Comment 101044

By AnjoMan (registered) | Posted May 06, 2014 at 14:51:25 in reply to Comment 101036

It’s because demand has gone up

And why might the demand go up? The demand for a piece of property would go up when it provides a benefit to its users, meaning people want it more. A residential or commercial property near transit is more valuable / sees higher demand because it is more desirable for residents and businesses to rent or buy - i.e. it benefits those residents and businesses. Why else would they be willing to pay that higher value? We WANT developers to see a profit potential in building new, high-quality buildings in Hamilton, because if that happens people will come to downtown and use those buildings. That IS the economic development process.

I don’t see what’s wrong with asking the beneficiaries of that development from footing part of the bill.

I don't disagree with this, but all I can say is that the mechanism for this would be to implement modern development charges and zoning/taxation policy along the rapid transit corridor so that the city can a) promote well-designed developments, and b) not be stuck losing money on infrastructure to support those developments. The LRT task force has already proposed this by suggesting that if the Province doesn't want to fund all of the LRT they should allow the city to borrow against future increases in tax base that would presumably happen with introduction of LRT.

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