Growth fee’s shape murky

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This article was published 21/09/2016 (3055 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It seems certain Winnipeg will charge fees on new development, but what the program looks like and when it will be implemented is unknown.

Mayor Brian Bowman and members of his executive policy committee endured more than two hours of criticism from a dozen development industry representatives Wednesday before they voted unanimously to allow more time for discussion around the controversial administrative report on growth fees. But the powerful committee set no timeline on when the report should be brought back or any specific direction to the administration on how to proceed.

Bowman said Coun. John Orlikow, chairman of council’s property and development committee, has been charged with continuing discussions with the development industry and members of council and expects him to bring back a series of amendments to the report released last week. Bowman would not rule out the fee program being implemented Jan. 1, as originally proposed in the administrative report and draft bylaw.

“I’ve said in private and in public, we’re listening to the concerns that have been raised in the administrative report, and we’ll do what we can do to work as collaboratively as possible,” Bowman told reporters following the meeting. “Coun. Orlikow will continue to discuss with stakeholders, the public and council what would be the appropriate recommendation for EPC’s consideration.”

Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry) said he’ll be meeting with all of council in a closed-door session Friday to discuss how they will proceed and what to do with the proposal.

The uncertainty surrounding the future of the fees troubled the industry representatives. Representatives from residential and non-residential developers spent more than two hours condemning the lack of consultation from city hall and said the administrative report was full of errors and assumptions that could not be supported.

The administrative report proposes a fee structure that would result in a charge of $10,160 for every 1,000 square feet of residential space and add 10 per cent to the cost of commercial and office projects. While the fee is supposed to recover the costs linked to new development, the draft bylaw exempts home renovations and affordable-housing projects from the fees, but the administrative report suggests exemptions may be made for government buildings, public schools and universities and colleges.

Homebuilders and local development associations condemned Bowman as “disingenuous” in his dealings with them during the process and labelled the fee another tax that will slow construction and drive development outside the city.

The industry representatives came from many of the city’s builders, including Genstar, Qualico, Ventura and Harvard Developments, and the Winnipeg Realtors Association.

Dana Downey, with Winnipeg Realtors, said Bowman often speaks of moving the city forward but, “This is not the way to do it.”

The industry appears ready to accept the notion of a fee but only if they and city officials first agree on how it will be applied and agree on a dollar amount. But they said those discussions can’t be concluded with a Jan. 1 deadline.

“Five weeks between now and the end of October does not enable meaningful, thoughtful discussion,” said Mike Moore, president of the Manitoba Home Builders Association.

The anger within the industry toward city hall came out in a brief flash in an exchange between Michael Falk, vice-president at Terracon, a local industrial developer, and EPC member Coun. Brian Mayes. When Mayes (St. Vital) insisted the fee is not a tax, Falk fired back: “Quack, quack, quack — it’s a duck.”

Colin Fast, spokesman for the Winnipeg Construction Association, acknowledged other municipalities have similar fees but noted the fee structure proposed planned for Winnipeg would be the most expensive in the country.

Fast said the first tower in the planned True North Square project would face a development fee of $7.7 million, but if was built in downtown Toronto, the charge would be $350,000.

Coun. Russ Wyatt, a critic of the plan, said the time out called by EPC is a ruse to diffuse criticism of the city’s approach.

“This is just a cat-and-mouse game,” Wyatt (Transcona) said. “The script has already been written by the mayor. This is an attempt by the mayor to cool off industry for a while so they can bring it back with haste.”

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca