by Dave Preston | Peachland News
March 24, 2011
The District of Peachland will forge on with plans to start charging developers for future public amenities even though several council members seem reluctant to do so.
Plans are to collect $17.8 million from developers over about the next 20 years to help build everything from a new fire hall to a trail system.
The Ponderosa/Pincushion Ridge development has already agreed to pay nearly $4.2 million on its own toward future amenities. It was the successful negotiation with developer Treegroup that spurned the district into coming up with an amenity contribution policy.
“I have a problem with these amenities,” said Coun. Schierbeck on Tuesday. “We have a pipe dream of what we want in 20 years.”
The current plan, drawn up by district staff, would see developers pay $1,877 per residential unit constructed and $26.80 per square metre of non-residential construction.
Schierbeck raised the issue at Tuesday’s Committee of the Whole meeting that the policy is considered voluntary.
“This is a voluntary amenity,” said Schierbeck. “What if they say no?”
Mayor Keith Fielding responded that council can manage that situation. “It could delay their application as we talk to them.”
Coun. Vern Moberg expressed concern that in the current tough economic times it’s not a good idea to tag another $1,877 onto the price of every new house.
“$1,000 per door would be maximum,” said Moberg.
Schierbeck said he would prefer to see public amenity contributions negotiated with individual developers, rather than having a policy that lays out what a developer must pay.
Council voted in favour of first and second readings of an Official Community Plan amendment that would allow for the new policy. A public hearing will be held in the future.
- Excited
- Informed
- Amused
- Bored
- Sad
- Angry
“This is a voluntary amenity,” said Schierbeck. “What if they say no?”
Mayor Keith Fielding responded that council can manage that situation. “It could delay their application as we talk to them.”
This is bullsh*t. There is no way I will support this if I am elected to council. I will not have our town engage in dirty tricks and racketeering. How can we expect staff to be honest if (Removed: Admin. Watch what you say.).
Dear lord, the legal ramification must be huge – Could someone can submit a multi-million dollar proposal, refuse to pay the protection money, get it delayed long enough that it’s no longer viable and then sue the town for the entire amount of the project? Would the staffers be risking jail time?
Shame on you Mr. Fielding, shame on you. Perhaps we need to a vote of no confidence in you?
It’s good to see the general public talking about the perceived “voluntary” support of getting things done around here.
I beleive that this muscle-push-power (otherwise known as a form of “bulling”) has been going on for the last few years. Many of the projects that have been considered, —have been walked away from because of the underhanded tactics of the powers that be.
Yes, it is often talked about, the way — that to get something “pushed through” to the (even) starting point!; is to show your money for a part of the interstructure of this town.
We have to talk about this subject.
We also need to consider who the town needs as an employee (as Pentiction & Summerland has done), and where we can cut un-necessary costs that have got the staff wanting to charge more “tagged on extra” costs to every project. Are their paycheques becoming a concern to them?
Not to mention the developments that have already been approved have made improvements that benefit the rest of us in such ways as extending sewer to communities that wouldn’t have it yet if not for a developer “bringing” it by. When we first started with sewer in Peachland, all of peachland was on the hook for the improvement, it seems now nothing will get done unless a developer is footing the bill and has to take the round-about way to get sewer to his development so areas of Peachland get serviced.
Demanding a “voluntary’ payment “or else” is nothing but extortion
The same slippery answer was given at the amenity meeting and I couldn’t believe my ears. It sounded like extortion to me. I suggested that perhaps a donation could be made to the town in the form of negotiated improvements, tangible contributions.
I suggested that New Monaco could pay for the extension of the beachfront walkway to Davis Cove as their amenity contribution. This extension would also benefit New Monaco by bringing pedestrian traffic closer to that development, especially if it included a pedestrian overpass over highway 97 at McKay Lane.
It didn’t seem (to myself) like the town was interested in discussing any alternatives to their amenity fee.
Makes them look unimaginative, at best.
\
“This is a voluntary amenity,” said Schierbeck. “What if they say no?”
Mayor Keith Fielding responded that council can manage that situation. “It could delay their application as we talk to them.”
This is a very slippery slope to take and I for one disagree with the comments of our mayor. Strong-arming people into “volunteering” to pay large sums of money so their development will move along just seems wrong to me. It can be looked at in two different ways.
If you don’t pay us, we wont let your development go through, or the other way, I’m paying you this large chunk of change, so you better let my development go through , or the other extreme, I will give you this excessively large “voluntary” donation, so you can pull strings, fast-track me, and let a couple things side that I might have had to do otherwise.
All in all it just looks crooked to demand a “voluntary” sum of money for anything or to Quote the Mayor
“It could delay their application as we talk to them.”