KENILWORTH – Changes are coming to Wellington North’s development charges (DC) bylaw – but DC rates will remain the same.
The updates are to bring municipal policy up to speed with new provincial legislation.
It won’t substantially change the way DCs are dealt with in the township, as staff have already been following provincial legislation in how they handle DCs, officials say, but it will reduce confusion by making the bylaw match what’s already happening in practice.
No members of the public offered comments or asked questions during a public meeting about the changes on Aug. 11.
A presentation about the changes was given by DFA Infrastructure International finance specialist John Murphy during the meeting.
Murphy outlined the purpose of DCs: to recover the net capital costs of growth, ensuring that “growth pays for growth [and] does not place an undue burden on existing tax payers.”
DCs do not pay for operating costs, recover costs for local services (works internal to a subdivision) or pay for asset replacement, Murphy noted, but they do pay for the initial funding of growth-related assets.
The township’s DC bylaw needs to be updated to incorporate provincial legislative changes laid out in Bill 23 (More Homes Built Faster), Bill 185 (Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes) and Bill 17 (Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter).
These bills were introduced and approved in fall 2022, spring 2024 and spring 2025, respectively.
Bill 23 removed housing services as an eligible service, removed studies as eligible capital costs, provided DC exemptions for affordable, attainable, inclusionary and non-profit housing, and introduced a mandatory discount on rental housing and phasing in of DCs.
Bill 185 removed phasing in of DCs, reintroduced studies as eligible costs and permitted minor amendments to DC bylaw without a public process.
Bill 17 added exceptions for amending DC bylaws without public process, provided DC exemptions for long-term care homes, and changed the timeline for payments so DCs are due when occupancy permits are issued or when buildings are occupied, instead of once a building permit is issued.
Wellington North’s updated bylaw adds or amends seven definitions including rental housing, affordable units, attainable units, inclusionary units and long-term care homes.
It clarifies that non-profit housing, inclusionary zoning units, affordable units and attainable units are exempted from DCs and that rental units will be granted discounts based on the number of beds in each unit.
Murpey noted that given the criteria for affordable and attainable housing, which is set out in the Affordable Residential Units for the Purposes of the Development Charges Act it is “very challenging for developers to offer a home at that price just to benefit from the exemption of paying development charges.”
He said: “The intention is there but it’s very unlikely that would happen.”
It also updates the timing of payments for residential DCs based on the legislation in Bill 17, and reduces the time period made for determining DCs based on site plan and zoning bylaw amendment applications.
Wellington North deputy chief building official Brian Corley said he doubts that many developers will pay the DC charges on the later time line.
“If people want to go that road, sure, we will accommodate, but I don’t think we’ll see that,” Corley said.
The updates Wellington North is making to its DC bylaw could have moved forward without the public process because of the new standards outlined in Bill 185.
But Murphy said “there were so many changes as a result of all that legislation that … we thought it was appropriate to follow public process as opposed to just drafting a staff report.”
Mayor Andy Lennox asked what changes could be made in the future without a public process, and Murphy said while he couldn’t give that answer from the top of his head, he could return to council with a list.
Council is set to review and potentially approve the updated bylaw during a regular meeting of council on Sept. 22.
If approved on that date, it is expected to come into force on Nov. 1.
There will be a 40 day appeal period from the day the updated bylaw is approved until the day it comes into force.
Once the bylaw has passed, notice will be posted on the website and in the newspaper.
