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Cycling conversation started in Oakville Continued from page 10 11 · Wednesday, April 25, 2012 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com In Long Beach, Economides said, the creation of the BFBD has led to economic benefits beyond simply more than people spending money at local businesses, with some 20 bike-related stores opening in the past year. These businesses meet the needs of Long Beach's biking community and also provide jobs and increase the tax base for the city. Ward 2 Town Councillor Pam Damoff said she liked the idea of a BFBD in Oakville. "One of the things that was shared with us is that we are not talking about a lot of money to do these programs," she said. "There are different things, as a municipality, that we can do. There's the infrastructure, which is really important, but the BFBDs that she's pioneered in the (U.S.) have not cost a lot of money. A lot of it is just changing the way people are thinking and giving them incentives to come to the businesses on their bikes." While it was noted Oakville can be a bit snowier than Long Beach, California, Economides said that is no reason a BFBD could not work here. In Copenhagen, Denmark she said, even in heavy snow 80 per cent of the people still ride their bikes. Montreal, which gets more snow than Oakville, has also been listed as one of Canada's most bike-friendly communities. Damoff said the response to Economides' Oakville presentation was positive with those in attendance suggesting things like more secured bike parking to encourage people to bike to major local events like Midnight Madness. Damoff spoke about the possibility of creating bike safe routes stretching from residential areas to nearby business districts. Those who attended the meeting were left with a lot to think about. "I thought this was fabulous. I think probably the most exciting thing for me was putting all these different people in the room to hear what April had to say," said Damoff. "I'm already sold on what she's talking about, but to get the conversation started with all the people that were here and everyone here wants to continue the conversation... I think that's the most exciting thing. I think this is a launching point more than anything." "I'm already sold on what she's talking about, but to get the conversation started with all the people that were here and everyone here wants to continue the conversation... I think that's the most exciting thing. I think this is a launching point more than anything." Ward 2 Councillor Pam Damoff Halton is hiking retail DC rates By Christina Commisso METROLAND WEST MEDIA GROUP Retail development will soon cost more after Regional council approved a hike in development charges (DCs) last week. Beginning September, developers building spaces for clothing stores, restaurants or grocers will pay $24.98 per square-foot for Greenfield development and $22.01 per square-foot with Halton's built boundary in DCs -- a 52 and 76 per cent increase over current charges, respectively. During the DC update process, which began last September, retail developers have spoken against the increase. Non-retail development, such as office and industrial spaces will see a 25 per cent decrease in DCs while charges for homes will see a slight increase. Developers will pay more than $36,000 in DCs for a single family home built in a Greenfield field area, which is about 13 per cent higher than what's currently paid while the fee for houses in the built boundary will increase slightly by three per cent to about $27,000. Changes in Halton's DC bylaw, which is updated every five years, include a nonretail to retail conversion fee for any space that's more than 3,000 square-feet. Also, the new bylaw states high-density development requires a minimum of 130 units per net hectare -- up from the current 100-unit minimum -- or a four or more storey building.