By Robert Washburn
Here is a radical idea: Make developers pay the complete cost of getting municipal approval for their projects.
It will never happen.
But, it should be considered.
Right now, public tax dollars are spent maintaining planning departments. Certainly, there are aspects of planning that are in the general public interest – official plans, secondary plans, bylaws, policies, etc. These documents set out the settlement patterns, rules, guidelines and procedures for applications. This makes sure a house in not built next to factory. It makes sure there are plenty of parks. Also, it makes sure there is a vision for how a municipality should grow. And, it makes sense those things should be publicly funded.
Also, inspections, renovations, individual applications for buildings, permits, historic districts, and so forth also come under the public umbrella. These are all things the general population in a municipal use.
Yet, when it comes to seeking the approval of development projects, the municipality should bill the developer for the hours spent by staff writing reports, ensuring it meets the provincial and local standards. It seems a bit unfair property taxpayers are bilked by these companies.
Sure, there are development charges to cover things like sewers, roads, parks, schools and other services needed by the project.
But, the developer does not pay for the additional doctors or the community care for seniors or day cares or social services, etc. Those social costs are born by the homeowners once they arrive. Yet, in the end, we all pay for the additional costs, not just the new residents.
Others will argue these additional costs charged to developers would simply be passed on to the consumers, creating higher housing costs. True enough. If developers stopped building, it could also have a ripple effect. The housing industry itself could slow down and reduce employment and associated economic stimulus of the construction industry.
And, it would need to be a provincial policy, not a local one. Any municipality adopting such a plan would blackballed by developers.
Still, it seems unfair when developers come from before a municipal council, apply pressure to get exceptions, variances and other dispensation, only to rush off to the Ontario Municipal Board if they do not get their way. And, local taxpayers foot the bill.
Just sayin’.