By Laurie Watt

In a last-minute manoeuvre, some Barrie councillors tried to force waterfront residential developers to pay development charges.

Over the past two weeks, city council granted a series of financial breaks, including ones for charities building long-term care homes, industrial developers, and even one for retail developers such as Osmington building at The Event Centre location.

Council was poised to approve the new development charge bylaw, when Ward 8 Coun. Jerry Moore tried to introduce an amendment to reverse the city’s policy that exempts residential development in the city core and Allandale areas.

“We should have dealt with this last year. It was a mistake and we need to fix it,” said Ward 8 Coun. Jerry Moore.

But councillors didn’t agree, as they saw Moore’s idea as a political ploy to ease criticism they’ve been receiving over the past week about a discount to retail developers, said Ward 7 Coun. John Brassard.

“There really is a principle at play here and that is if you truly believe growth should pay for growth, you don’t in one week give retail developers a break in development fees at a significant expense to residential taxpayers, and then in the next week come out as the champion of the residential taxpayer asking that development fees be collected on a project (Blue Sails) that is in the approval stages, just to save face or throw up a red herring,” he said.

Taxpayers were outraged, he explained, with the breaks for Osmington, $1.2 million discount on the Event Centre plan, and North American Corporation, $2.4 million on the first phase of Park Place.

Both Moore and Brassard agreed the time to review the downtown exemption was last year, and even possibly during the recent development charge bylaw review – which has been taking place over the past couple of months and peaked in the past two weeks.

“There was ample opportunity other than at the last minute during the latest development charge bylaw review to change (downtown residential exemptions) more than we did,” said Brassard.

But Moore argued councillors needed to examine the bottom line – which cost residential taxpayers millions this year, depending on what downtown projects proceed.

“There are at least two future developments that would be affected by this residential change and we’re (losing) $10 million in development charges; that’s very significant,” explained Moore.

Moore’s motion came just before a public meeting on the Blue Sails development – a 590-unit development that includes two Lakeshore Drive towers, townhouses and a low-rise apartment building on Bradford Street.

Moore called the break “corporate welfare”, a move that would save the Blue Simcoe Corporation $8.85 million in development charges.