Town of Innisfil staff have been tasked with finding out if the town can help a property owner without setting a potentially significant precedent.
Tim Regis gave a deputation to council at the Sept. 13 meeting looking for more time to pay the development charges owed on his Belle Ewart property, located at 1014 Emily St.
Regis and Sally Ryan took possession of the property in 2018, he told councillors, with the existing structure demolished that July after it was deemed uninhabitable. As part of the purchase agreement, all development charges were waived for five years from the demolition date.
“We got as far as we could in the process when the pandemic occurred, which made it virtually impossible to carry on the process,” Regis said.
Architectural drawings are completed for the new structure that Regis and Ryan plan to build, but he lamented the difficulty in securing skilled workers – or even obtaining quotes – to complete the project during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Regis's request, which is to extend the window to pay development charges to 2025, is not as simple as it may seem, councillors were told. At its base, staff weren’t sure if such a move was allowed under the provincial Development Charges Act.
“There are specific provisions within the Act that allow, from the time of a demolition permit being issued, an exemption to the development charges for a period of five years,” said Andria Leigh, the town's director of planning and growth. “The legislation is very clear on that five-year requirement, so we would have to look at other components of the legislation to see if there's any flexibility.”
The landowner's plight had empathy from councillors around the table, including Coun. Alex Waters, who said he experienced similar struggles trying to build his own cottage in a different municipality, and Coun. Grace Constantine, who moved the motion directing staff to officially investigate the options in this situation.
Coun. Kevin Eisses also felt for Regis, but had a great overarching concern.
“I do sympathize with Mr. Regis as well, but I’m just wondering is there any concern about others that would come forward to ask for the same thing?” Eisses asked staff.
“Yes, I think this would be a bit of a precedent,” said Mike Melinyshyn, Innisfil's chief financial officer and director of corporate services and innovation.
Just what that could mean for how the town needs to respond to future requests will be part of the investigation staff undertakes, he added.
A staff recommendation on the overarching issue of extending waived development charge payments beyond the legislated five-year window will be provided to council at a later date. Once that comes down, a decision on Regis’s request will follow.