TEESWATER – After receiving direction from council to continue investigating development charges (DCs) for the municipality, South Bruce staff looked for further direction on preferred exemptions, phasing in plans and discounts in the program.
During council’s April 8 meeting, Manager of Finance/Treasurer Kendra Reinhart, as part of her activity report to council, asked for direction on the above aspects to help with the creation of a bylaw to present to the public and council at a future meeting.
“We talked to our consultant, and they are still wanting any recommendations for the bylaw with regards to exemptions, phasing or discounts,” she said, asking if council had any preferences.
Not a phased approach
Council first discussed phasing in the charges, with Coun. Ron Schnurr asking if it might result in developers pushing forward with projects to get in under lower cost charges.
Mayor Mark Goetz, however, said that, while he initially pushed for a phased approach to the Bruce County development charges, he might not have done so knowing what he does now.
“We phased them in over a five-year period and it’s coming back to haunt us,” he said. “By phasing it in, the regular taxpayers are helping to fund each year until development charges are implemented in full.”
Reinhart said that was the case and would be until 2031 when the county’s development charges would be fully phased in.
Deputy Mayor Nigel Van Dyk asked if there was any difference from a lack of development charges all together and phasing them in, as far as charges to existing residents are considered. Mayor Goetz said there was not.
“The idea is to charge the proper people for the expansion of the infrastructure that’s going to benefit them,” he said. “By phasing it in, that leaves the door open and some of those costs are falling back to the taxpayers that paid for the original infrastructure.
Van Dyk said that, while charging existing residents for growth is not the goal, phasing the development charges in would give developers an opportunity to “hurry up and do developments now, or do it later with full knowledge there will be DCs involved”.
Van Dyk added he would look at a three-year phase-in period.
Mayor Goetz still was not convinced it was the right way to go.
“You have to tell yourself that the developers are not going to pay for this: they aren’t going to take it out of their own pockets,” he said. “It’s the end person that pays, the end person that benefits from the development. It’s hard to sort through that idea, I know.”
Mayor Goetz explained that the issue is coming back to county council, where they are considering increases because of how much growth-related development is being levied against existing ratepayers.
“I just want to make sure everyone understands that before we make the decision,” he said.
Van Dyk asked if the phased-in approach of the county had led to rapid growth as developers tried to get in before higher tiers of charges were phased in.
“If the answer is yes, again my thought is I don’t think it’s a terrible idea,” he said. “It’s a balancing act … if the result is rapid growth in the next two years.”
Mayor Goetz said the municipalities with development charges are the fastest growing, but also some of the most expensive to buy or build in.
“Things are cheaper to build here,” he said, adding [development charges] would not change that significantly. “A large percentage of the population has been bid out of the marketplace in other areas because residential is expensive there. This is prime time for us to see development. The question I want you to ask yourself is, do you want to phase them in and see the rest of the ratepayers pay for that development?
“It’s not just a matter of adding a couple hundred houses – there are more streets to clean, sidewalks to clear, and that is going to take some of those [new] tax dollars to make that happen,” Mayor Goetz said.
After more discussion about phasing in the project, and what percentage each year should be, council defeated a motion to have a phased in-approach with a recorded tie vote.
Van Dyk, Schnurr and Coun. Mark Ireland voted in favour of a phased-in approach, while Coun. Mike Niesen, Coun. Mike McDonagh and Mayor Goetz voted against it. Coun. Jeff Goetz declared a conflict of interest.
As a result, the development charges, if approved, will not be implemented through a phased-in approach.
Exemptions
Council next discussed specific exemptions for the project, comparing lists of exemptions offered by neighbouring from Bruce County.
After significant debate, council voted in favour of exemptions for churches, cemeteries, municipal sites, county sites, local board of education sites, agricultural uses, temporary structures, like-for-like replacement buildings and non-residential commercial and industrial developments. Senior retirement units, which Reinhart said she would find ways to define, were also considered but not part of the initial motion.
After the decisions were made about exemptions and the approach, Reinhart said a bylaw would be produced and a public meeting would be set to review the document in the near future.
