Centre Wellington council passed a bylaw on April 18 that could see some municipal grants for property owners – and eventually some cash for the township, too.
On April 11, council’s committee of the whole accepted a report from planner Brett Salmon to designate the major downtowns in the township for community improvement areas in order to redevelop brownfield lands. The downtowns are in Fergus and Elora-Salem.
He said in his report that brownfield sites are usually undeveloped or previously developed properties that may be contaminated.
“They are usually, but not exclusively, former industrial or commercial properties that may be underutilized, derelict, or vacant,” Salmon wrote. “Old landfill sites, closed factories, and former gasoline stations are examples of brownfield sites. It has been estimated that there are more than 30,000 brownfield sites in Canada.”
Salmon noted that they are often located in urban centres, near downtown cores or close to rivers and lakes. Further, they are often a concern to municipalities because they can be a source of contamination of soil, air, surface water, and ground water. They can also lead to problems with illegal dumping, property trespass, and vandalism. As well, they often lead to reduced property taxes for municipalities from the vacant land, and because they can lower nearby property values.
Salmon cited a case in Guelph where a former textile mill had an assessed value of $272,426 and paid $4,111 in municipal taxes in 1993. In 2001 after a major clean-up and redevelopment, the property was assessed at $10.18-million and paid $331,807 in property taxes – after being converted to residential use.
Salmon said official plan policies encourage brownfield redevelopment. Those include intensification within the urban boundary, including on brownfield lands, re-use, renovation, and retrofit of existing buildings, and encouragement of advance planning for the re-use of potentially contaminated sites.
Salmon said the problem is such development is uncertain for the property owner because of up-front costs for such things as feasibility studies, environmental studies, risk management, environmental remediation, and the cost of building renovation or demolition, and repair of replacing aging infrastructure.
He said a number of municipalities in the past few years have adopted brownfield strategies that identify incentive programs for property owners to assist in reducing the uncertainty of redevelopment. Those strategies incorporate a brownfields community improvement plan.
That is needed because the Municipal Act generally prohibits municipalities from offering direct or indirect bonuses to any commercial enterprise. Exceptions to that rule must be provided for in other legislation and there is one in the Planning Act for community improvement provisions.
In order to provide incentives for brownfield redevelopment, municipalities must first have a community improvement plan in place.
Salmon’s report said the county and the township already have the right provisions in their official plans related to community improvement, so the next step is to pass a bylaw to designate an area for community improvement.
The brownfield strategy and community improvement plan will summarize the reasons for brownfield redevelopment and give a summary of incentives that are permissible and recommend programs to the township.
Salmon said some incentives used in other municipalities include:
– a grant to offset the cost of preparing feasibility studies;
– a grant to offset the cost of preparing environmental site assessments, remedial action plans, or risk assessments;
– cancellation of municipal property tax increases for a period of time, with the potential to include increases in the education tax;
– a brownfield rehabilitation grant equivalent to all or a portion of the municipal property tax increase created by a redevelopment project for up to ten years after completion; and
– a brownfield fee grant equivalent to municipal fees and charges such as development charges, planning application fees, and building permit fees.
Salmon said in his report that the plan will identify programs and requirements as well as provide specific details for each recommended program. It will also incorporate strategy for municipal leadership in brownfield redevelopment, reviewing municipal support actions, planning approvals, and capacity building and marketing.
He said the township planning staff expects to be able to complete the community improvement plan with existing resources.
He added that based on review and advice from other municipalities, he was recommending that the project area for the brownfield community improvement plan include the serviced urban centres of Fergus and Elora-Salem as set out in the county official plan.
Salmon said that brownfield lands “need a leg up.”
Councillor Walt Visser asked if all urban areas are a brownfield area.
Salmon said they are not, but the project area would take in all of the downtown areas.
The committee approved the plan and the bylaw passed at the council meeting.
