City reviews Off-site Levy Bylaw

Medicine Hat – The City of Medicine Hat is currently reviewing its Off-site Levy (OSL) bylaw methodology, framework, and rates in order to align with the 2020 Municipal Development Plan, Council’s 2023-2026 Strategic Plan, and regulatory changes to the Municipal Government Act and provincial off-site levy directives under Bill 48. Medicine Hat’s Off-site Levy bylaw was last updated in 2013.

An off-site levy is a funding mechanism to build off-site infrastructure like roads, water, sewer and storm systems to support new development or growth. Infrastructure is initially funded by the municipality, with a proportion of costs (the levy) recovered from the developer as development proceeds, thus ensuring growth pays for growth.

The bylaw review was commissioned by City Council in early 2020. Staff presented a status update to City Council on Monday to reveal some of the proposed changes, confirming that staff have begun consultation with stakeholders including Building Industry and Land Development (BILD Medicine Hat), Medicine Hat & District Chamber of Commerce (MHDCC), Medicine Hat Construction Association (MHCA), Medicine Hat Real-Estate Board (MHREB), Urban Development Institute (UDI), and Invest Medicine Hat (IMH).

“Since 2020, there has been an extensive amount of work to review the regulation changes and research existing best practices in Alberta Municipalities to ensure the City is providing for development appropriately,” says Randi Buchner, superintendent of engineering with the City’s planning and development services department. “We are now engaging with industry stakeholders and developers in the area for review and feedback on the proposed changes.”

Staff are considering the following updates, among others:

• De-coupling the Municipal Assist Incentive from the off-site levy process in order to capture the true cost of development while allowing for an incentive program to be offered separately
• Re-mapping the off-site levy areas and establishing a unique area where off-site levies would not be required
• New rates that are projected to be less on average than the current levy

The bylaw update will be presented to Council for consideration and adoption by the end of 2022, with implementation expected in early 2023. For more information, please visit www.medicinehat.ca/OSLreview.

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