During last week's General Committee Meeting at Barrie City Hall, Craig Binning, Partner at Hemson Consulting, shared details on Barrie's proposed development charge rates and the new Community Benefits Charge (CBC). The session was aimed at educating residents on the calculation process behind the proposed rates.

“These are the legislative frameworks that are provided to municipalities in Ontario, to fund what we refer to as the initial round of capital cost associated with meeting the increased needs arising from that development,“ Binning said.

He elaborated on the three pillars of growth funding tools for municipalities in Ontario: Development Charges, Parkland Acquisition, and the CBC, with Development Charges being the primary funding tool for development-related infrastructure.

The Development Charges Act mandates a public meeting, and the CBC bylaw requires consultation. The rates for these charges are based on Barrie's growth projections over the next ten and twenty years.

To implement the CBC, the city needs to impose a bylaw, which is appealable to the Ontario Land Tribunal. A special account is required for managing the funds collected. The city will also need to identify three appraisers for situations where a developer disputes the charge.

“We've got $6.8 billion worth of capital works identified. The rates that I'm going to share with you could potentially fund up to over $4 billion,“ Binning said. 

These costs are divided by the projected population and employment growth over the planning horizons to calculate the new rates.

To determine the new rates, these costs are divided by the anticipated population and employment growth over the planning horizons. For the former city boundary area, charges for a single and semi-detached residential unit amount to nearly $112,000 per unit. Smaller apartments attract a lower charge due to fewer occupants, and the charges are predominantly for core engineering infrastructure, vital for land development.

In the Salem and Hewitt secondary plan areas, charges are slightly higher, with single detached units under the calculated rates paying $126,000 per unit.

The meeting also included an overview of the process, comparison of new rates with current ones, and details of how they will be phased under the restrictions set by Bill 23, More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022. He also explained non-residential rates for both retail and non-retail spaces, which are predominantly about engineering infrastructure. Within the former city boundary area, the charge for retail uses would be about $608 per square meter, while non-retail space, including industrial activities, would be just shy of $355 per square meter. 

According to Binning, a comparative analysis of retail rates positions Barrie in a middle spot, reflecting similar patterns of shifts and changes seen in other jurisdictions.

New statutory discounts and exemptions are being introduced as a result of legislation changes, including exemptions for non-profit housing and discounts for rental housing based on the number of bedrooms. 

The new Community Benefits Charge (CBC) replaces the previous Section 37 of the Planning Act, also known as density bonusing. The CBC applies to any building that is five or more stories and has ten or more residential units.

Following Binning’s presentation, representatives of the Salem Landowners Group and One Urban expressed significant concerns about the steep hike in proposed development charges. 

Alexander Serrano, on behalf of One Urban, objected to the proposed CBC bylaw. “This is what we're proposing to include an exemption for certain types of developments that are already providing a significant public benefit to their communities and to the city as a whole in the form of rental and affordable housing.“

Serrano suggested that the CBC bylaw should be amended to exempt projects included in the city's Community Improvement Plan (CIP) program, thereby promoting affordable housing development.

Rob Howe, representative of the Salem Landowners Group and partner in the Municipal and Land Development Group at Goodmans, raised concerns about the significant increase in proposed development charges, particularly in the Salem and Hewitt's areas. 

He said the new cost estimation methodology, which inflates current costs by 90 per cent for soft costs and contingencies, is unreasonable. He asked the city to reconsider this methodology and align the final development charge more closely with actual costs experienced in their projects, to ensure it complies with the legislation and is reasonable.

“We're hoping that we can work together over the next few weeks to resolve those concerns,“ Howe said. 

The next steps include a general committee meeting on June 14th, where responses to submissions will be reviewed, and potential changes will be incorporated into the bylaw for council consideration. 

The council is projected to pass the Development Charges (DC) and Community Benefits Charges (CBC) Bylaws on June 21st, with the Parkland Dedication Bylaw expected to follow in the fall of this year.