The City of Kelowna decided to act on its own when the federal and provincial government didn’t elaborate on a vague and expensive plan to boost development in the province.

On June 18, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier David Eby said the government would spend billions of dollars through the Build Communities Strong Fund to help lower costs for developers, but the City of Kelowna hasn’t heard whether it’s going to get a piece of the action.

“Nearly $1.6 billion over 10 years – matched by British Columbia for a total of up to $3.2 billion – to lower development charges for multi-unit housing by up to 50% in priority communities, saving up to $40,000 per unit, and expand housing-enabling infrastructure such as water systems, wastewater systems, and local roads,” the Prime Minister’s office said in a press release.

The fund could help developers in Kelowna who have been complaining about development cost charges meant to fund essential infrastructure to support development. Development cost charges are paid to municipalities by developers so the city can pay for the supports for the development like roads and water and sewer systems.

Kelowna city planner Ryan Smith said the city doesn’t know much beyond what was said publicly in the announcement, so it acted on its own by cutting development cost charges by 25 per cent for two years at a council meeting, June 29.

“We’ve had no news from either about how we may potentially be reimbursed or benefit from it… the announcement the Prime Minister made in Vancouver was a little vague,” he said. “In the meantime, we needed to do something and the council wanted to do something.”

B.C. Ministry of Housing spokesperson Joe Fries said the fund will start in 2027 but details are still in the works.

“Details regarding participating communities, eligibility criteria and program delivery are still being finalized through ongoing discussions among the governments of Canada and B.C. and local governments. More information will be shared as program details are finalized,” he said in an emailed statement.

The city’s own development cost charge cut has been in the works for months and it’s expected to cost between $20 and $25 million.

The mechanics of the Build Communities Strong Fund are unclear and the city doesn’t know if it could get some of that money reimbursed but Smith is optimistic.

“We’ve generally had good partnerships with the provincial and federal governments and we hope that there are some benefits to the city,” Smith said.

Smith said reducing the costs for developers could bring in 200 to 500 more housing units that the city otherwise would see built.

“We went from several years of very high housing numbers in the permitting process to right now very, very low numbers and this will help maybe soften the blow,” he said.

The announcement from the federal and provincial governments came alongside a plan to buy up condos around B.C., which has been controversial and confusing for some.

Smith said it doesn’t matter if the city is kept in the dark, it’s staying the course.

“In our world the goal remains making sure that we have a pretty steady supply of housing,” he said.