URBANICS
Urbanics Consultants Ltd. was retained by the Town of Sidney to undertake a financial feasibility analysis of the Town’s existing bonus density framework and to evaluate the potential implementation of inclusionary zoning and affordable housing requirements. The study was undertaken in response to evolving provincial legislation and the Town’s objective of ensuring that development contributions support community benefits and affordable housing while maintaining the financial viability of new development.
Urbanics reviewed the provincial legislative framework, Sidney’s Official Community Plan, Zoning Bylaw and existing development contribution policies, as well as local market conditions and approaches used by comparable British Columbia municipalities. A scenario-based development pro forma analysis was then prepared for a range of representative residential, mixed-use and industrial development typologies. The analysis compared project revenues, land and construction costs, municipal fees and development returns under base and maximum density scenarios to determine the value generated through additional density and the corresponding capacity for community and affordable housing contributions.
Based on the financial analysis and sensitivity testing, Urbanics developed a framework for calibrating contribution requirements to the economics of different zoning categories and development forms. The study evaluated cash-in-lieu contributions, on-site affordable housing and a hybrid approach combining financial and in-kind contributions. Urbanics ultimately recommended a flexible, zone-specific and market-responsive framework that sets contribution expectations below maximum feasibility thresholds, provides flexibility for smaller and more financially constrained projects, and allows contribution levels to be periodically updated as market conditions change.