Off-site levies assist could boost higher

By Collin Gallant on November 22, 2018.

cgallant@medicinehatnews.com @CollinGallant

A new program to assist developers with infrastructure fees would see taxpayers cover 90 per cent of costs in certain priority areas, and give council the ability to extend the subsidy on particular projects through much of the city.

Off-site levies are collected from developers on new subdivisions to cover the city’s costs of improving utility service and roadways to the areas, but for more than a decade City Hall has picked up about 40 per cent of the tab to help spur economic activity.

That program, known as “Municipal Assist,” needs to be renewed for 2019, and on Wednesday, administrators presented an outline to council’s development and infrastructure committee.

“Over time the program has been moved to be more specific to meet municipal objectives and this is in further response to that,” said commissioner Stan Schwartzenberger, adding later that “we see them as growth areas and we’re willing to invest in them.”

That includes a greater break on development fees generally in the city centre and established commercial corridors — reinvestment is a key proposal in a scheduled update to the municipal development plan next year.

“I think it’s a good compromise and it will give the development community some certainty for several years ahead,” said committee vice-chair Coun. Jim Turner, a long-standing supporter of the program. The proposal will go to council for a final decision in early December.

Planning general manager Kent Snyder told committee Wednesday that suburban residential development creates only about two thirds the amount of new tax revenue as brownfield intensification. For commercial building, the relative benefit of reworking existing areas can be as much as 10 times greater.

That revenue, said Snyder, will be needed as a majority of the city’s pipes, sewers and roadways will reach replacement age over the next 20 years.

“It’s a huge chunk of the city,” said Snyder. “Going forward we’re looking at not replicating that and moving to a much more financially stable model.”

Administrators also say the proposal should be re-examined next year after major planning documents are updated.

Gary Ruff, a spokesperson for the Canadian Homebuilders Association, says he’d like to see changes delayed until the new municipal development plan is complete. It will include some growth forecasts and project timelines that affect off-site calculations.

The current program, approved in 2016, sees a 90 per cent assistance level on “priority zones” that mainly consisted of commercial corridors, with a 40 per cent level elsewhere in the city.

Now, the higher rate would automatically apply in specific “infill areas”, while a 30 per cent assist would be standard in “greenfield areas” and projects in all other areas could be determined on a case-by case basis if certain criteria are met.

Infill areas include most of the downtown core, N. Railway Street, portions of the North Flats and Industrial Avenue, the entire South Flats, northern portion of Dunmore Road as well, addresses on Dunmore Road and 13th Avenue south of Southview Drive, plus Trans-Canada Way

Such greenfield areas would include the Box Springs Business Park, and city owned bareland north of that earmarked for industrial growth, and the city-led project to build the Brier Run community near the Family Leisure Centre. Also on the northside are future phases of Ranchlands and the again stalled plans for Burnside.

Greenfield in the south consists of the privately owned Hamptons community and Southlands and Saamis, where the city land office has interest, as well as former Cimmaron lands, and Canyon Creek near Highway three.

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