Homeowners in multi-family complexes in Coquitlam will see a reduction in their water utility rates in the coming years.
But owners of single-family residents can expect to pay more.
A report to Coquitlam council Monday stated that multi-family homeowners use approximately half the water of single-family residents. It also noted that infrastructure and pipes are cheaper when servicing higher-density areas because the cost is spread out over more residents.
Currently, all residents pay the same amount regardless of housing type, a system that has been in place since the 1970s, when the city was mostly single-family homes and a few apartments.
Since that time, new multi-family units have shrunk while single-family units have gotten bigger, creating an imbalance in the water rate structure, according to city staff.
"We know and we have known for a long time that we are operating a pricing system that is inequitable," said Coun. Neal Nicholson, who was not re-elected Saturday. "You can't get it perfect and [staff] have a proposal that is their best judgement of what moves us gradually to a more equitable allocation of costs."
The rate re-balancing will be phased in over six years. Once it is complete, a multi-family homeowner will pay 60% of the single-family amount.
Coquitlam is not the first city to adopt a multi-tiered utility rate. In Burnaby, apartment residents pay 57% of the amount single-family homeowners pay while, in Richmond, 52% of the single-family rate is charged to multi-family residents.
Not all councillors were supportive of the initiative.
Coun. Brent Asmundson, who was returned to office in Saturday's election, said that there has not been enough consultation with the public on the matter while Coun. Craig Hodge, who also won re-election, said some multi-family units house more people than single-family homes.
And Coun. Terry O'Neill, another successful candidate, said he had concerns about the optics of the rate balancing. He said newspaper headlines will say "Council waits until two days after the election to jack up water rates on single-family homes."
"That is my prediction and I am not going to go along with that," he said.
Council voted in favour of the initiative, with O'Neill, Asmundson and Hodge voting against.
Coquitlam city manager Peter Steblin acknowledged there is no perfect formula to create a completely equitable utility rate system but city staff has done a great deal of research and the numbers proposed will go a long way toward making the system fairer.
Water metering was seen as one way of making the system more equitable but Steblin said the cost of meters is too expensive and would lead to rate increases for all residents.
COQUITLAM WATER RATES
YEAR 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
SINGLE FAMILY $436 $452 $469 $486 $504 $522
MULTI-FAMILY $436 $408 $383 $358 $336 $314
*Inflation and additional expenditures, which are projected to add an additional 1% to 3% are not included in the chart.
