The Editor,
Re. “Coquitlam considering DCC hikes” (The Tri-City News, Nov. 30).
This article continues to propagate the misconception that developers bear the cost of development cost charges (DCC).
Land development is a business and businesses recover their costs and profit through the sale of their products. If the market can’t bear the price of their products, then businesses reduce their input costs.
DCCs are essentially a tax on real estate. Developers either pass this tax onto the purchasers of the homes and buildings they construct or to land owners by lowering the price they are willing to pay for developable land. In a rising market, they can do both.
The ultimate result of increasing DCCs is upward pressure on real estate prices.
Making Coquitlam’s DCCs among the highest in the region with increases of up to 64% will not help a community where housing affordability is already in crisis.
Mike Carver, Coquitlam
