Expect to see changes to city’s growth fee proposal: planning director

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/09/2016 (3340 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The director of Winnipeg’s planning department is predicting the city’s proposed growth fee strategy will undergo some amendment over the coming weeks to reflect community concerns and city hall’s own planning objectives.

John Kiernan told reporters Tuesday that he expects Mayor Bowman and members of his executive policy committee will direct the administration to carry out consultations with the development community and other interested groups before bringing a final version to council for adoption.

“We’re very open and hopeful, based on (Wednesday’s) discussion at EPC and a recommendation from there, that there will be additional consultation,” Kiernan said following a meeting of the property and development committee. “We think the growth fee plan can be amended…that would be a public service recommendation.”

The civic administration had released a report on Friday that proposed a series of fees be charged to new residential and non-residential development, with the revenue directed to pay for growth-related civic infrastructure projects. The fee structure would impose a charge of $10,160 for every 1,000 square foot of residential space and add 10 per cent to the cost of commercial and office projects. The only exemptions cited in the draft bylaw are for affordable housing and home renovations, although the administrative report suggests council could also exempt government buildings, public schools and universities and colleges.

The new fee would apply to all areas of the city, including the downtown, which the planning department and some others suggested should be exempt from the fees or eligible for a discount. However, the report recommends that for conversion of existing structures, the fee only be applied to that portion of the project that exceeds the square footage of the original structure or, for residential purposes, only on the number of units in addition to what was originally on site.

The report is on the agenda of Wednesday’s executive policy committee meeting and it could be forwarded to council for debate at its Sept. 28 meeting but Bowman said Friday that he expects the report will be laid over to allow for more community consultations.

Kiernan would not say what changes he expected to see in the final fee report but CBC reported last month that Kiernan expected the study by private consulting firm Hemson Consulting, which wrote the study that the administrative report is based on, would have suggested a policy that reflects how council wants to see the city develop.

Kiernan did say he expects the revisions to deal with such issues as whether the fee amounts are appropriate, how those amounts impact the development industry, and whether there will be a phase-in period.

“The current report reflects the Hemson study and that’s a broad-brush approach,” Kiernan said. “We think there is still the opportunity for having a more nuanced approach and alignment.”

The administration report proposed to have new new fee structure in place for Jan. 1, and it included a draft bylaw to support the initiative.

Kiernan said he wouldn’t speculate when a final report will be released but added he expects to see “several weeks of pause.”

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca