City mulls reinstating development fees for Centretown

[c_speed3108]

City mulls reinstating development fees for Centretown

Last Updated: Wednesday, October 1, 2008 | 12:51 PM ET Comments0Recommend0
CBC News

Builders who erect new condo towers and other homes in downtown Ottawa may once again be asked to pay the same fees as developers in the suburbs.

New homes built in the Centretown neighbourhood have been exempt from development fees for more than a decade as part of the city's effort to encourage new development and boost urban density in its core. But municipal officials are now holding consultations with stakeholders to determine whether they should end the exemption.

The development charges, which range from $2,443 to $19,991 per residential unit, depending on its size and location, are intended to help the city pay for part of the cost of new infrastructure and the expansion of municipal services to support the growth. The fees are lower in rural and urban areas compared to suburban areas. Commercial and industrial developments pay even lower fees.

Diane Holmes, the councillor for the ward that includes Centretown, said the fee exemption for new downtown homes was introduced at a time when people were reluctant to move into the city from the suburbs.

"The waiving of them has been very helpful," she said, adding that there has been a spurt in downtown development over the past decade. "But I now feel it is no longer necessary to subsidize development."

She added that incentives such as rising gas prices have boosted people's interest in living closer to where they work.

John Herbert, executive director of the Greater Ottawa Homebuilders Association, agrees there is no longer a need to waive the development fee downtown.

He said it's time the playing field was levelled between downtown and suburban developers.

"There is a lot of infrastructure downtown that has to be replaced and I don't think that suburban homebuyers should be the ones financing it," he said Wednesday.

Keep waiver: downtown developer

Doug Casey, president of Charlesfort Developments, disagrees. Casey, who builds condominium towers downtown and is not a member of the homebuilders association, said reinstating the fee runs counter to the city's policy of "smart growth" and increasing downtown density.

He believes development charges downtown would end up subsidizing suburban services.

"There are already services in place [downtown]," he said Wednesday. "We're not putting in new pipe."

Casey added that he faces costs that suburban developers don't. For example, space restrictions force him to pay $24,000 a month in fees to rent the sidewalk during construction of his Hudson Park development at Lisgar and Kent Streets, he said.

This would be a good move in my opinion. The fee waver dates back to a time when no one wanted downtown - now many seem to.

And while downtown appears to already have infrastructure much of it is (over)due for replacement and upgrades. This would help pay for it.

The comments by the guy from Charlesfort just kill me. A couple of grand on the type of condos he is building is not even going to make a noticeable difference in price. And wrt to his comment about the sidewalk: No one is forcing them to build right up against the street. If the builders in the suburbs built right up to the street they would pay. The reason they don't is they leave easements.

[ottawatraffic]

Development charges are not a couple of grand. closer to $10k on apartments and $20K on suburban houses

[c_speed3108]

Originally Posted by ottawatraffic

Development charges are not a couple of grand. closer to $10k on apartments and $20K on suburban houses

It depends on the size of the units and such, but in any case most of the units these guys sell cost over 350k and many are well over the 400k boundary.

Looking at much of their past work such as the Gardens the resale prices are well of 500 and 600k.

Surely out of that the city can have 10 grand to upgrade a few sewers.

$10000 on $350000 is not even a 3 percent difference in price. I can't see that making or breaking a sale.

[waterloowarrior]

Originally Posted by c_speed3108

The comments by the guy from Charlesfort just kill me. A couple of grand on the type of condos he is building is not even going to make a noticeable difference in price. And wrt to his comment about the sidewalk: No one is forcing them to build right up against the street. If the builders in the suburbs built right up to the street they would pay. The reason they don't is they leave easements.

We want an urban feeling downtown not a suburban downtown with 10 m setbacks.. when a suburban developer does preparatory work they are working on a large parcel that they own, later on as they are finishing construction they have vehicles from contractors and workers all over the street as the traffic isn't busy. It's a totally different situation.

[AuxTown]

The city should continue to encourage development in the downtown core because it is good for everyone. The builders get their discount, buyers don't get hit with that 3%+ increase, and it is much cheaper for the city to have people living in dense areas, sharing utilities, using public transit, and not demanding snow removal for their street with 5 houses on it. This is just another situation where suburban developers are whining and crying so that they can make the most money possible from their poorly-planned neighbourhoods of McMansions, cookie-cutter houses, and Walmarts. They'll probably get their way though, knowing this city.

[ottawatraffic]

Originally Posted by c_speed3108

It depends on the size of the units and such, but in any case most of the units these guys sell cost over 350k and many are well over the 400k boundary.

Looking at much of their past work such as the Gardens the resale prices are well of 500 and 600k.

Surely out of that the city can have 10 grand to upgrade a few sewers.

$10000 on $350000 is not even a 3 percent difference in price. I can't see that making or breaking a sale.

The developer does not end up paying, the end user will. Higher prices will continue to push people away form the core.

The fact of the matter is Centretown's population has declined over the past 30 years and there has been very little development over the past few years in the exempt area. Most of the residential population has been added in other districts.

Not only will the city stop development and not see development charges from centretown, but now they will lose new property tax opportunities.

[Mille Sabords]

Originally Posted by c_speed3108

And wrt to his comment about the sidewalk: No one is forcing them to build right up against the street. If the builders in the suburbs built right up to the street they would pay. The reason they don't is they leave easements.

In some cases they are forced to build up to the street and so they should be, to avoid creating the type of dead space that even the greenest grass can't liven up. In a downtown core it should be concrete-to-concrete, sidewalk-to-building, period. Maybe if they had their easements in a back lane in the suburbs, they also could build closer to the sidewalk and therefore give some soul to those streets of garages. Easements covered in grass are just a cheap and lazy way out of creating urbanity.