Clearview Township hosted a public meeting Monday with regards to changes to its development charges (DC) bylaw.
Darryl Abbs of Watson and Associates explained that several legislated changes at the provincial level have prompted the update. Since the last update to the bylaw in 2019, four Bills have been passed (Bill 108: More Homes, More Choice Act, 2019; Bill 138: Plan to Build Ontario Together Act, 2019; Bill 197: COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act, 2020; and Bill 213: Better for People, Smarter for Business Act, 2020), which revisit DCs for certain types of development as incentive to create rental housing, institutional development such as long-term care and retirement homes, and non-profit housing.
Development charges are collected by the municipality to cover the capital needs to service growth, outside of the infrastructure within the development covered by builders.
As a result of the updates, which council will consider on Oct. 25, several changes are required. As of September 2022, municipal parking will no longer be eligible.
Also the development charge cost to the developer is set and frozen for two years (although the municipality can charge interest) at the time council receives a site plan application or zoning amendment application. This is to encourage development to move to the building permit stage by providing greater certainty of costs.
It also includes updates to capital projects to include an additional fire vehicle and updates to the costing for the water and wastewater capital needs for Stayner, as well as the water, wastewater, and stormwater capital needs for Creemore.
When the study was last updated in 2019, officials had not yet become fully aware of deficiencies of the Creemore Water and Sewage Treatment Plant.
“The last time we updated this study there was an assumption that the plant could handle growth up to its first stage of 860 (units),” said director of public works Mike Rawn. “Obviously since then we’ve found out it cannot.”
The exact cost of upgrading the treatment facility is not yet known but some costs of the upgrades, estimated at almost $10 million, are being built in to the new development charges until a solution and costs are finalized, in advance of the next study.
“The users of the system also have to contribute to that upgrade. We are expecting a potential influx from one of our large industrial users but that’s not been finalized so the number that’s in this study is an expectation based on some assumptions,” said Rawn.
As a result of the changes, development charges will increase for residential and non-residential development but Abbs places Clearview in the middle of the pack when compared to other municipalities in the area, which Mayor Doug Measures points out, means the township remains competitive when it comes to attracting potential builders.