A decision to update the City of Quinte West’s agreement with the Quinte Home Builders Association (QHBA) regarding deferrals of development charges has been deferred to council’s next meeting.
Councillor Zack Card introduced a notice of motion at the Quinte West council meeting on Wednesday calling for an update to the original deferral agreement signed in 2018.
He said the issue regarding the agreement was brought up during discussions about increasing development charges.
“I saw this as an opportunity, maybe one of the few other levers that we have to support that industry in Quinte West, in terms of their deferral agreement with the city,” Card explained to council.
“So I just brought to council basically a notice of motion. I don’t have to read it, but just basically directing staff to engage with QHBA and update the agreement in light of the passing of time and new industry challenges.”
Card outlined some of the items to look at when it comes to updating the agreement.
“I had a couple of things that I thought might be amenable to them in terms of extending the deferral length from six to 12 months, which I think would help tremendously with larger builds, semi-detached, or some large houses to help cash flow for some of the small builders,” Card said in explaining his motion.
“I also wanted to investigate the feasibility of locking in, when you pull the building permit and the deferral application is accepted, locking in that rate for the 12 months or occupancy, whichever comes first, and investigating the possibility of that happening.”
Council had the option to vote on the motion but a motion to defer was passed after Councillor Don Kuntze said he didn’t have a copy of the notice of motion and expressed that he would like to read the motion before making a decision.
