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~ ucational B NEWS SPRINGRIDGE OWNER FRUSTRATED OVER $100,000 DEVELOPMENT CHARGES § TOWN APPLIES FEES T0 FIVE BUILDINGS ON PROPERTY BAMBANG SADEWO bsadewo@metroland.com There's no lack of sup- port shown by council members to a Milton farm- er who was on the hook for over $100,000 in develop- ment fees, though their hands were tied due to the strict interpretation of the development charge by- laws. At the heart of the com- plaint filed by Springridge ~ Farm owner John Hughes were five previously con- structed buildings in the farm, including a shade structure and a main ad- mission hut, that Town staff deemed feature a re- tail component and as such - they weren't granted agri- cultural and seasonal structure exemptions. "This is a really discour- aging cost for our family," said Hughes at the Nov. 18 council meeting, noting that the buildings - five of 14 submitted for permit ap- provals to the town in June - have been classified by the Niagara Escarpment Com- mission as agricultural, agritourism or a combina- tion of the two. Calling them as "agri- cultural supporting build- ings" that are important to. make their farm business viable, Hughes was hoping council members would re- consider and overturn staff's recommendation on the charges. Development charges are fees collected by mu- nicipalities to fund various municipal services. In the case of Sprin- gridge Farm, the Town's share of the collected fee was over $17,000 and the ed- portion was roughly $3,500, which will be remitted to the local school boards. The rest will go to the region. As explained by the Town's legal expert Paul DeMelo of Kagan Shastri LLP, who fielded a question from Mayor Gord Krantz on the discretion that coun- cil may have in reducing the rate or waiving the fee, the bylaws must be applied consistently. "This is a really discouraging cost for our family." -- Springridge Farm owner-John Hughes "There is no discretion in the application of the by- laws," 'he said. "There's no provision to allow for the waiving of fees." DeMelo made similar points earlier in the meet- 'ing, saying that there is no jurisdiction to amend the * bylaws but rather to deter- mine whether or not they have been properly applied and interpreted. In his assessment, staff's recommendation is the. proper interpretation of the bylaws. Coun. Kristina Tesser Derksen said she believes "there's a fundamental is- Gracie Postma/Torstair ; Springridge Farm is located at 7256 Bell School Line in Milton. sue with the bylaws. "I can't see how it could! be contemplated within the: spirit of the legislation that you'd be paying those types; of charges for those types of structures," she said, adding that Milton is a spe- cial place for agriculture. "We want to preserve these family farms. We want to preserve that type of business, but they have to be allowed to adapt and have to have the flexibility § and certainty to adapt to a changing service model that they have to provide to the public in order to stay viable," she said. According to the Town's chief financial officer, Glen Cowan, the maximum life cycle of a bylaw is five years. "So, we will be back ei- ther next year or the year after to update (the devel- opment charge bylaws)," he said. In the meantime, Coun. Colin Best put forth a mo- tion, which was then ap- proyed by council, to defer the matter and direct Town staff to come back with rec- ommendation on how to address the development charges payable. "We don't want to set a bad precedent. But we want to do the right thing," he said. LE ERT Wl ELA ag A For over 60 years Gorrud's has prided itself on delivering quality vehicles to our customers. Many of these vehicles are purchased from local . residents who maintain their vehicles to the very . high SCULEIE Gorrud's was built on. If your vehicle is in nice condition a er Pas to LER lA TRE Be Tale Bo prepared to pay a premium for it whether you buy CR from us or not. TURE GT EAR TATE TE LULL ie a Tupbinil | guaranteed appraisal. -- y oP ; | § i | \ hYi5a 1 pAuto, INDUSTRY LEADING | of te Ny | Simdid wien romn: Rm LOYALTY PROGRAM |} sinicrion § | GOMKUDS AUT 8 A PROUD mee. MYAUtORewards.ca |» | 0SI0C HOSPITAL SGUNDATIO \ ! Sly i 8 COMMUNITY MEALTHCAKS Re 54 6102'S Jaquiacaq 'Aepsiny) | uoidweyd ueipeues wou | g Wo2°'uo}jeyapisul