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4- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday March 26, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com Be a Mentor (We need you ­ NOW) Region planning to phase out discounts Continued from page 1 Be a Champion To yourself To your Mentee To your Community To your Industry (Its only 6 hours for 4 months Flexibility to schedule) Call: Antony Vadakkanchery Halton Mentoring Partnership Program (905) 845-9430 ext 8134 Antony.vadakkanchery@sheridaninstitute.ca businesses looking to locate in Halton. The Region's Administration and Finance Committee, which held the meeting, heard this sentiment from a variety of local developers and chambers of commerce during the lengthy session. DCs are levied by municipalities to recover growthrelated costs associated with things like roads needed to service new development. And with a whopping $2.5 billion needed to pay for growth-related infrastructure between now and 2021, the Region is proposing to raise its DCs by thousands of dollars and phase out discounts currently given for industrial development. Carol McDonald of the Milton Chamber of Commerce said the DCs must remain competitive in order to attract development. "The proposed increase will make many businesses turn their backs on Halton," she said. Area developer Isaac Meisels of the Lawrence Avenue Group Ltd., which owns property on Steeles Avenue in Halton Hills, attested to McDonald's comments. He said he had a couple of parties interested in building on the land, but now they're backing out because of the proposed high charges. "It's hurting me very much financially," he said. GRAND March 29 ­ April 5 WEEK OPENING TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR GRAND GRAND OPENING SPECIA AND ND G SP SPEC SPE A SPECIALS SPECIAL GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION March 29, 2008 · 1-3pm Ribbon Cutting Ceremony 2pm Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. Giveaway Prizes ULTRA EGGSHELL LATEX (8090 LINE) ELITE SUEDE LATEX (4000 LINE) $34.99 SALE $45.99 REG $34.99 SALE $47.99 REG BOOMERANG RECYCLED PAINT $15.99 SALE $19.99 REG Add $4 for Dark Colours Add $4 for Dark Colours 275 speers road, oakville 905.337.7272 Oakville Chamber of Commerce executive director John Sawyer said the Region needs incentives for businesses to invest in Halton, not barriers. "We may be saying, `We (Halton) are open for business,' but our actions are sending the opposite message," he said. Burlington Councillor John Taylor, who headed up the Development Charges Advisory Committee, said the costs are slated to go up because "we need more infrastructure to support growth and we don't have any capacity." "If we don't build the infrastructure, there won't be any growth of any kind in the region," he said. Many of the people at the meeting pointed out the community has only had a couple of weeks to review and respond to the Region's substantial documentation on the proposed DC increases. The group pushed for more time to go over the numbers. A final DC proposal was slated to go before the committee in late April. But at its meeting last week, the committee ended up endorsing a motion to adjust the schedule for the DC process, so that staff can respond to the issues raised. A second public meeting on the topic is scheduled for Wednesday, April 30. Staff is expected to give an interim update on the process at the committee's session Wednesday, April 9. The committee also supported a resolution that says the Region recognizes there are issues with the proposed DCs for industrial/office development. The motion notes the municipality is diligently seeking to resolve the issues. Currently the Region charges Halton-wide DCs for roads and general services and area-specific DCs for water and wastewater, with the latter fees being higher in Halton Urban Structure Plan (HUSP) areas where rapid development is taking place, like Milton, north Oakville and the Milton/Halton Hills 401 corridor. But a background study prepared on the topic proposes region-wide DCs for all services. If these kinds of fees were to be implemented, the DC to develop a home in a non-HUSP area could go from $13,677 to $28,303. The price for a retail development in a non-HUSP area could rise from $10.36 per square foot to $18.59 per square foot, while industrial DCs could jump from $7.85 a square foot to $18.59. For more information visit www.halton.ca. Follow the Rainbow Now open at 1036 Speers Road, Oakville (Located between Third and Fourth Line) Extended hours ­ now open Mondays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Weddings ­ we cater to large groups for makeup and hair. The perfect gift ­ a Rainbow Expressions gift certificate. 905-847- www.rainbowexpressions.ca