How much is Vancouver forgoing to Amenity Cost Charge in-stream protection?

Staff put forward an Amenity Cost Charge capital programme of $480 million over 2027 to 2036, then listed what will not be collected against it:¹

The first line is the transition. It is roughly three quarters of the ten-year programme the charge is meant to fund, and the City wrote it into the forecast rather than discovering it later.

Why the protection lasts as long as it does

This is the part that is not obvious from the by-law, and the report explains it directly. Two Charter provisions are in play. Section 523N(2) exempts applications that are in-stream when an initial charge by-law takes effect. Section 523N(3) gives an application only 12 months to reach building permit issuance once the by-law is amended.²

So the length of the concession depends entirely on when the City next amends. Staff recommended pre-approving rate increases out to 2029 for that reason:¹

By approving inflationary rate increases out to 2029, the City can delay amending the by-law until 2030, providing in-stream applications 5 years to reach building permit issuance and be rate protected from the ACC.

The escalations are written into the original by-law, so triggering them each September is not an amendment and the 12-month clock never starts. The five years is a design, not a coincidence.

The condition attached to it

The report states its own caveat, and anyone relying on the five years should carry it:

After adoption of the proposed ACC By-law, an amendment to the ACC rates before 2030 may result in a reduced period of in-stream protection as a result of the Vancouver Charter rules.¹

Nothing obliges the City to hold off amending. The protection is as durable as the decision not to reopen the rates.

One wrinkle worth noting

The Charter says the initial exemption attaches to applications in-stream when the by-law is adopted. The City's report describes it as applying to applications in-stream "at the time the initial ACC by-law comes into effect".¹ Those are different dates, and the City's own public guidance uses the effective date of September 30, 2026. If you are relying on the difference, get the City's position on your specific file in writing rather than on ours.