West Lincoln to set turbine fees

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West Lincoln to set turbine fees | Niagara This Week: 

If only it were as easy as picking a number.
In that case, West Lincoln council members would just pick a big one. But, under provincial legislation, the fees municipalities set for development charges must be justified. Council heard this both from consultant Gary Scandlan of Watson and Associates and the township’s chief administrative officer, Derrick Thomson.
“There are limitations under the Development Charges Act for how far we can go,” Scandlan, who was tasked with updating the township’s development charges bylaw as it relates to industrial wind turbines.
“The charges here are within a realm of substance,” said Scandlan. “If they were presented to the [Ontario Municipal Board] we could defend it.”
Scandlan presented the township with two options for development charges for turbines.
The first would see wind farm operators pay $693 per turbine. This amount was based on charging an industrial charge for the deemed gross floor area of the structure.
The fee presented under option one was much too low for members of West Lincoln council, who favoured the second option — though it was still not high enough for most councillors.
Option two would see wind turbines charged equivalent to single residential dwellings. The charges imposed under this option would represent future costs related to roads, administration and fire. Under this option, developers would have to pay a fee of $3,797 per wind turbine.

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