Peel debates DC by-law - Consultation continues

NRU
July 29, 2015
By Leah Wong

After Peel Region council voted to delay making a decision on its final 2015 Development Charges By-law it asked staff to adopt a new approach to engaging local municipalities and the development community for its upcoming by-law update.

Council has approved the process for the 2017 Development Charges By-law, which will explore alternative growth infrastructure financing options, based on population and employment forecasts to 2041.

“When you look at development areas [in Peel] the planning has to be more closely integrated with the infrastructure and the financing,” Watson and Associates Economists associate director Gary Scandlan told committee. “We’re looking [for] closer integration between local municipalities’ planning, regional planning, engineering and financing.”

Watson and Associates Economists has worked with other municipalities, such as Barrie and London, on their development charges by-laws. Scandlan said his firm tries to find ways that municipalities can work with the development industry to undertake plans, build infrastructure and get financing at reasonable levels.

Both Barrie and London have undertaken a joint exploration with the development industry of appropriate infrastructure financing tools and the timing of projects. This has led to agreements on new DC by-laws without objections from the industry. The approach used by these cities includes the development of an asset management plan and key indicators that rank a municipality’s financial health.

This approach, region staff suggests, will allow further engagement of local municipalities in the process of identifying and timing growth. This should strengthen the region’s collaborative approach to sharing growth financing risks among the region, local municipalities and the development community.

One of the challenges the region is facing is the timing of infrastructure. While the region planned its development areas with infrastructure needs in mind, the result is not as it had anticipated. The proposals being submitted reflect regional population and employment targets, however the area municipalities are approving development proposals in advance of the scheduled infrastructure projects.

“We need to make sure the infrastructure and the communication from planning, predominately at a local level, are being coordinated in a consistent fashion,” said Scandlan.

“We want to make sure we’re evolving together.” He said the infrastructure staging and development phasing are becoming more complex as municipalities deal with intensification.

Council delayed making a decision on updating its proposed development charges by-law for 2015 to allow for further consultation with the development industry. A committee comprising nine councillors, regional staff and industry members will meet August 13 and the results will inform council’s decision making at its September meeting. Council has asked that an external party facilitate the committee’s discussion.

“All we need is one opportunity for members of council to sit down with the industry, with an external coordinator to lead the discussion,” said Mississauga councillor Pat Saito. “I think we need to have that opportunity for open, frank discussion.”

In a deputation to council BILD Peel Chapter chair Darren Steedman requested a decision on the by-law be pushed back to the fall. He said he was hopeful a pause, and further discussion, would narrow the gap in recommendations between region staff and the building industry.

Steedman said that while region staff have been working with the industry on the DC by-law update, it would be beneficial for council to play a bigger role in the discussions.

“We think that as we go forward this fall it would be beneficial to have some council members involved in the process to really garner what the conversation is that is happening at the staff level to inform council, staff and the industry of everybody’s collective concern-and that’s affordability,” said Steedman.

Saito also said she thought the recommendations for consultation during the 2017 process would avoid the need for last minute meetings prior to a decision being made. The region has consulted staff from London and Barrie on their recent by-law updates which focused on the development of growth financing tools in consultation with the industry. The main goal in these consultations was a better distribution of growth financing risks between municipalities and developers.

“This has happened every time the development charge by-law [comes up] since I have been on council-and that’s a long time,” said Saito. “Every single time we get these issues coming up a month, or two, before we’re expected to pass the by-law and then we’re trying to play catch-up to have meetings and find out the issues.”

Council decided to pause making a decision despite staff ’s recommendations that the DC by-law update should be approved immediately to avoid lost revenues from DCs. Peel treasurer and corporate finance director David Bingham told council the region could lose around $22-million in revenue if it delays implementing the 2015 update.

“The planning out to 2031 has been done for master servicing and planning,” Bingham told council. “It doesn’t work at the end to rejig the financing on works that are largely underway.”