Municipal governments require substantial financial resources to develop and construct facilities to service developing areas within their boundaries. One of the major public works investments required to support new developing areas within a highly urbanized environment is the transportation infrastructure needed to accommodate the additional travel demands attributable to the developing area. In Alberta, through provincial legislation and specifically the Planning Act, municipalities have the authority to levy off-site charges to the developer for municipal services being provided for new sub-division developments. There are seventeen cities within Alberta and each has a different policy and approach to assessing off-site development levies to partially recover the costs for various public works and municipal purposes. These charges tend to address the following items, but are not limited to: water supply treatment, storage and transmission, sanitary sewage facilities, storm sewer facilities, transportation system infrastructure, and community and recreational facilities. This paper summarizes these assessments by component, where possible, and comment upon the financial implications in meeting urban transportation needs. (A)
Abstract