Most people don’t know what development charges are
I am quite shocked at the lack of opposition by prospective home purchasers to the recent hike in development charges by Niagara Region.
But then, it’s very difficult to oppose such a well-crafted bylaw.
The Region, as well as municipalities, under provincial orders must review their respective development charges bylaws every five years.
For new home purchasers who, in most cases are unaware of this extracting tax on new homes, it is just that. A tax to fund new infrastructure such as trunk sewers, new trunk roads, new libraries, new police stations and whatever else the Region and municipalities can think of pertaining to new development.
The average person has no idea what development charges are or who pays them. And everyone else naively believes it’s the big bad developer who pays the cost.
Most councillors don’t even have a strong understanding of how this process works, to them it’s a revenue stream. Coupled with the fact most young people can’t afford a new home as it is, it means kids aren’t paying attention to the issue. They’re not going to oppose what they don’t understand.
Which is why politicians love development charges. No one knows anything about them and they drive the value of homes up, which nets more property taxes without actually increasing the mill rate. Development charges are the gift that keeps on giving.
Provincially it’s worse. The province doesn’t even directly benefit from development charges. Theoretically the province wants single detached homes to be costprohibitive so we’ll start to live in apartment buildings on transit corridors and spend less time in our cars.
While new development is being burdened with this tax, homes are still being assessed at the normal rate without relief. In other words, new development pays for old development without the reverse occurring.
Our politicians believe developers and new development should pay for new infrastructure. Someone should tell them to quit trying to fool the public. Developers simply pass the added costs on to purchasers to remain in business.
Frank Memme Wainfleet