Massive Fee Increase for Rezoning at the City of Winnipeg Discourages Urban Infill Housing Development.

In Canada, in 2014, there were 391,000 jobs in housing. In that same year there were 189,329 housing starts. This translates to 2 jobs in the housing industry per housing start. The housing industry is one of the largest employers in Canada.  Housing as an industry is comprised of large corporations and small independent developers. The smaller independent developers collectively are responsible for a significant percentage of the development of housing in this country. A good number of these types of developers are actively engaged in infill development. This segment of the industry is responsible for creating jobs and supporting the local economy.  

I assert that general consensus from municipalities, planners, and the building and design industry is that infill housing development can be one of the effective strategies in developing sustainable cities. By developing infill properties the number of units on a site is often increased. Developing higher densities in established neighbourhoods helps stem urban sprawl and reduces green field development. Existing infrastructure is used more efficiently. Core area residents are much more likely to walk, use the transit system or bike to work reducing auto-mobile traffic.

These revitalized properties increase the tax base of older neighbourhoods. New developments in older neighbourhoods replace ageing sub-standard housing stock with new much needed housing. Cities and municipalities continually talk about encouraging development in core areas and within historic neighbourhoods often offering tax incentives to spur such development.

Much of this urban densification can be achieved by the development of small projects on individual lots in older neighbourhoods, such as the six unit development illustrated here.

These types of projects tend to be completed by small developers or even one time developers who develop a larger project as a part of their own home build and investment plan. For a small developer the risk of buying a property and rezoning it to suit an increased number of units on the site can be great. Given that the City of Winnipeg has recently increased the fees for the rezoning of such properties the risk has become even greater.

The City of Winnipeg as of April 1, 2016 has increased the base application fee for the rezoning of a property from $1,484 to $11,250. This is not a typo. The fee has in fact increased 7 ½ times. This fee would apply to the simple rezoning of a 50’ x 100’ lot in an existing neighbourhood or a 500’x 500’ lot in a greenfield development. There is a nominal fee to adjust for the size of the lot based on acreage; however the base fee remains the same. The rezoning of a large tract of land from RR to RMF for a residential development of 100 units would translate to a mere cost of $112.50 per unit. To rezone a property from R1 to R2, for a development of 2-6 residential units, would translate to $1875 to $5625 per unit. This fee increase clearly favours large scale green field development and discourages urban infill development.

My expectation of local government is that they be committed to replacing housing stock in ageing neighbourhoods. Private development is essential to cost effectively produce this much needed housing stock. Administration must create an environment that is conducive to small developers participating in the revitalization of older neighbourhoods and must provide incentive for small developers and first time developers to be active in this industry.