Bradford West Gwillimbury Council has waived Zoning Bylaw Amendment and Official Plan Amendment (OPA) fees for the Bradford Baptist Church, citing the economic impact of COVID-19 and the good of the community.
Early in December, the Town of BWG received a letter from Bradford Baptist Church, asking for relief from the town’s hefty planning fees.
The church, located at 3224 Sideroad 10, wants to provide space in its basement for the Universal Learning Academy, a school currently located at 152 Holland St. East that offers Russian language education, sports, fitness, cultural and martial arts classes for children ages three to 16.
Relocating to the church would not only provide the school with classroom space but also access to an outdoor play area – something that the academy lacks in its current location.
However, before Bradford Baptist Church can welcome the Universal Learning Academy, it needs an Official Plan and a Zoning By-law Amendment, to change the designation and Zoning from Agricultural (A*9) to Institutional.
According to the town’s fees and charges, the cost of an Official Plan Amendment is $26,225. The Zoning Bylaw Amendment fee is $5,432 for properties under 0.2 hectares in size, $9,835 for all other properties – although there is a 50 percent reduction if the application is filed at the same time as an OPA application.
The letter noted that the church has always been “very committed to being a resource and a partner to the people and organizations of Bradford, to help make this a better community for everyone,” and went on to ask that the fees be waived, noting, “COVID-19 has been very hard on many people and we, like many churches in Bradford, have seen a huge drop in our givings, and therefore cannot afford to pay these fees.”
The recommendation that came to council on Tuesday night called for the fees to be waived.
Chief Administrative Officer Geoff McKnight told councillors that normally when an applicant seeks a reduction in the fees, the amount owing is paid up-front – including $1,600 for a mandatory pre-consultation – and then council is approached to ask for relief.
McKnight said that he had suggested the church board take the “unorthodox” step of writing to council directly “to avoid those upfront fees.” He acknowledged that, if granted, it would result in a loss of planning revenues, totalling approximately $33,000.
“How many other churches aren’t designated Institutional, and shouldn’t they be? I should say ‘Places of Worship,’ because it isn’t just churches,”said Coun. Jonathan Scott, suggesting that the town's Official Plan should be changed for all such places.
The CAO explained that the site-specific A*9 designation was applied in 2010 when legislation was changed to prevent schools and places of worship from being built on agricultural lands.
“It was done uniformly for all places of worship that existed in the rural area on agricultural lands,” McKnight said. Only in a settlement area are places of worship designated as Institutional.
He did not support the suggestion that the town change the designation for all rural places of worship. “I would be hesitant to treat them all the same and amend the Official Plan. Circumstances differ from property to property,” McKnight said.
Coun. Ron Orr agreed, pointing out that rural places of worship and schools are not on municipal services.
While there was general support from council, there were some concerns over setting a precedent.
Coun. Gary Lamb noted that he was always hesitant to waive fees. “If we do it here, what happens there?” Lamb said. “I’m in support of it, but I don’t know what’s going to happen in future.”
Coun. Peter Ferragine agreed, raising issues of fairness, noting that other schools are renting space within properly-zoned commercial areas. He questioned whether waiving the fees would give the school an unfair advantage.
“Why waive the fees for this business? You’ve got to keep everything above board, and everyone has to be treated the same way,” Ferragine said.
“We’re waiving the fees, not the process,” replied Deputy Mayor James Leduc, noting that the Official Plan Amendment and Zoning Bylaw Amendment public processes will still be followed. All that the town is doing, he said, is waiving the fees for the church, in recognition of the impact of the pandemic – and “whatever they charge, it’s not our concern.”
Mayor Rob Keffer supported the recommendation. The proposed partnership between church and Academy is contingent on Council approval, he said. “Chances are it wouldn’t go ahead, if we didn’t waive the fees. It is a significant amount of money – quite an onerous amount of money they would have to put up.”
Council voted to waive the fees.
Coun. Peter Dykie Jr. pointed out that many churches have housed schools over the years. “It’s very expensive for anyone to be able to afford to pay these fees,” Dykie said. “The church is doing it for the community.”
