Council Meeting January 14th, 2008

One Saugeen Shores councilor came dangerously close this week to moving the Development Charges debate to a higher level.

Councilor Diane Huber rather meekly mentioned that she was disappointed that the most recent staff report had not suggested a housing unit rate that more closely matched the size of the house.

Even though that kind of thinking may not be common in many of the bylaws across the province, it is gaining ground and does make some sense.

The bigger the house, the higher the Development Charge. Maybe the fee for 4,000 square feet is $8,000 and for 2,000 square feet it's $4,000. Or, like the commercial and industrial rates, it's based on square meters.

 That might encourage a few smaller, more efficient houses and might even contribute to higher density without any really discernable reduction in lifestyle. You might even construe this as Smart Growth. .

It does seem that using Development Charges as planning tools is new and unusual.

Differentiated fees, no fees at all, reduced fees or credits are used to protect heritage buildings and areas, to push for more affordable housing, to encourage redevelopment of vacant or 'brownfield' properties or to stimulate more rental housing (for instance, in the case of temporary workers needed for the Bruce Power projects). 

A few communities, those that have learned the lessons of rapid urban sprawl and the 'hollowing out' of their downtown cores, are exempting well-defined downtown areas, keeping the door open for important and much-needed reinvestment in those cores.

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For example:  Let's say a fantasyland community called Pleasant Shores is on the cusp of having a huge new Wal-Mart store built on its outskirts, contributing greatly to urban sprawl, inefficient expansion of services and putting pressure on all the small businesses in its downtown.

Exempting these downtown businesses from Development Charges -- even if only for a prescribed time -- might allow them to spruce themselves up and get ready for the huge competitive challenges ahead.  Another way to achieve the same thing is to collect the charges, then give the money back as an incentive. But that seems like a waste of time and work.

Or fees may be higher for selected sections of Highway 21, because we all know that, sooner or later, that stretch of road is headed for gridlock and all the associated costs of widening and traffic controls.

Huber's idea may yet show up on the next draft of a staff report or the first draft of the bylaw.

The whole idea of Development Charges is that "growth should pay for growth."

But with a little more thought, maybe council will find a way to pay for  'smart' growth and create a fiscal system that actually helps drive the town's official plan and all those wonderful platitudes about a livable, diverse, happy and healthy community

Wayne MacDonald  January 18, 2008