Residents split on growth fees

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/09/2016 (3046 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeggers are almost evenly split when it comes to the city’s proposed growth fees for new development projects.

A Free Press poll conducted by Probe Research Inc. has found while 49 per cent of Winnipeggers support the fees, which would tack on a charge of $10,168 for every 1,000 square feet of space built, 45 per cent oppose the idea. Another five per cent are unsure.

“It pretty much is an even split,” Probe research associate Mary Agnes Welch said Wednesday.

“There is no consensus that has come with this issue despite Mayor (Brian) Bowman speaking about this for a couple of weeks. Whether these numbers coalesce into a consensus, I don’t know if they will," Welch said.

“I’d be interested in asking this question again in three months.”

Earlier this month, an administrative report came out suggesting the city start charging $10 per square foot on any new homes, $15 per square foot on retail and commercial builds and $22 per square foot on office space.

Bowman has said the fees are needed because new suburbs don’t fully pay for the cost of new roads, sewers and other city amenities such as community centres and parks.

But representatives from the development industry have opposed the fees, saying the city is forgetting new houses and buildings bring new property tax revenue to civic coffers.

The report targeted Jan. 1 as the implementation date for growth fees, but in recent days, after the strong opposition came forward, Bowman has said that date could be changed.

Welch said the survey shows Bowman should be worried about the strong opposition to the fees he faces.

“There are more people strongly opposed to this than strongly support it,” she said, noting while 21 per cent strongly support the idea, 28 per cent strongly oppose it.

Premier Brian Pallister has recently come out against the growth fees, saying he believes the city can find savings from within.

Welch said the poll shows why Pallister is against the fees — the majority of his supporters are giving thumbs down on it.

Fifty-four per cent of people surveyed who identified as intending to vote for the Progressive Conservatives are opposed to growth fees, compared with 34 per cent who are NDP supporters and 43 per cent who intend to vote Liberal.

Welch said it’s interesting young people — traditionally seen as more green and against development — are the age group most opposed to it.

The survey found 50 per cent of people between the ages of 18 and 34 are against it, compared with 43 per cent for people older.

“They still have to buy a house,” Welch said. “Interestingly, it’s the people on the high end of the income scale that are more supportive of the fees.”

Sixty per cent of Winnipeggers earning $100,000 or higher support the growth fees, compared with 50 per cent of people who earn $60,000 to $99,000, 51 per cent who earn $30,000 to $59,000 and 43 per cent who earn under $30,000.

The poll of 600 Winnipeg adults was conducted by telephone between Sept. 13 and Sept. 26. Random dialing ensured both landline and wireless phones were called.

The margin of error for the survey is within plus or minus four with 95 per cent accuracy, but the margin of error rises when you look at each of the survey’s population subgroups.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca