I think Stew is just trying to get a good amenity package for the city.
I think you're right!
I have been trying to document taxation per municipality from a policing perspective and do have most of the Audited Financial Statements from 2018, but it appears one would need to go through an extensive FOI exercise before you would have an apples to apples comparison , but I was able to uncover some interesting info that is relevant here....
For 2018, ~40% of Langford's entire budget came from "Developer and property owner contributions" (in addition to the usual development charges, permits, etc. that you see across all municipalities). I often complain that Victoria waste's this opportunity by spending it on bureaucratic never ending approval process instead of using it for low income housing. Get one project to pay for another.
Anyways, back on topic. We will probably see Western Speedway finally end, but I hate hearing people complain after taking it upon themselves to move beside a racetrack to then decide that it wasn't such a great idea after all. If you don't like the racetrack, why did you move there?