Development Planning Commissions are strictly focused on maximizing and extracting as many benefits possible for their community

TITLE OF POST -  Development Planning Commissions are strictly focused on maximizing and extracting as many "Green" benefits as possible  for their community

I have been a lawyer practicing real estate law in New Brunswick for over thirty (30) years, and  I have seen a  noticeable change in the way Development Planning Officers interact with Developers in the last  5 - 7  years, some changes good and some not so good changes.

 From the good side, Development Planners are more knowledgeable and better trained to keep up with the needs of the building and construction  industries which have embraced technology to keep up with the fast pace of change and competition in the business and residential marketplace. The creation of Professional Associations for people working in the Municipal Planning  and Development areas has  most certainly elevated both the level of general knowledge as well as special areas of expertise being shared among its members, leading to a more informed group of planners.

From the bad side, it seems, and this is speaking solely from my vantage point,  as though senior planners in the planning departments are being dictated / ordered by their political masters, namely the Municipal Councillors for the communities they work for, to ensure development projects are being carried out with much more "Green" attributes and initiatives, with little or no consideration be given to the  huge costs associated with same.  So what is wrong with that, you say?

The costs of real estate developing are increasing at rates faster than the consumers can or are willing to pay for  and that doesn't bode well  for  real estate developers, who operate business with a view of making a profit  and remaining profitable for the foreseeable future. I think it is fair to say that municipal councils  are instructing their municipal planning development officers ( and often on a micro-management basis)  to incorporate more and  more "Greening" and environmental friendly initiatives  in the new residential and commercial development projects seeking approval, thereby substantially increasing  the costs of the developer.   It used to be municipal planning officials would use persuasion, friendly suggestions  and encouragement  to have developers incorporate new "Green" initiatives  into their real estate development projects, Now, developers are being told that their development projects will not be approved without x, y and z being done.  In effect, they are being ordered to do additional "Green" development work,  failing which their development projects will be refused their  Construction/Building Permit to proceed.

A City's Municipal Plan  and  Subdivision By-Law  sets out the rules and guidelines on any real estate development taking place in their respective communities,   In recent years, what I  and my developer clients find most dissheartening  is the  extreme and hard line positions now being taken by planning staff and  the senior planner's unwillingness and refusal to negotiate and discuss  a  fair and reasonable solution  to a development project requirement, without breaking the bank.

Personally, I feel this attitude stems from  the degree of micro managing that appears to take place between the municipality's politicians and the municipality's  senior development planners during the approval process of  a particular development project(s).

Where are we at now?  The economy has somewhat weakened  in the winter of 2016,  and developers have naturally scaled back their 2016 development plans accordingly,  however, when the economy strengthens, and good times are back again,  it will certainly  be interesting to see how many developers will be moving ahead with new development projects anytime soon. Yes, only time will tell.