 Trading Density for Benefits: Toronto and Vancouver ComparedAaron A. Moore
No 13, IMFG Papers from University of Toronto, Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance Abstract: This paper describes and evaluates the process for negotiating and distributing density for benefit agreements (DBAs) in Toronto and Vancouver. DBAs allow municipalities to secure cash contributions or amenities from developers in return for allowing them to exceed existing height and density restrictions. The City of Toronto employs Section 37 agreements, while Vancouver secures Community Amenity Contributions. It examines how the two cities determine the value of the benefits; the type of benefits they secure from developers; how the cities determine which type of benefits to secure; and who benefits from the agreements. It also examines the three most common rationales to justify their use: sharing the wealth created by development, funding related infrastructure, and compensating those negatively affected by the development. The analysis shows that the process of negotiating DBAs lacks transparency, and that there are valid arguments for abolishing DBAs or for replacing them with alternative tools such as inclusionary housing provisions. Keywords: density; infrastructure; large cities (search for similar items in EconPapers) Published in hard copy and online Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:mfg:wpaper:13 Access Statistics for this paper More papers in IMFG Papers from University of Toronto, Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance Contact information at EDIRC. |
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