01-11-2023, 01:37 AM
Opening up development everywhere all at once would lead to a tragedy of the commons. At some point, the unseen infrastructure (hydro, gas, water and sewer) would need to upgraded to serve the denser development. I could also imagine that this would be a headache for the Cities and/or Region to manage given that many of their major infrastructure plans are on 15-20 year lead times due to costs and resources. Would someone who suddenly wanted to add density where none had been planned for be able to successfully argue that they should be able to build on their property right now rather than waiting for the infrastructure to catch up? The only neighbourhood that saw a rapid denisty surge was Northdale, but even that was relatively compact so I imagine tapping into higher level infrastructure along Albert, University, King and Columbia wasn't as much as a barrier.
If not the development fees, taxing everyone else so a developer can make more profit (sorry..."provide lower housing prices) isn't very palatable. Perhaps one option might to offer a lower deferred property tax rate to recognize the upfront cost of the infrastructure upgrades?
As for Marseille, if they have 800,000 people, that puts them about 200,000 ahead of Waterloo Region. To whom do we pray for the transit upgrades before we too reach 800,000? I note that their tram network includes 32 stations along 15km of track (compared to our 19 stations on 19km of track). (And then there is their 31 metro stations along 22km of track...) And don't get me started about dreaming of their train station or I'll never get to sleep!
If not the development fees, taxing everyone else so a developer can make more profit (sorry..."provide lower housing prices) isn't very palatable. Perhaps one option might to offer a lower deferred property tax rate to recognize the upfront cost of the infrastructure upgrades?
As for Marseille, if they have 800,000 people, that puts them about 200,000 ahead of Waterloo Region. To whom do we pray for the transit upgrades before we too reach 800,000? I note that their tram network includes 32 stations along 15km of track (compared to our 19 stations on 19km of track). (And then there is their 31 metro stations along 22km of track...) And don't get me started about dreaming of their train station or I'll never get to sleep!