A developer behind some neighbourhood-altering developments completed or currently planned in Delta was also one of the biggest donors to Mayor George Harvie’s election campaign.
Maple Leaf Homes, the developer of Delta Rise, the city’s first high-rise, currently has higher density development proposals in the works in all three Delta communities.
Harvie said everything is being done in compliance with the rules when asked about Maple Leaf Homes and the family behind it, the Sharmas, whom some on social media have claimed might be getting favourable treatment thanks to their big contributions.
Hema and Anjali Sharma each made $10,000 donations to the Achieving for Delta slate in the fall of 2017 just before new campaign contribution limits came into effect. The slate, which saw Harvie and four Delta council members get elected, received a total of $65,000 from five big donors, all developers, prior to new rules that aim to get big money out of civic campaigns.
The 37-storey Delta Rise tower at 80th Avenue and Scott Road is now the city's tallest building
Delta Rise residential tower. That 37-storey tower at 80 Avenue and Scott Road consists of more than 300 units on top and four floors of office and retail space.
Harvie, who didn’t officially announce his candidacy until May 2018, told the Optimist it’s a question every politician goes through.
“It’s not a new subject. A number of people receive donations, all political candidates. My job as mayor is to look at each application by its merit and I am just one vote on council. It’s also important to know that each project is developed and brought along by staff, not by council,” he said.
Satish Sharma told the Optimist the company’s developments are mostly aimed at addressing the lack of entry-level housing as well as units for those wanting to downsize. The market has slowed, due in part to new mortgage rules making it tougher for new buyers to get into the market, which is why people are seeking smaller units at a lower price, he explained.
Former city manager George Harvie took the mayor’s seat with almost 40 per cent of the vote, helped largely by a powerful showing in North Delta.
“The stress test is making people get down to a smaller unit of home that they should be buying, so it’s a matter of getting them something smaller we can sell. It’s become all about price point and the banks are only approving people for so much mortgage, so it doesn’t leave them with much options,” Sharma said.
Maple Leaf Homes ventured into uncharted territory when it built Delta Rise, a 37-storey tower at 80th Avenue and Scott Road in North Delta. It consists of more than 300 units on top of four floors of office and retail space. It’s undoubtedly a landscaping-altering development for Delta, particularly the Scott Road corridor, which has been eyed for major redevelopment and densification by the city.
The Delta Sky high-rise project is now on hold.
The company is looking to build another high-rise, a 31-storey tower in the 9500-block of Scott Road. The Delta Sky application is for 220 residential units with 1,356 square feet of commercial space. That proposal is currently on hold at the request of the applicant until Delta completes the Townline Neighbourhood Plan.
In South Delta, Maple Leaf Homes doesn’t have any high-rise plans, but it’s looking to construct townhouses after consolidating single-family lots.
The company has a 40-unit townhouse development proposed for seven single-family lots in the 4800- and 4900-blocks of 57th Street in Ladner. That application is still in the neighbourhood consultation process.
A public information meeting takes place on Tuesday, May 7 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the Delta Manor Education Centre.
The application for a townhouse development at the corner of 8A Avenue and 53rd Street is heading to a public hearing.
Maple Leaf Homes is also behind a townhouse application for four single-family lots at the corner of 8A Avenue and 53rd Street in Tsawwassen.
The 37-unit project unanimously received preliminary approval from council Monday night and has been forwarded to a public hearing.
“I do believe that we need variation in housing and I think this is probably right at the edge of imposing on the community, but I think it is certainly worthwhile taking it to a public hearing to listen to the community,” Coun. Bruce McDonald said during discussion on the proposal.
Noting the project has been winding its way through the process for a couple of years, Sharma said he’s hoping a new city task force aimed at streamlining the lengthy development process, a problem seen in varying degrees in other Lower Mainland municipalities, will yield some results.
Maple Leaf Homes was also involved in a land deal with the city which is now seeing construction of the Delta Gardens housing complex on 84th Avenue in North Delta. The development includes 110 apartments in two six-storey buildings and 12 townhouses.
The city is using proceeds from a land deal with Maple Leaf Homes toward a new arts centre in North Delta.
Part of the complex is at the site of the old Firehall Centre for the Arts. The city used the proceeds of the sale of that parcel to help build a new arts centre adjacent to the North Delta Recreation Centre. The land sale was subject to approval of the housing development.
Harvie said there are a number of measures each application must go through, and that staff members are independent as they prepare reports with recommendations to council on how to proceed.
“Our reports come independently from council until such time as the application is before us, then I as an individual will analyze and make my decision based on the merits of the project,” the mayor explained.
Back in 2010 council dealt with the issue of developers and campaign contributions, obtaining a legal opinion that council members who received contributions from a developer were not in a conflict when dealing with his application.
Council at the time ordered staff to obtain the legal opinion after several residents raised the issue at a public hearing for the Tsawwassen Springs development. Opponents claimed there could be a perceived conflict by councillors who had accepted campaign donations from the applicant, businessman Ron Toigo.
“The mere fact that a member of council has accepted a campaign contribution from a donor does not, in and of itself, disqualify that member from discussing and voting on a development application made by that donor or a company associated with that donor," stated the opinion from Bull, Housser and Tupper LLP.
"As the only allegation of a conflict of interest in this case is the acceptance of the campaign contribution, it is our view... that the affected members of council do not have a direct pecuniary (monetary) interest or other interest in the rezoning application sufficient to disqualify them from taking part in the discussion of and voting on the matter."
