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Town of Banff won't take over responsibility for private roads

“When I look at this holistically, if the Town were to take over these roads, it just then increases taxes across the board and utility rates across the board and so I worry about that bigger affordability lens.”
20210925 RealEstateBanffCondos4
The Town of Banff has no plans to take over private roads linked to Banff Housing Corporation condo associations amid fears it would set a dangerous precedent and unfairly burden all Banff taxpayers. Residents of Sulphur Court, Riverview Court, Middle Springs Drive 100 and 200 Block, and Sundance Court asked the Town for the changes. GREG COLGAN RMO PHOTO

BANFF – The Town of Banff has no plans to take over private roads linked to Banff Housing Corporation condo associations amid fears it would set a dangerous precedent and unfairly burden all Banff taxpayers.

Council has voted down a motion by Councillor Ted Christensen asking administration to look at the possibility and implications of taking on the responsibility for private roads and associated infrastructure.

Councillor Barb Pelham said this topic highlights the unfortunate consequence of a patchwork plan that resulted in numerous inconsistencies on private and public roads in the overall BHC developments.

“In an attempt to keep the upfront costs down, we’ve created a situation where long-term costs are higher and perpetual and that is bringing challenges; however with 10 other neighbourhoods with private roads, I think council needs to tread so carefully,” she said.

“If we decide to alter the municipal responsibility here, we may be faced with altering it for 10 other communities, which results in a significant increase to everyone’s taxes – both residential and commercial.”

Four condominium associations under the BHCs portfolio have been lobbying the Town of Banff to take over ownership and maintenance of the private roads within their developments, all built under the equity share model.

Residents of Sulphur Court, Riverview Court, Middle Springs Drive 100 and 200 blocks, and Sundance Court argue the costs of maintaining the private roads and other infrastructure are rising every year, leading to increasing condo fees that make the homes less affordable.

They say the funding requirements for reserves limit the affordability of these BHC homes compared to other BHC properties on Jasper Way, Middle Springs Drive 300 block and Fairholme Place, which do not own the roads adjacent to their properties.

In response, council directed administration in October 2021 to investigate the current road ownership scenarios of the BHC developments, including the history of why they were structured that way.

Councillor Chip Olver, who now sits as a council representative on the BHC board of directors, raised concerns about putting an onerous burden on all taxpayers if the municipality took over the private roads.

She said she could only see it happening if there was a big overall community gain, such as homeowners within the BHC’s equity share portfolio agreeing to move to a price-restricted model to create perpetually affordable housing.

“But I can’t possibly conceive of any one single condo association getting a unanimous majority agreement on anything like that,” she said.

The BHC was created in 1993 with the mandate to provide value-priced homes for residents of Banff by developing lands within the townsite boundary and offering them via sub-lease to eligible residents.

Prior to the incorporation of Banff as an Alberta municipality in 1990, the school district worked on the creation of Banff’s first public housing project – the Middle Springs I development on Jasper Way and Glacier Drive.

After the BHC was created, development of subsequent residential projects occurred, starting with Phase IIA and Riverview Court. The most recent BHC projects include Ti'nu, a 131-unit affordable rental complex, and The Aster, a 33-unit home-ownership project on Banff Avenue.

Outside of the BHC developments, there are at least 10 other condo developments town-wide comprised of more than four units, such as Tatanga Ridge, Kootenay Ridge, Kootenay Close, and Whiskey Jack Crescent.

Mayor Corrie DiManno, who heard from BHC residents on this topic on the election campaign trail and sat on the BHC board when the issue initially came up, said she knows they will feel upset and let down by her comments.

But she said certain factors, such as design considerations, were initially made to increase density in the projects in order to allow for more affordability for the original purchasers of those BHC homes.

“And while now this group is looking at having to replace this aging infrastructure, you could argue that was a good deal then, at the beginning,” she said.

“When I look at this holistically, if the Town were to take over these roads, it just then increases taxes across the board and utility rates across the board and so I worry about that bigger affordability lens.”

Coun. Christensen, who only got support from Coun. Hugh Pettigrew, said he was surprised council didn’t support his motion for a report at 2023 service review for more information on the implications and possibilities of potentially taking over the private roads.

“We had approximately 270 of our citizens bring this forward for some further questions and further discussion… I am looking for more information,” he said.

“I don’t necessarily support the concept of taking it over, but we’ve had the request from a group of citizens and it hasn’t been the first time that it’s been brought up – so let’s look at it.”

In response to council’s direction last October, administration reviewed the context for each of the BHC developments, reviewed archived material such as subdivision files and council reports related to each development.

Darren Enns, the director of planning and development, said administration also tried to discern the rationale for recommending when roads should be designated as public roads and when they should be designated as private roads.

“The decision around public vs. private roads was made by respective Municipal Planning Commissions in their role of subdivision approving authority for subdivisions,” he said.

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