Sometimes it’s all about giving a hand to those in need.
At the recent meeting of Tay council, a request to waive an $800 minor variance application fee was approved for the reconstruction of Ebenezer United Church, a 135-year-old church that had burnt down in November 2021.
Efforts to reconstruct the church at 5450 Ebenezer Sdrd. were made easier during a council decision last year to waive related building permit fees, including inspection fees, following a delegation to the planning and development services committee.
However, unexpected costs also occurred when additional changes to the original plan included an increase of the floor area into the parking lot with a potential expansion of the building’s front, as explained by CAO Andrea Fay to council.
“They realized that the footprint that they were looking at is going to be larger than what it currently is.” said Fay. “Based on that, they’re going to need to complete a minor variance application (to comply with setbacks), and of course there’s a cost associated with that application.
“Because it’s slightly different than the building permit or inspection fees, we felt it was best suited to bring it forward to council for consideration, if they would waive that application fee as well.”
A brief discussion ensued as to whether a council waive of the fee would set a precedent, but was resolved when Mayor Ted Walker reasoned out the ultimate goal of the intent.
“All we’re doing is paying the fee,” Walker said. “We’re not saying that it has to be approved. So we could still pay the fee and it could still be turned down.”
Walker also expressed sympathy for the church and their struggles of reconstruction.
“They sure had a rough time out there with them losing the church and then they’re into some additional costs because of new code requirements and things like that that they didn’t have before,” said Walker.
The financial impact of council’s decision was that staff would not receive the $800 minor application fee.
Information regarding the waived fee request by the Ebenezer United Church can be found on the agenda page of the Tay Township website.
Tay council meets for committee of the whole meetings every second Wednesday of the month, and regular council meetings every fourth Wednesday of the month. Archives and livestreams of council meetings are available through the Tay Township YouTube channel.
