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BILL NO. 46
Local Bill
3rd Session, 56th General Assembly
Nova Scotia
44 Elizabeth II, 1995-96
An Act to Enable the Levy of a Charge
to Offset Development Costs Incurred by
the Municipality of the County of Kings
CHAPTER 30
ACTS OF 1995-96
The Honourable Robert S. Harrison
Kings South
AS ASSENTED TO BY THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR
JANUARY 11, 1996
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.