The family that leases a piece of city-owned property behind Smith's Market on Lasalle Boulevard wants to know why the costs have doubled.
Michael Rosset asked the question Monday at the city's planning committee, where he was applying to extend a temporary use bylaw that allows Smith's to use the property.
The land is on a closed portion of Chapman Street, an area zoned for residential use. It has been leased to the Rossets since 1998, and has come back to planning in 2001, 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2013. Smith's initially used the property to handle overflow parking, but now uses it for employee parking and delivery trucks.
When Rosset applied for a renewal this time around, however, he was told the leasing costs were increasing to $7,600, double what it was before. And he was told he would have to pay the full $1,200 processing fee, part of which was waived in the past because the application was basically “a rubber stamp.”
“They've doubled the cost,” Rosset told the committee. “We'd like to go ahead ... but we disagree with the $7,600.”
Rosset also asked whether they could agree to a 10-year lease, so they wouldn't have to keep paying fees for the same application.
Jason Ferrigan, the city's director of planning services, said because the land is zoned for residential use, business uses can only be permitted on a temporary basis, which means the Rossets have to reapply for approval.
“The (planning) act only allows us to extend temporary use bylaws by three years,” Ferrigan said.
And Eric Taylor, manager of development approvals, said the only way to enter into a long-term lease is to rezone the land, which would require an amendment to the city's Official Plan, which would cost about $6,000.
“(Renewing the temporary bylaw costs) less than half the fee of a rezoning application,” Taylor said.
But planning staff couldn't say why the leasing costs have doubled, suggesting the committee request a report on the matter from staff in the city's real estate section.
“That would be the subject of a separate report,” Ferrigan said.
Ward 9 Coun. Deb McIntosh wondered if they approved the application, whether Rosset would be locked in to the higher lease rate.
“What resource does the applicant have if we can't deal with it here at planning?” McIntosh asked.
Ward 8 Coun. Al Sizer also questioned the increase, saying it seemed out of whack with city policy.
“Most of our user fees go up by three per cent or by inflation,” Sizer said.
“I also have some concerns about this lease rate doubling,” said committee chair Fern Cormier. “This is a piece of a laneway we have asolutely no use for ...There's no one beating down our doors to use that property, including our own roads department.”
Cormier wondered why the city would make it harder for a successful local business that provides jobs – especially since the city is receiving money for a piece of land it isn't using. He suggested waiting until they got the report on the lease increase before approving the application,
“Is there a pressing need for this to be done now? Is there any reason why this is urgent?” Cormier asked.
Taylor said the current bylaw expired May 16, and technically the permission for the lot had expired.
“We wouldn't want that situation dragging on,” he said.
Ferrigan said the motion only deals with planning issues, not what the city charges for using the land.
“The report does not speak to lease rates,” he said.
In the end, the committee approved the application, waived most of the fee and asked for a report on how the leasing cost was determined and options to appeal the increase.
