Essex councillor Larry Snively feels getting rid of development fees entirely in Harrow may just be the incentive needed to kickstart new construction asks for administrative report
Essex councillor Larry Snively says cutting development fees in half in Harrow is not enough.
He wants to reduced down to zero.
Council approved the 50% reduction effective December 29, 2016 through to December 31, 2017.
Snively says residential development is essentially at a standstill and thinks getting rid of fees entirely may just be the incentive needed to kick-start new construction.
The Ward 3 councillor points to Leamington's move to cut back development charges as a successful example.
"I had one developer say to me, 'Why would I develop in Harrow, when I could go to Leamington and get 0% [development fees]?'"
Snively says industrial development is booming in Harrow, but without new homes — business will eventually feel the pain.
"Development in Harrow — residential — helps commercial businesses. For commercial business to survive in Harrow, we need residential growth," says Snively.
According to Snively, there's pent-up demand for new homes in Harrow.
"I have one lender in Harrow that has 60 pre-approvals waiting, waiting for people to buy a house in Harrow, but we haven't got the housing," says Snively.
Snively, who grew up in Harrow, has asked administration to come back with some potential solutions to kick start development in Harrow.
Development charges are paid by developers to help cover the cost of new municipal infrastructure.
Development fees in Ward 4 range from $4,209 for one bedroom apartment builds to nearly $9,494 for a single or semi-detached home.