The Comox Valley Regional District will be collecting parkland development charges a lot earlier in the building permit process.

The move is to ensure consistency in the process, which will help support the acquisition and development of parks and trails in the Electoral Areas in the CVRD.

鈥淎s our population continues to grow, we need to ensure we continue to meet the demand of residents for green spaces in the Electoral Areas,鈥� states Mark Harrison, Manager of Parks. 鈥淏y collecting all development cost charges at the time of the building permit, we are ensuring consistency in cost charge collection."

The new charge set up will come into effect on Dec. 5. The CVRD release says that this is not a change to the amounts in the charges, those are staying the same. This is simply a change in when the charges are collected. Prior to this change, some development cost charges were collected per lot at the time of subdivision, while others were collected per dwelling unit at building permit issuance.

"This is not a new charge, but rather a shift as to when some of the charges are collected," Harrison said. "Park development cost charges are an important source of park funding and ensures that developers adding new accommodations are equitably helping to fund our green spaces.鈥�

The charges for each kind of development are as follows:

Single residential: $1,417.63 per dwelling unit, payable at the time of building permit issuance.

Mutli-residential: $1,181.36 per dwelling unit, payable at the time of building permit issuance.

Tourist accommodation: $212.64 per bedroom, payable at the time of building permit issuance.

The parkland development cost charges are fees that are collected to help ensure amenities like parks and trails continue to meet the needs of residents as the valley's population grows.