Last week at the York Region Council Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting, a report was presented regarding the funding of the Yonge North Subway extension. There is no question this is a critical piece of needed infrastructure for the Region in the future. There were 3 options presented by staff; a uniform DC charge across the region (recommended by staff), Two Zones- currently municipalities serviced and not serviced by rapid transit, and a base rate surcharge for the Major Transit Station Areas in the future subway corridor. You can see the slide presentation HERE.
You can see from the the image, I voted against the recommended motion in the COW meeting. With little to no transit at all provided by York Region in Whitchurch-Stouffville, I cannot and will not support the full uniform charge on future residents of Whitchurch-Stouffville. I understand that there will be inherent complexities created on any other method other than a uniform charge, but I feel there is a principle of fairness required. I am also confident in the very smart and dedicated regional finance staff that they can figure it out! The motion carried. This will come back for Regional Council for final approval in 2 weeks.
York Region News wrote about it last Friday. The Article is below.
‘Slippery slope’ if homes close to stations must pay more, Scarpitti says Kim Zarzour
YorkRegion.com
Friday, February 11, 2022
Who should bear the brunt of costs to extend the Yonge subway?
Developers?
Property owners closest to the route?
Or should everyone in York Region share the cost equally?
The Region of York is considering the best approach to help pay its share of the subway — about $1.12 million of the estimated $5.6 billion total project cost.
Development charges are a common way to help pay for growth-related infrastructure, and the region is contemplating three possible rate structures: a uniform rate that would charge the same rate across the region; two-zone rates, with higher development charges applied to the zone serviced by rapid transit; or a base rate with additional surcharges applied to developments within walking distance to the stations.
The three choices were presented to regional councillors on Feb. 10. A majority voted in favour of the first option — a uniform charge across the region at the cost of about $5,800 per average single or semi-detached dwelling, about 0.4 per cent of the cost.
But the decision was met with a lot of debate.
Newmarket Mayor John Taylor argued development could help the infrastructure.
“I always thought the idea was that often, through this kind of intensification, we could capture the costs for the subway or a portion of the subway specifically by those benefiting from it. And I don’t mean the residents. The people who own land in this area will see a dramatic increase in the value of their land,” he said.
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“Everybody is not getting a subway within a kilometre or their condominium unit or their land they owned as a developer.”
Markham regional councillor Jim Jones said developers in transit-oriented communities are already paying more.
“The province is extracting money from the developers to help pay for the subway, too,” he said.
Whitchurch-Stouffville Mayor Ian Lovatt said it’s still unclear how much the province will charge developers.
“Ultimately, all of these fees get passed on to the home purchaser.”
Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti said he supports a uniform rate paid by all because costs for infrastructure are usually shared across the region.
“If we start dividing it up … we’re going down a pretty slippery slope,” he said.
“If it’s roads, if it’s police headquarters or training centre, if it’s a marina or recycling depot, whatever the case may be, those costs are shared by all …. The Spadina subway was funded in the same way.”
Whether you live near the route or not, the subway will benefit everyone in York Region, Newmarket deputy mayor Tom Vegh said.
He pointed to the new multi-use path being built on Mulock that the town and region are both paying for, even though the primary users and beneficiaries will be Newmarket residents.
“The success of York Region is because we have a common vision, and we’re all in this together.”
Taylor and Richmond Hill regional councillor Carmine Perrelli urged council to allow the public to weigh in on the matter.
“The development industry ample opportunity to have meaningful input into this already,” Taylor said. “I hope public has that same option,” Taylor said.
Councillors voted to endorse in principle a uniform, region wide development charge rate structure to recover the growth-related costs in the 2022 York Region Development Charges Bylaw Background Study.
A public meeting to discuss the background study is expected in March.
