Battleford shifts development review costs from taxpayers to applicants

An administrative report said development applications are initiated for the benefit of individual property owners or developers and that, when proposals require the town to hire professional consultants or advisers, those costs “should not be borne by the general taxpayer.”

It said recovering those costs helps keep municipal resources available for core services while allowing the town to obtain the expertise needed to properly evaluate complex proposals.

Mayor Ames Leslie said the policy brings Battleford in line with practices already common elsewhere.

“I’ve been having conversations with some developers, and they kind of laugh when I bring up the question because they’re the only community that doesn’t charge on that they do development in,” Leslie said.

“So I don’t think it’s going to be as big of a change for some of our developers because they pay for development across the river or other places they do inside the province.”

Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Landon Chambers acknowledged there are differing views on who should pay for development-related review costs, but said administration believes applicants should bear those expenses.

“It’s a philosophical thing, right? There’s two kind of contrasting points,” Chambers told council.

“The recommendation presented by administration, or the philosophy that all development benefits everybody, therefore it should be paid for by everybody.”

“My recommendation and my personal thoughts are what’s on paper there, but it doesn’t mean that there aren’t other schools of thought around development costs. But in every other municipality I’ve worked on, those costs have been borne by the applicants, not by the municipality.”

Coun. Mark Coleman supported the policy but said applicants should have a clear understanding of any additional costs before proceeding.

“My only question was how we will be upfront with our citizens on the costs,” Coleman said.

Chambers said administration could provide applicants with estimates before work is undertaken, while noting the final cost would depend on the specific circumstances of each application.

Under the policy, the town will recover the cost of professional services required to review complex development proposals through mechanisms such as application fees, development agreements, servicing agreements or direct invoicing, as appropriate.

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Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com

by Kenneth Cheung

Battleford shifts development review costs from taxpayers to applicants

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