Reports to Council on May 11, 2026

Please note that staff will bring two reports to the Council meeting of May 11, 2026, related to the Development Charges By-law and Community Benefits Charge By-law.

The reports are now posted online:

While the reports and appendices contain more details, the executive summary of the Development Charge By-law Update explains that:

The Town has undertaken a thorough consultation process since late 2025, with resulting adjustments to the DC rates, by-laws, and related policies reflected in the recommendations of this report.
During the planning horizon presented in the DC Background Study, the community will grow to a gross population of 400,400 people and 112,689 employees, which will require $2.25 billion in DC eligible capital costs.
A uniform non-residential DC rate structure is recommended, which will result in a reduction from the existing local DC rates for retail (47% reduction) and non-retail (7% reduction).
The Town’s uniform rate will be 63% below the average for the local comparator group for commercial uses, and 57% below the average for industrial.
An increase to the residential DC rate is recommended, which equates to an additional $4,373 per single detached equivalent (SDE); a 14% increase.
To arrive at this rate, $312 million in capital costs were reduced or deferred as part of the optional service level adjustments presented in Addendum 1, resulting in a reduction to the original calculated charge of $4,962 per SDE.
The Town’s residential rate remains second lowest amongst local comparator group, and 38% below the average of those comparators.

In addition, the Community Benefits Charge By-law report’s executive summary states:

The recommended CBC by-law would introduce for the Town a revenue tool that will support the investment in service for high-density residential development.
A CBC would be imposed at a rate of 4% of the value of land being developed for

residential developments that are five (5) storeys or greater, and have ten (10) units or more.

The CBC will not apply where an existing parkland dedication agreement exists between the Town and landowner(s), and as such many of the Town’s secondary plan areas would be exempt from a CBC.
The CBC rate of 4% is consistent with a number of comparator municipalities, including all of the other local municipalities within Halton Region.
Proceeds from the CBC will be utilized for parkland acquisition and the cost of CBC strategies. Even with the collection of CBC revenues, a significant funding deficit will remain for high-density development relative to the Town’s parkland standard and target.
A financial incentive program is also recommended, in order to allow for a transition period prior to the first collection of a CBC payment from a high-density applicant.