heads-up about the proposed changes.
Some of the changes include increasing BnB licence application and business licence fees from $112 each to $400 for an application and $200 per year for a licence.
Councillor Keith Thom took issue with the increase at council鈥檚 June 12 meeting, asking 鈥淲hy have we targeted tourist accommodation when we have such a shortage?鈥�
The district proposes cutting the current fee for other businesses from $122 to $30 to 鈥渁lign with regional communities and support the generation of local businesses.鈥�
There is no liquor licence application fee for Peachland. That could change if council approves fees of $1,600 (major) or $400 (minor).
Zoning amendment fees could increase from $1,000 to $2,000 (major) and $1,600 (minor), and development permit costs could rise鈥攄epending on the application鈥攆rom $300 and $600 to $600 and $1,200 (major) to $300 (minor).
Staff say that updating fees will make the system fairer and more financially sustainable. The new fees are designed to recover the cost of staff time and reduce the need for taxpayer funding.
While developers may pay more upfront, a better-staffed planning department will speed up the process and help offset those costs.
