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Hikes coming for town services, new charges at campground

Princeton to adopt some fee increases
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Doing some business with the Town of Princeton is going to cost more, under a revision of fees for service that received three readings at Monday night council’s meeting.

Development and variance fees will double, and there are new fees for administrative services and extras at the municipal RV park.

“The costs that were associated before didn’t offset the total costs,” said CAO Cheryl Martens. “We are not trying to make money, we are trying to offset our costs.”

The charge of a zoning bylaw amendment goes to $750 from $450 and the combined fee for both a bylaw change and an official plan amendment will be $1,000, compared to $900.

Development permits, development variance permits and board of variance applications will each cost $500 compared to $250.

“Some of these fees haven’t been updated in a long time,” said Martens.

Advertising, meeting costs and staff time contribute to expenses incurred when these applications are processed, she added.

“It’s not that we are trying to deter people from applying for them. Staff have their everyday responsibilities…These are additional duties so that’s why we require compensation.”

New administration fees include a $20 charge for a title search, a $25 refund fee for property taxes and utilities, a $250 notice of title fee and a $10 fee for site plan copies.

There are numerous changes coming for Princeton’s municipal campground.

A $10 reservation fee will be tacked on to each site reserved on top of the regular camping fees, and a $5 reservation change fee will apply.

New policies have also been written into the campground fee schedule that mandate no discounts for seniors or persons with disabilities.

Camping fees must be paid in full when a reservation is booked and are only refundable up to 14 days prior to arrival.

A two night minimum charge applies to any reservation made on a Friday or Saturday night, with a three day minimum for long weekend bookings.

The rules are needed to ensure the campground managers can maximize revenue opportunities, said Martens, and reflect best practices at similar facilities.

“The problem is they have a lot of people who book and then cancel and they cancel at a time when they can’t get anyone else in there.”

The new fees and increases are also part of a housekeeping exercise to umbrella all the town’s fees for service under one bylaw.

Final adoption of the bylaw is set for a future meeting.



Andrea DeMeer

About the Author: Andrea DeMeer

Andrea is the publisher of the Similkameen Spotlight.
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