MINTO – Town council has agreed to extend a deadline to allow a business in the Palmerston Industrial Park to meet a lot coverage stipulation in a development agreement.
Minto council agreed on Feb. 7 to give Lakeridge Heating and Cooling Inc. until Jan. 31, 2025 to build an extension on its existing facility to meet the required 10.23 per cent lot coverage.
The company purchased a 3.5-acre property at on Minto Road from the municipality on March 1, 2021.
A staff report explains the Town of Minto’s standard development covenants require buildings covering 15% of industrial lots “to ensure that the limited amount of industrial land we have is used to its best potential, ensuring a positive return on development charges and taxes.”
However, “understanding the nature of the business and the requirement for more outdoor storage space and movement of truck traffic on the site,” council approved a reduction in lot coverage down to 10.23%.
The initial building on the lot is 9,600 square feet with planned additions of 4,800 square feet in 2022 and 1,200 sq. ft. in 2023.
On Jan. 10, staff received correspondence from Chris Langridge, managing partner of Lakeridge Heating and Cooling Inc., requesting not to build the additional 6,000 square foot additions, which would lower the lot coverage even further to 6.7%.
To date, a 9,600-square-foot industrial building has been constructed on the property, for a reinforcing steel service operation known as NACK Reinforcing Steel Services Inc.
The Feb. 7 report states that during a Jan. 27 meeting with Minto staff, Langridge explained the company intends to build the additions, but due to “a variety of challenges experienced this year” needs more time.
“Staff agreed that the goal is to get to that 10.23% lot coverage and understand the challenges businesses have faced and will continue to face,” the report states.
“It was mutually agreed that a request for an extension to build the addition would be a good solution for both parties.”
To align with the town’s development charge bylaw, staff proposed the extension be granted until Jan. 31, 2025.
“Staff was not comfortable with allowing the extension to go any further,” building and planning director Terry Kuipers told council.
“And the rationale for that is in the development charge act an industrial building, every five years, is allowed to expand 50 per cent without having to pay the (development charges).
“So if we went beyond what our DC expiration date is, we’d lose out about $31,000 in development charges.”
Councillor Ron Elliott asked what would happen if the addition is not built by the new deadline.
“The repercussions for not complying with our agreement of purchase and sale would essentially be taking the owner to court in breach of contract law,” said Kuipers.
“So definitely not something we want to go down that road, that’s for sure.”
He added, “The courts could not make a decision to force someone to build, it would just be a monetary penalty.”
Council unanimously passed a motion approving the proposed deadline extension.
