Burlington developers will see fees lowered for new builds starting July 17.
During a regular meeting of council on Tuesday, city councillors unanimously voted to approve a bylaw that will reduce developers fees by 45 per cent.
Before the decision was reached, however, council discussed pushing the vote to September 17, which could have impacted current and future developments.
“There are other properties that this update could help,” Jamie Tellier, director of community planning said. “I know we heard from one delegate who said they may not proceed, but referring it to September – it could affect others. I would like council to be mindful of that.”
Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward echoed that thought, adding it could delay future developments.
“I won’t support it, why would we hold up applicants that are ready to go now, shovel in the ground, from getting a 45 per cent discount,” Meed Ward said. “I can’t even fathom holding that up, and holding up all the other applicants that are much farther along in the process than this particular application.”
Ward 5 councillor Paul Sharman and Ward 2 councillor Lisa Kearns supported moving the vote to September. All others did not.
Kristina Didiano, a development manager at Emshih Developments Inc, delegated at the meeting, suggesting Burlington has higher fees than surrounding communities even with a 45 per cent reduction in cost.
She said a development that costs $1.8 million in fees is to be reduced to $918,000 – but if Oakville fees were used instead of Burlington it would cost $235,000. Didiano said she is not in favour of the new bylaw.
“There are a few reasons why we are objecting the approval of the fee reduction, and the application fees in general,” Didiano said. “One of the reasons is we felt that there was a lack of consultation, and I understand this was a quick exercise by staff to provide some relief to the fees, but I think even though this was a quick exercise, we should have more consultation.”
Emshih has plans for developments at 901 Guelph Line and 1309 Appleby Line in Burlington.
Didiano added the definition of what constitutes an application had been updated, so buildings more than four stories on a single property, and any building 12 stories or higher on a shared podium would be considered separate when calculating fees.
“In both the original report by Watson & Associates, which was completed in 2021 and approved in 2022, and the current memo with the latest staff report – we felt there wasn’t enough background information and examples or rationale that provided justification for this structure for the city of Burlington,” Didiano said.
Didiano finished her delegation by saying the market prices are through the roof, and every fee adds up, including costs that aren’t typically known by the general public.
All councillors voted in favour of the new bylaw.
