Lights out on Xmas show due to city fee hike
Real estate agent behind annual display in the Beach says hike puts it out of reach
Through the balmy days of summer, Rick DeClute stores about 80,000 Christmas lights in a warehouse. But this year they might continue collecting dust after the city hiked the fees for what has become a Beach tradition.
DeClute, a co-owner of a local real estate company, pays the city each year for permission to envelop trees in lights along the Boardwalk, from the Leuty lifeguard station to the Balmy Beach Club. The phenomenon is known as “Light Up the Beach.”
But this year, he says the cost to rent 15 trees was hiked from $3,500 to $4,200, plus HST. On top of a $10,000 deposit, that’s enough to deter his family from continuing the spectacle, he says.
In emails provided by DeClute, which DeClute says are between him and several city representatives, the reason given for the price hike was that Light Up the Beach is seen as a “commercial sponsorship.”
“We understand if you would like to discontinue this activity based on the fact that there is a cost associated,” Ryan Glen from Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation wrote to DeClute earlier this year.
DeClute doesn’t believe the city has a fair view of the family’s motives.
“I think what happened is the city looked at it and said, ‘It’s getting known. These guys own a real estate company. Let’s generate some revenue off this,’ ” he said. “But it’s simply we’re doing this and want to.”
He said the DeClutes have used their real estate company as a springboard to raise funds to deliver the show each year. The unveiling is also used as a platform for charity: Michael Garron Hospital was the recipient of a fundraising drive at last year’s event, said DeClute.
In an emailed statement to the Star, the city listed several other reasons for charging DeClute for the installation, which creates “pressures on the park, including clean-up and maintenance,” said Matthew Cutler from Parks, Forestry and Recreation. Those costs are recovered through permit and license fees.
“This event, while beloved by many, creates pressures on the park including extended closures to the Boardwalk and trail, and damage to turf and canopy. Our goal is to balance these pressures with the public enjoyment of the event,” Cutler wrote.
The city reviews its fees for events such as this one regularly to ensure expenses are being fairly recovered, he added.
The DeClutes’ contract was up for renewal this year, when the new fee and damage deposit were proposed.
DeClute says the city also wants to charge him an extra $100 a day after March 1 if the lights aren’t down by then. He called that proposal ridiculous and arbitrary.
Cutler said the city added the clause because, in previous years, the lights have not been taken down by the agreed date.
This summer, DeClute said he contacted Councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon to seek a decrease of what he saw as the “out-of-control” fees.
“I asked if we could have a break,” DeClute said. “They came back and said, ‘We’re going to increase the rent.’ ”
McMahon stood by staff’s decision, saying the city will not decrease fees for a commercial event.
“To my knowledge, it has always been a DeClute Real Estate event, with advertising on parkland we’ve had to remove before,” she said.
Residents expressed their disappointment on social media, with some referring to the turn of events as a “money grab.” Erwin Buck, who’s lived in the area for 30 years, said it would be outrageous if the lights weren’t hung this season.
“The lights provide absolute magic to the waterfront,” he said.