Region to have new shot at development charges
After months of work developing and ultimately approving a new development charges bylaw for Niagara, regional councillors are being asked to repeal that bylaw and vote on it all over again.
Niagara’s acting corporate services commissioner, Jason Burgess, said councillors at the Oct. 5 meeting will be asked to repeal the bylaw they approved on July 20, and instead approve a revised bylaw that adds clarity to the document.
Representatives from south Niagara communities who were vocal opponents of the bylaw say the Region’s efforts are more likely an attempt to correct an error made when it was being implemented.
Burgess said the Region heard from several developers after the bylaw was approved, concerned about the potential impact on projects they previously invested in. For example, he said, the existing bylaw refers to contracts for grandfathered projects, “but nowhere did it say who would actually have the delegated authority to sign the contract.”
“That’s something we cleaned up. There’s a bunch of other things about how the formulas would work and definitions of certain words were cleaned up to make it crystal clear for everybody,” Burgess said.
Welland senior planner Grant Munday, however, said he hasn’t noticed any significant changes.
“It’s the same bylaw. That was my read of it,” he said.
With one exception, the bylaw still fails to address concerns Welland included in its Ontario Municipal Board appeal launched in August. Munday said the Region did not provide written notice of the passing of the bylaw and its appeal deadline, within a 20-day time period required under the Ontario Development Charges Act.
“It’s our understanding that wasn’t done, so it puts into question the validity of the current bylaw,” Munday said.
He said the lack of notification might be considered an administrative error, “but the reality is it is a basic requirement that has to be in place.”
Burgess would not comment on the issue.
“That’s a matter that Welland has put into their appeal, and it will be decided frankly by a court or by the (OMB) review board,” he said. “I don’t want to prejudge whether they would conclude that we gave appropriate notice or not. That’s something for the lawyers and board to look at.”
Burgess said the Region had spent months developing and debating the bylaw amid opposition from developers and some members of regional council — particularly from south Niagara.
“Unfortunately, the bylaw went down to the last minute and there were last-minute changes made on the floor and that’s never a good thing,” Burgess said. “We had to deal with that also.”
Although Welland’s Mayor Frank Campion agreed that the revised bylaw doesn’t address his city’s concerns, he said it does provide an opportunity for further debate on the issue.
“I would consider this a technical issue as opposed to a victory at this point. But it does open the window again,” he said. “We will take that opportunity to try to get what we were fighting for from the beginning. We may have more councillors this time. Maybe some people will have a sober second thought on the issue. Maybe we’ll succeed.”
Port Colborne Coun. David Barrick, too, hopes reconsideration of the bylaw will provide opportunity for significant changes.
“It certainly has opened the door for any kind of change and I think it was clear when I spoke about this the last time. I am fundamentally opposed to the development charge bylaw as it was presented.”
He said the Region has more than $270 million in reserves that now could be used for infrastructure projects to support future development.
“I called it a cash grab earlier, and I stand by that,” Barrick said. “Probably in their haste to get their money … they forgot the legislative step of advertising the appeal process.”
Campion said the Region needs to be “as business-friendly as we possibly can, and this DC bylaw — as we keep mentioning — I don’t think it sends a very good message.”
Burgess disagreed with concerns that the development charges will hamper economic development efforts. He said developers understand the need for development charges to pay for infrastructure needed to support that development.
“We’re building the infrastructure that allows them (developers) to open up new plots of land to meet demand. They understand that growth has to pay for growth,” he said.
Regional studies show that Niagara needs to collect about $50 million in development charges a year to build infrastructure projects to support Niagara’s growth — about twice the amount currently collected.
Although Burgess said he doesn’t know if the revised by law will address any of Welland’s concerns, “I know for a fact it addresses a number of the developer’s concerns and adds greater clarity for them, for sure.”
If regional council does vote to repeal and replace the existing bylaw, Burgess said Welland would be able to launch an appeal of the new bylaw, too, if it chooses to do so.