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OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, April 3, 2009 · 14 Region may amend development charge bylaw By Tim Foran METROLAND WEST MEDIA GROUP After a fractious seven-hour debate, one 86year-old Oakville Councillor Fred Oliver described as "the most interesting" he's seen in his 23 years in Regional chambers, Halton council unanimously agreed Wednesday to a measure to support a struggling development industry but with no impact to property taxpayers. The approved resolution directs staff to investigate by June an amendment to the Region's development charges (DC) bylaw that gives council the option to allow for quarterly -- as opposed to annual -- indexing of DCs. Indexing, a common portion of municipal DC by-laws, allows for the municipality to raise DC rates by the amount of inflation as reported in the construction price index by Statistics Canada. The index, which kicked in yesterday, is based on 2008 figures and increases development charges by 9.1 per cent, something the industry says is unrealistic in current conditions. However, though the industry will pay rates for the next three months that might not truly reflect current construction prices, a quarterly NO PAYMENT/NO INTEREST TER2010 TERES ER UNTIL E S 3 DAYS ONLY! ...WE WILL MATCH THE GOVT. SPONSORED HOME RENOVATION TAX CREDIT CONSERVE ENERGY WITH ® O.A.C. Ends Sun. April 5, 2009 Hardwood, Laminate, Carpet, Tiles, Vinyl, Oak Staircases & more! O S HONEYCOMB SHADES DUETTE ARCHITELLA TM $300 Save up to in Manufacturer's Rebates AND ENTER TO WIN GAS FOR AYEAR [Max. value $5,000 CDN] ** Now Introducing Ask us for details. **Contest runs from January 1st 2009 to April 30th, 2009. No purchase necessary. Correct answer required to skill testing question. See complete Prize, eligibility and Contest details in the Official Rules at any participating Canadian Hunter Douglas dealer or www.hunterdouglas.ca SHOP AT HOME Blinds & Shutters index starting in June would allow the rates to be adjusted to a more recent and accurate figure, said Oakville Mayor Rob Burton, who crafted the motion along with Burlington Councillor John Taylor. Burton said more significant assistance to the development industry is included in the second portion of the resolution endorsed by council. That calls for Regional staff to create an updated infrastructure financing plan that could eliminate the necessity for current residential developers to provide interest-free loans to Halton Region, to be paid by future developers, in the form of an up-front cash flow charge totalling about $12,000 per new home, according to Burlington Councillor John Taylor. Those charges are required in the Region's current infrastructure financing plan approved by council last fall when staff felt the cash assistance was needed to cover $2.5 billion in necessary capital projects to accommodate growth to 2021, much of which would have had to be completed in the next five years. However, since that plan was passed, the economic recession has resulted in a slow down in building in Halton, and as of January only about half of the developers expected to request what are called allocations, essentially the extension of sewer and water pipes to their land, have actually asked for them from the Region. Therefore, it's possible the up front charges wouldn't be needed if infrastructure growth could also slow down, said Regional staff. The debate originated from a Regional committee's recommendation to suspend temporarily the 9.1 per cent indexing of development charges (DC) until October. A litany of representatives from Halton's building industry spoke to council asking them to pass the measure, noting the amount of layoffs they have enacted at their companies due to the recession. However, Oakville representatives Burton and councillors Tom Adams and Allan Elgar expressed concern that would equate to welfare, or a subsidy, of the development industry. Early this week, going by what they stated was communication given to them by Regional staff, Oakville councillors Tom Adams and Allan Elgar sent out emails to their constituents telling them by not indexing, the Region was facing a $3.3 million shortfall, which would have to be paid for by existing taxpayers through a 1.6 per cent increase in property taxes. About 500 responses from angry constituents were received, said Regional Chair Gary Carr, who was copied on the emails. Halton Hills Regional Councillor Jane Fogal said the information in the email simply wasn't true and a tax increase was not guaranteed. Colleague Clark Somerville accused the Oakville councillors of misleading the public through wrongly worded emails. "What was sent out in an email is like saying, `Do you still beat your dog?' Somerville said. "There isn't anybody who will respond in favour to the way it was worded." If council had passed the resolution to postpone indexing, it would have had no effect on property taxpayers, agreed Carr. According to the DC Act, a growth-related project such as a new road or water treatment plant expansion is paid in full through development charges. If the Region ever faces a shortfall in the amount of money it collects from developers and the actual project cost, that debt-plusinterest is paid back by future developers when DC rates are set in the future, development lawyer Lynda Townsend said yesterday. "I couldn't see how any shortfall would be picked up by the property taxpayer," Townsend said, adding the situation is the same if a municipality foregoes indexing. Burlington Mayor Cam Jackson, whose municipal council will vote on a proposal to not index its own city-wide development charges for a few months as it prepares its new DC by-law at its next meeting, agreed with Townsend's description and said yesterday there's no risk to taxpayers of not indexing. "I would not have sent out an email like that," Jackson said. "Because in my view it was not accurately portraying how DCs work." However, regional staff's assessment is different than that of Jackson and Townsend, though it said a tax increase is not the inevitable result. "If the Region decided not to collect the indexing amount, any shortfall should be funded from other sources, such as taxes," said Jane MacCaskill, Halton's Commissioner of Corporate Services. "However, we would work to minimize the impact on taxpayers through adjustments in the capital program." Burton said he had no problem with the information sent out by Adams and Elgar. INFORMATION NIGHT for École Forest Trail Public School parents/guardians Parents/guardians of current and future École Forest Trail Public School students are invited to attend an information meeting to learn about changes in the delivery of French Immersion programming in Ward 4 Oakville. The meeting will be held on: Energy efficiency meets f c design innovation. Duette® ArchitellaTM shades transform the way your home looks and feels. The patented cell-within-a-cell design significantly reduces heat loss through the window and can cut heat loss by up to 50%* or more _ and that means lower heating costs. LIFETIME GUARANTEE, OF COURSE. * Savings based on inside-mounted shades. Savings vary with such factors as specific Architella fabric, window R-value, and climate. CALL 905.874.8800 Extraordinary window fashions, exclusively yours. Tuesday, April 7, 2009 from 7-9 p.m. École Forest Trail Public School (gymnasium) 1406 Pine Glen Road, Oakville Changes regarding program delivery and accommodation are the result of a Board motion passed at the March 25, 2009 meeting of the Halton District School Board. The motion can be read at www.hdsb.ca Board staff will provide information and answer questions regarding the implementation of these changes. Parents who have a specific question to be addressed at this meeting, should submit their question in writing, to the École Forest Trail Public School main office by Monday, April 6, 2009 at 4 p.m. Mississauga/Oakville 3105 Dundas St. W., Unit 103 (Mandarin Plaza, Hwy. 403 & Dundas) Mississauga 785 Britannia Rd. W. 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