York Region considers changes to development charges

Yorkregion.com
March 28, 2022

Can development charges help build better communities?

The Region of York has been asked to consider using its development charges -- fees collected from developers to help pay for cost of infrastructure -- to encourage more affordable housing and better environmental practices.

The region’s development charges (DC) date back to 2017 and are due for an update.

As part of the process, it's required to complete a background study, hold consultation sessions and a public meeting -- which happened March 24, with members of the public invited to speak.

DCs help pay for infrastructure related to new development such as water and wastewater services, roads, transit, police and public health and, for the first time, recovery of the region’s share of the subway extension.

Staff presented newly calculated charges, including for single and semi-detached units at $77,873 per unit, about 19 per cent increase over the current rate. Townhouse developments would be charged almost $65,000 per unit, large apartments (more than 700 square feet) $50,280 per unit, and small apartments $32,702 per unit.

King Township councillor Debbie Schaefer appeared as a delegate and applauded the idea of charging two different rates for large and small homes, but questioned whether the bar is too low for being considered “small.”

She suggested fees be set lower to encourage building of more realistic units up to 1,000 square feet.

Newmarket Mayor John Taylor and regional councillor Linda Jackson had similar concerns.

DCs play a huge role in driving land use planning and environmental impacts, Taylor said. Units that are under 700 square feet are meant for one person or a couple, not single parent families or small families, he said.

“We all get caught up in the words affordable housing, but I think we need to start thinking about livable housing,” Jackson added. “Is a 600-square-foot condo for a family livable? No, it's not. You take a family of four and put them in 600 to 700 square feet, they're going to be jumping off the balconies; it's way too small.”

Others, like Nobleton’s Susan Lloyd Swail and Claire Malcolmson, of Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition, suggested DCs be set high to cover the real cost of growth and to protect the environment

“Make them location-specific to encourage affordable housing types, infill, missing middle housing and supportive housing. Development charges for low-density housing on greenfield sites should increase to cover the full costs of growth," Malcolmson said.

Georgina resident Susan Sheard echoed that view.

“If York Region is serious about reducing greenhouse gas emissions, development charges have to be specific both to the type of housing but also to whether that housing is to be built on greenfield, or already urbanized areas."

Sheard pointed to Kitchener, Hamilton and Brantford, cities which charge higher development fees for builds in greenfields than in urbanized areas, “providing a financial incentive not to bulldoze farmland and forests.”

Kitchener and Waterloo use development charges to facilitate growth in their old downtown cores, areas with services that were underused and Peterborough and Caledon have taken similar approaches, she said.

The region is expected to consider the feedback and report back to council for a vote May 26, with new rates coming into effect June 17.