Slow county growth keeps development charges down

Development charges in Peterborough County aren’t going to double over the next five years after all.

County councillors were thinking about nearly doubling the charge to build a house from $7,707 in 2017 to $13,535 by 2021.

Now the plan is to keep the fees at a fixed rate of $7,628 over five years.

Development charges are onetime fees which builders pay to municipalities for new construction. These fees go toward services which an expanding community must provide to new residents.

The change to the charges is happening because of over-inflated growth estimates for the county in the original consulting report, county staff state in a report to council delivered at its meeting Wednesday at county council chambers in Peterborough.

The consultant – MHBC Barrie – was assuming, based on a study prepared in 2006, that the county would grow by about 85 per cent over the next decade.

This assumption was reviewed after local homebuilders and realtors complained to councillors that the original development charge was exorbitant during a public council session on March 15.

The same consultant reported to council on Wednesday that the projected growth rate in the county over the decade was actually 15 per cent.

Jamie Robinson, partner with MHBC, said that there has been two “competent” consulting firms that had prepared the past two development charge studies since 2006. Both the studies assumed an 85 per cent growth factor.

At least one councillor felt the error was embarrassing.

Coun. Karl Moher, deputy mayor of Douro-Dummer Township, said he had motioned for the vote to charge the full costs at the public meeting but had received many calls since then from constituents that had changed his mind.

“Is there anything further about how a consulting company didn’t recognize this way earlier than today or the last few weeks?” Moher said. “This is embarrassing.”

The revised bylaw was passed with a council vote of 11-4.

Voting for the revised bylaw were Moher, Coun. Mary Smith, Coun. Bev Matthews, Coun. Terry Low, Coun. Rodger Bonneau, Coun. Scott McFadden, Coun. John Fallis, Coun. Doug Hutton, Coun. Dave Nelson, Coun. Ron Windover and Warden Joe Taylor.

Voting against the revised bylaw were Coun. Ron Gerow, Coun. J. Murray Jones and Coun. Jim Martin

Coun. Sherry Senis, deputy mayor of Selwyn Township, declared pecuniary interest on the vote.

Under the revised bylaw effective May 1, the one-time charge for building a single-detached and semi-detached duplex would be $5,085 per unit. For a small multiple residential apartments the charge would be $3,955 per unit.

There is no charge for industrial uses or other non-residential uses up to 250 square metres. There is an $11.77 charge per square metre after that.