A Milton developer will be responsible for a million-dollar expense to connect to the region’s wastewater system.
The construction of a new wastewater main is needed to support the Bronte Street North development — which will consist of two towers of 17 and 18 storeys, with more than 500 housing units — due to insufficient capacity in the existing system, as highlighted in a motion by Milton councillor Rick Malboeuf.
But under the region’s guideline, the service extension is categorized as a local service, placing the financial burden on the developer.
“This project was approved by Milton council more than a year ago, but is being held up because the region will not provide the necessary infrastructure for sewage and wastewater,” said Malboeuf at the most recent regional council meeting.
The motion, which was later withdrawn, aimed to have staff “revisit their position and see if there are any options available to get this much needed project off the ground.”
As explained by Halton regional staff, the sewer system immediately adjacent to the property is already at capacity, requiring the developer to extend the pipes from a neighbouring street at a cost that the region will not cover.
Andrew Farr, the region’s commissioner of public works, clarified that the region is not “holding up” the project.
“We're waiting for the developer to confirm that they're going to proceed with installing the infrastructure, whether we do it on their behalf or they do it directly,” Farr said.
When asked about the cost and whether similar projects have been approved, Farr stated that the capital cost for the work is estimated at “around a million dollars” and that they have not approved “any projects like this.”
Farr later added that they don't have plans to upgrade wastewater capacity in this particular area in the near future.
The conversation at the meeting opened up a bigger issue of how the region should manage infrastructure needs across its municipalities, as noted by Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward.
“Given the significant amount of growth that is coming to all of our municipalities, and we're starting to see certainly in Burlington where some of the infrastructure that we need for development isn't where we need it,” Meed Ward said. “I suspect we're going to start to see things like this pop up again, where, yes … we have sewers and infrastructure, but they're not big enough to accommodate a specific development in specific locations.”
Malboeuf agreed to withdraw the motion and supported Meed Ward’s suggestion to have staff bring a report to council on potential region-wide impacts of a change in policy regarding water and wastewater infrastructure financing.
“Maybe this is the tipping point,” he said.