COLLINS: Why developers get frustrated with government
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DEVELOPERS ARE SOMETIMES their own worst enemies. Most are trustworthy, honorable people who are proud of what they do. Others try to cut every corner they can and wind up making a slipshod product that becomes an eyesore.
But beyond that, governments are just getting stupid with all their efforts to super-protect citizens. So many rules, so many changes without warning, added fees, new standards, so many hoops the developer has to climb through.
Our NDP government is a good example of excess. Almost every week, it is coming out with policies that are poorly thought out and doomed to failure. The latest allows cities to claim fees for things like green areas, day cares, common areas and the like. The government is already forcing developers to provide lower-class housing to meet the affordable housing guidelines, so why would a developer want to make a nice common area or a park when they can be taxed for it? Even some council members are wary of the new rules. Just another example of David Eby’s plan to legislate people to death, trying to solve the province’s problems with haphazard and makeshift solutions that will not survive the test of time.
Developers must be held accountable, but they must not be hamstrung by government regulations that stifle all creativity. We don’t want little boxes, we want homes. They may have to take up less space, but they must be livable and with these new taxes, we are paving the way for more tenements 20 years down the road.
