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BILL NO. 46
Local Bill
3rd Session, 56th General Assembly
Nova Scotia
44 Elizabeth II, 1995
An Act to Enable the Levy of a Charge
to Offset Development Costs Incurred by
the Municipality of the County of Kings
The Honourable Robert S. Harrison
Kings South
Halifax
Printed by Queen''s Printer for Nova Scotia
An Act to Enable the Levy of a Charge
to Offset Development Costs Incurred by
the Municipality of the County of Kings
Be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:
1 This Act may be cited as the Kings County Development Charge Act.
2 In this Act,
(a) "Council" means the Council of the Municipality;
(b) "development charge" means a development charge imposed pursuant to this
Act;
(c) "development-charge area" means an area of the Municipality that is
declared by a development-charge by-law to be a development-charge area;
(c) "development-charge by-law" means a by-law made pursuant to this Act;
(d) "infrastructure fund" means an infrastructure fund established by a
development-charge by-law;
(e) "Municipality" means the Municipality of the County of Kings;
(f) "taxable land" means land that is declared by a development-charge by-law
to be taxable land.
3 (1) The Council may, by by-law,
(a) declare any area of the Municipality to be a development-charge area;
(b) designate one or more purposes for which land may lawfully be used
according to the land-use by-law made pursuant to the Planning Act and in force
in the development-charge area and declare that any land located within the
development-charge area that may be lawfully used for any such purposes,
according to the land-use by-law, is taxable land for the purpose of this Act.
(2) Where an application is made, pursuant to the Planning Act, for approval of
a final plan of subdivision of taxable land in a development-charge area, the Municipality may,
subject to this Act, levy on the person who makes the application a development charge with
respect to the taxable land and payable to the Municipality in an amount determined in
accordance with the development-charge by-law creating the development-charge area.
(3) Notwithstanding the Planning Act, where an application is made, pursuant
to that Act, for final approval of a plan of subdivision of taxable land, final approval of the plan
of subdivision shall be withheld until the development charge with respect to the taxable land is
paid in full.
(4) Where approval of a subdivision plan of taxable land is refused, the
development charge imposed with respect to the taxable land ceases to exist and, if it has been
paid, shall be refunded by the Municipality to the person who paid it.
(5) No taxable land is exempt from a development charge by reason only that it
is exempt from taxation under the Assessment Act.
(6) Not more than one development charge may be levied with respect to taxable
land.
4 The purpose of a development charge with respect to taxable land is to raise revenue
for the purpose of providing sewers, drains, streets, sidewalks, roadways, paving and other
services to benefit lands located within the development-charge area in which the taxable land
is located and to reimburse the Municipality for any costs incurred by the Municipality in
providing such services or to reimburse the Municipality for any money borrowed by the
Municipality and expended in providing such services, including interest on such money and any
other expenses incurred by the Municipality in borrowing the money.
5 (1) A development-charge by-law shall
(a) designate the services for which a development charge may be
imposed; and
(b) set out the manner in which the amount of a development charge is
calculated.
(2) A development-charge by-law may
(a) provide that a development charge is payable in money or by the
provision of services, or by a combination of both, as may be agreed upon pursuant
to this Act by the Municipality and the owner of the land with respect to which the
development charge is imposed;
(b) designate those services for which a development charge shall not be
imposed;
(c) prescribe the manner in which credit shall be calculated for the
purpose of Section 10;
(d) exempt one or more parcels of land or one or more classes of land
from the development charge imposed pursuant to this Act;
(e) provide for indexing of the development charges levied under the by-law;
(f) prescribe the minimum area for which development charge shall apply;
(g) prescribe that only areas contiguous to areas already subject to
development charges may be granted final subdivision approval;
(h) prescribe minimum standards for services over and above which a
credit may be given.
6 (1) A development-charge by-law shall establish an infrastructure fund for the
development-charge area created by the development-charge by-law.
(2) Subject to this Act, each infrastructure fund is under the control of the
Municipality.
(3) All money received by the Municipality as a result of the levy of a development
charge with respect to land within a development-charge area shall be paid into the
infrastructure fund established for that area.
(4) No money shall be withdrawn from an infrastructure fund established for a
development-charge area except to
(a) finance the acquisition of sewers, drains, sidewalks, roadways and
paving and other services to benefit land within the development-charge area
whether such services are located inside or outside the development-charge area;
(b) reimburse the Municipality for funds expended in acquiring the
services;
(c) reimburse the Municipality for repayment by the Municipality of money
contributed and expended for the acquisition of the services, including interest
payable by the Municipality on money borrowed and any other expenses incurred
by the Municipality in borrowing such money; or
(d) pay a refund pursuant to subsection 3(4).
(5) Any person may contribute money to an infrastructure fund established for
a development-charge area.
(6) A development-charge by-law may prescribe policies to regulate investment
and the application of interest earned by the infrastructure fund.
7 The Municipality may, subject to the Municipal Affairs Act, borrow money to be
expended for the purpose of providing sewers, drains, sidewalks, roadways, paving and other
services to benefit lands located within a development-charge area or for the purpose of
depositing such money in an infrastructure fund established for a development-charge area and
to be used only for the same purposes as the infrastructure fund may be used pursuant to this
Act.
8 The Municipality may
(a) expend its funds for the purpose of acquiring sewers, drains, sidewalks,
roadways, paving and other services to benefit lands in a development-charge area;
(b) pay any of its funds into an infrastructure fund to be used for the purposes of
the fund as permitted by this Act,
and all sums so expended shall be held sums required for the ordinary lawful purposes of the
Municipality and shall be raised, levied and collected in the same manner and in all respects as
other sums required for the ordinary lawful purposes of the Municipality are raised, levied and
collected.
9 No development charge shall be imposed for
(a) local services installed at the expense of the owner of land within a
development-charge area as a condition of approval pursuant to the Planning Act; or
(b) local connections to water mains, sanitary sewers and storm drainage
facilities installed at the expense of the owner of land within the development-charge area.
10 (1) Notwithstanding any provision of this Act, the Municipality may, by
agreement, permit the provision of services in lieu of the payment of all or any portion of a
development charge.
(2) If a development-charge by-law permits the provision of services in lieu of the
payment of a development charge, the Municipality shall give a credit, in an amount calculated
in the manner prescribed in the development-charge by-law, in an amount equal to the cost of
providing the services as set forth in the by-law.
(3) Where the Municipality and the owner of land enter into an agreement that
permits or requires the owner to provide services additional to or of greater size or capacity
than is required in the development-charge by-law, the Municipality may agree to give a credit,
in an amount calculated in the manner prescribed in the by-law, but in an amount not exceeding
the cost to the owner of providing the additional services.
(4) A credit given pursuant to subsection (3) is not transferable to a subsequent
owner.
11 A by-law made pursuant to this Act does not require the approval of the Minister
of Municipal Affairs.