Consultants recommend increase in Development Charges

April 15, 2015 · 0 Comments

The focus at Monday night’s council meeting was a 90 minute presentation reviewing legislation for and changes to the Development Charges Act (DCA) by Hemson Consulting Ltd. The firm, represented by Craig Binning at Council, had been retained by the Town to undertake a new DC background study likely to result in a new By-law for DC charges. Binning said, “Shelburne is in a challenging spot with the amount of development and residential land available for development.” He predicted the Town would exceed growth expectations before 2014.
This study follows on the heels of a completed study and By-law passed in March 2014 which does not expire for five years. Council can amend that By-law at anytime to establish new rates as per recommendations. Development charges are the “fees imposed on development to finance development-related capital costs” to the Town. Revenue collected helps to pay for “new infrastructure and facilities to maintain service levels.” The idea, said Binning, “is growth pays for growth, so that financial burden is not borne by existing tax payers.” Development charges are used by municipalities across the Province as an important tool to meet costs as municipalities have limited tools to raise funds for maintenance and infrastructure projects. “Largely, the only other ways of raising funds are through property taxes and utility rates,” said Binning.
Hemson Consulting recommended a significant increase in development charges to developers in Shelburne based on a 10 year forecast of growth and development. Binning said, “I am very mindful that there is a fair likelihood this will be challenged by developers” in light of the lower 2014 recommendations by another firm. Hemson Consulting has scheduled a Developer Consultation meeting for April 14th to explain the recommended increases.
Councillor Wade Mills said it was “unfortunate” that the Town had “to go through this process again…obviously we want to recover costs, but we don’t want to run the risk of driving developers elsewhere.” Binning said the increases were the result of more “up to date studies and project changes” within the Town. He said developers would be provided with supporting figures for the increases and given the opportunity to respond in writing. “Issues with merit will open a dialogue” said Binning. Binning informed Council that “across Southern Ontario… often municipalities with the highest development charges also have the highest rates of development.” Councillor Geoff Dunlop reiterated that Council wanted “to be fair to both tax payers and developers.” A public meeting is scheduled for May 11th before the By-law can be passed.

By Marni Walsh