Ensuring new development contributes to the community
The Community Benefit Bonus (CBB) bylaw delivers important community benefits by allowing the City to approve additional residential height in exchange for builders providing community benefits and/or cash-in-lieu.
The bylaw permits the following community benefits to be delivered throughout Burnaby:
- Child care facilities
- Community Benefit Bonus housing
- Additional improvements to parks, open spaces or plazas
- Heritage retention/preservation
- Civic facilities
- Social service centres such as neighbourhood houses and community resource centres
- Major environmental improvements
The bylaw has a methodology to calculate the community benefit bonus requirements for housing and amenities, including cash-in-lieu options. This ensures new developments that have additional height are contributing to the City's amenity inventory and non-market housing stock.
The City updated the Community Benefit Bonus policy and bylaw in 2025, in response to changes to the Province’s Local Government Act. This update simplifies processes and aligns with new provincial legislation. It also aligns with City initiatives such as the height-based development framework, the Official Community Plan update, the Rezoning Bylaw Rewrite and the Development Approvals Process.
The CBB bylaw is implemented through Schedule XII of the Burnaby Zoning Bylaw.
For current Community Benefit Bonus rates, capital cost rates, reserve fund information and access to the self-assessment calculator, refer to the Development Funding Program page.