The township of Guelph-Eramosa has updated its building fees bylaw.
At the meeting on April 9, council passed a bylaw to adjust the cost of building fees.
Residential subdivision
For example, a 50-unit single detached residential subdivision in the township would have cost $237 per unit in subdivision fees and $1,444 per unit in building permit fees.
Under the new fee structure, recommended by Watson and Associates Economists Ltd., the subdivision fees would increase by $65 or 28% and building permit fees would increase by $860 or 60%.
Including development fees, the cost for each unit in the 50-unit single detached residential subdivision would increase 43% in total from $2,135 per unit to $3,060 per unit.
Industrial buildings
Industrial buildings will also see an increase in fees.
“The current planning fees for an industrial site plan and zoning bylaw amendment of 10,000 square feet would be $3,370,” the Watson and Associates report stated.
“Imposing the recommended fee structure would result in a fee of $8,980, an increase of $5,610 or 166%.
Overall, including the development charges, the cost would increase by 7%.
Residential decks
Now is the time to build a residential deck. Under the new fee structure the building permit for a residential desk would decrease by $4 to $188 from $192.
Based on the old fees, Sean-Michael Stephen, senior consultant at Watson and Associates Economists Ltd., said the township was only recovering about $352,000, which is 72% of the total $488,000 it costs to run the department. The new fees aim to close that gap.
“It’s kind of a historical change,” said Mayor Chris White. “We used to hire an outside consultant to do building inspections.”
However, a number of years ago the township brought building department services in house.
“It took us a couple of years to try to figure out where you want to have your break-even point,” he said. “It’s supposed to be a self-funded department, bottom line …
“So we’re working our way towards that and this pushes us one more step towards the ultimate goal, which is a 100% funded, fully reserved department ready to go off and do great things.”
For a full list of the new building fees, for which a bylaw was passed on April 9, visit www.get.on.ca.
