On behalf of the Town of…

On behalf of the Town of Lincoln Planning Department, we have provide the following comments on ERO 019-0183. Please refer to the letter attached for full comments.

Participation in future consultation relating to Bill 108:
The proposed regulations do not specify how the Town can provide comment on the CBC formula. The Town has been informed that the Province has established a Technical Working Committee to advise on a potential Community Benefits Charge (CBC) formula. The Town respectfully requests that the Province provide the opportunity for municipalities to review and provide input prior to issuing any regulations pertaining to Bill 108, including the CBC formula.

CBC Formula:
The MMAH has stated that a goal of the CBC formula will be to maintain historic revenues for soft services collected from development charges, density bonusing, and parkland dedication including the alternative rate. It is not clear how current revenues will be maintained, considering land values have little relation to the municipal capital costs which are to be funded through the CBC. The Town’s concerns include land values that vary widely across communities, fluctuate over time, and are not tied to construction cost inflation. It is also unclear how growth-related revenues will be maintained with new development charge exemptions and how growth-related costs resulting from these types of developments will be funded.

CBC By-law implementation date:
The proposed transition period for municipalities to pass a CBC By-law is between January 1, 2020 to January 1, 2021. This implementation date will be difficult to achieve given that a CBC strategy must first be undertaken, the requirements of which have not yet been released. It is anticipated that the extent of study and documentation required as part of the CBC strategy would be comparable to the requirements for developing and implementing a DC by-law, which typically takes 18 months. If so, the proposed timelines would be difficult to achieve.

The Town recently completed a significant undertaking to enact DC By-law No. 2018-93 on October 1, 2018 and which expires on October 1, 2023. The proposed amendments to the Development Charges Act will significantly impact the Town’s financial planning, revenues, collection risks, and the ability to manage cash flow for necessary growth-related infrastructure. Given the magnitude of changes proposed, effective transition will be critical for the Town.

As such, the Town respectfully requests that the Province revise the proposed transition provisions to tie the prescribed enactment date for all proposed amendments to the Development Charges Act to the expiry date of an existing DC by-law. This would allow CBCs to be phased-in at the time of DC By-law expiry and would allow for proper planning and consultation with municipalities to better understand administrative resourcing, tools, and processes required for this major transition.

The proposed regulations are not clear as to when municipalities would cease to have access to the alternative parkland rate with respect to the elimination of Planning Act Sections 42 and 51. The Town requests that the alternative rate not be repealed until a CBC by-law is passed.

The Town also requests transition details for existing cash-in-lieu of parkland reserve funds. Municipalities should be allowed to use existing reserve funds for the scope of services for which the funds were originally collected. Restrictions placed on CBC special accounts, such as spending 60% of the funds each year, should not be applied to reserve funds that have already been collected by municipalities.

Development Charge Deferral:
The proposed definitions of development types that are eligible for DC payment deferrals, such as for rental housing or non-profit housing, do not require the development type to retain their status over any given period of time. As such, these development types could be converted to another use such as condominium developments. The Town requests that the proposed regulations be revised to require retained status over a given period of time, or that municipalities be provided with the ability to impose such requirements.

There are no proposed regulations to protect municipalities against collection losses where development charges are deferred, should the owner default or ownership change. The Town requests that municipal protections be included, such as the ability for municipalities to place notice of unpaid DC installments on title of the land or to restrict the sale of a property until unpaid DC installments are paid.

Development Charge Freeze:
The proposed regulation to freeze DCs at the date of application submission to two years after the date of site plan approval or zoning amendment approval reduces the incentive for developers to work towards timely application approval and building permit issuance. A significant period of time could lapse from the date of submission of an application up to a period of two years after application approval. This will provide uncertainty with respect to municipal revenue collection and may lead landowners to apply for minor zoning amendments in order to freeze the DC amount. The Town requests that the DC rate freeze be reduced to a maximum of two years from the application date, not from the application approval date.

Development Charges Act Clarification of Proposed Regulations:
Further detail is requested on the transition of soft service charges from DCs to a CBC By-law. In some instances, soft service capital projects have been built and require future DC contributions to recover capital costs. Please clarify that the collection of future CBC funds will allow for the full anticipated recovery of these costs.

Planning Act Clarification of Proposed Regulations:
Please clarify additional residential unit regulations. It is uncertain if municipalities are required to authorize additional residential units on residential properties serviced by private on-site sewage and water systems.

The Town has received and is in support of comments provided by Watson & Associates on the proposed Development Charge and Community Benefits Charge Regulations in a letter dated July 25, 2019. The Watson letter is enclosed for your review and consideration.