MINTO – A proposed new development charges bylaw would raise the charge on a single detached home here by $2,197.
Minto council planned to consider the bylaw, which also includes an increase in commercial and industrial rates, at its Feb. 18 meeting.
The bylaw raises development charges on a single residential property from $6,842 to $9,039.
For non-residential properties, the charge would rise from $2.67 to $3.87 per square foot.
At a Feb. 4 public meeting, Andrew Grunda of Watson and Associates Economists Ltd. presented a background study on local development charges.
The consultant noted the new rates would still leave Minto at the lower end of a comparison study of 25 other municipalities. Of the municipalities studied, only Puslinch, West Grey and Howick would have lower residential rates. Five municipalities would have lower commercial rates and six would have lower industrial rates.
On Feb. 4 Grunda explained development charges “are a mechanism that council has to defray the costs related to new development from being paid for by existing taxpayers who already have a sufficient level of services.”
He noted additional development may have implications on municipal services that “require additional infrastructure,” that should be “paid for by those new developments.”
A report from Watson and Associates indicates Minto’s population is expected grow from 9,041 today to just over 12,300 by 2021, with the number of residential units expected to rise from 3,205 to 3,577 over the same period.
The impact of growth on services such as transportation, fire protection, parks and recreation, administration, water and wastewater is expected to generate about $10.35 million in capital spending recoverable through development charges.
The Development Charges Act provides statutory exemptions for:
– industrial additions of up to 50 per cent of the existing ground floor area of the building (for industrial additions which exceed 50% of the existing area, only the portion of the addition in excess of 50% is subject development charges);
– residential development that results in only the enlargement of an existing dwelling unit, or only the creation of up to two additional dwelling units; and
– land used for municipal or board of education purposes.
Non-statutory exemptions in Minto’s previous bylaw that have been maintained include: a temporary use permitted under Section 39 of the Planning Act or an accessory use, home business, temporary building, place of worship or bona-fide farm operation.
The new bylaw also includes an exemption for second residential dwelling units, which will become a statutory exemption upon proclamation through the province’s More Homes, More Choice Act. The act has received Royal Assent, but new statutory exemptions have not yet been declared.
