A developer in Quinte West may be getting an extension on their development charge freeze window.
John Kuipers, a developer working on a project at 467 Front Street in Trenton, spoke during Wednesday’s meeting of council. He explained to council how since the property was rezoned to allow for a planned 20 unit condominium building, property taxes shot up 600% under the new designation.
Kuipers asked council to extend the development charge freeze to 48 months, saying that the additional costs combined with an unfavourable housing market are putting the project in danger.
The presentation sparked some discussion among the council. Councillor Karen Sharpe was against revisiting development charges.
“I know this is very challenging but these are the issues we went through with the development charges and all the stuff we worked on,” said Councillor Sharpe. “We’ve had to make some very difficult decisions, and I’m hesitant to start opening this up again.”
Mayor Jim Harrison also voiced some concerns about intervening in the issue.
“We have to remember, unfortunately, that if we do something with Mr. Kuipers’ taxes and how many other people are going to be here tomorrow,” said Mayor Harrison.
After discussion, it was determined that council wasn’t certain what the limits were to it’s authority in the matter, and requested municipal staff investigate the matter, before bringing it back to council at a later date.
