Guelph-Eramosa council approved changes to the development charge bylaw originally passed Oct. 21, after additional site investigations at the Skyway Monitoring Station raised capital project costs from $313,000 to $805,000.
The cost increase stems from consultations held with the Ministry of Transportation, who determined the monitoring station’s close proximity to Highway 7 required considerable changes to the design, including temporary reinforcement walls alongside the provincial highway.
The new cost is based on actual construction costs and a revised engineering budget.
“Because we’re close to their highway, (the MTO) added additional costs that wouldn’t have necessarily been expected,” said Mayor Chris White.
“A lot of it is related to the actual construction project itself. It’s not the work that we’re doing that has changed dramatically.”
White said refurbishment of the Rockwood holding tank and Skyway Monitoring Station was necessary to ensure both remain up to date and able to accommodate growth and development in the township.
“The plant was built in the late 70s so at the end of the day the Skyway (station) needed upgrading,” he said.
“It brings it up to today’s standards and accommodates some of the growth we’ve had. It accommodates new subdivisions.”
White also emphasized that the wastewater services portion of the developmental charge would be the only section affected, with all other costs remaining the same as stated in the initial report from October.
“This is a one-time, growth-related expense,” he said.
“These charges are only applicable in the Rockwood area where the servicing is. The rural areas that are on septic systems are not imposed this charge.”
Development charges for a single family or semi-detached dwelling will increase by $747, apartments with two bedrooms or more will increase by $440, bachelor and one bedroom apartments will be charged $298 more, and all other types of residential units will see an increase of $567.
An increase of $0.32 per square foot will be applied to all non-residential spaces.
“It’s a user-based system; they’re not designed for profit, they’re designed to pay for themselves,” White said.
“These charges cover all infrastructure improvements and in this particular case it’s (the work) down at the end of Highway 7.”
